The construction apparently damaged the integrity of the clay covering. Water from rain and heavy snows then seeped through the covering and entered the chemical-filled, clay-lined basin. The basin eventually overflowed into the houses, and the unfortunate residents had to endure the noxious smell and unwholesome sight of chemicals seeping into their basements and surfacing to the ground. In 1978 evidence of toxic chemicals was found in the living area of several homes, which prompted the state health commissioner to order an investigation that brought a number of health hazards to light. Several adults showed incipient liver damage; young women in certain areas experienced three times the normal incidence of miscarriage; and the area had three and one-half times the normal incidence of birth defects. …show more content…
Among all chemicals found at Love Canal, some caused minor health effects, such as skin irritation caused by dibromoethane and benzoic acid, but others were more serious. Since the chemicals became airborne, they caused respiratory conditions as well. Some of the major chemicals associated with Love Canal include benzaldehyde, which is an allergen, and benzene, which is a skin irritant with chronic effects, such as leukemia and anemia. Carbon tetrachloride is tied to acute effects, such as hepatitis and kidney damage, and chronic effects, such as liver tumors. Chloroform caused central nervous narcosis, skin and respiratory irritation, and stomach symptoms. The main chemical found was dioxin, which was most severe in its health effects; chronic effects included nervous system disorders and psychological
The first part of Toms River by Dan Fagin goes into detail about the history of the chemical industry in New Jersey with the Ciba plant producing dyes and epoxy and their methods of disposing of waste and what effect that had on surrounding individual’s health. There were many groups of people who were exposed to the toxic chemicals produced in the waste products of dyes and epoxy from the Ciba plant. People who were working the factory typically had peak exposure because they were required to scrape and dispose of the waste chemicals daily. Residents of a neighborhood downstream the factory who typically had personal wells and were not customers of Toms River Water avoided the chemically traced water directly from the river for some time,
The W.R. Grace Company, Riley Eannery, and Unifirst Corporation were prominent factories in Wobourn. Jan speculated they were to have illegally dumped a dangerous carcinogen known as TCE into the ground, sewer, and water systems of the Woborn community. These poisons were thought by Jan, and the community, to have polluted two water wells that acted as a water supply for the community. Many of the people who worked at the factories experienced many medical problems such as cancer and died at young ages. Community members experienced numerous medial problems such as flu-like symptoms, memory loss, cancers, leukemia, burning eyes, and skin, and death. The water over the years was said to have gone from natural, to smelling, to dark and dangerous.
Six years ago, my family and I went to Turner Falls Park in Davis, Oklahoma. We arrived at the park early in the morning and got ready to go swimming. I went to the restroom and got changed. When we were ready, we left to go swimming we walked on a bridge to get to the swimming area, there was a huge waterfall and we went swimming under it. After that we went to another swimming area that had two big slides, we swam there for about and hour then went to our camping area to eat. The next day we went hiking on trails and also went to a castle that was made of stone. We spent the rest of the day swimming and looking around the park. It was a great experience and It would be great to go again. In this essay you will be reading about history, a physical description
There has been contamination found in the groundwater surrounding all four towns. The groundwater is contaminated with VOCs, trichloroethene (TCE), ethylene dibromide (EDB), carbon tetrachloride (CCI4), perchloroethylene (PCE), benzene, vinal chloride, 1,1,2,2-TeCA, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, manganese, thallium, lead, toluene, and RDX. “Ethylene dibromide is especially worry some because it was found upwelling in cranberry bogs located in Falmouth and Mashpee (militarycontamination)”. Where it would was stored in the cranberries skin. “Falmouth being the most affected area losing twenty five percent of its possible drinking water supply (wr.usgs)”. Although the plumes are deep down in the aquifer. “People could be at risk if they accidentally drink the water or come into direct contact with the contaminated groundwater (militarycontamination)”. The way towns keep the residents from coming in contact with the possible risks of
Veronica Kronvall remembers how excited she felt about buying her house in 2007. It was her first house, in the small city of Ponder, Texas. Her kitchen was filled with her favorite color, purple, everything from mixing bowls to the microwave. She planted roses and planned on having a garden. She planned at living in this house for decades. What Veronica did not imagine was that 4 years later and energy company would drill 5 wells behind her home, with the closest being less than 300 feet from her backyard. Green pipes and tanks loom over her fence. The rumble of trucks and equipment rattled the glasses in her cupboard, and the smell of an acrid blend of chemicals was constant. She began having symptoms she had never had before, her eyes
Although drinking water is not yet known to have been affected, the groundwater was contaminated with volatile organic compounds and heavy metals (5). Both of these types of contaminants have been linked with one or several of the following: cancer, liver, kidney, and nervous system problems (4). In July 1979, the State Court required that all material be removed from the site by July 1980 (5). The state has spent over $300,000 cleaning this site (5). According to EPA standards, this site is in the "construction completed" stage of clean up. This does not mean, however that actual cleanup is complete because groundwater may need to be treated more than 30 years before contaminants are at accepted levels (5).
The residents who live on the northeastern shoreline of the island are a vulnerable population susceptible to flooding; thus, respiratory ailments, symptoms, and exacerbations. Residents who continue to live in homes not properly remediated are exposed to increased respiratory ailments secondary from the mold. This may also cause an acute exacerbation with preexisting respiratory illnesses in children and adults; such as cough, respiratory distress, allergic reactions, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
DuPont was aware of the harmful effects this chemical had on animals and people but ignored the issue in accordance of high profit. Not only were people affected in the local community, but people in surrounding areas were also affected. Thousands of people and large amounts of property were inflicted with poor air quality and poor drinking water. DuPont had later discovered that there were dust fumes emerging from the factories that were unhealthy for people to inhale, and later found it in the drinking water. DuPont also found an astonishing key of evidence, they had found PFOA in the water, and it was twice the amount of what was allowed, and could cause some serious issues. They had known about the levels and did not notify any workers or anyone in the community due to the fear of loss of profit. Men and women were coming home with a fever, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. These workers endured injurious experiences, and were never notified about the condition in which they were working. DuPont was named as not trustworthy, and at times known to practice illegal activity. After going through the experiences of which they just endured, they might go through the process of mental thinking or what they just went through was not right and should not have happened to me. That process is known as
The prevalence of environmental issues in the public awareness reached a point where government was forced to take action in 1979. When Henry Love abandoned construction of a canal in New York in 1920, the site was bought by Hooker Chemical and used as a toxic chemical waste dumping site for the next 33 years (Schons 2011). Then in 1953 Hooker Chemical sold the Love Canal to the school board, and construction of a school began. In the mid to late 1970s, when children’s shoes began melting to the ground and children got sick the residents organized and protested. Media coverage increased and showed toxic black sludge oozing into people’s basements (Schons 2011). The lack of awareness of environmental and health consequences of chemical dumping
First time I visited to hudson river wetlab pier 40 in New York City in my life. I did not knew too much information about the river before I left to hudson river. I saw many fishes to hudson river and hudson estuary also hosts many migratory fishes, such as atlantic sturgeon, american shad, and striped bass that fish live the few months or years of their lives in a fresh water and before they swimming out into the atlantic they do mature. As a adults of fishes they have to return to the river only to spawn. Hudson river also they have many different kind of animals as well such as diamondback terrapin, megan lorenz, chesapeake bay oysters, bald eagle, atlantic sturgeon, and red salamander, so on. One thing that, I heard from the women she was saying that the atlantic sturgeon is the hudson largest fish, that often reaching lengths of five to eight feet and in addition, it is anadromous females fish and
Many people felt hopeful while others felt guilty. One woman said, "We knew they put chemicals into the canal and filled it over, but we had no idea the chemicals would invade our homes. We're worried sick about the grandchildren and their children." (epa.gov). The government agreed to purchase new homes. Over seven-million dollars were spent to purchase new homes. Along with the purchase came the plan to fix the problem. The plan was to drain the canal of the chemicals, and to plow the homes destroyed by the chemicals.
"Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of gods gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts, and of sciences."-Freeman Dyson. 1825 the erie canal was built, 363 miles long, and 15 years later, thanks to it, New york is the center o trade world wide. How did the erie canal change america, well the erie canal changed america by improving the saftey and the time of travel, starting/helping religious movements, and improving the economey.
Last but not least, Canada is a place that I would like to visit because I want to ice skate on the Rideau Canal in the winter. The Rideau Canal is an inland waterway between the Canadian Capital of Ottawa and Lakes Ontario. A section of the Rideau Canal passing through the central Ottawa becomes the world’s largest skating arena. Skating on the Rideau Canal is an annual tradition for Canadians since 1971. Over the last 30 years the Rideau Canal has become a national symbol for winter in Canada. The Rideau Canal skate season usually runs from January to late February. Canadians actually skate to work on the Rideau Canal. I think that is very awesome because they are not polluting the earth. Also, by skating to work Canadian do not have to
In 1995, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a settlement agreement of its Love Canal lawsuit against Occidental Chemical Company on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)25. The agreement included a $3 million fund for follow-up health studies of Love Canal residents and the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) was charged with administering the fund25. New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) was responsible for conducting the follow-up study. This was a big study called Love Canal Follow-up Health Study which consisted of 4 smaller studies focusing on reproductive outcomes, cancer incidence, blood serum investigations, and mortality rates47, 58-60. These four studies used the same study group which were the Love Canal residents (both homeowners and renters). The control groups were those who lived in New York State and/or Niagara Falls County25.
From 1942 until 1953, the canal was filled with 21,800 tons of toxic chemical wastes (Hoffman 6). The uncertain inventory includes over 13 million pounds of lindane (benzene hexachloride), more than 4 million pounds of chlorobenzenes, and 400,000 pounds of dioxin-contaminated trichlorophenol, which are all extremely carcinogenic compounds. There are at least 200 identified chemicals dumped in the canal, but many unknowns are also present as a result of chemical reactions that took place in the complex mixture.