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Nukes mean mines: Are we digging a new toxic legacy before the last one’s filled in?
San Antonio Current, 09/19/2009Greg Harman of the San Antonio Current explores the legacy of uranium mining across South Texas as in-situ mining companies, milling outfits, and waste disposal crews prepare for a rebound in uranium prices. With San Antonio poised to lead one of the first nuclear-power expansions in the country, the writer suggests "the risks involved in uranium mining and processing should be a starting point for any debate about the promise and peril of nuclear power, yet it has received scant attention in San Antonio’s decision whether or not to partner in the expansion of the South Texas Project nuclear complex."
A 'Near Miss' Disaster at Citgo's Corpus Christi Refinery
Texas Observer, 08/25/2009A July 19 fire at Citgo's Corpus Christi refinery released deadly hydrogen fluoride, maimed one worker, and threatened a poor, largely minority community at its fenceline. Now larger questions are being asked -- about how authorities responded to it and whether it could have been prevented.
"Chevron Phillips Chemical Sued for Polluting Texas Air"
ENS, 08/21/2009"Sierra Club and Environment Texas filed an air pollution lawsuit today in federal district court against Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP. The groups claim that Chevron Phillips has repeatedly violated the Clean Air Act at its Cedar Bayou chemical plant in Baytown, Texas."
"Climate Change Has Some Texas Animals Fleeing the Texas Heat"
Fort Worth Star Telegram, 08/17/2009"As the hot days in Texas get even hotter, it may just be too much for some birds and fish. From the American goldfinch to the gray snapper, some species have been moving north for years, searching for cooler ground. And their quest may someday lead them to migrate out of the state -- forever -- especially if climate change continues to make Texas warmer, as predicted."
"Raid May Signal Turning Point For Waste Facility"
Houston Chronicle, 08/10/2009After years of complaints, federal agents raided the CES Environmental Services waste-processing facility in southeast Houston.
"Unabated Use of Groundwater Threatens Arizona's Future"
Arizona Republic, 08/03/2009Arizona's groundwater addiction hasn't been controlled by legal and regulatory measures so far, and may soon threaten the state's economic well-being.
"Uranium Contamination Haunts Navajo Country"
NYTimes, 07/28/2009Homes are "contaminated with potentially dangerous levels of uranium from the days of the cold war, when hundreds of uranium mines dotted the vast tribal land known as the Navajo Nation."
Fishing for Solutions for Poisoned Trinity River
Dallas News, 07/20/2009An abandoned river -- the Trinity -- runs through Dallas. Storms wash old industrial poisons into it via ditches. As poisons accumulated in its sediments, fish became dangerous to eat. "So people stayed away, and over time, it no longer mattered which came first -- the toxic fish or the abandoned river."
Navajos Mark Uranium Spill 30 Years Later
New Mexico Independent, 07/17/2009"Thirty years ago today, an earthen tailings dam near the United Nuclear Corp. Church Rock Uranium mine collapsed, spilling ninety million gallons of liquid radioactive waste and eleven hundred tons of solid mill wastes into the Rio Puerco. The spill contaminated water, land and air at least 50 miles downstream on Navajo Nation land in New Mexico and Arizona."
"Tucson Rainwater Harvesting Law Drawing Interest"
AP, 07/06/2009"TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Long dependent on wellwater and supplies sent hundreds of miles by canal from the Colorado River, this desert city will soon harvest some of its 12 inches of annual rainfall to help bolster its water resources."
"'Last Man Standing' at Wake for a Toxic Town"
CNN, 07/01/2009Residents say goodbye to Picher, Oklahoma, a town undermined and polluted by mining operations.
"Radioactive Revival in New Mexico"
Nation, 06/18/2009Navajo people are fighting the return of uranium mining they say threatens to despoil their lands and health.
"EPA To Rebuild Uranium-Contaminated Navajo Homes"
AP, 06/15/2009"The federal government plans to spend up to $3 million a year to demolish and rebuild uranium-contaminated structures across the Navajo Nation, where Cold War-era mining of the radioactive substance left a legacy of disease and death."
"Deadly Water -- Black Falls: Water Sources, But None To Drink"
Gallup Independent, 06/02/2009Drought is driving some people in the Navajo Nation to drink water that is contaminated with uranium and other contaminants.
"Scientists Look at Flares' Impact on Smog"
Houston Chronicle, 05/26/2009Scientists in the Houston area are focusing research on the flare stacks at its hundreds of petrochemical plants -- which may be a major overlooked cause of smog.

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