Author: Nicholas K. Geranios
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Trump plan to reclassify nuke waste alarms environmentalists
SPOKANE, Wash. — The Trump administration wants to reclassify some radioactive waste left from the production of nuclear weapons to lower its threat level and make disposal cheaper and easier. The proposal by the U.S. Department of Energy would lower the status of some high-level radioactive waste in several places around the nation, including the…
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Hawaii volcano raises concerns of eruptions along West Coast
SPOKANE, Wash. — The eruption of a Hawaii volcano in the Pacific “Ring of Fire” has experts warily eyeing volcanic peaks on America’s West Coast that are also part of the geologically active region. The West Coast is home to an 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) chain of 13 volcanoes , from Washington state’s Mount Baker to California’s Lassen Peak.…
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Navy grounds air crew that made vulgar drawing in sky
SPOKANE, Wash. — The air crew who used their U.S. Navy warplane to create a vulgar sky writing above the town of Okanogan, Washington, this week have been grounded, the U.S. Navy said Friday. An electronic warfare plane from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in western Washington state created sky writings in the shape of…
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Officials: Student killed confronting shooter at Washington high school
ROCKFORD, Wash. — A student who opened fire in a hallway at a Washington state high school killed a classmate who confronted him Wednesday and wounded three others before being stopped by a staff member, authorities said. The suspect, who a classmate described as being obsessed with previous school shootings, was taken into custody. The…
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Ash covers Oregon cities, wildfire smoke chokes U.S. West
TROUTDALE, Ore. — A growing Oregon wildfire covered parts of Portland’s metropolitan area Tuesday with ash and forced the shutdown of a lengthy stretch of highway through the state’s scenic Columbia River Gorge. It was one of dozens of wildfires burning in western U.S. states that sent smoke into cities from Seattle to Denver —…
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Tunnel with nuclear waste collapses in Washington state
SPOKANE, Wash. — A portion of an underground tunnel containing rail cars filled with radioactive waste collapsed Tuesday at a sprawling storage facility in a remote area of Washington state, forcing an evacuation of some workers at the site that made plutonium for nuclear weapons for decades after World War II. Officials detected no release…
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Environmentalists sue over reactor
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Three environmental groups sued a state agency Thursday over the effects of the Northwest’s only commercial nuclear power plant on the water quality of the Columbia River. The Northwest Environmental Defense Center, Northwest Environmental Advocates, and Columbia Riverkeeper filed the lawsuit in Thurston County Superior Court against the Washington Energy Facility…
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Live like a Copper King in Butte, Mont.
BUTTE, Mont. — A scandal over the fortune of reclusive mining heiress Huguette Clark has renewed interest in the life of her father, copper magnate William A. Clark, once one of the nation’s richest men. The scandal has also brought more attention to the 34-room mansion that W.A. Clark built in Butte more than a…
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Scientists propose 1-way trips to Mars
PULLMAN, Wash. — Invoking the spirit of “Star Trek” in a scholarly article entitled “To Boldly Go,” two scientists contend human travel to Mars could happen much more quickly and cheaply if the missions are made one-way. They argue that it would be little different from early settlers to North America, who left Europe with…
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Asbestos-coated Libby, Mont., gets federal cleanup
LIBBY, Mont. – Yvonne Resch remembers thinking as a child that the vermiculite mine only added to the area’s natural beauty – its lights on Zonolite Mountain looked like a castle. But the mine and its processing plants spewed asbestos over her town for more than 70 years, coating homes, schools and ball fields. Now…