Superfund Sites

Both superfund and brownfield sites are efforts that seek productive uses for environmentally impaired properties. Although they both intend to find alternative uses for destroyed or harmed land, each program addresses a different kind of site and use different methods to accomplish their goals. Superfund is the federal government’s program to clean up the nation’s uncontrolled hazardous waste sites, while Brownfields are properties that are abandoned or underutilized because of actual or perceived contamination to the environment. There are over fifteen superfund sites in Georgia. Examples of Georgian Superfund sites include:

Robins Air Force Base:

Robins Air Force Base is located less than twenty miles south of Macon. In the 1960s and 1970s one of the landfills became the disposal site for several solid and hazardous wastes, including industrial sludge, solvents, and oils. This site posed threats to the environment and to residents on the base because the groundwater and soil became contaminated with harmful chemicals. The toxic portion of the landfill was decommissioned in 1978. Cleanup of the waste pit began in 1991 and was completed by 1998.

Brunswick Wood Preserving:

The Brunswick Wood Preserving is located in Glynn County. Poor waste management, accidental spills, and open dumping resulted in extensive groundwater and soil contamination at the site in 1996. The EPA attempted to clean the site by a method known as “capping” in which they covered the affected soil with layers of gravel, clay and even more soil to keep rainwater from leaching harmful chemicals into the surrounding groundwater. Despite their efforts, surrounding shallow groundwater and soil, as well as a nearby creek, remain contaminated.

Diamond Shamrock Corporation:

The Diamond Shamrock Corporation’s landfill is located in Polk County. The site contained about 900 drums of hazardous products. In 1980 the company reported its hazardous waste to the EPD. Potential contaminants from the site included manganese and several volatile organic compounds. Cleanup of the site concluded in 1990; however, the EPA conducts reviews at the site every five years to make sure that it is no longer a threat.

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company:

The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is located in Dougherty County, GA. Until 1980, drums of waste cement were stored on the ground in an area of less than 1 acre. In another area, waste was buried in a pit during fire-training exercises. An estimated 400 people obtain drinking water from private wells within 3 miles of the site, and 1,000 acres of cropland are irrigated with well water. A consultant to the company detected Benzene, 1, 1-Dichloroethylene, Toluene, 1,1-Dichloroethenane, 1,1,1-Trichlorothenane, and zinc in on-site wells. Fortunately drinking water wells are not potentially threatened.

The Khian Sea really isn't a Sea?

The Khian Sea incident resulted from the laziness and neglect of the American Nation. The United States incinerates most of its waste, so as a result we are left with an abundance of toxic ash, which contains heavy metals and dioxins. One solution to dispose of all this waste is to export it to developing countries. Unfortunately this practice has lead to devastating incidents, with detrimental ecological, economic, and political consequences. In 1986, a cargo ship named the Khian Sea laden with over 14,000 tons of incinerator ash from Philadelphia, PA, began its destructive journey as it swept across numerous continents in search of a place to dump it volatile load. The ship initially dumped between two and three thousand tons of ash near the beach of Gonaives, Haiti, before they were ordered to leave by officials. The ship then spent the next two years attempting to unload its municipal cargo on numerous continents, before later dumping the waste in the Indian Ocean. The toxic waste ended up on a Haitian beach for more than a decade before finally being returned to Philadelphia. This incident is a testament to the neglect and overall unethical behavior that has been at the precipice of America’s position on environmental safety. It is recorded that the Khian Sea actually changed its name and country of origin numerous times to deceive other countries. How can an American cargo ship be so deceitful in a task which is only a problem because of our negligence and ignorance? There needs to be tighter legislation and better environmental planning to prevent our need to seek refuge for our trash on other countries. The planet is becoming sick, and at the moment America is the disease that is plaguing Earth. If we continue to attack other countries by spreading our disease through vessels such as the Khian Sea how much longer can Earth survive?

No more love left in the canal

The ironic Love Canal incident is one of the most tragic, but well-known instances of environmental injustice in United States history. Love Canal was an abandoned canal that the Hooker Chemical Company used to dump their hazardous toxins. From the beginning the circumstances surrounding the disaster don’t demand a need to uncover the various deceptions regarding the true liability of where the tragedy lies. For one, the Hooker Chemical Company sold the land to the city of Niagara Falls for only one dollar! After the city took advantage of what can literally be perceived as the deal of a lifetime, many of the new residents who resided in the new one hundred homes and school began to complain about chronic burning of the eyes and face. Oblivious to the chemicals which festered right beneath their feet, the people of the Niagara Falls community had settled on toxic land. Eventually the chemicals rotted entirely through their containers and leached into backyards and basements, but if we look beyond the fault of the Hooker Chemical Company we notice the facilitator that actually looms above. The government is truly at fault for allowing the legal disposal of toxins and not monitoring the sites afterwards for possible problems. Although the Hooker Chemical Company dumped the waste legally, they knowingly sold the toxic land in the Love Canal neighborhood in New York. The government should be the one at blame for allowing the legalization of toxic disposal, because if it were not allowed the Love Canal incident would have been prevented. This incident is just another reminder of our need for more stringent environmental planning and legislation. We are now left with a monument symbolic of our neglect, but also a reminder of a possible future.

Family Waste Calculation

a. (4)(3)(365)= 4380lbs

b. (4380)(.200= 876lbs

Recycle City

        Recycle City Internet Activity

     A) The Widgets made at the Widget Manufacturing Company are made from recycled metals that are recovered from the Recycle City Materials Recovery Facility, and Joe’s Auto Wreckers.

     B) Vinegar can be utilized as a versatile cleaner. One half-cup of vinegar followed by a handful of baking soda can be used as a drain cleaner. Vinegar and water can also be used to clean wall, floors and glass.

     C)  Old tires can be shredded or melted down and used to make other materials such as asphalt, or playground surfaces. Old tires have been used in Recycle City to create a safe obstacle course. Even the play area surrounding the playground is made from old recycled tires.

     D) The plastic benches outside city hall are made from recycled polyethylene plastic which originally held milk.

     E)  An electric car can be found outside Shaq’s Garage.

     F)  Coffee grounds can be used in compost bins as fertilizer for plants and produce. The local school in Recycle City utilizes the coffee grounds from the coffee shop for their compost which grows lettuce.

Recycle City is a sustainable metropolis inhabited by environmentally conscious people who have abandoned their wasteful habits in favor of a more idyllic and efficient lifestyle. Originally known as Dumptown, the people of Recycle City soon realized that their superfluous lifestyles began to cultivate an uninhabitable environment filled with dangerous waste and toxins. They quickly learned to reduce, reuse, and recycle, by paying attention to what they threw away and even where it went. After a brief period of time known as the Recycle Revolution, an era characterized by frequent deaths and extraneous labor, Recycle City was born.(P.S. I made the last part up)

Wooden Boards can be made into:

1. Birdhouses
2. Mailboxes
3. Compost bins

Plastic Bags:

1. Plastic bags can be saved for future shopping trips
2. They can also be used to clean up around the house.
3. Plastic bags can also be used for arts and crafts

Comic #1! "A Bug's Strife"

 

I changed the concept for thefinal time. This is the first offical comic of "A Bug's Strife".

"The Problematic Four"

Buriganga River- Dhaka, Bangladesh This river is plagued by the chemical waste of mills and factories, home waste, medical waste, sewage, dead animals, plastics, and oil. The city of Dhaka discharges about 4,500 tons of solid waste every day and most of it is released into the Buriganga. Environmentalists have identified nine industrial areas in and around the capital city as the primary sources of the river’s pollution: Tongi, Tejgaon, Hazaribagh, Tarabo, Narayanganj, Savar, Gazipur, Dhaka Export Processing Zone and Ghorashal. Most of the industrial units of these areas have no sewage treatment plants of their own.

Ganges River- Allahabad, India The Ganges River Pollution is now at such a high level that the amount of toxins, chemicals and other dangerous bacteria found in the river are now almost 3000 times over the limit suggested by the WHO as safe. Approximately 1 billion litres of raw, untreated sewage are dumped in the river on a daily basis. The amount has more than doubled in the last 20 years.

Yellow River- Lanzhou, China By the time the Yellow River reaches the city of Lanzhou in northwest Gansu Province, it has a muddy brown color, having picked up soil, silt and industrial waste.  The Yellow River receives pollution from smelters and factories in the city of Baiyin. It has recently gained more attention due to it dramatic color change, from a yellowy tint to a magenta red.

Jordan River- Israel Usually used for baptisms, the Jordan River had recently become the site of mass pollution. Baptisms in the Jordan River are no longer recommended due to the diversion of 98 percent of its fresh water to Israel, Syria and Jordan, as well as the discharge of untreated sewage and agricultural run-off. People of Israel are working diligently to preserve the religious integrity of the river.

 
Silent Spring is a book by Rachel Carson which elaborates on the impending danger of pesticides. The book was released in 1962, and is called Silent Spring because of the effects pesticides had on birds. Spring time is a season that coerces birds from their nests, and encourages them to sing their natural melodies. The title Silent Spring reflects the result of pesticide abuse on the bird population.