Sydney Tar Ponds
Even though The Sydney Tar Ponds have been remediated, dumping chemical byproducts in the nearest water source is not the most effective solution for controlling your industrial waste because The Tar ponds contain over 700,000 tons of toxic sludge, there was an abundance of health concerns and deformities in humans and animals that lived near the area, and the cost for remediation totaled to a whopping amount of 400 million dollars.
Well, tar is an almost liquid black substance that is derived from coal and has very distressing harmful and environmental effects. According to Wikipedia, “Tar can be produced from coal, wood, and gasoline. It is a black mixture, which consists mostly of carbon and hydro carbons” Hydro Carbons
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One is called the North Pond and the other is the South Pond, both making an accumulated area of 77 acres which is about 370,000 square yards! According to The Sierra Club of Canada, “The “Sydney Tar Ponds” are actually not ponds at all, they are a Tidal Estuary” (pg.1) secondly, the Sydney Steel Corporation and Coke Ovens was the primary cause of this massacre. The area that used to be called Muggah Creek, was later called “The Sydney Tar Ponds” due to the chemical byproducts simply being dumped directly into the nearest main water source, which was the Muggah Creek. The ponds contain 700,000 tons of toxic sludge, therefore the drinking water from the ponds contain very high levels of toxins and is a serious health hazard that needed to be addressed. Children had been drinking tap water had been seriously poisoned. Parents too, that were drinking tap water had begun to notice a detrimental change to their overall health. After all of this, the Federal Ministers Government Officials took action and began to notice prevalent changes, such as: an increase in cancer rates, many miscarriages among local woman, and for those who were able to maintain pregnancy, an increase in birth anomalies. Wow! Not only did the humans experience overall changes in their health, but a species called the Mummichog including sea crabs were drastically affected by the toxicity of the ponds. This completely changed everyone’s view of the Tar Ponds considering the fact that no one at first thought about the animals in the ponds or if there were animals even alive in the ponds. Biologists found in one Female Mummichog (The only one they found, that had survived): missing fin membrane, shortened body, missing bones, bent bones and other deformities. One biologist named Martha had a simple equation that if the deformities in the mummichogs disappear or fade overtime, then the cleanup is
... Contaminated material will still be filled with cement and then contained in the area they are in, none of the material will be incinerated. Then the entire area will be caped off and landscaped for future use The first phase of this was completed in late 2009 while the second stage began in Spring of 2010. (Tar ponds timeline, 2007) (Sydney Tar Ponds, 2012)
“Greasy Lake" by Tom Coraghessan Boyle, is the story of a group of adolescents, searching for the one situation that will proclaim them as bad boys and how their minds change. As the story begins, the narrator gives the impression that he feels he and the others boys should have taken notice of some obvious clues about themselves. These clues would have led them to the conclusion that they were far from the bad guys they wished to be. However, the oblivious teenagers ignore these obvious signs and continue in search of their goal.
The main idea of Tar Beach, to me, is that your imagination can make anything possible. The young girl uses her imagination to make all she wants her. She first explains how much she loves the George Washington bridge, “The bridge was my most prized possession.” She talks about how her father worked on the bridge and how much that meant to her. The author explains that the girl imagines she can fly and once she flies over something, she claims it to be hers. Throughout the book she claims the union building for her father and the ice cream factory for all of her family to enjoy. She also takes her brother flying with her, “I have told him it’s very easy. All you need is somewhere to go that you can’t get to any other way.” I believe the author
They also look after the quality of coastal waters by watering down, sifting, and settling deposits, left-over nutrients and contaminants. They are highly productive ecosystems and provide habitats and act as nurseries for all manner of life.
Storm water runoff is the biggest polluter of streams, creeks, rivers and ocean water systems. “Nationwide, storm water is a leading source of water pollution. About thirteen percent of U.S. rivers, eighteen percent of lakes and thirty-two percent of estuaries are classified as impaired by storm water, which means they are rendered unsafe for swimming or fishing. It also contributes to the degradation of many other waterways” (Coefield, 2010, p.1). The improperly disposed coal waste from Duke Energy easily percolates through t...
The industrialization of Canada is severely affecting the nations lakes, streams, and rivers. If something is not done to improve the situation it is going to have some severe environmental problems in its future. The following essay will be looking at the factors that cause pollution, and the effect that pollution has on the environment of Canada. It will also explore some of the methods used to treat and clean-up wastewater, and oil spills.
In the early 1880s, Chicago was a bustling city on its way to becoming one of great cities in the world. There was a problem though. Horrible sanitation problems plagued the city. The Chicago River was virtually an open sewer covered with visible filth. Most of the river’s worst pollution came from homes and bathroom waste thought the city. “Bubbly Creek” was one of the worst branches of the river. It was filled with enough stockyard waste to equal the pollution from a sizable city. To further the problem, all of the contents of the river flowed into Lake Michigan, polluting Chicago’s drinking water causing a sever outbreak of water born diseases.
If puffins are disturbed by humans they will leave their nests and will not come back. This has led to the extinction of puffin colonies in parts of the European coastline.
Harmful emissions from the landfills escape into the air we breathe. The soil and water are also contaminated from our
This paper introduces the environmental concerns of the loss of coastal wetlands. The paper will discuss the significance of wetlands and the devastation that is occurring because of human activity. Wetlands are an essential element of our environment both ecological and societal; conservation will be essential for the preservation of these precious ecosystems.
Harmfull Effects of Ocean dumping include animals in danger with trash in their habitat, as well as contamination of public waters.
Background: Waste water treatment plants are essential to communities of all sizes and must work efficiently. Waste water treatment plant primary priority and responsibility is the treatment of incoming sewage water by the removal of biological and chemical wastes so it can be treated and recycled for future use. There are many government agencies and standards set forth to govern and observe the successful treatment of sewage, such as the Department of Environmental Quality, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and the Clean Water Act of 1972. Compliance and constant monitoring of the treatment plant’s operations are important as they protect the surrounding community. A spill or backflow of sewage due to a complete system malfunction could potentially be detrimental to the environment and local community.
When coal gets burned they start to release harmful dangerous toxins such as mercury, lead and arsenic that will then escape into the air. It also releases large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. These emissions increase the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere and lead to global warming.
...or lakes (Weber 2). When people just dump waste products instead of recycling, it is a misuse of the soil and can contribute to serious health conditions in animals, plants and humans.
Untreated sewage can contaminate the environment and cause diseases, such as diarrhea. The sewage is mainly biodegradable and can be treated in water treatment plants, but it is a major problem in countries that are not quite developed yet.