• Freighter Still Spilling Oil off Unalaska Island
  
• Plutonium Weapons Factory to Become Wildlife Refuge
  
• New York, New Jersey Veterans' Hospitals Agree to Audits
  
• Colorado Shopping Center Builders Fined for Stormwater Runoff
  
• Iowa Powers Up Cleaner Energy Generation
  
• New Study Links Risk of Autism to Mercury in Vaccines
  
• Tiny Particles In Air Influence Carbon Sinks
  
• Chronic Wasting Disease Moving East Across Nebraska
  

Freighter Still Spilling Oil off Unalaska Island

Plutonium Weapons Factory to Become Wildlife Refuge

For 40 years from 1953 to 1992, components for nuclear weapons were made at Rocky Flats using radioactive and hazardous materials, including plutonium, uranium and beryllium. A legacy of contaminated facilities, soils and ground water was left behind.

Rocky Flats is located 15 miles northwest of Denver and within 50 miles of 2.5 million people. The site consists of more than 800 structures located on a 385 acre Industrial Area and surrounded by 6,000 acres of controlled open space called the Buffer Zone.

Current plans call for all of the 805 structures and facilitites at the site to be dismantled and removed. But first the buildings, many of which contain radioactive and/or chemical contamination, must be cleaned up.

The site had many tons of radioactive plutonium and uranium which was put into a safe form, consolidated to reduce costs, repackaged into long term packaging and then sent offsite for storage or disposal.

In July, workers demolished Building 771. Dubbed the most dangerous building in America, it had a 50 year legacy of plutonium leaks and spills, and a major fire occurred there in 1957. In 1995, the Department of Energy concluded that Building 771 was its greatest vulnerability and was dubbed by the national media as “the most dangerous building in America.”

In late September, workers at Rocky Flats removed the last of the largest source of soil contamination at Rocky Flats. Cleanup of the 36 acre wind blown area located on the east edge of the Industrial Area included the removal and packaging of 97,800 tons of plutonium contaminated soils.

A major part of the work to be done to close Rocky Flats involves restoration of the environment. When cleanup of Rocky Flats commenced, the extent of environmental contamination was thoroughly investigated including groundwater, surface water, soil and air monitoring and sampling. Any area remotely suspected of being contaminated was identified as a potential cleanup site. In all, 360 potential areas of contamination were identified and 274 have been addressed. These investigations resulted in removal action and remediation of ground water in place.

Past and current exposures to site-related contaminants "do not pose harmful health effects for residents near the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology site," says the public health assessment released for public comment by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry said in September.

The Final EIS describes the Fish and Wildlife Service's proposal for management of Rocky Flats as a National Wildlife Refuge for 15 years, starting at the time the Refuge is established sometime between 2006 and 2008.

Four alternatives for management of the Refuge are considered in the final plan and Environmental Impact Statement.

Issues addressed in the final plan include vegetation management, wildlife management, public use, cultural resources, property, infrastructure, and refuge operations. All four alternatives outline specific management objectives and strategies related to wildlife and habitat management; public use, education, and interpretation; safety; open and effective communication; working with others; and refuge operations.

Alternative B, the Service's Preferred Alternative, emphasizes wildlife and habitat conservation with a moderate amount of wildlife dependent public use.

Visitor use facilities would include about 16 miles of trails, a seasonally staffed visitor contact station, trailheads with parking, and developed overlooks. Most of the trails would use existing roads and public access would be by foot, bicycle, horse, or car. A limited public hunting program would be developed under the Preferred Alternative.

The Service received over 5,000 public comments during the planning process. Some of the changes that resulted from public comments included changes to trail alignments, more flexible trail implementation, changes to the types of weaponry allowed for hunting, more discussion about issues related to cleanup and contamination, and additional discussion about potential impacts from transportation improvements.

View the EIS at: http://rockyflats.fws.gov

New York, New Jersey Veterans' Hospitals Agree to Audits

An agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the VA was signed Thursday by Acting EPA Regional Administrator Kathleen Callahan and Veterans Affairs Regional Directors William Feeley and James Farsetta at a VA hospital in the Bronx.

The EPA audit agreements cover all major federal environmental programs including air, water, pesticides, underground storage tanks, solid and hazardous wastes, hazardous substances and chemicals, environmental response, emergency planning, community right-to-know requirements, and toxic substances control.

"Our objective is to have every healthcare institution in New York and New Jersey meet EPA's regulations," said Callahan. "The self-audit program is a great way to enable the area's hospitals to effectively meet their environmental obligations to the communities they serve."

"Regulatory compliance is an important part of our organizational culture and responsibility," said Feeley, director of the VA Healthcare Network for Upstate New York. "We want to insure a safe environment for our patients, their families and our employees."

"An environment of care that's continuously monitored to meet the highest standards is part of the VA healthcare model provided to our nation's veterans," said Farsetta, Director of the New York/New Jersey Veterans Healthcare Network. "Self-audits are an efficient way to ensure compliance with statutes designed to safeguard the health of all Americans."

The VA will conduct comprehensive environmental audits of its healthcare facilities in Buffalo, Batavia, Bath, Rome, Syracuse, Canandaigua, St. Albans, Montrose and Castle Point, as well as 29 community clinics throughout the region.

Also covered under the agreement are VA hospitals in the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn.

In New Jersey, facilities in Brick, Lyons and East Orange will also be audited. The VA has completed its review of hospitals in Albany and Northport and will submit final reports to EPA in the near future.

Today's agreement is part of EPA's Healthcare Compliance Initiative, an innovative environmental program that helps hospitals and healthcare facilities comply with EPA regulations. After performing self-audits, participants must report violations to EPA and take action to correct them. In return, EPA provides some relief from monetary penalties.

The EPA established the self-audit program because many healthcare facilities were either not aware of their responsibilities under various environmental laws or had failed to implement effective compliance strategies.

As part of the Healthcare Compliance Initiative, EPA's regional office contacted all the hospitals in its jurisdiction and provided free workshops and an informational web site to alert them to their duties under the law. Hospitals were urged to join the agency's voluntary self-disclosure program.

To date, more than 1,100 violations have been identified and corrected by healthcare facilities that have participated in EPA's initiative.

Colorado Shopping Center Builders Fined for Stormwater Runoff

The federal agency collected penalties totaling $426,256 by settling cases against 12 companies that violated federal storm water regulations under the Clean Water Act while performing seven major construction projects in the greater Denver Metro area.

Seven of the 12 violators are Colorado companies; all of the companies are doing business in Colorado.

Two of the violators were building the giant Flatirons shopping center at 96th and Coalton Road in Broomfield - Midcities Enterprises, LLC of Colorado, and Coalton Acres, LLC of Delaware.

The Mills Corp. of Delaware was fined for stormwater runoff during construction of the huge Colorado Mills shopping center 10 miles west of downtown Denver.

Builder of the Pioneer Hills shopping center at Parker and Chambers Road in Aurora, JDN Intermountain Development Pioneer Hills, LLC, of Georgia, was among those fined.

The builders of Westwoods Center in Arvada and Aurora Town Center, Aurora as well as other, smaller developments in Arvada and Aurora were also fined

The enforcement actions were taken in July 2003 for failure to obtain a storm water permit, failure to develop or implement a storm water management plan, failure to implement or maintain appropriate best management practices to minimize runoff, and failure to conduct site inspections.

Not complying with these requirements may result in runoff from the construction site adversely impacting water bodies.

“Compliance with these regulations is important to protect our scarce water resources," said Carol Rushin, assistant regional administrator for EPA Region 8 Office of Enforcement, Compliance, and Environmental Justice.

“Storm water requirements have been in place for over 10 years. Developers, builders, and construction contractors must share responsibility to ensure compliance with the storm water regulations,” she said.

While the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is authorized to implement storm water regulations in Colorado, the EPA partnered with the state to help with its substantial storm water inspection and enforcement workload.

To comply with the storm water regulations, owners and operators of a construction site are required to submit a Notice of Intent to the Colorado Department of Public Health & the Environment at least 10 days before beginning the work. Prior to submitting the notice of intent, the operator should have developed a storm water management plan for the project.

The plan identifies what best management practices will be used on the site to reduce the amount of pollutants, including sediment, which leave the construction site in the event of a storm.

Urban storm water runoff was found to be a source of pollution in 13 percent of impaired rivers and streams and 21 percent of impaired lakes, according to EPA’s 1998 Report to Congress.

Iowa Powers Up Cleaner Energy Generation

Owner MidAmerican Energy said that with Phase 2 - the steam turbine - now complete, the plant is capable of generating 540 megawatts of electricity, enough to provide power to 160,000 homes.

Phase 1 — the gas turbine portion of the plant — began commercial operation in May of 2003. Phase 1 produces 350 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 100,000 homes.

MidAmerican also is building a 310 megawatt wind project, one of the world’s largest land based wind generation facilities.

The $323 million wind project is being constructed on two sites. At the first location in Buena Vista and Sac counties, there are 107 wind turbines, which are expected to be completed this month. One hundred wind turbines at the wind project site in Wright and Hamilton counties in north central Iowa near the community of Blairsburg are expected to be online in the summer of 2005.

In addition to this power plant, MidAmerican is developing a 790 megawatt, coal fueled power plant in Council Bluffs. Construction of the $1.2 billion facility, in which MidAmerican is investing $713 million, began in September of 2003 and it is scheduled to be in commercial operation during the summer of 2007.

“This is another significant milestone in the company’s $1.4 billion investment in electric generation plants while keeping Iowa electric rates stable,” said Jack Alexander, MidAmerican Energy senior vice president.

This unprecedented energy infrastructure investment in Iowa helps secure the state’s independent energy future, and is occurring in a period of 15 years of rate stability for MidAmerican Energy’s Iowa customers.

MidAmerican says it is committed to maintaining current electric rates, or lowering them, through at least 2010.

“These investments are economic engines that help drive growth and prosperity,” said Martha Willits, president and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, the economic development organization serving central Iowa. “A secure supply of energy at a stable price encourages the expansion of our existing companies and greatly strengthens our ability to attract new companies to the greater Des Moines region.”

New Study Links Risk of Autism to Mercury in Vaccines

Some vaccines given to infants and children are preserved with thimerosal, which is half mercury by weight, and parents worry that these vaccines, including flu shots, may trigger autism in their children.

Now new evidence that strengthens that theory has been found.

Lead author on the new study is Dr. Jill James of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. James served for 14 years as a senior research scientist with the Food and Drug Administration and is currently professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Published in the December issue of the "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," the purpose of the study was to evaluate the concentrations of eight metabolites in the plasma of children with autism.

Twenthy children with autism and 33 control children participated in the study. Researchers measured methionine, S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), adenosine, homocysteine, cystathionine, cysteine, and oxidized and reduced glutathione.

Relative to the control children, the children with autism had statistically significantly lower baseline plasma concentrations of methionine, SAM, homocysteine, cystathionine, cysteine, and total glutathione.

They had significantly higher concentrations of SAH, adenosine, and oxidized glutathione.

James and her team concluded that this metabolic profile indicates an increased vulnerability to oxidative stress - destruction caused by free radical molecules - and this pattern "may contribute to the development and clinical manifestation of autism."

In addition, the James team found that the plasma profile of the 20 autistic children studied shows a decreased capacity for methylation - a process essential for the normal development and functioning of organisms.

The Environmental Working Group of Washington, DC, which has been researching this issue as well, says James' findings show that autistic children have a common weakened ability to protect themselves from the effects of small amounts of toxic metals in their bodies.

"The autism epidemic is alerting us to the importance of individual susceptibility to environmental pollutants," said Richard Wiles, senior vice president of the Environmental Working Group.

"Environmental safeguards that protect a theoretical average person still leave thousands at risk," said Wiles. "Increased understanding of susceptibility will provide the basis for stronger health policies that truly protect the most vulnerable."

A review published earlier this year by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine concluded that the available science showed no mercury-autism link. But the review left the possibility open that vaccines preserved with mercury might trigger autism in a small subset of susceptible children. James and her team examine the issue of susceptibility in a small subpopulation, with the conclusion that the blood balance of this small population made it more susceptible to mercury in vaccines than other children are.

"The findings raise serious concerns about autistic children's overall exposure to environmental contaminants," said the EWG. "Mercury is of particular significance because of its proven toxicity to the developing brain and nervous system, and its documented high exposures from a variety of sources such as canned tuna, dental fillings and vaccines preserved with mercury based thimerosal."

In October 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of thimerosal in over the counter medications. Since July, 1999, the FDA has encouraged manufacturers to remove thimerosal from vaccines. Not all manufacturers have complied.

Today, most vaccines that are being manufactured do not contain thimerosal, or they only contain a trace. But old thimerosal products are still on the shelf and may be used until stocks are gone.

Tiny Particles In Air Influence Carbon Sinks

The research, published in a recent issue of "Geophysical Research Letters," is important for understanding climate change and the factors that influence how much carbon gets transferred from the air into below ground carbon sinks.

Carbon sinks are forests and other ecosystems that absorb carbon, removing it from the atmosphere and offsetting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The effects of aerosols on overall carbon exchange might be greater than clouds, the scientists found. Cloud cover tended to reflect the sun's radiation back out to space, reducing the overall amount of light to Earth's surface. As a result, less sunlight on plants caused less photosynthesis.

"We were very excited to find direct observational evidence that one variable, the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere, can have such a significant effect on something so complex as an ecosystem's carbon exchange," said lead author Dev Niyogi, a research assistant professor at North Carolina State University.

The study, which benefited from NASA satellite data, focused on six sites around the country. The sites represented a wide variety of landscapes, including forests, crops, and grassland. When aerosol levels were high, the amount of carbon absorbed by an ecosystem increased for forest and croplands, and it decreased for grasslands.

The researchers used data from NASA's AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) a ground-based aerosol-monitoring network and data archive. AERONET provided data on the amount of aerosols in the air.

They also made use of AmeriFlux - a multi-institutional network supported by several federal agencies that provides ongoing data of ecosystem level exchanges of carbon dioxide, water, energy and other factors from daily to yearly time scales.the AmeriFlux network.

From AmeriFlux, Niyogi and colleagues were able to measure the exchange of carbon dioxide between the air and an ecosystem.

But aerosols did not cut the amount of radiation that reached Earth's surface very much. Instead, aerosols scattered sunlight allowing more radiation to penetrate to the lower layers of leaves. This less concentrated radiation due to aerosols allowed for more leaves to photosynthesize at a higher rate. During photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon from the air.

In grasslands the top layers of leaves are not as dense as with crops and forests, causing the ground to heat more. When the ground heats, the soil gives more off carbon dioxide, reducing the net effect.

The study also benefited from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Terra satellite. It was used at regular intervals to provide broader geophysical context to the more continuous data available from AERONET. MODIS data were also used to assess the vegetation health and map leaf area for each site, and to interpret the net ecosystem exchange.

For each site, the researchers analyzed how carbon cycled in each ecosystem on cloudy and cloud-free days. They examined carbon exchange levels for high and low levels of scattered sunlight as well as high and low levels of aerosols. Measurements were taken during afternoons in the peak growing season from June through August. Years of available data varied for each site.

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/aerosol_carbon.html

Chronic Wasting Disease Moving East Across Nebraska

Jim Douglas, Wildlife Division administrator with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, said he received the positive results on chronic wasting disease on Thursday.

The sample was turned in by a hunter at a Game and Parks check station, and the agency is asking hunteres to send in the heads of their deer shot in the area from January 1-9, 2004.

There is no scientific evidence that the disease can infect humans, but as a precaution, people are advised not to eat an infected deer.

Currently, it is hunting season in many states, and wildlife officials are doing hunter surveillance. The regulatory authorities of the state are requesting that the hunters svoluntarily ubmit the heads of their cervids for voluntary testing. Most states have a program in place to notify the hunter if the test is positive.