Courtesy of University of Mississippi Medical Center Forrest Follet, from the Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State University, removes soil from the lid of one over 66 graves uncovered in 2013, during construction at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The University of Mississippi Medical Center halted construction on three building projects after ground-penetrating radar surveys showed about 2,000 unmarked graves on the sites.Jackson-based UMMC has long been known to house graves because it had been the site of the former Mississippi State Insane Asylum and a potter’s field, according to spokesman Jack Mazurak. It’s also possible that an African-American
Related Links: Elk River Chemical Spill Triggers Lawsuits, Investigations Toxic Chemical Spill Fouls Drinking Water Supply in Charleston, W. Va. Freedom Industries Inc. has until March 15 to remove all the chemicals from its storage farm that leaked into the Elk River near Charleston, W.Va., shutting down the drinking-water supply for about 300,000 people in January.Meanwhile, the state Legislature is acting on proposed regulations of similar aboveground storage tanks, residents continue to experience water problems, and grants are going to researchers to study water issues.Freedom must start "to dismantle, remove and properly manage the disposition of all aboveground storage tanks,
Related Links: Toxic Chemical Spill Fouls Drinking Water Supply in Charleston, W. Va. No One's Job: West Virginia's Forbidden Waters Following the Jan. 9 toxic spill that shut down drinking-water supplies to 300,000 people, West Virginia regulators have cited Freedom Industries Inc. for numerous violations. Lawyers are filing lawsuits against the company, and state and federal probes are continuing.Water service returned to about 75% of West Virginia American Water customers in Charleston by Jan. 16, though pregnant women were advised by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to continue drinking bottled water because little is known about effects of 4-methylcyclohexane
Related Links: Meet Freedom Industries, the Company Behind the West Virginia Chemical Spill Critics Say Spill Highlights Lax West Virginia Regulations State and federal teams continue to investigate the chemical spill that shut down the drinking-water supply for 300,000 people in the Charleston, W.Va., area for five days in January.Starting on Jan. 13, customers of the West Virginia American Water Co. treatment plant, which serves nine counties in and around the capital city, were cleared to use water in certain zones."The ban is being lifted in a strict, methodical manner to help ensure the water system is not overwhelmed" by
Related Links: Green Bay Span Shored Up as WisDOT Seeks Long-Term Fix Engineers Puzzle Over Cause, Fixes for Sagging Wisconsin Bridge Repairs on the sagging Leo Frigo Bridge on Interstate 43 in Green Bay, Wis., are expected to be completed in mid-January after workers add 20 drilled shafts at the bases of five piers.Zenith Tech of Waukesha, Wis., won the $7.7-million repair contract and will run two crews on 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, until the work is completed, according to the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation. Work started in mid-November.The 20- to 24-person crews will add 60-in. concrete shafts
Related Links: Arkansas Spill Zone Residents Await Plan to Return Home; New Leak in Missouri Ruptured Section of Arkansas Pipeline Sent for Lab Tests ExxonMobil Corp. violated federal safety regulations while operating the Pegasus pipeline that dumped about 5,000 barrels of oil in a Mayflower, Ark., neighborhood in March and should pay more than $2.6 million in penalties, a federal regulator determined.The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in a notice issued Nov. 6, claims ExxonMobil, and its ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., did not pay attention to known problems with pipeline integrity in 1991, 2005 and 2006.“The operator experienced
Image Courtesy WisDOT Lunda Construction crews are placing steel-truss support towers fore and aft of Pier 22, which sank 2.5 ft. WisDOT has yet to schedule reopening the bridge to traffic, pending permanent repairs. Related Links: Piling Corrosion Blamed For Sagging Wisconsin Bridge Engineers Puzzle Over Cause, Fixes for Sagging Wisconsin Bridge As a temporary fix, workers are erecting steel-truss support towers under the sagging Leo Frigo Bridge on Interstate 43 in Green Bay, Wis., and lateral supports at the top of the damaged pier as investigators continue their examination of the 8,000-ft structure.Lunda Construction Co. of Black River Falls,
Related Links: Two Killed, One Injured in Tenn. Goodwill Under Construction Four Tennessee firms have been cited for serious workplace-safety law violations and face $14,000 to $15,200 fines after two workers were killed and a third injured when a masonry wall collapsed last spring.The companies are Solomon Builders Inc. and N&S Waterproofing LLC, both of Nashville, Thorne's Excavating Co. LLC, Lebanon, and Tayes Masonry, Smithville. Solomon was the general contractor and the others were subcontractors on a 28,000-sq-ft Goodwill store, training center and drop-off center in Hendersonville, a Nashville suburb.Poor Training, Site Hazards CitedSolomon, N&S and Thorne's were fined $15,200
Related Links: Engineers Puzzle Over Cause, Fixes for Sagging Wisconsin Bridge Leo Frigo I-43 bridge sinks another half inch; emergency funds approved The I-43 bridge in Green Bay, Wis., has a 2-ft-plus sag because pier pilings buckled from corrosion, state investigators say. Meanwhile, findings from monitoring equipment installed on the Leo Frigo Bridge show that Pier 22, which settled 2 ft on Sept. 25, settled another half-inch on Oct. 3. Supported by 100-ft-deep H-pilings, the pier is not the only one showing corrosion, says Tom Buchholz, the investigation team's leader."We also went to the adjacent piers—Pier 21, Pier 23, Pier
Photos Courtesy of WisDOT Motorists are being rerouted to other roadways, while investigators use sensors to inspect the pilings on the bridge. The Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge on Interstate 43 in Green Bay, Wis., is closed indefinitely after a pier settled early on Sept. 25, causing a more than 20-in. sag across the four-lane roadway.State and federal structural and geotechnical experts have been joined by consultants from Michael Baker Jr. Inc. and Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. to examine the bridge and develop a plan of action.No one has determined the cause of the settling, any estimated time for repairs