Phytoremediation of Urban Brownfields: a Case for Industrial Hemp

The EPA agreed to clean up Nahant Marsh in 1999. It was estimated that the clean up would cost $2,000,000. The water level had to be lowered to remove lead pellets so a pipe was used to drain the marsh until a pump was required. Once the water level was low enough they brought in an excavator and excavated and hauled the soil to a stockpile area where it dried out and was hauled to the landfill. In order to render the metal insoluble found in the soil a phosphate-based stabilization chemical was mixed into the soil. After the soil was treated it was removed and then the ground was graded and smoothed so grasses could be

Canada ranks among the leading energy producers in the world, through oil production. These oil deposits rank oil sands of Canada as the largest oil deposits in the world after the Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The only challenge with the oil sand deposits is that oil deposits are seen as unconventional. In effect, tar sands are recognized as one of the dirtiest energy sources in the world (Bailey & Droitsch, 2015). This fact is founded on the production factor; in producing one barrel of tar sands oil, the hazardous emissions are three to five times that of producing the equivalent of conventional oil. The Alberta oil sands are viewed as the single largest economic project in human history. The Canadian government and oil

55% of Canada’s trade balance in 2006, with a value of 21.8 billion Canadian dollars, was from forest products (Martin, 2012). Canadian government policies are used to pursue social, economic, and environmental goals (Martin, 2012). This includes regional development, job creation, community stability, the conservation of forests, and ecosystem protection (Martin, 2012). While each province has different policies, the overall goals are quite similar. In the late 1980’s there were two changes that led to much greater forest sustainability. An agreement from 1985-1990 named the Canada-British Columbia Forest Resource Development agreement led to a significant increase in funding (Brown, 1997). The funding was used for forest renewal research and reforestation of areas that had previously been improperly stocked (Brown, 1997). In 1987 the responsibility of covering the cost and regenerating the forests after harvest was traded off from the government to the forest industry (Brown, 1997). According to Robert G. Brown, manager of Silviculture Practices at the Forest Practices branch of the BC government, the two changes

Prior to the late 1950s the site was used as an excavation pit for sand and gravel. The quarry was subsequently used for the disposal of waste materials from 1950 until 1966. 10 acres of the 28-acre site has been used as a disposal area for several hazardous waste contaminants that included volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, tetrahydrofuran, toluene, vinyl chloride and xylene; other organics such as phenols and PCBs as well as lead. The main area of contamination is in the southern half of the 10 acre area which encompasses about 6 acres which

The next Superfund that has greatly influenced the environment of Butler County is the Skinner Landfill. The Landfill is on 85 acres in West Chester (2). The facility was privately owned and was never actually licensed, so it closed in the 1970's (5). The landfill contains about 100 drums of chlorinated organics, and heavy metals. Along with the presence of the drums is the fact that a nearby lagoon was once used as a disposal for these contaminants, and that the site had problems with unauthorized dumping (5). Fortunately, no contaminants have been discovered leaving the site (5). The presence of these

The importance of comprehensive site investigations and getting the right report, and by an EPA accredited auditor can be seen in the court case Charben Haulage Pty Ltd v Environmental & Earth Sciences Pty Ltd (2004) FCA 403. In this case Caltex had obtained development consent from the local council to decommission a suburban service station and remediate it to residential standards. A condition of the consent was that an auditor accredited by the EPA would sign off the completed decontamination.

Even in the Kono district of Sierra Leone, where the land was once thought to be beyond repair, land restoration is improving the landscape. Local communities are now working with international partners to fill in the mining pits, bring back native species, and replace lost topsoil. To further these efforts, Brilliant Earth’s non-profit fund has supported land restoration programs in the Kono district, helping to revive the local ecosystem and make former mining lands available for productive farming.

The areas of investigation were focused to the west of Douglass battery, chosen based on an 1804 watercolour painting by Edward Walsh (see figure 1). In the painting, three buildings are observed in the background, which prompted the survey of the suspected area. A grid was set up in the area with flags being placed at an interval of five meters. These intervals were test pitted down to the subsoil and the contents screened through mesh. The test pits, which revealed building material, were used to co-ordinate three different areas that would be excavated. Units were placed within each of these three spaces, laid in a way to maximize the area that would be covered. Areas one and three were supervised by teaching assistants Katie Anderson and Duncan Williams, while area two was under the supervision of Dr. John Trigs. All soil that was removed was screened through wire mesh and artifacts were placed in plastics bags with the provenience labeled on the front. The season lasted six weeks, beginning from May 11th, to June 5th 2015. At the end of the season, all units were backfilled with soil, with plastics sheets being placed in specific units to protect features.

The establishment of BCP could also help improving the environment. As we know, brownfield possess of hazardous substance that could potentially harm human health. By cleaning up brownfields, risk for human health could be reduced significantly. Other than that, redeveloping brownfields could conserve up to 4.5 times more greenfields sprawl development. Greenfield means land that there is nothing built on it before. By utilizing brownfield redevelopment, it could create an opportunity for environmentally-responsible accommodation of population growth. Furthermore, it could improve air quality as well. Air pollution due to transportation could be reduced up to 40%. This is benefited from urban compact development on brownfields. Lower energy

They have tried to resolve the issue over the years by digging up the resident’s yards and replacing it with uncontaminated soil. Instead, they put clay which doesn’t absorb water, which caused other issues. The damage has been done, no one was held responsible. The responsibility of the clean-up should have been put on the mining companies and at the cost of the mining companies. They forcibly came into the land, abused the land and the people in the area, then left. It will take decades for the land to ever recover from the damage they caused for a

Moreover, the “electric wasteland” (a powerline corridor habitat) is fundamentally not all that wide and short on space. Ironically, Another threat the wasteland faces is the belief of the general public that herbicides, regardless of how they are utilized, have an overwhelmingly negative impact on the wasteland and surrounding environment. However, past research has shown that targeted herbicide use can have less of an effect on wetlands adjacent to the powerline corridor than area managed by mechanical means alone. The caveat is that herbicides are applied using spot treatment techniques such as low volume foliar application, cut stump, and basal spraying techniques. The trouble today comes from utilities using high volume foliar and aerial herbicide applications techniques (mainly high volume foliar). Nevertheless, the last major threat to New England’s “electric wasteland” has to deal with is the public’s own poor perception of the habitat area itself. As a result, there is a negative backlash against tree removal even when its done to help maintain the quality of habitat area underneath the powerlines. Moreover, this poor perception also results in powerline corridors becoming the victim of vandalism, often from

Industrial Hemp is an ancient crop, which has a multitude of diverse uses. The earliest uses of Hemp can be traced back to the Sumerians and probably even earlier in man’s unrecorded history. Industrial Hemp is not Marijuana though the two plants are of the same family and have passing resemblance to one another. Industrial Hemp’s myriad uses are being rediscovered and at the forefront of research in diverse fields. I will be attempting to dispel some of the myth, and providing history and proven uses of this amazing plant.

REMIEDIATING AGRICULTURAL WATER CONTAMINATION Remediating Agricultural Water Contamination: Problem, Solution, and Barriers Paper Problem Concerns about water pollution are generally focused towards sources that are highly visible and chemically oriented. However, the greatest causes of water contamination and quantity abuse in the United States come from agricultural production (United States Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2012a), which is defined as a nonpoint source that pollutes with nutrients. In 2011, nine

Since1970, Muirshiel Country Park has been part of Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park which is situated in the River Calder Valley north of Lochwinnoch. The park is an area of general natural beauty with beautiful landscapes and great scenic views but people are allowed to live and work within the area. It may look remote but it has a purpose for human activity, as in the past the land has been used as a farm situated close to the current entrance, for field sports such as grouse shooting and more recently for barytes mining. The mine closed in 1969, just before the opening of the country park. (Clyde Muirshiel Park Authority [CMPA from now on], n.d.) The current use of the park is mainly recreational, with a small network of footpaths for walkers, cyclists, and educational groups. Other land uses include forestry, field sports, and small-scale agriculture. For this assignment we are imagining that a gold-bearing ore outcrops on Windy Hill just to the north of the country park.

Not by describing the details of the destruction of the acreage but the worth that it will be after the fact. Making sure that the town and council understands that the land is not being uprooted for any demeaning nature but for growth and opportunity that the town of Beatty is in great need, and if this opportunity is not met in a quick manner, the fact of the matter is that there will not be a need for land preservation for tourism because the land itself will not have any tourist. The town of Beatty is really relying on the jobs that this addition is going to bring and the revenue that will be put back into the state is in great need.