Latest news with #environmentalCleanup
RNZ News
02-07-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Endangered turtles share this Mexican beach with SpaceX rocket debris. The company says there's no risk of harm
By Ivonne Valdes , Max Saltman , Ana Melgar and Isa Cardona , CNN Recently hatched endangered turtle on Bagdad beach, Tamaulipas, Mexico on 20 June 2025. Photo: CNN / Supplied / Jesus Elias Ibarra The debris arrives in the rockets' wake: melted plastics, aluminium and pieces of blue adhesive. It all ends up stranded on the sands of Bagdad beach in northern Tamaulipas, Mexico, home to an endangered species of sea turtle. Just across the border lies Starbase, SpaceX's launchpad and company town. Since November, Conibio Global, a small non-governmental organisation, has taken on a daunting task: cleaning up trash from SpaceX, one of the most powerful companies in the world. Jesús Elías Ibarra, founder of Conibio Global, told CNN that in November 2024, he witnessed one of SpaceX's launches and saw one of the rocket boosters fall into the Gulf of Mexico. That time, Ibarra said people arrived in at least three helicopters and more than 10 boats just a few hours later to clean up. CNN reached out to SpaceX to ask if they were responsible for this cleanup. In May, however, there was another launch, with more debris. This time, the activist claims, millions of particles ended up contaminating the area on the Mexican side. Ibarra said that a few days later, the organisation collected more than a ton of waste in an area of 500 metres. "In half a kilometre out of the 40km of shoreline, we already collected one ton (of trash)," added Ibarra. "We are a very small group, it's impossible to clean everything." Ibarra said that Conibio Global handed the debris to the Mexican government's environmental protection agency, PROFEPA. In response to inquiries from CNN , SpaceX referred to what they published on social media site X on 26 June, where they claim to have offered resources and support for cleanup efforts. As previously stated, there are no hazards to the surrounding area. Previous independent tests conducted on materials inside Starship, including toxicity analyses, confirm they pose no chemical, biological, or toxicological risks. And as is the case before any test, a safety… The company claimed that they have also requested local and federal assistance from the Mexican government for debris recovery. Under the Outer Space Treaty, SpaceX is entitled to have its debris returned. Multiple pieces of rocket debris found on Bagdad Beach in May. Photo: CNN / Supplied / Jesus Elias Ibarra The statement added that the company had performed tests that they claim confirm that there are no chemical, biological or toxicological risks associated with the flotsam and jetsam of a typical SpaceX launch. CNN contacted the authorities of Tamaulipas and the Presidency of Mexico about SpaceX's offer and is awaiting a response. Ibarra said that Conibio Global has not had any contact with the company. Marlon Sorge, executive director of the Aerospace Corporation for Debris Reentry Studies (Cords), told CNN in an email that it's best not to touch space debris if found. This label with a SpaceX logo washed up on Bagdad Beach in May. Photo: CNN / Supplied / Jesus Elias Ibarra "Although a lot of debris is not hazardous, spaceflight-related vehicles can contain hazardous chemicals and materials," Sorge wrote. "Be aware that it is not worth the risk to touch a piece of debris, and it could interfere with important investigations." Some of the objects found during cleanup operations, Ibarra said, are solid and spongy plastics, a type of rubber with a consistency similar to cork, aluminium with SpaceX labels, pieces of plastic bubble wrap, steel tubes, and pieces of a blue-coloured adhesive. Some of this trash, Ibarra predicted, could end up being ingested by Kemp's ridley turtles, an endangered species of sea turtle that inhabits the area. On its website, SpaceX said it is committed to minimising the impact and improving the environment whenever possible, highlighting agreements with various US agencies and the Texas government. Trash and blue adhesive washed up on Bagdad Beach last month after a SpaceX launch went awry, Ibarra said. Photo: CNN / Supplied / Jesus Elias Ibarra After the recent explosion of a SpaceX rocket on 19 June, the NGO reported that some large fragments appeared in Mexican territory the next morning. It stated that several officials from the Mexican government got in touch so that they could be informed of the situation. Conibio follows SpaceX's social media announcements to know when there will be launches and goes to the sites to collect evidence of debris they know will fall. He said this happens in the northern area of Bagdad Beach and on a parcel of communal farming land in nearby Matamoros. Following persistent public complaints, Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, spoke out at her daily conference on 25 June. Sheinbaum said that her government had found that there is indeed pollution and that the impact of rocket launches in general will be reviewed in order to take action "within the framework of international laws," including possible legal actions. Ibarra, who is also a veterinarian and director of the Marine Turtle Program at Conibio Global, said that he believes the vibrations generated by the rockets compact the sand where there are turtle nests and prevent them from emerging. He said that at least 300 hatchlings have died in the compacted nests. "There is vegetation that the last explosion burned, the entire edge of the Rio Bravo, and the pipes broke many trees, which fell near a small population of people," said Ibarra. He added that in several border cities between Tamaulipas and Texas, it was reported that there was minor damage to houses due to the vibrations from the rockets. A team of environmental officials and personnel from the Mexican Navy Secretariat went to collect the waste Conibio collected last weekend, and during the visit, Ibarra recounted, they found a tank approximately 4m long and a stainless steel pipe weighing about 5 kg. Dealing with cleaning up the waste has cost the NGO more than US$26,000 in operating expenses and beach monitoring due to vehicle fuel they use and labourers' wages, as well as cleaning materials, the organisation claims. Ibarra noted that the Mexican government has collaborated with them since they became aware of the situation, especially since it involves a foreign company. He claimed that during one of the visits, they were "harassed" by SpaceX drones that were recording them. SpaceX did not respond to CNN' s request for comment on Ibarra's allegation. CNN has also contacted the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and the government of Tamaulipas for comments on Ibarra's statements. In SpaceX's statement on social media, the company said that the debris is its property and that its recovery attempts have been hindered by individuals who had "trespassed" on private property without authorisation. CNN has asked SpaceX and the government of Tamaulipas about what private property the company is referring to. The government of Tamaulipas has always expressed that it wants a collaborative relationship with SpaceX. Governor Américo Villarreal visited Starbase in November 2024. While the bigger rocket pieces have been removed, Ibarra said the trash remains a major problem at Bagdad Beach. "The debris is still there," Ibarra said. "It's no longer as visible as in the photos because the tides have been burying it, but it's there, and it has to be removed sooner or later." - CNN
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
LDEQ offering $20,000 grants to local governments for waste tire problem
(Photo credit: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator) The state is offering money to local governments to help tackle illegally dumped waste tires. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is now accepting applications for its Waste Tire Pilot Program. It offers up to $20,000 per recipient in funding for tire-related cleanup, enforcement and prevention initiatives to address what LDEQ says is a widespread problem across the state. Examples include: Equipment purchases to support cleanup or prevention of illegal dumping; Overtime or labor costs for parish or municipal staff handling collection or enforcement; Site-specific cleanup of newly discovered illegal tire dump locations; and Installation of barriers, signage or fencing to prevent future dumping. LDEQ developed the program following a series of regional town halls the agency hosted last year to gain insights from local officials and residents across the state on how to address illegal tire dumping. 'This program reflects our commitment to practical, collaborative solutions for Louisiana's environmental challenges,' LDEQ Secretary Courtney Burdette said in a news release. 'We are proud to provide our local partners with tools that will help clean up communities, protect our environment and enhance public health in a meaningful way.' Funding for the initiative comes from fees the state collects from companies that dispose and recycle waste tires. To be considered for the Waste Tire Pilot Program, municipalities and parishes must submit a proposal by July 18 outlining how the funds would be used to address unauthorized waste tire disposal in their jurisdiction. Proposals can be emailed to or mailed to: Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Services, P.O. Box 4313, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4313. Attn: Dutch Donlon For questions or more information, call (225) 219-3388. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
CBC
18-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Work to clean up contaminated former gold mine site to begin this year
Social Sharing Work to clean up one of the more contaminated former gold mining sites in Nova Scotia is on track to begin later this year, while work at a second site could get underway in 2026. Donnie Burke, senior director of the environmental group with Build Nova Scotia, told reporters on Wednesday that engagement with the community about the work in Montague Gold Mines, near Dartmouth, is expected within days. The project should then go to tender next month. "I'm quite confident that you'll see boots on the ground and construction happening in Montague this year," he said. Burke spoke following an appearance at the legislature's public accounts committee to discuss an auditor general's report on contaminated sites. Plans for the work were announced in 2018. Burke said it's taken so long to get to this point in part because of the size of the property to be cleaned up. "Some of these are maybe a city block and some of them are seven city blocks. So it's like anything in construction — the bigger it is, the longer it takes," he said. A containment cell about half a hectare in size will be constructed to blend into the natural area, said Burke. It will have capping material to prevent leakage. The work is expected to take up to three years, followed by long-term monitoring. Burke noted that the sites in question are frequented by people who hike or use ATVs in the area. "Some of these tailings have, like, 14 or 16 per cent arsenic in the tailings, so we want to make sure it's contained, confined and managed in a proper way that's environmentally friendly both to human health and ecological health." A similar approach is being used at a former mine site in Goldenville, near Sherbrooke. The process will take about the same amount of time, said Burke, but is about a year behind the Montague effort due to preliminary work that involved private property. The site measures between 500 and 600 hectares in overall area impacted over time by the former mine operation, he said. "So we had to put boots on the ground and look at the whole site because tailings would have been just let go by gravity and carried by stream," he said. Burke said First Nation consultation is ongoing for a third site, the former celestite mine in Lake Enon, in Cape Breton. When that is complete, the project will move to tender. Because the site is smaller, he said construction should only take about a year. The province has identified 68 former mine sites to be remediated. Cost estimates evaluated each year The most recent update in government financial figures puts the liability for the cleanup of all known contaminated sites in the province at about $600 million, more than half of which is related to the work slated to happen at Boat Harbour. The figure for abandoned mine sites is about $148 million, with the majority of that — $64.5 million — reserved for Goldenville and Montague. For the remainder, the estimated cost for work at sites rated as high risk is $5 million each, the budget for medium-risk sites is $500,000 and low-risk sites are pegged at $250,000 per cleanup project. Officials at the committee told MLAs that the figures for cleanup of abandoned mine sites are reviewed and updated yearly. While some might not be remediated, there will be some work required to contain sites.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
2 hospitalized in multi-semi-truck crash near Parma
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A crash on I-94 in Jackson County involving multiple semi-trucks sent two people to the hospital Friday, according to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. According to a released Sunday, deputies responded to a crash involving three semi-trucks and a pickup truck located in the westbound lanes of I-94 near Parma Rd. at around 10:56 a.m. Friday. The sheriff's office says one of the semi-trucks failed to yield to slowing traffic, crashing into the other vehicles. The driver of that truck was trapped inside and needed to be rescued. Two others were transported to a nearby hospital, with one of them having sustained critical, injuries. Since then, though, the sheriff's office says their condition 'has been upgraded to serious.' PREVIOUS: Crash reported on I-94 near Jackson blocking lanes The crash closed all lanes of I-94 while teams worked to respond to the crash, causing significant traffic backup. A large amount of fluid from the vehicles ended up flowing into the drains and nearby rivers, requiring environmental clean up teams to respond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
E&E News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
House to vote on land, water, fisheries and coal bills
The House will vote on a slate of natural resources and water bills this week, including one dealing with mine reclamation and another to expedite certain Interior Department appeals. H.R. 167, the 'Community Reclamation Partnerships Act,' from Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), would protect third-party groups from liability if they take part in cleaning up old, abandoned coal mines. LaHood's bill would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to authorize states and nongovernmental entities to work together to restore land and water affected by coal mining before the law passed. Advertisement As it stands, states are responsible for cleaning up old mines using money from the abandoned mine lands fund, which is supported by fees that coal operators pay. Groups that want to pitch in are often deterred by potential liability.
