Tagged: smokestack

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Environment
6:30 am
Fri January 18, 2013

Riverside Gardens: A Former Resort Community Besieged By Pollution

The neighborhood Riverside Gardens was created as an oasis in the West End…a resort community for Louisvillians who wanted a quick, close getaway from the city. But after the 1937 flood and the rise of industry in Rubbertown, to the north, Riverside Gardens became just another subdivision. And now, the place where city dwellers used to go to get away from pollution is now surrounded on three sides by smokestacks and a former toxic dump.

Louisville was a dirty place in the 1920s.

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Environment
12:11 pm
Wed January 16, 2013

Deadly Bat Disease Found in Mammoth Cave National Park

Credit Marvin Moriarty / USFWS

White Nose Syndrome has been confirmed in Mammoth Cave National Park.

White Nose Syndrome is caused by a white fungus, and is deadly to bats. Since 2006, the fungus has been found in 21 states. The disease has killed more than 6 million bats in four Canadian provinces and 19 states, including Kentucky. Mammoth Cave has been taking steps to keep the fungus out of its caves--like making visitors walk over cleansing mats--but park superintendent Sarah Craighead confirmed the disease's presence today.

From the news release:

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Environment
6:30 am
Wed January 16, 2013

Patients, Widows, Researchers Still Dealing With Toxic Legacy of Rubbertown Chemical

Seventy years ago, in the early days of Rubbertown, there were a lot of dirty jobs. But no job was dirtier than an entry-level post at the B.F. Goodrich plant. Workers called “poly cleaners” climbed into large vats that had held the chemical vinyl chloride to clean them. And now, decades later, some of these men—they’re all men—have developed serious liver problems. At least 26 of them have developed cancer, and all have died from it.

One of them was Janet Crecelius Johnson’s husband, Revis.

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Environment
11:50 am
Tue January 15, 2013

State Toxic Releases Continue Downward Trend

Credit Courtesy Energy and Environment Cabinet

The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection has finished analyzing data of all the toxic chemicals that were released in the state in 2011.

Since 1986, companies have been required to report the number of pounds of toxic chemicals they release into the air, into water and on land, and there’s been a definite downward trend in Kentucky as new regulations go on the books. More than 83 million pounds of toxics were disposed in Kentucky in 2011—about 13 million pounds less than in the previous year.

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