Friday, January 9, 2015

Nebraska Supreme Court OKs Keystone Pipeline Path- and other news

Nebraska Supreme Court OKs Keystone Pipeline Path

Jan 9, 2015   Bloomberg

TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline faces one less hurdle after Nebraska’s highest court cleared its path through the state, sending the matter back to Washington.

The pipeline would funnel crude from Alberta’s oil sands to a network junction in southeast Nebraska, for transport to Gulf Coast refineries. While the ruling is a victory for energy independence proponents, the project’s fate remains uncertain.

It now returns to President Barack Obama, who had put off a decision citing the pending lawsuit. Later today, the House of Representatives plans to vote on a bill that would force approval of the pipeline.....    more here 

Keystone bill gets panel OK, setting up major Senate fight


Ed note:  350.org is moving up their planned “Reject Keystone XL Now” petition delivery to the White House. They want to show the President that a huge number of people are counting on him to stand firm on this.   If you haven’t signed the petition yet,  -- click here to add your name before the delivery: act.350.org/sign/reject-keystone-xl-now/

CDC Recommends Respiratory Protection for Derailment Responders

ohsonline.com   Jan 09, 2015

CDC's MMWR publication this week featured a detailed report on an assessment of the emergency personnel who responded to the scene of a New Jersey train derailment in November 2012 that resulted in a release of vinyl chloride. The paper's 10 authors work at the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service, NIOSH, the New Jersey Department of Health, and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

They describe the evaluations the NJDH, ATSDR, and CDC conducted of health effects experienced by 93 responders after exposure to the chemical, which is used in plastics manufacturing. Four cars had derailed into a tidal creek, and one of them carrying vinyl chloride was breached. "Acute exposure can cause respiratory irritation and headache, drowsiness, and dizziness; chronic occupational exposure can result in liver damage, accumulation of fat in the liver, and tumors (including angiosarcoma of the liver)," according to their report, which said the New Jersey agency sought assistance from the federal ones because the health effects associated with acute exposures have not been well studied.

Teams from the agencies surveyed the responders and found that 26 percent of them experienced headaches and upper respiratory symptoms during the response. Only 22 percent of them said they had worn respiratory protection during the incident, and 21 respondents sought a medical evaluation....  more here 


The Fight to Stop a Boom in California's Crude by Rail


Crude-by-rail has increased 4,000 percent across the country since 2008 and California is feeling the effects. By 2016 the amount of crude by rail entering the state is expected to increase by a factor of 25. That's assuming the industry gets its way in creating more crude-by-rail stations at refineries and oil terminals. And that's no longer looking like a sure thing.....   more here

 

Oil leak affects hundreds of birds in northwest Ohio

Springfield News-Sun  01/07/15

BRYAN, Ohio —  Authorities in far northwest Ohio say hundreds of birds have been rescued from the area where waste oil leaked from a storage tank into a creek.

WTOL-TV in Toledo  reports an unknown amount of oil leaked from storage at the Titan Tire Corporation in Bryan, about 55 miles west of Toledo. The Environmental Protection Agency put out absorbent booms to help contain and clean up the spill.....   more here

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