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A speech I gave at the IEMA meeting in Springfield on Sept. 30: I'm not politically correct and I'm angry; angry that instead of protecting the people and lowering the limits on Ra-226-228, IEPA and IEMA chose to increase the health hazard on people of Illinois, by raising the limits on Ra-226-228 that can be dumped on farm fields and into landfills. Morris, IL, Grundy County is a great place to live but we are in a high-risk health area. We have three nuclear power plants, one spent nuclear fuel storage site, really four storage sites altogether and several chemical plants within a 25 mile radius of Morris. Within the city limits we have a nuclear laundry that washes clothing that is contaminated by workers in the power plants, and a leaking Environtech landfill that we can't get the IEPA to do anything about. We have a hospital that uses nuclear medicine. We have a cancer clinic that uses nuclear medicine and there may be others. Morris has a population of about 12,000. I challenge anyone to name another city in Illinois or even in the United States with a population of 12,000 that has their own cancer clinic.

A speech I gave at the IEMA meeting in Springfield on Sept. 30: I'm not politically correct and I'm angry; angry that instead of protecting the people and lowering the limits on Ra-226-228, IEPA and IEMA chose to increase the health hazard on people of Illinois, by raising the limits on Ra-226-228 that can be dumped on farm fields and into landfills. Morris, IL, Grundy County is a great place to live but we are in a high-risk health area. We have three nuclear power plants, one spent nuclear fuel storage site, really four storage sites altogether and several chemical plants within a 25 mile radius of Morris. Within the city limits we have a nuclear laundry that washes clothing that is contaminated by workers in the power plants, and a leaking Environtech landfill that we can't get the IEPA to do anything about. We have a hospital that uses nuclear medicine. We have a cancer clinic that uses nuclear medicine and there may be others. Morris has a population of about 12,000. I challenge anyone to name another city in Illinois or even in the United States with a population of 12,000 that has their own cancer clinic.

Twenty doctors have handed in their resignations at the Centre hospitalier regional de Sept-Iles, the Quebec news network LCN reports. In an open letter addressed to Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc, the physicians say they have quit, as a group, to protest plans to build an uranium mine on Quebec's North Shore. The protest comes on the heels of the introduction new government mining legislation, which does not impose a moratorium on uranium exploitation in Quebec. The doctors say they fear for their own families' health as well as for the health of the population in the region.

Twenty doctors have handed in their resignations at the Centre hospitalier regional de Sept-Iles, the Quebec news network LCN reports. In an open letter addressed to Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc, the physicians say they have quit, as a group, to protest plans to build an uranium mine on Quebec's North Shore. The protest comes on the heels of the introduction new government mining legislation, which does not impose a moratorium on uranium exploitation in Quebec. The doctors say they fear for their own families' health as well as for the health of the population in the region.

"For the third consecutive legislative session, myopic legislators have introduced illogical, almost surreal rationalizations for why they should repeal one state law that has successfully protected Illinois for 23 years, and sabotage a second that promotes zero-carbon, sustainable and less-polluting energy. I refer here to attempts to repeal what has become known as the "nuclear construction moratorium." This 1987 law simply says: Illinois will not permit the construction of new nuclear plants until there exists an environmentally responsible way of permanently disposing of the dangerous radioactive wastes they create. The Sears Tower, John Hancock Center and Illinois' currently operating nuclear reactors were being constructed around the same time. Imagine if legislators of the day - touting reasons like jobs, federal money and proud legacies - allowed these and future skyscrapers to be built without bathrooms. This is precisely the (il)logic of today's legislators calling for moratorium repeal."

A charter member of George W. Bush's infamous "axis of evil" on account of its nuclear-weapons program, arms sales and brutal human-rights record, North Korea was unsurprisingly targeted by Bush for regime change from the start. That Kim Jong Il - a man the American President once called a "pygmy" - has not only survived, but emerged in the twilight of the Bush era with an agreement eerily similar to the one he signed with Bill Clinton over a decade earlier, makes for a remarkable tale.

Last week's news that North Korea plans to test a ballistic missile that could reach Alaska gave doomsayers more grounds for gloom. But amid the fear about nuclear attacks by terrorists or leaders such as Kim Jong Il, let's not forget that the United States has managed to protect itself from such a catastrophe not only since 9/11, but since the birth of the bomb in 1945. That record could end tomorrow, and we have a lot of work to do to stay safe. But fear-mongering -- such as Dick Cheney's warning last month about the "high probability" of terrorists attempting a nuclear or biological attack -- can lead to costly mistakes. We don't need to scare ourselves silly to guard against the worst.

Italian power company Edison SpA is willing to spend up to 4 billion euros ($5.7 billion) on domestic nuclear plants, Chief Executive Umberto Quadrino said in an interview published on Saturday. Nuclear power is a priority for Edison and when "the first stone for the first plant is laid, we will be there", he told business daily Il Sole 24 Ore. "And, between 2015 and 2025, we are ready to commit up to 4 billion euros," he said.

Italy's plan to increase nuclear power may cost 40 billion euros ($59 billion,) Enel SpA Chief Executive Officer Fulvio Conti told daily Il Sole 24 Ore. Italy will probably need about eight reactors that will cost as much as 5 billion euros each, Conti said, according to the newspaper. Italy, which has the highest electricity prices in the European Union, has been looking for ways to cut power costs and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Italians voted to shutter the country's nuclear power plants in a 1987 referendum following the Chernobyl power-plant accident in the former Soviet Union. Enel may invest an additional $1.3 billion over the next three to four years in the U.S., where the utility has invested in renewable energy projects, Conti told the newspaper.

"Next week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet in New York with diplomats from more than 180 countries at the eighth review conference of the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (pdf), the Cold War pact that determines who can have nuclear weapons and who can't. The nuclear accord obliges the five original nuclear powers to disarm while exacting a pledge from other countries not to pursue nuclear weapons. In exchange, those that foreswore atomic weapons were assured the right to develop nuclear energy programs, under the monitoring of U.N. inspectors. The Obama administration will seek to use the nearly month-long conference to plug gaps in a landmark agreement that has significantly limited the spread of nuclear weapons but enabled a small number of nuclear proliferators, including Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Il, to develop clandestine atomic weapons programs under the nose of U.N. weapons inspectors. The nuclear conference has gained increased urgency as concerns about global warming have fueled renewed interest in nuclear power, and the prospects of lucrative international trade in nuclear fuel."

"Exelon plans to end its distribution of bottled water July 30 to some residents of Godley and others affected by radioactive tritium found in 2005 in groundwater wells near the Braidwood Nuclear Plant. Exelon has been providing up to 20 gallons of bottled water per week to some households for the past four years, according to a press statement released Friday. "Only about 150 of the more than 400 eligible participants are currently taking advantage of the bottled water program," said Exelon spokesman Neal Miller. "

"A radioactive form of hydrogen called tritium was found leaking out of a storage tank this week at the Exelon Nuclear generating station south of Marseilles, plant officials said Thursday in a press release. "We have identified the source of the tritium leak and are taking actions to make repairs," said La Salle Site Vice President Dave Wozniak. "This finding has no impact on public health or safety." Workers performing regular monitoring discovered tritiated water near the base of a tank. Exelon notified state and federal regulatory agencies. On Wednesday workers sampled water at the base of a tank that stores water from the plant and found tritium. The plant is transferring water from the tank to temporary containers. Workers will inspect the empty tank and make necessary repairs, Exelon said. There is no indication that tritiated water has left the station property, Exelon said."

"Forty miles north of Chicago, along the shore of Lake Michigan, gun-toting guards still warily prowl the grounds of the Zion Nuclear Power Station. Inside, the control room remains staffed by engineers who check radiation levels throughout the plant. But their numbers are far fewer than before 1998, when the two reactors went permanently dark. "A lot of people are surprised, because they think they're going to find tumbleweeds and the place just falling apart," plant manager Ron Schuster said. Schuster stood in the shadow of the 10-story building, its outer wall made of reinforced concrete 3 feet thick, that houses one of the dormant reactors. Workers venture inside only about twice a month now, for inspections and maintenance."

"Exelon will get incentives from the American Power Act and the bill will increase the company's earnings in five years, if it passes. John Rowe, chief executive officer of nuclear firm Exelon, saw the writing on the wall about government penalties and rewards for producers of greenhouse gases. Rowe considers himself the "senior chief executive in the utility industry" having served in those positions since 1984. He presided over Exelon's formation from the merger of Chicago utility Unicom and Philadelphia utility Peco. During his time at Unicom predecessor Commonwealth Edison, Rowe changed the course of the company's future to focus on nuclear power instead of dirtier coal and oil-fired plants."

"Virginia's Homeland Security Capital Corp. has received two task orders for environmental cleanup and facility demolition support services. Homeland Security Capital announced its Safety and Ecology Corp. subsidiary was selected by the U.S. Energy Department to provide environmental remediation services at the New Brunswick Laboratory. The $1.2 million hazardous material cleanup task order includes dismantling, removal and decommissioning of contaminated nuclear material at the laboratory in Argonne, Ill."

"Removal of radioactive thorium along the West Branch of the DuPage River has resumed after a year's hiatus. Tronox Inc., the chemical manufacturing company responsible for the cleanup efforts, filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009. After months of legal and political wrangling, a bankruptcy judge approved a plan to create a trust fund that will hold money needed to pay for the cleanup efforts in the portion of the river that runs through Warrenville. That move paved the way for cleanup work to resume. The trust fund contains $25 million, which is expected to be enough to cover the cost of thorium removal from a nearly milelong stretch that runs from Butterfield Road to the Warrenville Grove dam, said Tony Charlton, DuPage County's stormwater management chief. Workers are already on site and are expected to be done with the second-to-last phase of the river cleanup by the end of this year."

By gaining control of slightly less than half of the outstanding stock in NRG Energy Inc., Exelon Corp. wants to turn a hostile $6 billion takeover effort into a friendly one. The NRG board rejected a proposed merger with the Chicago-based Exelon in November, only to find dissent from shareholders who agreed Tuesday to tender 45.6 percent of their stock to Exelon.

Over the past year, Southeast Asia's diplomatic community has tried to sort fact from fiction in a stream of unconfirmed reports from Burma, the region's most isolated and secretive country. Burma's fledgling nuclear program with Russian assistance and its mysterious connections with North Korea raise concern in the region about its purpose.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees at the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago, Illinois, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The initial proposed definition for the class being evaluated, subject to revision as warranted by the evaluation, is as follows: Facility: Metallurgical Laboratory. Location: Chicago, Illinois. Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All Atomic Weapons Employer employees. Period of Employment: August 13, 1942 through June 30, 1946.

Exelon's Braidwood Station is waiting patiently for the United States Deptartment of Energy (DOE) to open a permanent storage facility for spent fuel. But in the meantime, the nuclear power plant has now reached a point where an alternative storage solution has to be found. Braidwood Station site communications manager Paul Dempsey and Public Affairs Manager Stephen Tribuzzi gave a presentation at the Jan. 27 regular meeting of the Braidwood City Council.

Rick Delisle co-owns two commercial buildings, one of which is depicted in this photo that dates from the time of Zion, Illinois' founding.