Effects on Local Populations
When the mining was occurring in the 40s – the 60s, the city was thriving. The economy was sustainable and life the people seemed to be great. Little care was taken in the disposal processes or the hazardous aftermath material and once the mining was stopped, not only did horrible health repercussions happen but the economy came to a dead holt as well. The lives and lively hoods of the Mailuu Suu people are ruptured. Effects on the people include cancer, anemia, early death and goiter, among others. Rates of cancer in Mailuu Suu are the highest in the country and the radiation level is almost 30 times higher than normal levels. This is due to the uranium tailing in the region. Most residents die in their early
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(Aitaliev et al., 2006)
A study carried out by the SCK-CEN was done to evaluate how and how quickly the radioactive materials could be transported to safe areas as the real danger of the tailings falling into the river are very real. All it takes is a heavy rain fall to push the materials into the water. The people of the area are ingesting locally grown foods and this is causing more than 90% of damage. This means there should be close monitoring and restrictions on food crops to ensure safety. Also the dosages due to inhaling radon in the air can be reduced by increasing ventilation in the houses and some action should be taken to remove peoples who the ventilation cannot help. (Vandenhove et al., 2003)
Overall the DWDS does not provide good quality drinking water, and many of the wells used for drinking water and irrigation are contaminated from the tailings seeping into the surface waters and ground waters. The presences of arsenic in the water is well above the WHO acceptable levels and this is very dangerous as arsenic is extremely toxic to humans and animals. Also the levels of chlorine and selenium in some drinking wells, four in the area- one located near a school and used by a large number of children for drinking purposes, are well above the guidelines deemed acceptable for quality of water intended for human consumption by the European Union Directive. The concentrations of uranium in the
There are three main mechanisms by which the chemical composition of groundwater, which is our natural source of drinking water, may be changed: by natural processes, by man's waste-disposal practices such as those for sanitary wastes, liquid industrial wastes, solid wastes, and radioactive wastes, and by spills, leaks, and agricultural activities and other sources unrelated to disposal. The degree of risk posed by contaminants varies according to many factors. These include the volume and toxicity of the contaminant, its concentration in the aquifer, its persistence in the environment, and the degree of human and environmental exposure to the contaminant. In addition, the number of persons affected, or likely to be affected, over time and the percentage of available groundwater both locally and regionally should be taken into consideration. If the contaminants in the groundwater exceed the standards set for drinking water by the federal government, for example, then the water is hazardous for the use for which it was designated under the standards. These standards include, however, only a limited number of chemicals, and thus they do not necessarily protect humans or the environment against either the short-term or the long-term effects of every contaminant that might be found in
The rain that came as a result of Typhoon Makurazaki washed away most of the radioactive materials , making the living environment better for the
The Navajo have endured environmental injustice since 1944 when uranium, was mined on their land. Even though it brought them mining jobs there were negative effects on the Navajo Nation. Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive metal that may cause negative health effects. The radioactive materials caused lung cancer or various forms of fibrosis. These uranium mines affected not only the minors but
A month later, tests performed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed that excessive rates of lead were present in the water supply, rates that far exceeded the EPA’s limit (CNN, 2017). Another test in March indicated even higher levels of lead. A switch back to the DWSD was proposed and denied following the second test. A lawsuit was also filed against the city claiming the water to be a health risk, but the case was dismissed.
individuals are affected by this issue. The once clean water in these wells is now polluted
Let’s start out with the pollutants in this water. There was a surprising amount of pollution found downriver of Sioux Falls, the largest city in South Dakota. It makes sense that more pollutants would be coming from more heavily populated areas, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is harming all those around it. It is thought that a lot of this pollution is coming from the city waste
One of Uranium’s largest environmental impacts is the quality and quantity of surface water near Uranium mines. Once Uranium is extracted from mills, a significant amount of Uranium products are released into rivers and lakes. This significantly increases the concentration of Uranium in surface water. Radon, a product produced from the decaying of Uranium, if consumed by the animals, can create serious lung and stomach issues. Inhaling radon has a similar effect. Uranium, once the material dissolves into the soil, can also significantly influence the soil quality in a given area. Soil, after this process, can’t provide moisture for plant growth and many underground living organisms die. Considering the Olympic Dam Mine is next to a large river, these issues are occurring more and more near the
This radioactive pollution is anything but acceptable even though it is being deemed “acceptable,” by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (World Business Academy). The health effects of radioactivity are accumulative in the human body, consequently, the longer an individual has been living around a nuclear power plant, the more radioactivity their body absorbed. Engaged with leading researchers in the field, the Academy commissioned a health study to investigate the potential impact the Diablo Canyon has on the local population (World Business Academy). By examining publicly available health data broken out by zip code, an abrupt trend emerged: the local population in the hot zone has been getting sicker every year the plant has been operating (World Business
By the 27th April people were being evacuated from Pripyat this was around about 36 hours after the incident, there were already complaints coming in from people about vomiting, headaches and signs of radiation and sickness. The health of the people was already
Early reports indicate that some local residents had yellow water; the lead-leased water had impacted some resident’s health as well. One report indicated that the tap water of one home was so toxic, that it would be considered hazardous waste.
The book entitled, “Ecology of Weeds and Invasive Plants”, opens with a quote from Dr. A. S. Crafts saying, “in the beginning there were no weeds.”. This quote causes one to stop and think about it. What Dr. Crafts meant by this quote was that even though plants have existed for many years, weeds did not exist before humans began to travel about. With all the traveling that humans do the problem of invasive plants has grown tremendously (Radosevich, 1). The impact that invasive species have on the environment is often overlooked or thought of as unimportant. The issue is vast, yet little is done about it. The problem with invasive species is extremely important and will impact the world for generations to come. This paper will explain what invasive species are, show the negative impacts invasive species have on the environment, and what we can do about this issue.
I live in Howard County, Missouri. More specifically Fayette, Missouri. We get our water from Thomas Hill PWSD out of Moberly, MO, which is about 30 miles from my home. The Thomas Hill District supplies water many towns north of Fayette, including Salisbury, Huntsville, Rennick, Clark, Higbee and up to the Boone County boarder. The source of Thomas Hills water supply of “drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and groundwater wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity”(thomashillpwsd.com).
After taking samples, and running tests on the water of the U-Creek, the conclusion was made that the water quality of the U-Creek is excellent. Water quality is not excellent in all cases, but keeping good water quality is very important for life of the organisms in the water. One way that humans could change the water quality, or pollute the water is through runoff. Rivers are a very convenient place for the companies or farms to get rid of waste. For example, farmers put pesticides and fertilizers on their crops to protect them from bugs, or to help them grow better. Fertilizers contain nitrates and phosphates, if large amounts of these two things end up in the water it will lead to an overgrowth of plant life, and algae growth. Over time as the algae starts to rapidly grow, the algae will start to use up all of the dissolved oxygen in the water. Dissolved oxygen is very important to organism life so if it is all gone then organisms will start to die. Another way that humans pollute water is through chemical water deposits. Chemical waste is discharged from industrial processes, that can end up in rivers or streams. An example of a
The environmental issue of interest is clean drinking water and the abuse of our water sources. The interest in this discipline is because clean water and water abuse have been an issue for many years. Many countries around the world and in our own back yard lack clean drinking water. The cause of unclean water can be caused by bad agriculture practices and industrialization. The cause of these unhealthy practices may cause waters to be contaminated with a mineral called Chromium; this mineral exposes a high risk of cancer. The county of Gwinnett is full of lakes, rivers, streams, creeks and ponds but the only source of drinking water that is disposed to residents comes from a man-made lake called Lake Lanier. The lake provides clean drinking
I learned that mines were abandoned and in this case we have the responsible helping out. In other cases like the Gold King Mine in Colorado that it was used in the early 1900’s, the responsible that abandoned the mines were from Canada and are no were to be found. The problem with these mines is that when they extract all the uranium and there is no need for the mines, these mines need to be abandoned and closed. Unfortunately, there was no cleanup process when the mines were abandoned. Leaving the areas contaminated and the water from the rain transporting the contamination to other areas. 100 years ago, there was no standard on how to properly abandon a mine. Now days, the EPA and the state environmental departments are responsible to enforce the proper abandonment procedures and make sure the closure will not contaminate nearby areas or the water used for drinking, crops, and other human and animal uses. The runoff of the mine contamination can increase the total dissolve solids (TDS) in the nearby waters, making it non usable for human consumption and fish