7am News, Sports and Obits

Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Lawmakers Tour Decommissioned IL Nuclear Plant
ZION, Ill. (AP) -- Illinois lawmakers have toured the decommissioned nuclear power plant in Zion and say the recent disaster in Japan should serve as a wakeup call for the state.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, U.S. Reps. Robert Dold and Joe Walsh and Illinois Sen. Suzi Schmidt visited the plant Saturday.

They say an estimated 1,100 tons of radioactive waste are being stored at the plant next to the Lake Michigan shoreline. They say the situation is putting the region's drinking water at risk.

The plant about 40 miles north of Chicago was closed in 1998.

The Republican lawmakers want the United States to step up efforts to build central nuclear waste storage in Nevada.

The visit comes after a March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan have led to a nuclear crisis.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
04 23 11 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.