Wrap up: Illinois rep calls for RECA expansion; El Capitan ceremony; Japan earthquake rattles nuclear plants

Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) this week called upon Congress to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include more people made sick by their work to process uranium and thorium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program.

Budzinski and local officials gathered at a former Dow Chemical factory in Venice, Ill, Monday Jan. 13 to promote expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which was not acted upon by the House of Representatives in the last Congress, although it did pass the Senate. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and others have pushed reauthorization and expansion of the legislation.

“For decades, local families have endured serious health problems caused by the toxic legacy left behind from this factory,” Budzinski said in a Monday press release. “Despite this, they’ve had to face overwhelming financial and medical challenges without any federal assistance.”

The El Capitan supercomputer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was officially dedicated to U.S. national security missions and nuclear stockpile management at a dedication ceremony Jan. 9.

El Capitan, named the fastest supercomputer in the world in November, will enter the classified network mid-March, senior Livermore officials told the Exchange Monitor in December.

In other supercomputer news, the Department of Energy released information this week on Los Alamos National Laboratory’s incoming supercomputer, ATS-5, whichs aims to support efforts to maintain the nuclear stockpile starting in 2027.

Japan’s Kawauchi and Ikata nuclear power plants were affected by a 6.9 earthquake on Monday, media reported.

Both Kawauchi and Ikata experienced magnitude 3 tremors, according to Japan’s network NHK. Kyushu Electric Power in Japan reported no abnormalities at either plant.