Environmental Contamination and Superfund Sites
Explore the impact of pollutants in the environment, learn about contaminated sites, and discover the risks associated with chlorinated hydrocarbons. Dive into examples like the X-Chemical Company and understand the potential health implications. Engage in activities to collect samples and analyze data from federal or state EPA websites.
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Presentation Transcript
CURE: POLLUTANTS IN THE ENVIRONMENT Day 1 *Professors: Find data from your own state s or federal EPA websites by Dr. Jessica Smith-Rohrberg is licensed under CC BY 4.0
ITINERARY Discuss levels of contamination Go over lab instructions Look over Mass. Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs or EPA Superfund sites Each group will decide on a site to take samples from Drive to sites Collect samples
CONTAMINATED SITES Tier 1: pose an imminent hazard or affect public water supplies DPS: Downgradient Property Status, contamination on their property is coming from an upgradient property (property up-stream from them the property owners did not produce the contaminants) PSNC: Permanent Solution with No Conditions they ve cleaned it up completely For example, contaminated soil has been shipped to Montreal for Reuse, Recycling, or Treatment PSC: Permanent Solution with Conditions For example, if disposal site where an existing private water supply well(s) is removed from service as a source of drinking water and maintained for uses other than as a private water
EXAMPLE: X-CHEMICAL COMPANY This property has been found to contain chlorinated hydrocarbons: tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, which may cause cancer and central nervous system problems. The X-Chemical Company is a former hazardous waste transfer and recycling facility. It is not eligible for federal funding under a federal law (SuperFund) as it failed to score high enough in a preliminary assessment, in part because the chemicals polluting the groundwater there were found to not be currently harming humans or animals note that it is near an elementary school. Image from inside an abandoned factory not the same building in this example
CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS In Groundwater & entering drinking water: symptoms include diarrhea eye irritation sleepiness Exposure may lead to chronic illnesses such as: respiratory diseases Seizures cancers in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and genito-urinary organs May cause human renal toxicity (kidney disease) by disrupting the immune system and damaging renal structures, leading to an increase in the excretion of high molecular weight proteins in urine
FEDERAL OR STATE EPA WEBSITE Search for Superfund sites: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live Massachusetts: https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/portal#!/search/wastesite/results?TownName=
MATERIALS Before leaving, you need to assemble your equipment: Soil Sample: Label a glass sampling tube with your Group s Name or Initials and the date. Cut a square of Parafilm to cover it with after you get the sample Water Sample: On a piece of tape, write your initials and the date. Stick onto a plastic test vial; put a lid on it.
METHODS Choose your site and plug directions into a GPS. Drive out to site. Park safely if you can t park on the property, park nearby. If you can t get onto the property, get samples as close to it as possible. Find the precise geographical location and write on your paper. Someone in your group should take pictures these will be inserted into a future paper. Make observations of your site, such as: What does it look like? Are there any strange smells? What do the plants and grass look like? Superfund sites across the country
GROUPS AND LOCATIONS Names of Group Members Address of Site
