In recent news, the New Mexico Environment Department has renewed the hazardous waste permit for the federal government's nuclear waste repository east of Carlsbad. The new permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant goes into effect Dec. 31. It is the first time the plant had received a permit renewal. The current permit was issued in 1999, the year it opened. The U.S. Department of Energy repository was excavated in salt beds 2,150 feet below the surface of the southeastern New Mexico desert. It buries waste such as gloves, tools, dried sludge and other debris contaminated, largely by plutonium, during weapons work. The material remains radioactive for tens of thousands of years.
The Environment Department's permit lets the plant dispose of mixed waste — items contaminated by chemicals as well as radioactivity. Such hazardous materials are regulated by the state, while the radioactive material is regulated by the federal government. The new permit makes a number of changes to the original one, including allowing higher levels of volatile organic compounds, said James Bearzi, chief of the Environment Department's Hazardous Waste Bureau. The new permit more than doubles the previous levels allowed, he said. It also expands public involvement and makes it easier for members of the public to stay informed about things at the plant as they happen, Bearzi said.
The plant is expected to receive about 28,000 shipments from DOE facilities around the nation through the year 2030.
What do you think about the Environment Department's permission to go through with this? Do you think there are any safety issues we should be concerned about? Do you think people will protest this renewel, like they did when the project was originally approved? What are your concerns regarding this?
-Noriega
Friday, December 3, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Homework Blog #7
Community activists hope to bring awareness and change to a police department they believe is too violent. The leaders of Copwatch, Vecinos United and Albuquerque Answer Coalition said this year's 12 shootings involving Albuquerque Police Department officers is too much and might constitute police brutality. They plan to hold a rally outside police headquarters at 4th Street and Roma Avenue NW on Friday at 3:30 p.m. It's part of a nationwide awareness campaign called National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality.
They said they want to send a message to the police department, community leaders and the citizens of Albuquerque. "There are some APD folks who aren't necessarily safe and who the community is scared of and it needs to change," said Derek Minnobloom who heads up Copwatch, a group that videotapes officers at work. "Traditionally if someone's got a camera on and there's five people watching they're going to act a little differently."
APD Chief Ray Schultz said he has no plans to address the rally Friday. He said he respects the activists' right to protest but questions their tactics. "I think they're trying to play on people's emotions," Schultz said. He said he wants the community to keep in mind that his officers have to make a split-second decision about how they're going to defend themselves. And Schultz said that guns are not always the weapon of choice. "Last year in 2009 the Albuquerque Police Department utilized the Taser in 190 applications," he said.
The activists have invited families of the 12 people shot by APD this year to attend the hour-long rally. Some are expected to attend.Later that evening, the group will walk down Central Avenue with their signs. Then Copwatch will hit the streets with their video cameras in hand.
Do you think that APD is becoming too violent? Do you think we should provide police officers with more training? What are your general thoughts on the use of aggression by the police. Do you think that rally is necessary?
-Noriega
They said they want to send a message to the police department, community leaders and the citizens of Albuquerque. "There are some APD folks who aren't necessarily safe and who the community is scared of and it needs to change," said Derek Minnobloom who heads up Copwatch, a group that videotapes officers at work. "Traditionally if someone's got a camera on and there's five people watching they're going to act a little differently."
APD Chief Ray Schultz said he has no plans to address the rally Friday. He said he respects the activists' right to protest but questions their tactics. "I think they're trying to play on people's emotions," Schultz said. He said he wants the community to keep in mind that his officers have to make a split-second decision about how they're going to defend themselves. And Schultz said that guns are not always the weapon of choice. "Last year in 2009 the Albuquerque Police Department utilized the Taser in 190 applications," he said.
The activists have invited families of the 12 people shot by APD this year to attend the hour-long rally. Some are expected to attend.Later that evening, the group will walk down Central Avenue with their signs. Then Copwatch will hit the streets with their video cameras in hand.
Do you think that APD is becoming too violent? Do you think we should provide police officers with more training? What are your general thoughts on the use of aggression by the police. Do you think that rally is necessary?
-Noriega
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