Agency and hazardous materials teams responded to assess and clean up the spill.
Motorists were redirected to Highway 91 and Highway 24. The westbound interstate
reopened at about 8 p.m. Water district officials were notified, and shut off wells that
collect water for the town's drinking system. The water is safe, and was never in
question, said a spokeswoman for the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District. She
said water intakes would remain shut off in the Gore Creek and Eagle River below the
spill until any risk of collecting unsafe water has passed. In coming days, the district
will test water above, at ,and below the spill to monitor quality.
Source:
close the tsunami-hobbled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, even though the
facility is leaking far less radiation than before and is considered relatively stable, the
Associated Press reported October 31. The plant was severely damaged by Japan's
March 11 earthquake and tsunami. It suffered power outages, meltdowns, and
explosions that released radioactive material and forced tens of thousands of people to
flee. An expert panel named by Japan's Atomic Energy Commission made the 30-year
closure estimate in the draft of a report to be completed by the end of the year. Plant
workers are still struggling to contain radiation leaking from the plant, although the
amount is far less than before. The panel noted it took 10 years to remove nuclear fuel
after the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the United States, and suggested the
process at Fukushima would be much more complicated and time-consuming. It is also
expected to be more costly. A report October 29 in the Yomiuri, a major newspaper,
said independent experts believe the process will cost more than $19 billion. Officials
at Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility that runs the plant, said they have largely
succeeded in cooling the damaged reactors, completing a "cold shutdown." But
extensive repairs and safety measures must still be carried out. The panel said removal
of fuel rods at Fukushima would not begin until 2021, after the repair of the plant's
containment vessels. As a stop-gap measure, one of the damaged units now has an
outer shell made of airtight polyester designed to contain radioactive particles inside
the building. Similar covers are also planned for other buildings. Government officials
must also deal with a massive decontamination effort in areas around the plant. A 12-
mile exclusion zone around the facility remains in effect.
Source:
flowed into the Pacific Ocean after the start of Japan's nuclear crisis was probably