Unit 3 Discussion
Discussion Overview
Please review the Discussion Board Grading Rubric in the Course Resources.
Each unit, you are required to post one initial response and two replies to your peers and/or professor. Your initial response should be at least 200 words and contain a reference list for the sources used to support your response; the word count minimum excludes the references. The responses to others should be at least 50 words each. Please be sure to cite all of your sources in APA format in accordance with the Discussion Board Grading Rubric.
Topic: Environmental Hazards
After reviewing the instructions for the Unit 3 Assignment and choosing either a Superfund site or sanitary landfill in your community, discuss the potential health risks local residents may experience in relation to the site. What is being done to prevent human exposure to these environmental hazards?
My community is Oahu, Hawaii.
Francis Martinez posted Oct 3, 2024 10:38 PM
Hello class,
The sanitary landfill I chose is based in NYC, which is my community, it’s reported that These landfills cause the bad odor that surrounds the city, according to Liz Donovan from City Limits (2022), “In 2020, 90 percent of the landfill’s capacity was from the five boroughs, the complaint shows. That reflects an increase of 284,392 tons of garbage from New York City in 2015 to 646,744 tons five years later” (Donovan 2022). Unfortunately, the bad odor isn’t the only thing coming out of these landfills, Dust is a very common factor that can cause respiratory issues and damage and also bring lung and heart conditions to the citizens. However, in December of 2022, the Perinton town supervisor announced a five-year plan to reduce the odor transfer the landfill and make sure the trash does not pass its limit, this has effectively been reducing the odor little by little and also these situations have not gone unnoticed by the DEC, which received serval complaints and have been trying to take action and fight against the effect of these landfills. Effectively in 2021-22, the DEC established the Geomembrane cover to some of the acres of the landfill and this has been a strategy that has been working and supported. As a fellow New Yorker, this trash issue is very much true and very disgusting, there are several parts I don’t pass to stop smelling the foul odor and getting nauseous.
REFERENCES:
Donovan L. ( 2022 September 19). Outsourced NYC Trash is causing Never-Ending Odor Event’ Upstate, Lawsuit Alleges. City Limits. https://citylimits.org/2022/09/19/outsourced-nyc-trash-is-causing-a-never-ending-odor-event-upstate-lawsuit-alleges/#:~:text=In%202020%2C%2090%20percent%20of,which%20has%20intervened%20multiple%20times.
Council.gov. NYC. (2024). Table of Contents -New York City Council. By Joseph C. Borelli. Council Member 51st District. https://council.nyc.gov/joseph-borelli/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2017/05/Landfill-Report-FINAL.pdf
Tyler Sack posted Oct 3, 2024 8:47 PM
Hello everyone,
The supersite I chose to talk about is C&R Battery Co. INC. The Plant is located south of Richmond, VA near the James River. The site was used to dismantle car batteries from vehicles and repurpose the materials. According to (EPA, 2017), the company would cut open the batteries and dump the acid into ponds on the property. The site has had soil and water samples taken to assess the risk to humans and wildlife in the surrounding areas. Although no groundwater was found to be contaminated, these hazards can potentially cause major illnesses if it were to come into contact with the groundwater. If the acid were to get into the groundwater it could cause higher PH levels in the drinking water and have the potential to make the water more corrosive (Shin, 2018). When the acid is exposed to soil, the soil will become more acidic and harm grass or crops growing nearby. C&R battery was removed from the NPL list in 2022 after five-year reviews determined the site no longer posed a threat to the surrounding area. The site now has controls in place set by the EPA to reduce the chance of environmental exposure (EPA, 2017). The controls make it so that strict action must be taken if any future spills happen on the property.
References:
Environmental Protection Agency. (2017, October 20). C & R Battery Co., Inc. site profile. EPA. https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=0302581#bkground.
Shin, D., Kim, Y., & Moon, H. S. (2018, December). Fate and toxicity of spilled chemicals in groundwater and soil environment I: Strong acids. Environmental health and toxicology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6341169/.