Disasters

"Company Defends Chief in Bhopal Disaster"

"Union Carbide is defending its former chief executive now wanted for arrest in India, saying that managers at the company’s plant in Bhopal could not have anticipated a gas leak that killed 10,000 people 25 years ago."

Disasters

Public

International

Source: NYTimes, 08/04/2009

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Without Warning System, Communities Blind to Toxic Disaster

A July 26 McClatchy story about an ammonia spill that killed one in South Carolina is similar to others that could be told in other U.S. states.

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TVA IG Says Agency Let Lawyers Stifle $3 Million Study on Coal-Ash Spill Causes

An investigation by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee indicates the Tennessee Valley Authority opted not to make changes that could have prevented the massive December 2008 spill.

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WatchDog TipSheet

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Disasters

Energy & Fuel

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"Poisonous Gas From African Lake Poses Threat To Millions"

"More than two million people living on the banks of Lake Kivu in central Africa are at risk of being asphyxiated by gases building up beneath its surface, scientists have warned."

Disasters

Public

Africa

Source: Observer, 07/28/2009

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"Infectious Diseases Study Site Questioned"

"The Department of Homeland Security relied on a rushed, flawed study to justify its decision to locate a $700 million research facility for highly infectious pathogens in a tornado-prone section of Kansas, according to a government report."

Disasters

Public

National (U.S.)

Source: Wash Post, 07/27/2009

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Nuke Scanners at Ports Failed To Protect

The nation's program to detect nuclear devices and materials being smugggled into the country by terrorists went "off the rails" during the Bush administration and left the nation unprotected.

Disasters

Public

National (U.S.)

Source: Greenwire, 07/27/2009

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"Quake, Tsunami Potential High On U.S. West Coast"

"Scientists have underestimated the potential for a giant quake and tsunami that could swamp much the U.S. northwest and Canadian west coasts, British and U.S. researchers said on Monday."

Disasters

Public

National (U.S.)

Source: Reuters, 07/22/2009

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Toolbox: Homeland Security Daily Infrastructure Report

Reporters interested in following the hazards of dams, refineries, chemical plants, pipelines, and other infrastructure may find story leads in DHS reports.

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Nuclear Power & Radiation

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"A Decade After Storm, Minnesota Wild Rejuvenates"

"On July 4, 1999, a storm devastated the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota and killed millions of trees. Now, the forest is growing back." Everybody who was there 10 years ago has a story.

Disasters

Public

Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI)

Source: NPR, 07/08/2009

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The Devastation Ran Clear Down to Plaquemines

By Amy Wold

Two days after Hurricane Katrina, my editor called me over to his desk and pointed to a place on the map below New Orleans. He said, "Try to get somewhere in this area."

At the time there were four adults, two dogs and two children (some of whom were New Orleans evacuees) staying in my onebedroom home so getting "somewhere in this area" sounded like a really good idea.

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