Native shrubs like sagebrush and shadscale grow several feet apart, reducing a fire s ability to spread. Cheatgrass helps fires spread faster, and the weed returns before most other plants after a fire. ARS researchers have found that the first time a cheatgrass rangeland burns, the weed can be thwarted if the site is seeded to native perennial shrubs and grasses that year. Public land managers plan to spread five million pounds of seed using specialized equipment designed for use in rocky, semi-desert soils. A team of U.S. nuclear experts will travel to Japan later this month to learn more about the September 30 critical accident at the Tokaimura uranium processing facility.
Criticality means a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, as occurs inside an atomic bomb.
The team, led by Department of Energy scientists, will exchange information with their Japanese counterparts on the causes of the accident, which released an undetermined amount of radiation and sent three plant workers to the hospital. A second radiation leak at the site was discovered Friday, and contained today. These U.S. experts will be able to help the Japanese people and the international scientific community better understand why the accident happened. It is our hope that by working together to produce the most thorough analysis possible we can help improve safety at nuclear facilities worldwide. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been reviewing U.S. facilities to learn whether lessons from the Japan accident might improve existing safety programs.