skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Tennessee Resident Remains Concerned about Nuclear Facility

play audio
Play

Wednesday, May 6, 2015   

ERWIN, Tenn. - One resident of northeast Tennessee is speaking out against what she says is a questionable safety record of Nuclear Fuel Services located in Erwin.

The manufacturing facility makes materials for the U.S. Navy and for private companies. Recently the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced it was returning the facility to a regular inspection schedule, after having an extra inspector in place. That concerns Barbara O'Neal who grew up in the area.

"I was born and raised there," she said. "It's really my hometown, and I feel that the people have been told by the NRC for years that everything was OK."

O'Neal recently moved away from Erwin because of her concerns about safety, citing public documents that detail incidents at the facility where the environment was exposed to toxic materials.

The National Academy of Sciences is conducting a study of cancer risks in Erwin and at five other nuclear facilities around the nation. A spokeswoman from the NRC said the government is reducing the number of inspectors present at the facility to one because of an improved safety and compliance record.

NFS did not return requests for comment for this story.

O'Neal said she has analyzed thousands of pages of public documents that detail incidents of spills and releases of pollutants that exceed the legal limits. She said much of the information wasn't available until 2004, and even what she can obtain lacks some details.

"There is not that much available," she said. "The NRC has kept information like inspection reports, effluent releases - they've kept all of that stuff away from the public for years."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says some documents and information regarding inspections was removed from the public domain because of security concerns. In April, NFS had an unplanned chemical reaction in a storage area. No one was hurt and the incident is under investigation.

An unrelated government investigation in 2006 discovered there was a uranium solution leak into an elevator shaft that could have caused a nuclear reaction.

More information on the cancer study is online at dels.nas.edu. More information on the NRC is at nrc.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021