February 23, 1999
1) Anniston Could Be In Line For $2 Billion Uranium Plant
2) Ozone Highlighted In the Mobile Register
3) Lead "The Hidden Danger" Some Shocking Figures
4) No Till Gardening: A Creative Enviro Garden
5) Explore the Northern Gulf Coast With Dr. George Folkerts
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1. Fort McClellan = $2 Billion Uranium Plant? - According
to an Anniston Star
exclusive, a site at Fort McClellan is in the running for a $2
billion plant
that would enrich uranium fuel for nuclear reactors. The plant
could
eventually employ more than 1300 people. The operator of the plant
would be
the United States Enrichment Corp (USEC), a company that supplies
about 75%
of the enriched uranium used in nuclear plants in the U.S. and
about 40% of
the enriched uranium used wordwide. The plant would only make
material for
civilian power reactors, not for weapons-building purposes.
In October, USEC announced that it had begun looking for a
site to build a
plant that would enrich uranium for civilian reactors using a
process called
Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Seperation or AVLIS. Currently USEC
is narrowing a
reported 12 to 15 entrants and then pick a winner in the next
few months. The
presence of current environmental impact studies could have a
significant
impact on the selection process. Fort McClellan has conducted
an
environmental baseline survey.
For more information on this project, visit the Anniston Star
website at:
http://www.annistonstar.com/news/news_19990222_2143.html
To learn more about
USEC visit their site at: http://www.usec.com/home.html
2. Ozone Pollution Highlighted In Mobile Register -
The dramatic impact air
pollution has on the residents of Mobile was highlighted in this
Sunday's
Mobile Register. In the article written by Daniel Cusick, the
American Lung
Association estimated that nearly 40% of Mobile County's population
is at
risk of serious health problems from smog. They include 22,000
persons with
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 84,000 children under age
14 and
about 51,000 people over age 65.
As a result of EPA's stricter and more protective health standards,
smaller
cities such as Mobile and Huntsville are in danger of making EPA's
non-attainment list for ozone air pollution.
3. Lead "The Hidden Danger" Some Shocking Figures
- Check out this shocking
environmental health figure obtained by BEN from the Public Health
Department.
"Most children who have lead poisoning do not look or
act sick, yet, at least
ONE IN 11 CHILDREN, ages 1-6, tested in Alabama has lead poisoning.
Lead poisoning in children can cause lower IQ's, shortened
attention spans,
hyperactivity, irritability, learning problems, growth and development
problems and anemia. High exposure to lead can cause permanent
mental
retardation, convulsions, coma and death. The main sources of
lead poisoning
are lead - based paint, dust, soil and water. For more information
on Lead
Poisoning Prevention call Geraldine Sheffield at the Jeffco Department
of
Health -205-930-1445 or Judy Waters from the Alabama State Department
of
Health at 334-206-2966.
If you want to do something about lead poisoning in Alabama
contact BEN at
pkbyington@aol.com or
205-226-7739.
4. No-Till Gardening - A Creative Enviro. Garden - My
good friend Hugh Walker
from Florence, Alabama this past weekend sent me information about
his
company's new "No-Till Garden Kits". Hugh's company
is called Xton and they
are famous in Florence for handling all the city's compost. It
is a top
notch program which has been regionally and nationally recognized.
Xton's No-Till Garden Kit will provide the following environmental
benefits -
no ground pest control, no root damage from tilling, conserves
ground
moisture, creates an Earth Worm haven, does not disturb the natural
balance
of life in soil and it provides a larger yield in a smaller area.
Spring is rapidly coming upon us and now is the time to be
planning your
garden. I strongly recommend folks to visit Xton's website and
their No-Till
Garden Kits (by the way this site is incredible! - with a step
by step "how
to" kit demonstration). The website is: http://www.notillgarden.com/
5. Explore the Northern Gulf Coast with Dr. George Folkerts
- Another good
friend of mine Mark Bailey, formerly of the Nature Conservancy's
Natural
Heritage Program has started an environmental business in Alabama
called
ANHINGA. His company specializes in Natural History tours. This
summer
between June 12-26, ANHINGA will be offering "From Pascagoula
Marshes to
Cedar Key - The Natural History of the Northern Gulf Coast".
The tour will
be guided by Dr. George Folkerts from Auburn University and will
explore
areas such Alabama areas as the Black Belt, the Red Hills, the
Delta, Pitcher
Plant bogs, Weeks Bay and Dauphin Island (And yes, they will go
into
Mississppi and Florida).
A little information about George. I've known Dr. Folkerts
for almost 10
years, and I have never seen a teacher captivate and touch the
lives of his
students and an audience quite like George. His presentations
are passionate,
"moving" and life changing. Imagine such an experience
for 2 weeks!! It
will be a memorable journey.
Slots on the the tour are limited. If you are interested in
this fantastic
tour contact Mark Bailey at 334-727-2040 or e-mail tour@anhinga.com
for more
details. I also encourage folks to visit Mark's website and learn
more about
his business. ANHINGA provides several important environmental
services on
top of their Natural History tours. The site is: http://www.anhinga.com
Please share BEN with friends and fellow conservationists.
If you have any questions about BEN, contact Pat Byington at
205-226-7739 or pkbyington@aol.com
