We know that the total eclipse of the sun is totally over, and that wasn’t quite a total eclipse here in Plymouth. Nonetheless, it was pretty dramatic, as documented by videographer Christopher Harting in this brief time lapse clip he made at the Forefathers Monument on Monday afternoon. And don’t worry – looking directly at […]
Category: Environment & Health
Posted inEnvironment & Health
How to get rid of your hazardous waste without damaging the environment
If you’ve got rusting cans of old paint, buckets of dirty motor oil and other gross waste products taking up space in your garage, here’s a chance to dispose of them without harming the environment. The Town of Plymouth has scheduled its latest Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day for Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
‘The sound alone is deafening on some days’
Plymouth Municipal Airport officials have promised to investigate why neighbors are increasingly complaining about noise. The airport plans to extend a runway, but concerns raised at two recent meetings were not so much about the expansion, but about how much noise neighbors are hearing now. It is a mystery to airport staff and […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Recycling requires effort, but the alternative is scary
This is the second installment of a two-part series on recycling in Plymouth. You can read the first installment here. Recycling is like the world – complex and imperfect. But Plymouth residents can make it work better. First, if you are not yet recycling, start. Second, if you are recycling, learn to correctly separate trash […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Holtec improperly donated money to the Chamber of Commerce, local parades
A Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspection of Holtec International, the company charged with decommissioning the Pilgrim nuclear power plant, found that it misspent $84,000 from a trust fund paid for by a surcharge on electric bills. The Decommissioning Trust Fund – set up to cover the cost of decommissioning Pilgrim and storing the spent fuel […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Plan to pump treated wastewater from harbor to Camelot Park raises concerns
Last fall, fish started dying at Darlene Nickerson’s trout hatchery in Chiltonville. “I knew I should have been testing my water, but it’s expensive,” said Nickerson – who owns Gilbert Trout Hatchery – during a recent walk along her fence-lined and netting-covered brook. “But when you lose them it’s just heartbreaking.” After she finally […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Where do your recyclables end up? The answer is complicated, and worrisome.
Do you know where your waste hauler dumps your household trash and recyclables? Are you wasting your time and effort by separating household waste in trash and recycling bins? And what about the hauling companies that tell you to just dump it all into one container? Don’t worry, your recycling efforts may not be pointless. […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Holtec to pay $200,000 to settle AG’s suit over asbestos disposal at Pilgrim
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has settled a lawsuit against Holtec, the company charged with decommissioning the Pilgrim nuclear power plant, accusing the company of improperly disposing of asbestos. The complaint, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, contended that Holtec didn’t properly handle waste that contained asbestos and endangered the company’s employees as well as the […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Harvard public health professor hopes to bring science to the Holtec debate
Harvard University professor Petros Koutrakis plans to study cancer rates and household radioactive levels in the area surrounding the shuttered Pilgrim nuclear power plant in the Manomet section of Plymouth. The study comes amid increasing concerns about evaporated wastewater from the plant, which shut down nearly five years ago. Koutrakis said his goal is to […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Storm fizzles, colder air arrives
Tuesday’s Nor’easter was supposed to produce the first significant snowfall of the season in Plymouth. But the forecast dramatically changed as the storm system slid to the south, leaving little more than a coating of snow in most areas of town. The National Weather Service had issued a winter storm warning that included Plymouth, but […]