EPA found unready for terrorism. An internal assessment of the Environmental Protection Agency's response to the 11 Sept. terrorist attacks concluded the EPA is "not fully prepared" to handle a large-scale nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological assault. In general, the EPA was successful in protecting front line responders and residents from dust and contaminants released after hijacked commercial airliners crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Their response was hampered by unprecedented demands on the agency's emergency resources and a limited capacity to respond to terrorist activities according to the report. The report strongly suggests that if the terrorist attacks had involved the use of chemical, nuclear or biological materials, the EPA emergency response teams would have been seriously overwhelmed. The study was commissioned by EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman to determine the "lessons learned" in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. (Washington Post, 9 Jul) Tanker opens new chapter in US energy supplies. The first Russian oil tanker arrived in Houston, TX, further reducing America's dependence on the Mideast. Crude oil, from Russia's Black Sea, was being transferred here to smaller tankers bound for Baytown and Beaumont - and all points beyond. It was the first-ever Russian shipment of oil to the US, and experts hailed it as a small but important step in reducing the country's dependence on Middle Eastern oil, long a concern to US officials. In 1980, only 34.5 percent of US oil imports came from the Western Hemisphere (mainly Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela). But in recent years, the US has been quietly turning away from Middle East suppliers and toward other countries - from West Africa to the deep waters off Brazil - for oil. Today, crude oil imports from Western nations make up almost 50 percent of the US market. (Christian Science Monitor, 9 Jul) Federal agency starts process of taking on Sea-Tac security. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) this week will begin a process leading to the federal takeover of passenger security operations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). It is one of 111 airports where federal teams will conduct initial studies of existing security arrangements and baggage-screening activity. TSA is under a mandate to federalize the security forces at American airports by 19 Nov. and begin to screen all baggage for explosives by 31 Dec. The security agency said recruiting and training a security work force would take at least five weeks once the initial assessment is complete. (The News Tribune, 9 Jul) After years of debate, Congress approves sending nation's nuclear waste to Nevada site. Despite the state's fervent protests, on 9 July the Senate voted 60-39, to entomb thousands of tons of radioactive waste inside Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert. The vote cleared the way to proceed with the project that has been studied for more than two decades. Nevada's senators, against the Yucca waste dump, argued that the issue was much broader than Nevada. They hoped concerns over thousands of waste shipments crossing 43 states would sway some lawmakers, but were disappointed. The fight over Yucca Mountain does not end with the vote on Capitol Hill. Nevada has filed six lawsuits challenging the project. The Department of Energy must still get a license for the facility from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a process that that could take up to five years. (Associated Press, 9 Jul) Some say pills poor remedy in nuclear disaster. Fewer than half the states eligible for free pills that can protect people from thyroid cancer after a nuclear disaster have taken the federal government up on its offer. A federal program that offers two free potassium iodide pills to an estimated 4.5 million people who live within 10 miles of a nuclear plant has created confusion. More than six months after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced the program, only 15 of the 33 states that qualify have asked for the pills. Some states have rejected the program, saying it gives people a false sense of security that could hinder evacuations. Others are distributing the pills now or hoarding them in secret locations. And some don't want to participate because the pills don't provide enough protection to everyone who could be affected. (USA Today, 8 Jul) NJ pilot background check bill goes to the governor for final approval. The New Jersey Legislature has sent a bill to Governor James McGreevey requiring criminal background checks on any pilot seeking any type of flight training. Specifically, the bill requires even a certificated pilot seeking as little as an hour of refresher training before a biennial flight review will have to submit to being fingerprinted and undergo a criminal background and identity check. Prospective students and pilots seeking an advanced rating face similar checks. (Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Assoc., 3 Jul)
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