Children victims of Industrial Wasteland
On Sunday May 6th, a twelve-year-old child trespassed onto the transformer of the Usmeco plant, at Conches-en-Ouche in the French department Eure (Normandy). This former plant for the surface treatment of metals was the subject of bankruptcy eleven years ago. Despite the interventions from the ADEME (Environmental Agency and Energy Control), there are still dangerous materials inside and heavy metals and cyanides contaminated the soil. The site was not supervised and was not protected against intrusions. According to Robin des Bois, there are strong presumptions that the transformer was contaminated with PCB. If this is the case, it would have had to be eliminated at the latest at the end of year 2010. In any event, it is strange that a transformer inside the closed plant eleven years ago had been under voltage. Other transformers, on the property of Umesco could have been fractured in extracting some copper. The ground belongs to a SCI (real estate company) related to the former directors of Usmesco. The site of Usmesco is registered in the BASOL database that is updated by the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, and Energy. The BASOL database lists the sites and polluted grounds calling for a preventive or curative action of public powers.
For a Packaged Deal onboard Concordia I
Costa Concordia – Press release # 4
Tomorrow, Saturday May 26, in Marseille, will occur the maiden voyage of the MSC Divina, aka the new mass destruction weapon of the cruise industry. It means destruction of the pleasure of being at sea, of the environment, landscapes, and of human dignity. These tourist transports are like huge containers of tools for globalization and sociological mass phenomena. Sophia Loren will be the godmother of the MSC Divina. This is perhaps her best character, but not her best film.
Marie Curie’s radioactive waste
Marie Curie was an outstanding researcher and an adventuress of the atom. The President of the Republic chose to pay tribute again to the one who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for having discovered radium.
A century after this discovery, dozens of areas are polluted by radium residues throughout France. The location of these sites, radiological control, and extraction of contaminated materials consume a lot of money and time and face a major liability: lack of storage sites for radioactive waste from the first generation.
“Shipbreaking” # 27
“Shipbreaking” # 27, Robin des Bois’ periodical bulletin on ship demolition is available.
This edition contains inventories on the rush towards Asia of ships to be broken up, the prices of metal by country, portraits of the ex-Exxon Valdez and of the Pacific Princess gone for demolition in India and Turkey and the presentation of a ship-breaking facility project in Senegal.
74 pages of information and photos to discover the world of sea and shipping. (pdf – 3,9 Mo)
 Pacific Princess, the Love Boat is not enternaining anymore © ABC |
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Radium Water fountains: The hunt is open in the Lyon-Villeurbanne region
Radium water fountains or radium vaporizers were used in the first half of the twentieth century to enrich the water with radon, descendant of radium. In this time period, they didn’t mistrust radioactive gas but rather boasted of its virtues.
Today these ornamental objects find themselves in attics, flea markets, and bric-a-brac sales.
Stop the Gigantics !
Costa Concordia – Press release n°3
Giglio
The Gigantic was the name with which White Star Line christened its 3rd liner. The Gigantic was even bigger than the Titanic.
After the Titanic sank, the company changed its communications strategy, launching the Gigantic under the name Britannic in 1914.
Stop the Gigantics !
Costa Concordia – Press release n°3
Giglio
The Gigantic was the name with which White Star Line christened its 3rd liner. The Gigantic was even bigger than the Titanic.
After the Titanic sank, the company changed its communications strategy, launching the Gigantic under the name Britannic in 1914.
