About 30 USAF reservists, from Colorado, headed to Texas on April 16. They will be using their C-130 Hercules transports to drop fire retardant on the Coahuila fire in Mexico. That fire is the largest fire in Mexico’s history, as of April 16 it was within 96.5km (60 miles) of the Texas border.
The […] Continue Reading…
I used to live in Texas, back in the mid 1980s, and asking the Federal government for anything was a dishonorable thing to do, if you’re from Texas. I guess things are pretty bad if Texas Governor Rick Perry is asking President Obama for help.
“Texas is reaching its capacity to respond to these emergencies […] Continue Reading…
For those of us, in Idaho, that like the idea of renewable, clean, energy sources, like wind and solar, it seems efforts to bring wind power to our state is blowing against the wind.
Just a few years ago the Idaho media was full of positive stories about wind energy bringing needed jobs, and power, […] Continue Reading…
Robots from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) are about to start work in the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Originally developed to assist with high-risk reconnaissance and the disposal of explosives and hazardous materials, The TALON has been modified for its new job.
The INL is also supplying Japan with radiation-sensing packages for Japanese robots, and […] Continue Reading…
Larry Marek was trapped when 22.8 meters (75 feet) of the tunnel collapsed on him. Since then ten-member rescue squads, working 12-hour shifts, have cleared 9.7 meters (32 feet) of debris, trying to get to him.
It happened on Friday, April 15, at the Lucky Friday mine owned by Hecla Mining company. After digging […] Continue Reading…
Japanese media recently listened intently to officials describing their plans to deal with the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. If the Japanese are expecting a specific time line, they shouldn’t hold their breath. Clean up of the Chernobyl nuke plant, in Ukraine, is still ongoing, 25 years later.
The current phase of clean up, for […] Continue Reading…
Cumulative exposure to radiation is a real killer. The Japanese town of Namie has a cumulative (build up over time) of radiation at 17,000 millisieverts.
The official acceptable exposure rate, for people in Japan, is 1,000 microsieverts, per year. A millisievert is 1,000 times more than a microsievert, and Namie has hit 17,000 millisieverts since […] Continue Reading…
More problems for Tokyo Electric Power Company. Another one of their nuke plants, in Niigata Prefecture, started smoking. The smoke came from a control panel.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant is located on the west side of Honshu, opposite where the 11 March 2011, 9.0 quake hit.
TEPCo officials say the control panel started smoking when they […] Continue Reading…
The K-Max has been offered to help remove spent fuel rods from damaged fuel pools at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The helicopter is remote controlled.
The helicopter will help set up large cranes, that will be used to remove the fuel rods.
The offer was made by Admiral Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, […] Continue Reading…
The Japanese government announced that in order to build enough temp homes, fast enough, they will have to use foreign contractors.
The temporary homes are needed for survivors of the March 11 disasters, and people who have, and others who still might have to, evacuate from radiation danger zones.
The Land and Infrastructure Ministry said foreign […] Continue Reading…