Archive - Illinois
Our Reading List for Following Nuclear News From Japan
We’ve compiled a few resources that we’ve found helpful as we track the developments from the aftermath of Japanese earthquake.
Expert: Builder’s New Guidelines for Chinese Drywall “Feel Like a Whitewash”
New National Association of Home Builders guidelines for testing and fixing homes built with suspect Chinese drywall conflict with Consumer Product Safety Commission recommendations.
Spent Fuel Now Focus at Japanese Reactor, Highlighting Concerns About Plant Design
As ProPublica reported earlier, spent fuel stored outside the reactor containment structure poses a direct threat of radiation releases at Japan’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility.
Status of Spent Nuclear Fuel in Question at Crippled Japanese Power Plant
Opponents of nuclear power have warned for years that if spent fuel pools lost water, it could lead to a fire and a catastrophic release of radiation. Now, there have been hydrogen explosions at two of the reactor buildings housing spent fuel pools at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
A Partial Victory in Our FOIA Request — But Government Still Hasn’t Provided All the Records
Tricare provided ProPublica and NPR with some, but not all, of the reviews criticizing a Tricare study finding that cognitive rehabilitation therapy has not been proven effective.
Iodine Pills Distributed in Japan Offer Limited Protection From Effects of Radiation
The Bush administration in 2008 scrapped a plan to expand distribution of the pills to more residents living near the nation’s nuclear reactors.
FOIA b(3) Exemptions
Information about watermelon handlers, avocado importers and caves are some of the categories of information that have been withheld from federal Freedom of Information Act requesters using sections of laws that are otherwise unrelated to disclosure. There are hundreds of such laws, according to data compiled by the Sunshine in Government Initiative. They fall under number three -- known as b(3) -- of the nine exemptions. Use our database to see how extensively agencies use b(3) exemptions.
FOIA Eyes Only: How Buried Statutes Are Keeping Information Secret
Invoking exemptions to Freedom of Information Act may deter accountability.
Can U.S. Nuclear Plants Handle a Major Natural Disaster?
Congressman Ed Markey has asked the Government Accountability Office to look into earthquake and flood protection at nuclear plants and questions whether the new AP1000 reactor design by Westinghouse is vulnerable to earthquakes.
Collective Bargaining, Explained: Why It's at the Center of Fights Now
Why is collective bargaining such a hot-button issue now -- and what are the basic facts?
Government Vows to Curb Banks' Foreclosure Practices, But Enforcement Still a Question Mark
Hosts of federal agencies and regulators, along with the 50 state attorneys general, are hard at work on laying out new rules for banks and mortgage servicers. But attempts to reform this process have failed before. Will banks abusing the system be held accountable?
