Investigators still can’t go near Citgo fire site

CORPUS CHRISTI — Investigators from two federal agencies have not been allowed near a unit that caught fire last week at Citgo Refining and Chemicals Co. The unit still is considered unsafe. The alkylation unit continued to burn for more than two days after the July 19 fire started. Alkylation is a key aspect of […]

‘Most Wanted’ backs new push to ID dead girl

America’s Most Wanted is filming in New Jersey today, as part of stepped-up efforts to identify a girl whose charred skeletal remains were found in a wooded area of Monmouth County in 2005. In Trenton, state and local police will distribute fliers with pictures of what the girl may have looked like. This week, the […]

Southwire to Pay Unprecedented Fine for Clean Air Act Violations

(Atlanta, Ga. – July 23, 2009) In the largest civil settlement obtained for alleged violations of the Secondary Aluminum Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) regulations at a single facility in the Southeastern United States, Southwire Company has agreed to pay a total of $337,500 in civil penalties to the United States and the Commonwealth of […]

Smithfield might buy water from Isle of Wight

SMITHFIELD — The town of Smithfield might not have to build a $5 million water treatment plant to remove excess fluoride from its water. Smithfield, which is under a consent order with the Virginia Department of Health to reduce fluoride levels, has long been ready to get construction bids on a reverse osmosis water treatment […]

Norfolk approves water agreement

Norfolk’s City Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday evening approving a water sales contract to Suffolk and Isle of Wight County. Governing bodies from all three localities must ratify the agreement, however. Suffolk and Isle of Wight County are scheduled to vote on the agreement in August. “This agreement will allow the city of Suffolk […]

Citgo continues production but 2 units shut off

CORPUS CHRISTI — Citgo Refining and Chemicals Co. continues to produce gasoline though two units are shut off after a fire Sunday at its East Plant. Company spokesman Jesse Garcia said the fire, which continued to burn residuals, was extinguished at about 7 p.m. Tuesday. The residual fire kept investigation teams from beginning their work […]

Greenwood editorial: Backward to not fluoridate water

For decades, there have been periodic pushes for Greenwood to get with the health community’s mainstream and add cavity-fighting fluoride to its drinking water. Every time there has been a push, the Greenwood Utilities Commission has bowed to the forces of irrational paranoia and done nothing. Let’s hope the latest initiative from the state Department […]

Group seeks end to fluoridated water in Pasco

Opponents of Pasco’s longtime use of fluoride in the city’s water supply accused council members Monday night of drugging its residents without their consent. “This is an illegal drug that we’re pushing on everybody,” said Bill Osmunson, a dentist with offices in Bellevue and Lake Oswego, Ore. “The biggest pushers of illegal drugs in counties […]