Mongolians Opposed to U.S. Nuclear Waste Dump Protest Biden Visit
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is in Japan today wrapping up his three-country Asian tour. On Monday, Biden stopped in Mongolia where he was met by group of protesters opposed to a possible U.S. plan to store nuclear waste in their country. A report in a Japanese newspaper in May said the United States and Japan planned to build a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Mongolia, but Mongolia’s government denied involvement in any such talks.
Earthquake, two nuclear reactors closed in US
Federal officials say two nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, Va., were automatically taken off line by safety systems around the time of the earthquake. The Dominion-operated power plant is being run off three emergency diesel generators, which are supplying power for critical safety equipment. The NRC and Dominion are sending people to inspect the plant. The epicenter of the earthquake was located just 10 miles from a nuclear power plant that has lacked seismographs since the 1990s. The North Anna Power Station lost off-site power and was using diesel generators to maintain cooling operations at its two nuclear reactors following the quake. The facility, which was built on a fault line, is only designed to withstand an earthquake up to a magnitude of 6.1. Yesterday’s quake registered a 5.8. All of the plant’s seismographs were removed in the 1990s due to budget cuts. Federal officials said a total of six nuclear plants from North Carolina to Michigan are under increased scrutiny after the earthquake.
Toxic chemicals in branded clothing
Traces of toxic chemicals harmful to the environment and to human health have been detected in products made by 14 top clothing manufacturers, Greenpeace said Tuesday. Samples of clothing from top brands including Adidas, Uniqlo, Calvin Klein, H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lacoste, Converse and Ralph Lauren were found to be tainted with the chemicals, known as nonylphenol ethoxylates, the watchdog said at the launch of its report “Dirty Laundry 2”.