Residents in Tallevast will have to live with contaminated ground water for almost 50 years, according to a revised cleanup plan submitted to the state by Lockheed Martin.
But the aerospace giant, which is responsible for cleaning up the pollution in this small southern Manatee County community, hopes that the majority of the contaminants will be cleaned up in five years. A previous plan estimated the cleanup could take 100 years.
Lockheed is planning to build a new, larger water treatment facility on the site of the former beryllium plant on Tallevast Road that caused the contamination.
"As the oil off Louisiana's coast continues to threaten wildlife, tourism, and the fishing industry, nuclear power plants along Florida's Gulf coast are also on edge. Progress Energy spokeswoman Susan Grant says that while forecasts look good now, they are definitely preparing for the worst at locations like their Crystal River Nuclear Plant. Grant says their coastal plants are already somewhat prepared because of standard precautions already in place. She says Progress Energy is taking no chances considering the potentially devastating effects of oil entering their plants. Aside from the Crystal River Nuclear complex in Citrus County, Progress Energy is making preperations at their Anclote Plant in Pasco County and their Bartlow Plant in Pinellas County."
In the late nineties, the State Department of Health looked into a possible cancer cluster in St. Lucie County. There were 28 cases of brain and central nervous system cancers in kids.
No pattern was established. No cluster proven.
As well and soil tests wrap up this week, some sobering facts about providing clusters exist. The centers for Disease Control conducted 108 cancer cluster investigations between 1961 and 1990. None of them found an environmental cause for cancer.
Local and State Health Departments now bear the burden of investigating clusters and there are 1,000 reported in the U.S. every year. Since 1995, only about 50 clusters have been confirmed in the country.
The DEP tests of wells and the counties tests of soil at schools go forward with the knowledge that in only one case, at Southside High School in Elmira New York, have children been victimized by toxic exposure. 20 cases of testicular cancer was documented.The school had been built near an industrial site.
In the late nineties, the State Department of Health looked into a possible cancer cluster in St. Lucie County. There were 28 cases of brain and central nervous system cancers in kids.
No pattern was established. No cluster proven.
As well and soil tests wrap up this week, some sobering facts about providing clusters exist. The centers for Disease Control conducted 108 cancer cluster investigations between 1961 and 1990. None of them found an environmental cause for cancer.
Local and State Health Departments now bear the burden of investigating clusters and there are 1,000 reported in the U.S. every year. Since 1995, only about 50 clusters have been confirmed in the country.
The DEP tests of wells and the counties tests of soil at schools go forward with the knowledge that in only one case, at Southside High School in Elmira New York, have children been victimized by toxic exposure. 20 cases of testicular cancer was documented.The school had been built near an industrial site.
An artist's design for a new community park in Tallevast depicts an idyllic green space where children can shoot hoops and play baseball, and families can picnic by a small lake.
Contamination may be too close for comfort at the site
The plan, however, does not show that the park will sit atop groundwater polluted with chemicals known to increase the likelihood of kidney and liver cancer, leukemia and lymphoma.
Lockheed Martin officials say the park can be built before the cleanup of 200 acres of polluted groundwater traced to a former weapons plant on Tallevast Road.
An artist's design for a new community park in Tallevast depicts an idyllic green space where children can shoot hoops and play baseball, and families can picnic by a small lake.
Contamination may be too close for comfort at the site
The plan, however, does not show that the park will sit atop groundwater polluted with chemicals known to increase the likelihood of kidney and liver cancer, leukemia and lymphoma.
Lockheed Martin officials say the park can be built before the cleanup of 200 acres of polluted groundwater traced to a former weapons plant on Tallevast Road.
Radiation levels were higher than normal at the homes of as many as 10 Acreage families with brain tumors or brain cancer, according to a New York City law firm affiliated with the nationally known environmental activist Erin Brockovich.
The radiation appears to be coming from well water, said Lemuel Srolovic, an attorney with the law firm Weitz & Luxenberg, which is investigating a suspected cancer cluster in the semi-rural community. A Stuart engineering company hired by the firm measured the radiation in mid-September using a Geiger counter.
"Generally, it showed there appeared to be radioactive material in ground water being drawn up," Srolovic said.
A report issued last week by the state Department of Environmental Protection similarly found elevated levels of radioactive particles in four wells in The Acreage. But the DEP stressed that the radiation can occur naturally, and the report said the problem is "simple" for homeowners to address by installing water-treatment systems.
Radiation levels were higher than normal at the homes of as many as 10 Acreage families with brain tumors or brain cancer, according to a New York City law firm affiliated with the nationally known environmental activist Erin Brockovich.
The radiation appears to be coming from well water, said Lemuel Srolovic, an attorney with the law firm Weitz & Luxenberg, which is investigating a suspected cancer cluster in the semi-rural community. A Stuart engineering company hired by the firm measured the radiation in mid-September using a Geiger counter.
"Generally, it showed there appeared to be radioactive material in ground water being drawn up," Srolovic said.
A report issued last week by the state Department of Environmental Protection similarly found elevated levels of radioactive particles in four wells in The Acreage. But the DEP stressed that the radiation can occur naturally, and the report said the problem is "simple" for homeowners to address by installing water-treatment systems.
Utility officials and regulators next week will review an analysis of what caused a crack in the concrete wall of the Crystal River nuclear plant's containment building.
Progress Energy will also present repair plans for the crack, which was discovered Oct. 2 as the utility was cutting a hole in the containment building wall to replace two generators.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will also share its findings of what caused the concrete in the 42-inch-thick wall that surrounds the nuclear reactor to crack. The NRC sent its own team of inspectors to survey the plant.
Utility officials and regulators next week will review an analysis of what caused a crack in the concrete wall of the Crystal River nuclear plant's containment building.
Progress Energy will also present repair plans for the crack, which was discovered Oct. 2 as the utility was cutting a hole in the containment building wall to replace two generators.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will also share its findings of what caused the concrete in the 42-inch-thick wall that surrounds the nuclear reactor to crack. The NRC sent its own team of inspectors to survey the plant.
A group of Cuban nationals who fled their country by boat landed in the cooling canal of a nuclear power plant along Florida's coast on Thanksgiving Day, according to a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission event report issued Friday.
The plant's operations were not disrupted by the incident, according to the report.
The Turkey Point nuclear power plant control room received a call from an individual stating that he was a member of a group of 33 Cuban nationals that had landed in the cooling canal. The group was made up of 29 adults and 4 children.
A group of Cuban nationals who fled their country by boat landed in the cooling canal of a nuclear power plant along Florida's coast on Thanksgiving Day, according to a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission event report issued Friday.
The plant's operations were not disrupted by the incident, according to the report.
The Turkey Point nuclear power plant control room received a call from an individual stating that he was a member of a group of 33 Cuban nationals that had landed in the cooling canal. The group was made up of 29 adults and 4 children.
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