Toxic waste and the superfund act of 1980 Love Canal is one of the most infamous toxic waste disaster in history. The Love Canal site began its life as a project linking “the upper and lower Niagara Rivers” in western New York, in order to provide power to the homes and industry that William T. Love intended to build (Beck, 1979, para. 5). In 1910 William T. Love Rn out of funding for this project, and the land was subsequently sold to Hooker Chemical Company. The Hooker Chemical Company purchased this land for the specific reason of dumping their toxic waste. At one-time process of dumping toxic waste directly into the ground was legal, as long as it was your land. However, we did not understand the future problems it would cause. Around …show more content…
The school board agreed and Hooker Chemical Company sold the land for one dollar. This marked the beginning of what would be considered one of the worst environment disaster in history. Health problems arouse in the residents that lived on this land, due to ruptured canisters that leached into the water supply. Love Canal was very close to Lake Erie. This meant that the water table was close to the surface. During heavy rains, the water table would rise, thus pushing the toxic waste to the surface. This resulted in the toxic water leaching into basements, evaporating and releasing toxic gases and contaminating the soil. In some cases, the toxic water would rise to the surface and there would be puddles of toxic waste. The results of this exposure were a high amount of illnesses and medical issues. The rate of miscarriages and birth defects increased and there was an apparent Cancer clusters. A cancer cluster is an area where there is a significantly higher level of cancer diagnoses in one residential area. After multiple complaints from the residents of Love Canal, a study was preformed and it was determined that the area was not safe to inhabit. This lead to then president, Jimmy Carter to promise funding that would allow all affected residents to move and …show more content…
It is located at 153 N. Cottonwood St. The “Griggs and Walnut Ground Water Plume is considered one of the worst hazardous waste sites identified by the EPA” (homefacts, para.1). Between 1993 and 1995 it was discovered that traces of Perchloroethylene (PCE) were detected in the drinking water. PCE is a manmade substance, generally used as a degreaser. The city of Las Cruces took immediate action and the wells were taken off-line. After an investigation it was determined that the plume was 2500 ft. wide and 4000 ft. long. The site was declared a superfund and a treatment facility was constructed to clean the water. The facility began operation in 2012 some 17 years after its discovery. You might ask, why did it take so long for the treatment of the water to begin. It is because the US Government is the sole financier for these sites and therefore, the money is not always readily
The main problem was lead, with seven well samples showing up positive. The calcium and nitrates both had four samples showing up positive. Hydrocarbons had 3 samples showing a positive. Heavy metals have two positives,and bacteria had only 1 positive. Many men, women, and children are getting sick from horrible water pollution and some of the water pollutants cause cancer! So through all thirty of the tests we ran we got twenty one samples back that gave us a positive result. In conclusion the water in Hickory Hollow is justified, showing various
The Lowry Landfill Superfund Site is located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, approximately 2 miles east of Aurora. It consists of approximately 507 acres of waste disposal area and is operated by Waste Management of Colorado, Inc. The land surrounding the site consists of native prairie grass and a wetland located along a local creek. Sections around the site are zoned for agricultural use including cattle grazing and non-irrigated wheat farms. 1 The area is home to numerous endangered species including the bald eagle and peregrine falcon. Due to the large amounts of wastes disposed on the site between 1965 and 1980, it became extremely contaminated with a variety of inorganic and organic contaminants. From 1984 to 1993, the EPA oversaw remedial investigation and feasibility studies that were performed by all responsible parties. Since its listing as a superfund site in 1984, multiple remedial actions have been performed in order to rehabilitate the site. These include clay barrier walls around the site, a groundwater collection system, a soil cover for the main landfill, as well as a landfill gas collection system. Groundwater that is collected on the site is treated at an onsite water treatment facility. In 2007, construction began on an onsite gas to energy plant that utilizes the methane produced by the landfill site. The electricity produced by the plant is enough to power 3000 households. 1 Today, use of land and groundwater on and near the site is still restricted by the state of Colorado.1
All of the positive predictions of how the Erie Canal turned out could be considered "correct" depending on what point you view the situation from. During the mid to late 1820s, trade, and revenue boomed. During this time, revenue in the state of Ohio went from $0, to a little over $450,000 in just the span of about ten years, (Chart 2). Supporting that information in Chart 4, it shows that bushels of wheat transported on the Erie Canal in approximately ten years increases by one million bushels. That is a lot of bushels of wheat. Another example of positive change after the Erie Canal was built might be that in towns, the canal was sometimes considered the "lifeline" of the town. "A Jordan resident was quoted as saying that the canal was the main street of the village and the lifeline," (Picture 1). In picture 2, it could represent a positive change because it shows how many people traveled through the canal and how many new goods reached the western area of the United States through the Erie Canal. This canal also brings new realizations to people during this time about religion and how people were being treated. "A new understanding of how the spiritual transformation of the individual might bring about change was taking place," (Document E). This shows that people had new beliefs and that when traveling the Erie Canal you have new chances. This document in general also shows that people who were traveling the
Saukko , Linnea.“How to Poison the Earth.”The Brief Bedford Reader. Bedford/St.Martin’s Boston: 9th edition ,2006.246-247.
The Charles River, always known as “having a healthy reputation for its extreme filth,” has a new lease on life ever since former governor Bill Weld took the dive heard round the world fully clothed around the same time the EPA announced a “Clean Charles” ready for swimmers by Earth Day 2005. Reactions concerning the river’s quality since Welds famous 1996 plunge have ranged from skepticism to complete dismissal of the cleanup promises, proving only that indeed, he “loved that dirty water.”
Nathan Rosillo, a key product developer at Chem-Tech Corporation finds himself in the middle of an exceedingly complex ethical dilemma (Pg. 156). He is the moral agent (Pg. 156) of the company who needs to decide if he wants to protect his beloved Dutch Valley River from the waste materials that can be dumped into it after the loosened requirements of the regulatory agencies. The new lubricant product developed by Nathan and his team is seen by his company supervisor and plant manager as key to reviving the financial fortunes of a cash strapped Chem-Tech. The cost savings arising from less need to reduce and recycle the waste from the new product seem to resonate well with the management’s profit-maximizing view (Pg. 167), and also allow them to stay in compliance with the loosened environmental standards. Nathan has the following 3 choices:
In Chicago’s early days of rising to become a major US city, its population exploded, causing the city to modernize quickly and businesses to cut corners to keep their edge. The river soon became the dumping ground for both sewage and toxic waste dumped by the slaughter houses. By demand of citizens, a canal was built “which later would be named the Illinois and Michigan (I&M) Canal (Hansen, pg. 41). The proposed canal “called for an excavation that woul...
People in the northern United States during the early nineteenth century wanted to rapidly industrialize and increase the amount of money they were making. The Erie Canal they believed was a great way to reduce the distance and time of shipping goods to the west. They also realized that the canal would probably increase their markets, which would mean a larger profit. The problem with all of this was how people had to destroy parts of nature in order for this to happen. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a prominent writer during the time, described the canal as “too rapid, unthinking advance of progress.” (57) Hawthorne and his supporters were very upset to see how forests and swamps were being destroyed and ruined in order t...
The water crisis in Flint Michigan began as early as was as April of 2014. The crisis is concerning a small town called Flint, located at the bottom right of michigan were the majority of the population is African American. The issue began when the town 's water supply witch in past use to come from the detroit river water supply was switched over to the Flint river water supply. People soon began to complain about the taste, smell, and color of the tap water, and of symptoms such as hair loss and rashes from bathing in the water. Even though there were many signs that the water was indeed contaminated, such as when a General Motors plant in Flint stopped using municipal water in October of 2014, claiming that it corroded car parts, the government officials stated that the water was not a threat to the public 's health and safety. However it was later revealed that the water was in fact unhealthy, and contained too much lead. The issue was brought to the eyes of the public when Lee Anne Walters, a Flint resident. This mother of four had seen her family suffer from various alarming symptoms, including abdominal pains, hair loss, and rashes; she also has a son who showed signs of developmental problems. She decided to switch her family to bottled water, and the symptoms abated. Finally, in February of 2015, she demanded that the city test the tap water. A federal investigation was launched and the results came back shocking. The water was extremely toxic containing 400 parts per billion of lead. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there is no safe level of lead in drinking water, but the maximum allowed by law is 15 parts per billion. Virginia Tech professor and engineer Marc Edwards, an expert on municipal w...
Dan and Teresa Reynolds have been experiencing many health issues, such as mysterious rashes since they moved to Love Canal. Teresa has also had 2 miscarriages. They were persuaded to buy their current home because they were told that Love Canal was "safe" after the cleanup. When Lois Gibbs, the head of the Love Canal Homeowner's Association returned to the site 35 years after she moved out, she said that "it was weird to hear them say the same things that I was saying 35 years ago." The situation now at Love Canal is the same as the situation that they had 35 years earlier. The old Love Canal gained national attention and was declared an environmental emergency. The residents are having the same health issues as they did 35 years ago. That proves that the situation now at Love Canal is still not clean enough for residents to live
In the 1930’s before the Love Canal area was turned into neighborhoods, the Hooker Chemical Company purchased the area and used it as a burial site for 20,000 metric tons of chemicals. In 1953 the Hooker Chemical Company sold the land to the Niagara Falls Board of Education for $1.00. There was a stipulation in the deed, which stated that if anyone incurred physical harm or death because of their buried wastes, they would not be responsible. Shortly after, the land changed hands yet again and this time home building began directly adjacent to the canal. Families who bought homes here were unaware of the waste buried in their backyards.
Then the documentary tackles Puget Sound. The Duwamish River is the largest hot spot in the nation. In 2001, the Duwamish River was classified as a “Super Fund” site. This is given to a site that will receive federal assistance for clean up. But yet, it may be too late. Puget Sound in contaminated with PCP, lead and mercury. The threat comes from the giant industrial polluters of old and from chemicals in consumers’ face creams, deodorants, prescription medicines and household cleaners that find their way into sewers, storm drains, eventually into America’s waterways and drinking water.
Superfund sites are abandoned hazardous waste areas, designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as posing a high risk to human and ecological health. The Portland Harbor Superfund site is a group of 60 former industrial sites located along the lower Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. In the early 1900s, before environmental health was a public concern, sewage and industrial waste were dumped directly into the Willamette River. By the time waste control systems were introduced in the 1950s, legacy pollutants had already left a mark on the riverbank and sediment of the lower Willamette (LWG, 2011). In 1997 the EPA and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) enlisted environmental consulting firm Weston Solutions
Westvaco is a paper mill which produces a great deal airborne waste which can be smelled, and seen anywhere within the city. Sediment from Westvaco airborne waste can be seen on the rooftops of homes throughout town. Further, Westvaco also produced waste that is dumped into the Jackson River. This waste has introduced pentachlorophenol (PCPs) in the Jackson River which turns into the James River which runs throughout Virginia. These PCPs affect the health of fish in the entire river which also has caused the Commonwealth of Virginia to issue a warning on the consumption of fish in the James and Jackson rivers. This externality affects fisherman throughout the commonwealth who are not able to eat the fish they catch in the Jackson and James rivers. Further, this externality affects residents within the city of Covington. Although there is no scientific proof to support this theory but, the airborne chemicals expelled from Westvaco cannot be health to the human body and could have significant side effects in the long
Within a few months of burying the PCBs, the EPA found significant PCB air emissions at the landfill and half a mile away, but citizens would not learn about this until 1998. Residents were upset about how little was being done to resolve the issue. They turned to Ken Ferruccio, who laid out a 5-Point Framework for resolving the PCB landfill crisis and demanded from the Hunt administration: 1) The state continue to monitor and maintain the PCB landfill; 2) A joint citizen/state committee be formed to mutually address the failures of the PCB landfill; 3) The solution to the failed PCB landfill remains on site; 4) Citizens be given independent scientific representation; and 5) Permanent detoxification of the PCB landfill be the ultimate goal (“Birth”). Governor Hunt agreed to the Framework and the joint Warren County/State PCB Landfill Working Group was formed. For the next decade, citizens attempted to hold the Governor to his promise, and pressed the legislature to fund an on-site, permanent cleanup that would not require dumping the waste on another community. Clean-up of the site would start in 2002 after public bids were taken for detoxifying the site by Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure (Bullard). The EPA did tests on the PCB Landfill in January of 2003, and based on the test results, an interim operations permit was granted in March. The soil treatment would be completed by October 2003; and in total, 81,600 tons of soil was treated from the landfill, being burned in a kiln at 9,000⁰F (“Birth”). The soil which was treated was the soil that was initially alongside the roads and the soil adjacent to it that had been in the landfill and had been cross-contaminated. The equipment at the site was decontaminated