DEP concerned about pace of Freedom Industries cleanup

Managers of bankrupt Freedom Industries continue to work toward getting their Elk River facility into a voluntary industrial remediation program, but Department of Environmental Protection officials want the company more focused on actually cleaning up contaminated soil at the site of the January chemical spill that polluted the drinking-water supply for hundreds of thousands of people.

Scott Mandirola, director of the DEP Division of Water and Waste Management, said he has been concerned about the possibility that some cleanup work could be delayed while the company worked to establish its eligibility for the agencys Voluntary Remediation Program.

It appears that we should have been moving faster down the remediation pathway, said Mandirola, whose staff has been overseeing the cleanup since the Jan. 9 spill of a mixture of Crude MCHM and other chemicals at Freedoms tank facility. Im looking for a little more in terms of when are you going to start digging?

Last week, Freedom submitted an updated plan to DEP to outline its proposal for more soil and groundwater testing that will help determine how much remediation work needs to be done. And today, Freedom hopes to begin cutting apart and tearing down the last of its chemical storage tanks.

But on Tuesday, the company faces a hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ronald Pearson, who early this month issued a strongly worded order questioning whether Freedom was really committed to the cleanup. Pearson complained that Freedom was spending too much on lawyers and other professionals, wasnt making adequate progress at the site, and had warned in bankruptcy court filings that it might abandon the Elk River facility if cleanup costs appeared to be coming in too high.

Pearson ordered Freedom officials to appear in court prepared to answer serious questions about the extent to which the company intends to comply with existing demolition and cleanup orders and pay necessary environmental administrative claims to do so.

The dispute over Freedoms cleanup efforts comes just three months after Pearson had proclaimed in a formal court order that Freedom had been working conscientiously and diligently to implement a cost effective and safe means for demolition and cleanup at the site, located just 1.5 miles upstream from West Virginia American Waters regional drinking water intake.

Freedom contractors have removed most of the more than a dozen chemical storage tanks that stood at the companys Etowah Terminal prior to the Jan. 9 spill. Four tanks that remain were being used for storage of stormwater runoff while Freedom worked out a deal to ship that waste to the Charleston Sanitary Board, for treatment and disposal in the Kanawha River. The next phase for Freedom is removing those four tanks. Stormwater will then be collected in temporary storage tanks.

The companys new, 161-page Remediation Delineation and Investigation Work Plan, submitted to DEP last week, spells out a plan for additional contamination testing at the site, leading up to submission in December of an application for the site to enter DEPs voluntary cleanup program.

If allowed to proceed in this program, Freedom could have to meet less-stringent contamination standards than under existing DEP enforcement orders. Under existing orders, Freedom likely would have to clean up the Elk River site to the point where no MCHM can be detected in soil left at the location. Under the voluntary program, the cleanup standard would be a risk-based one, which would depend on what sort of potential for human exposure exists based on the planned future use of the land.

Originally posted here:

DEP concerned about pace of Freedom Industries cleanup

Ukraine's FM calling for 'Coalition of Freedom'

Ukraine Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Monday that the brazen Russian invasion of his country has him proposing a new "Coalition of Freedom," to defend democracy and Western values in a troubled world.

"It is about security for everyone," said Klimkin, during an exclusive Fox News interview on the eve of world leaders gathering in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. "If someone in this interchangeable and intertwined world cannot feel secure, how can U.S. citizens here feel secure?"

He says that Ukraine is confrontinga threat any nation can face, adding "we need a network of security." His proposed Coalition of Freedom would consist of "countries which are committed to freedom, to democratic values, where we are not talking about spheres of influence, but the values and real interests of democratic countries."

Klimkin said he faults the world body for failing to confront what he called Russia's invasion of Crimea, and eastern Ukraine. He also said that the West was effectively caught flat-footed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's shocking territorial conquest of parts of his country.

"I believe that NATO, the U.S. and the European Union were not ready for such developments, which have taken place around Crimea and now in Donetsk and Luhansk. Now all of us clearly understand the depths of these events."

Klimkin also is calling for "a fundamental change for the U.N.," which has been impotent in the wake of the first European invasion of another country since Adolf Hitler tested British, French and American resolve with the Nazi invasions of the 1930's.

"If you see the whole inflow of mercenaries, money, weapons and heavy weapons into Ukraine, and it's all coming across the Ukraine-Russian border, if you see the presence of Russian troops and Russian heavy weaponry on our territory, it is an act of aggression."

Despite Russia's occupation of his country, Klimkin says Ukraine has "the solidarity of the Western world."

Supporters of Ukraine in Congress are also going beyond siding with Kiev in its fight against Moscow by seeking to provide military arms the country's forces need to face the Russian backed rebels.

President Obama has so far decided to only send non-lethal supplies to the Ukrainian military. The administration is reportedly concerned that weapons shipments would only embolden Putin even further.

Read this article:

Ukraine's FM calling for 'Coalition of Freedom'

President Aquino receives Freedom Medal in Germany

Aquino receives the medal for his successful reforms in the areas of education, anti-corruption, and rule of law

FREEDOM MEDAL. Dr. Wolfgang Gerhardt, Chairman of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, awards the Freedom Medal to President Benigno S. Aquino III. Photo from FNF

MANILA, Philippines President Benigno S. Aquino III was awarded the Friedrich-Naumann-Freedom-medal in Berlin on Saturday, September 20.

Aquino received the medal for his successful reforms in the areas of education, anti-corruption, and rule of law. "His presidency is a clear indication of the endeavor for change and freedom by the liberal forces in the Philippines," said Dr. Wolfgang Gerhardt, Chairman of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF).

FNF is a German foundation working for good governance, human rights and market economy, with more than 60 projects across the globe. It has worked together with liberal partners in the Philippines since 1986.

The medal is awarded to outstanding personalities who engage themselves for more democracy, human rights, and market economy in partnership with the Foundation. In the past the medal was awarded, amongst others, to Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha, Western Cape Prime Minister Helen Zille and Liberal International President Hans van Baalen.

This prestigious medal is recognition from Germany and Europe of the tremendous progress that the Philippines made since 2010 in fighting corruption and promoting good governance. This also made the country more attractive for foreign investments and promoted economic growth, Jules Maaten, FNF Philippines Country Director, said. Rappler.com/Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom

View original post here:

President Aquino receives Freedom Medal in Germany

Freedom to read

To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the Harry Potter series all classic childhood favorites, right?

Theyre also among some of the most historically challenged and banned books in the United Statesproof that one persons idea of a masterpiece might be offensive and vulgar to another reader.

National Banned Books Week, which runs through Saturday, celebrates the freedom to read books such as these. Throughout the week, libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events.

Check out The Bookworm of Edwards banned books display or head to the Vail Public Library to catch the movie version of various banned books, including titles such as Matilda and The Color Purple.

Whats in a ban?

Books are considered banned when a library, organization or school somewhere has removed a book from its shelves based on objections someone has raised. A book is considered challenged if a person or group has raised objections to it, but the book was ultimately not removed.

The reasons behind bans and challenges vary, but often center around offensive language, adult themes or racism. To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the Vail Public Library movie showings, falls under most of those categories.

Thats actually one book I really like, said Liz Willhoff, of the Vail Public Library. I read it multiple times in school for different classes. I think its very well written and is a book Ive always loved, but its frequently challenged, I think as recently as 2011.

Most libraries are supportive of the freedom to read, so theyre unlikely to remove a book based on content. However, teachers sometimes have to tread more carefully with the books they assign to their students.

Saundra Borel, who teaches reading intervention and AP English at Battle Mountain High School, said Eagle County teachers are allowed to choose titles they think are appropriate for their specific population and age groups.

See original here:

Freedom to read

Run for your rights!

All set for Freedom of Information run on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014!

By Cong B. Corrales

Ready, set, and go for our right to know.

Get your running shoes ready for Tanglaw Run for Freedom of Information next Saturday, October 4, at the Quirino Granstand in Manila City.

The run begins at 5 oclock in the morning so stretch and limber up early. The name tanglaw symbolizes the contribution of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) community in giving light to pressing social concerns. This year, the run focuses on a strategic governance and reform measure that has drawn broad and strong public support the peoples right to know.

The fun run, an annual advocacy project of the Federation of Alumni Associations in PUP, Inc. (FEDAAPI), will be held next week coordination with Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition. It will banner the issue of the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill.

To register click the photo below.

THIS BIB is yours if you join the fun run

You may also check out the events Facebook page.

The fun run is open to all Iskolar ng Bayan, faculty members, employees and PUP alumni from all other state universities and colleges (SUCs), as well as all groups and organizations that support the Peoples Freedom of Information Bill.

Read the rest here:

Run for your rights!

Why Oh Why Can't We Have A Better Economist Corps?

It is an insufficiently remarked-upon fact that John Maynard Keynes was a vigorous and lifelong promoter of eugenics. Outside of the immorality of this position, it can be said to cast a pall on his entire work because, as Bryan Caplan noted, support for eugenics betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of one of the foundational doctrines of economics, which is the law of comparative advantage. A society where everyone was a genius would be worse off than a society with both geniuses and non-geniuses, because of comparative advantage. Societies thrive when people have complementary skillsets so that each person can do what theyre best at. Everyone contributes. Without non-geniuses, geniuses could not be geniuses.

A second prolegomenon: believe it or not, I dont dislike Brad DeLong. He and I had mostly pleasant conversations when he followed me on Twitter. I praised his health care plan (although I remain puzzled by his support for Obamacare, which takes Americas healthcare system in precisely the opposite direction).

Anyhoo

Frequent readers will know that one of my persistent worries is the worlds underpopulation, and our slowing population growth.

On Twitter, Tyler Cowen pointed to a new piece of research which suggests global population might not be slowing as much as we thought. As he noted, this is good for people like the economist Julian Simon and myself who believe that more population leads to more prosperity since, as Simon memorably put it, people are the ultimate resource.

This is what DeLong had to say in response:

One is at a loss as to what to say, exactly.

Obviously, there is, first, the casual prejudice. The implicit subtext is clearly that women who want >3 children are idjits part if idjit cultures where people do idjit things like, for example, believing in God.

Obviously, there is the self-evident fact that even if DeLongs premise were true,maybe their children would be tied into idea-generating network[s], whatever that means, which is, presumably, one of the things that is desired when it comes to population growth.

Excerpt from:

Why Oh Why Can't We Have A Better Economist Corps?

Toyota Eco Youth sees big projects

22nd September, 2014

SHAH ALAM: Collaboration for change is the key theme in this years Toyota Eco Youth (TEY) challenge, an environmental competition among secondary schools.

Initiated in 2001, the nationwide competition involving sixteen schools required participating teams to seek environmental problems in their community and find solutions for them.

In their 12th year this year, the TEY programme is one of the key CSR pillars of UMW Toyota Motor.

One of the key elements of the eco-challenge is the Toyotas 8-step Problem Solving Methodology, which provides clear guidelines on how to identify a problem, find possible solutions and monitor the situation to ensure it works.

Initially targeting the environmental problems in school, TEY was extended to include environmental problems in the local community in 2011.

Environmental awareness remains low among most Malaysians, mainly because most people feel problems such as littering, erosion, clogged drains, polluted riverways and others are the responsibilities of the municipal councils.

Instead of waiting and complaining, the TEY drives students to take proactive steps in seeking out solutions for their community.

During the onsite judging, the TEY committee was pleasantly surprised to find participating schools taking on relatively big projects such as transforming a contaminated back street in Machang, Kelantan into an Art Street.

Previously a filthy, rat-infested zone, Lorong Che Mek Molek is now a tourist attraction after the students from SMK Hamzah 2 gave the drainage system and pathway a complete overhaul and painted it with colourful murals.

Original post:

Toyota Eco Youth sees big projects

Cris Cyborg (Chute Box) adventures training Muay Thai in Thailand – Video


Cris Cyborg (Chute Box) adventures training Muay Thai in Thailand
http://www.criscyborg.com Cris Cyborg WMMA Invicta FC Champion goes on an adventure while training Muay Thai in Thailand. This Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) World Champion eats a scorpion on...

By: Cristiane Justino

See the article here:

Cris Cyborg (Chute Box) adventures training Muay Thai in Thailand - Video

Cyborg to Return at Invicta 10, Honchak-Hashi Headlines Invicta 9

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Fans have eagerly awaited news on the return of Cris "Cyborg" Justino, and the UFC delivered today.

According to UFC.com, Cyborg is set to make her return to Invicta at its 10th event, which will take place December 5. The venue, location and an opponent have not yet been announced.

Cyborg is arguably the second-biggest draw in women'sMMA behind only Ronda Rousey. She will be making her awaited drop to 135 pounds, likely in the pursuit of a title match with Rousey in the near future.

Cyborg has had just two bouts with Invicta thus far. In her debut, she smashed Fiona Muxlow and followed that up with a Invicta FC Featherweight Championship win over Marloes Coenen.

In terms of opponents for Cyborg, there doesn't seem to be many options. Ediane Gomes was an option until her submission loss to Tonya Evinger, so Evinger herself may fight Cyborg. Other than that, there is a major lack of depth in Invicta due to the number of top fighters who migrated to the UFC.

Obviously, a successful weight cut, clean drug test and impressive performance would likely earn her an immediate go-around with her rival Rousey.

In addition to the news on Cyborg's return, a date, location and main event have been announced for Invicta 9.

Barb Honchak will defend her flyweight title against Japanese veteran Takayo Hashi in the main event. The card takes place November 1 in Davenport, Iowa.

This marks the first time Invicta has ventured outside of Kansas City. All eight cards were held there, but with the addition of UFC Fight Pass and the demand for more Invicta events by fans, the company has opted to take the show on the road.

Go here to read the rest:

Cyborg to Return at Invicta 10, Honchak-Hashi Headlines Invicta 9

Lifeguard claims dog owners breached zone during rally

Sept. 22, 2014, 5:26 p.m.

A professional lifeguard has waded into the controversial dogs-on-beaches debate after snapping photos of community campaigners walking their dogs in a restricted zone.

Professional lifeguard Ken Holloway was unhappy to see dogs being walked in a restricted area, right, after Sundays pro-dog rally. Picture: KIRK GILMOUR

A professional lifeguard has waded into the controversial dogs-on-beaches debate after snapping photos of community campaigners walking their dogs in a restricted zone.

Around 2000 people took to McCauleys Beach on Sunday to rally against proposed changes to Wollongong City Councils dogs on beaches and parks policy, which would strip northern Illawarra dog owners of three off-leash beach areas.

The walk aimed to show public support for keeping Sharkeys, Little Austi and McCauleys as off-leash beaches, but drew the ire of lifeguard Ken Holloway when he noticed a small number of owners walking their dogs in restricted areas.

Mr Holloway, who had been tending to an injured surfer with other Sandon Point Surf Life Saving Club members at the time, said he was unsure if it was ignorance or just total disregard that caused them to flout the dog ban.

Thousands hit McCauleys in support of dog beaches: photos

After the dog owners had their say, did their walk and got all of the publicity ...a number of them chose to walk back around the rocks over the rock platform [at Sandon Point], he said.

It is not just enough to have their area where they can exercise their dogs, they want to push the envelope and go to other areas which have been set aside for good reasons.

View original post here:

Lifeguard claims dog owners breached zone during rally

Roger Ptak: 1938-2014: Physics professor at BGSU led astronomy department

Published: Monday, 9/22/2014

BY JIM SIELICKI BLADE STAFF WRITER

BOWLING GREEN Retired Bowling Green State University physics professor Roger Ptak, who directed the university's astronomy department and was sought after for his insights on celestial events, died Friday in Corning, N.Y., in an accident.

Mr. Ptak, 76, was struck by a vehicle outside a restaurant where he had stopped while returning home to Northport, Maine, from a visit in Ohio, his wife, Donna said.

He joined BGSU in 1968 after teaching two years as an assistant professor at Depauw University in Greencastle, Ind. He taught and conducted research into quasars and related galaxies at BGSU for nearly 30 years.

In retirement, he continued to write a monthly astronomy column, Stardust, for newspapers in Bryan and Bowling Green and in Maine, said his wife.

His last column touched on the October skies and the upcoming lunar eclipse.

His true passion was the celestial sky and communicating his love of the stars to the public in his monthly column, his daughter Marcianna Ptak Delaney wrote in a tribute to her father.

After moving to Northport, Maine, in 1998, he kept two telescopes at the house: one for nighttime viewing and a second to examine the sun, his wife said.

He liked to travel and he loved to read and listen to music of all kinds, Donna Ptak said.

Originally posted here:

Roger Ptak: 1938-2014: Physics professor at BGSU led astronomy department

NASA's MESSENGER Spacecraft Headed For Mercury Impact

After three and a half years in orbit around Mercury the tiny shriveled and pockmarked orb that boasts temperatures in excess of 650 degrees NASAs MESSENGER mission to our solar systems innermost planet is headed for a controlled late March 2015 surface impact.

The spacecraft is getting closer to the planet than weve ever been which helps our [surface] composition measurements a lot, said David Lawrence, a MESSENGER science team member at Johns Hopkins Universitys Applied Physics Lab (APL). Between now and impact

Until the $450 million MESSENGER, Mercury rarely registered as a blip on most researchers radars. But scientists are now in the process of sorting through a plethora of new data about the planet.

Artists rendering of the MESSENGER spacecraft orbiting Mercury (Credit: Wikipedia)

Mercury is an oddball planet of contradictions, said David Blewett, a MESSENGER science team member also at APL, which NASA contracted to build and operate the mission. It has a huge iron core, but the surface rocks are almost totally bereft of iron. Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun, yet it has a polar cap in the form of ice(s) lurking in the eternal darkness of polar craters.

And although Mercury has no apparent current tectonic or volcanic activity; in its distant past, after formation and cooling; the planet did shrink in a manner not unlike a shriveled orange.

Mercurys surface also has hundreds of surface hollows no deeper than a km, says Lawrence, who notes that they cover the planet. You dont see these hollows on any other planet in the solar system, he said. Theyre not craters and they dont look like volcanoes.

Blewett says they have shapes similar to certain depressions found on the South polar cap of Mars Mars, who points out that as the Sun warms the Red Planets surface, these Martian features form from the transformation of carbon dioxide from ice and into a gaseous state. It appears that a similar process is happening on Mercury, says Blewett, but instead of ice being lost, it is solid rock.

As the planet closest to the Sun, however, Lawrence said he would have expected such volatile elements, like sodium, chlorine and sulfur, to have already been baked off the surface. Yet he notes that surprisingly thats not the case.

But compared to the Moon, Mercury doesnt have a lot of compositional surface variability, said Lawrence. In visible light, Mercury is kind of dark gray, bland and uniform.

Read the original post:

NASA's MESSENGER Spacecraft Headed For Mercury Impact

Chemotherapy and Stereotactic Ablative Radiation (SABR) Consecutively May Be Promising Treatment Option for Patients …

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise San Francisco, September 15, 2014 For patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, the combination of chemotherapy and stereotactic ablative radiation (SABR) may be a promising treatment option, ultimately allowing them to undergo surgery that may not otherwise be an option, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncologys (ASTROs) 56th Annual Meeting.

Surgery is the only potentially curative therapy for individuals with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), the most common type of pancreatic cancer. However, pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, making surgical removal of the tumor or the organ challenging, if not impossible. In addition, many patients with locally-advanced pancreatic cancer may have microscopic spread of the disease to other parts of the body.

Currently, there is no standard of care for treating patients with pancreatic cancer for whom surgery is not an option. Chemotherapy plays an important role in addressing microscopic disease. Stereotactic ablative radiation (SABR), with its shorter treatment times and precision that lowers the risk of damage to normal cells, is a promising treatment modality for patients with locally advanced PDA.

This prospective, single-arm, phase II clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of induction chemotherapy followed by SABR in 34 patients who had biopsy-proven PDA. Eighteen patients had borderline resectable PDA (the cancer was primarily located within the pancreas), and 16 patients had locally advanced PDA (the cancer had spread into nearby blood vessels). The average patient age was 71, and 56 percent of the patients were women.

Induction chemotherapy, consisting of gemcitabine and capecitabine, was administered over four, 21-day cycles to 31 of the 34 (91 percent) of the patients. Three of the patients did not complete chemotherapyone died after consent but prior to chemotherapy; one died during chemotherapy because of an arterial occlusion; and one had a myocardial infarction prior to completion of the four courses of chemotherapy.

As evidenced by CT scan, the cancer did not grow or spread in all 31 patients who completed chemotherapy, thus all patients received three SABR treatments of 36 Gy each, including a 2mm expansion around the gross tumor. Four weeks following SABR, radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists and medical oncologists made a multidisciplinary decision as to whether each patients tumor could then be surgically removed.

Of the 31 patients, 12 (40 percent) proceeded to pancreaticoduodenectomy (commonly referred to as the Whipple procedure, which removes the head of the pancreas, part of the small intestine, the gallbladder, the end of the common bile duct and sometimes a portion of the stomach). Ninety percent of patients who had surgery (11) had no local disease after surgery.

Ultimately, for this patient population, the findings translate to approximately 90 percent chance of local disease control at 1 year, and >20 months free of any disease recurrence. This is a promising treatment option that may prove not only to be more effective than chemotherapy alone prior to surgery, it may also be better than chemotherapy and standard radiation, said lead study author Kimmen Quan, MD, a radiation oncologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Patients tolerated the chemotherapy and SABR regimen quite well, with excellent quality of life during treatment. These results appear to translate into better control of disease in the pancreatic region and a longer freedom from disease recurrence. This combination should be considered for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, which is still treatable disease, and could potentially improve survival in this patient population.

Read the original:

Chemotherapy and Stereotactic Ablative Radiation (SABR) Consecutively May Be Promising Treatment Option for Patients ...