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Warning sirens raise hackles in Battleboro - NIMBYs not happy

Our thanks to Bob Audette, writing for the Reformer web site in Vermont for the bones of this reassuring article that shows NIMBY-ism is alive and well in the US – this time it’s an on-going debate where to site the new warning sirens in Battleboro.  Only in America, people…

The news that the town has identified a potential site for a new emergency warning siren near the intersection of Bonnyvale and Miller Roads is raising hackles with many of the residents who live in that neighbourhood.

Among their concerns are that the sight of the siren would ruin a scenic vista, its 100-decibel warning signal could spook livestock and pets and its addition to the neighbourhood could lower property values.

A resident pointed out that she was worried that the placement of a siren would block the view toward the northwest from the corner of her land and affect her property value. She continued: “Why ruin it with such an eyesore, when surely there are other, less intrusive locations?"

Residents are also complaining that they can hear a siren located at a nearby fire station….As I said, only in America, people…

Images: Free Foto / solonohio

 

 

Here’s one for Star Trek fans everywhere: back in 2005, scientists unveiled details of a project that aimed to develop Star Trek-style ray guns that could keep "security adversaries" out of Department of Energy (DoE) nuclear sites.  The US Department of Defence was "exploring the potential" of directed energy weapons based on millimetre-wave rays with plans to bring them into use in 2008.

 

This little gem was reported by Debra Dennis writing for the Dallas Morning News.

A box weighing around 75 pounds (approx 34kg) containing a small amount of uranium apparently fell from a truck in North Fort Worth and was retrieved by a passer-by who took it home (and kept it there for 14 hours) before turning it over to officials. Said a fire service spokesman: ‘It was clearly marked radioactive’.

The package contained radioactive material from an X-ray camera and is used by industrial workers to photograph welds on pipelines, officials said. There were no leaks, and the box had not been tampered with; apparently there are a series of steps you have to go through to get the thing open.

The material may pose a slight health risk to someone coming in contact with it, officials said, even though it can’t be opened accidentally.

 

With thanks to Ryan Randazzo, writing for The Arizona Republic for this little gem. After a pipe bomb in his pickup triggered the first lockdown in 21 years of operation at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Arizona, Roger W. Hurd is back at work, officials said.

The nation's largest nuclear power plant was closed for about seven hours when security at the entrance found the device, but law enforcement officials, including Sheriff Joe Arpaio, said they believe Hurd that he does not know how the explosive got in the bed of his Ford.

"Here's the bottom line: He's not a suspect," said Jim McDonald, a spokesman for plant operator Arizona Public Service Co.

 

SCRIBA, N.Y. Officials at Nine Mile Point, declared an "Unusual Event" effectively shutting down the nuclear power plant. The "Unusual Event" is the least serious of four emergency classifications defined by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In order of increasing seriousness, the classifications are: Unusual Event, Alert, Site Area Emergency and General Emergency. There was no release of radiation or injuries associated with the event; all appropriate local, state, and federal agencies were notified.

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The following is not meant to be taken seriously:  In the wake of the former Soviet Union's demise, there are literally thousands of high-quality nuclear weapons complete with intercontinental delivery systems going unused. So, why not lease a nuclear weapon?  The advantages are many: just sign, point and go - and when you’ve had enough, you can just turn in the button and walk away

 

NEW YORK - A terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant and the panic that would ensue is a nightmare that has kept many Americans up at night since Sept. 11.

Particularly concerned are those who live near the plants: local householder Elise Cooper said ‘It’s beyond enormous: weekday traffic in the area is bad enough even without a catastrophe jamming the streets with fleeing residents.

 

WASHINGTON: The owners of three closed nuclear power plants have been awarded $143 million because the government has failed to take away their used reactor fuel rods. The award by the U.S. Federal Court of Claims settles a long-standing legal fight waged by operators of the three reactors in Maine, Connecticut and Massachusetts

 

Found today (4th Oct)  How to dismantle an atomic bomb:  Sure, the odds are slim that you'd ever be faced with an atomic device ticking down to zero. But think how Jack Bauer (24) it'd be if you were. And then who are you going to trust? Us, or some do-gooder rock band?

 

The Bush administration has begun designating as secret some information that the government long provided even to its enemy the former Soviet Union: the numbers of strategic weapons in the U.S. nuclear arsenal during the Cold War!!

 

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Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie have been lobbying the government and nuclear industry over a scheme to clean up radioactive waste with a supposedly magic Kabbalah fluid. Suspend scepticism and read on.

 

A nuclear plant in central Japan was forced to slash its power generation after a swarm of jellyfish blocked off its pipes. 

 

With apologies, but here’s one we just couldn’t resist. If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.  ...

 

Radioactive Kitty Litter  found amongst 20 tons of rubbish at a US nuclear power station sparked a safety alert. This was traced to a pet cat that had been treated with the radioactive substance iodine-131 - yes, really!! 

 

Make your own mind up about this one… A determined, but unlucky thief broke into a Canadian weather station on Vancouver Island. Not only did he make off with more than $300 worth of tools, his efforts also exposed him to a dose of radiation.

 

 

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