Salem News
May 1, 2008
After long wait, coal ship returns to Salem
By Tom Dalton
Staff writer
SALEM — Ward 1 City Councilor Bob McCarthy was driving home Tuesday night when he glanced out his car window at what he thought was a building. When he looked a second time, he realized the "building" was really a ship — a ship that hasn't been seen in these parts for nearly six months.
The CSL Spirit, a nearly 740-foot coal carrier owned by CSL (Canadian Steamship Lines) International, arrived at Salem Harbor Station Tuesday night with 51,000 tons of coal from Colombia. It is the first coal shipment to the power plant since the Nov. 6 accident that killed three workers.
Although blowing coal dust caused problems for neighbors in the past, this delivery apparently was without incident.
"We didn't have any problems," said Russ Vickers, who owns a business, Hawthorne Cove Marina, that is right next door. "It all depends on which way the wind is blowing."
McCarthy said he, too, had not received any complaints.
Two of the plant's three coal-burning boilers are back in service. Unit 3, which had the steam pipe accident, is not running yet. The plant's fourth and largest power generator, an oil-burning boiler, is expected to return to service in a few weeks, a company spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the Essex County district attorney's investigation into the fatal accident continues.
****
HealthLink's Billboard and Subway
Message Campaign Encourages Action for Clean Renewable Energy
Salem News: Environmental group turns to billboards to get message out - Read More
All Aboard the Blue Line! See HealthLink's informative, public awareness posters on the Blue Line. Read more...
|
What's Up with
your Clean Up,
Dominion?
Sign the petition demanding Dominion meet their obligations to the community and tell us the fate of the plant now!
|
Clean Renewable Energy Is Here Now!
Reduce Your Consumption of Fossil Fuels!
Click on links below.
Essex County Renewable Energy
E-bulletin board! Read about successful projects and contribute your town's projects... Click here.
HealthLink has worked for 10 years to improve public health by reducing enviro nmental pollutants! Read more...
|
Calendar of Events
Wednesdays - HealthLink activists meet at 11 am at the HealthLink office. Join in, bring your energies & ideas. Call 781-598-1115 for details.
Sun, May 4 - Clean Water Action - Party in the Springtime, Doyle Center, Leominster, 2 - 4 pm. Call HealthLink to carpool.
Fri, May 9 - HealthLink Movie Night and Evening meeting, The Howard Residence, 9 Barnegat Lane, Marblehead, 6:30 pm. Showing Killowatt Ours and King Corn. Pizza served. Join us! RSVP 781-598-1115.
Fri, May 16 - Keeping the Earth SAFE and SOUND Benefit, Hawthorne Hotel Ballroom, 7:30 pm. Sponsored by Salem Sound Coastwatch and Salem Alliance for the Environment.
Sat, May 24 - Witness for Peace, Trip to Colombia. Details contact achomsky@salemstate.edu
Thurs, June 12 - Breath of Fresh Air - HealthLink Party, The Howard Residence, 9 Barnegat Lane, Marblehead, 6 - 8 pm.
Saluting members of local Renewable Energy Committees, celebrating newly elected HealthLink activists, and serving 'locavore' fare. Suggested donation $40. RSVP 781-598-1115.
*****
Safer Personal Care Products
Did you know...the average person uses 12 personal care products each day subjecting themselves to over 125 untested chemicals. Find out if your personal care products contain hidden toxins and learn about safer choices. Click here
****
A Win for Cape Wind
"In a major victory for clean air and energy independence, the Federal Mineral Management Services has given approval for Cape Wind, the proposed wind farm for Nantucket Sound. Final approval is expected later this year..." Read more...
****
|
Power Plant Updates
2008 will be a decisive year for the Salem Harbor Generating Station. Read more Power Plant Pollution
HealthLink and coalition members visit with EPA officials in Washington to get government action on dirty coal-burning power plants
'CLEAN COAL" Boston Globe, February 24, 2008
"CLEAN COAL" is still an oxymoron ("Bush retreats on cleaner coal," Editorial, Feb. 17). Each year, 4,000 miners in 27 states are diagnosed with black lung disease; mountaintops are decapitated, silting valleys and streams; and coal combustion emits mercury, soot, smog precursors, and nitrogen compounds that turn rain acidic and choke estuaries with oxygen-depleting slime.
The project the US Department of Energy pulled out of in Mattoon, Ill., was for capturing and storing carbon dioxide from a coal-fired plant. In addition to doing nothing to ameliorate the trail of ills and scars left by coal, storing large quantities of CO{-2} can acidify aquifers, leaching lead and arsenic, and fracture limestone, releasing toxic concentrations of CO{-2}.
Reducing demand is the project to safely scale up today. Efficiency and conservation in buildings, appliances, utilities, circuitry, and vehicles can allow us to leave as much fossil fuel in the ground as possible. by Dr. PAUL R. EPSTEIN, Boston
Updates on the Power Plant
Lynn Item: Feb 21, 2008. Salem Power Plant among top polluters...Read more
Salem News: April 4, 2008 Salem Power Plant back in operation by Tom Dalton
|
