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Andrea Sears reports from New York News Connection for Public News Service that the New York state Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a bill to protect children from toxic substances in products.

Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York, said the Child Safe Products Act passed Wednesday would eliminate dangerous chemicals from a host of children's products, including toys, bedding and sleepwear.

"We still see mercury and arsenic and other known cancer and toxic agents that are routinely found in products that our kids are exposed to and are using, or are wearing and sleeping on," he said.

Similar bills have had majority support in both houses of the Legislature for several years, but so far have not been allowed onto the Senate floor for a vote. Opponents of the legislation have said it's unnecessary and would lead to job losses.

According to Iwanowicz, last year the bill was supported by at least 40 senators, or almost two-thirds of the Senate.

"These senators actually put their name and wanted to be listed as an official, imprint co-sponsor of the bill," he said. "So, we had the votes. The majority leader just bowed to special interests and wouldn't bring it up for one."

Iwanowicz said those special interests include the chemical industry, toy manufacturers and the Farm Bureau.

The Assembly also passed three other bills that are part of an Earth Day legislative package. Iwanowicz said those would remove mercury from light bulbs, require the state to incorporate environmental justice concerns in planning and permitting, and track environmental impacts on communities.

"So, a lot of important bills were sent over to the New York state Senate," he said. "We're hopeful that they'll bring up all of them, but in particular, we hope that this is the day that our kids are protected from dangerous toxics."

In his State of the State Address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for passage of the Child Safe Products Act.

More information is online at eany.org.

Ariél Zangla in The Daily Freeman reports that on May 3 the Kingston Common Council voted 8-0 for a resolution supporting legislation by state Assemblyman Frank Skartados, D-Milton, that would prohibit the proposed Pilgrim Pipeline from being constructed on New York Thruway Authority property. Currently, the Pipeline is proposed to run largely along I-87 from Albany into New Jersey, so the bill, introduced in April, would kill the project. Pilgrim Pipeline Holdings LLC would build two parallel pipelines connecting Albany with Linden, N.J, carrying 200,000 gallons of Bakken crude oil per day from Albany, and refined fuel products from New Jersey, along 95 miles of the Thruway’s right-of-way and an 25 miles of private property. Kingston is the first town to adopt this resolution, but towns up and down the proposed path have passed several other resolutions opposed to the project. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

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Andrea Sears reports from New York News Connection for Public News Service that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ruled that its own staff analysis of the cost of a serious accident at the Indian Point nuclear plant is inaccurate.

According to the commission's unanimous decision, the analysis by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board contains factual errors that could be misleading.

Cliff Weathers, communications director for the environmental group Riverkeeper, said he believes the ruling will bolster the arguments those opposed to the plant have been making all along.

"A new analysis -- and an honest analysis, if it's done that way -- will show that this plant is not safe, it's not secure and also not vital for the area," Weathers said.

The original 40-year licenses for both reactors at Indian Point have expired, and the owners have applied to the NRC for 20-year extensions. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been calling for closing the facility.

Indian Point has experienced a number of serious incidents, including a recent massive leak of radioactive tritium into the groundwater. At Indian Point 2, which is currently offline, Weathers said, more than a quarter of the bolts holding the inner walls of the reactor together are either damaged or missing.

"That's an extremely serious event," he said. "There's never been anything like this at any nuclear power plant that we know of."

More than 17 million people live within a 50-mile radius of Indian Point, which is located 41 miles from the center of Manhattan.

Proponents of the plant have argued that it's needed because it generates 10 percent of the state's electricity and a quarter of the power used by New York City. Weathers said that claim was examined in a recent study commissioned by Riverkeeper, "and they have found that, yes, Indian Point's energy is replaceable today, and the cost to consumers would be negligible."

He said new transmission efficiencies already in place, renewables now coming online and the recent repair of three gas-fired power plants damaged by Hurricane Sandy can make up the difference.

Local weather forecast

Today: Showers likely, mainly before 11 a.m. Cloudy through mid-morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 55, and a low around 38.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
MONDAY: Sunny, with a high near 62, and a low around 34.
TUESDAY: Sunny, with a high near 64, and a low around 43.

Sunrise today: 5:40 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:03 p.m.



Gonçalo F. Cardoso's drone LP.

Click here to play or download Gonçalo F. Cardoso interview.

Gonçalo F. Cardoso discusses radio-controlled drones and his LP about their sounds with Tom Roe for "All Together Now!" May 7. "A Study into 21st Century Drone Acoustics" is his collaboration with designer Ruben Pater. See http://www.droneacoustics.org/ for more information.

Radiohead, "Burn The Witch"



Radiohead, "Daydreaming"

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines and weather for Sat., May 7 (4:46). (Produced by Tom Roe.)