THE CAUSES OF TOXIC WASTE
One of the biggest problems with today's toxic material is how to dispose of it properly. Years ago it was dumped into streams, rivers and oceans or buried underground with landfills. Toxic or hazardous waste comes from a variety of sources and is considered the by-product of any hazardous substance that is thrown away, properly or improperly. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, hazardous waste is most commonly a result of manufacturing or industrial processes, but factories and similar sites are not the only producers. Hazardous waste can also be generated by small businesses, health-care facilities and individual homes. According to National Geographic, the list of possible hazardous waste-producing
…show more content…
For example, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) cites cases in which people may drop hazardous materials at town dumps in order to avoid paying requisite removal fees, a crime that carries stiff penalties. This is why it is important to review all laws pertaining to a particular hazardous agent as described by EPA guidelines as well as other pertinent federal, state and local authorities. In other cases, natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes or other storms, can damage or compromise places where hazardous waste is found or stored. This includes equipment, such as underground tanks and septic systems that may then contaminate other water …show more content…
It covers over 75,000 hectares (185,000 acres) along Spain's southwestern coast, providing shelter for millions of migratory birds and housing threatened species such as lynx and imperial eagle. The causes of this disaster was a mine waste lagoon dam wall that collapsed, releasing zinc, lead and cadmium toxic waste into the River Guadiamar, a fragile wetland habitat. The rules surrounding hazardous waste are overseen in the U.S. by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as state departments of environmental protection. A common hazardous waste facility is one that stores the waste in sealed containers in the ground. Less toxic waste that is unlikely to migrate, like soil with lead, is sometimes allowed to remain in place under the ground and then be sealed with a cap of hard clay. Communities may eventually decide to use these sites for golf courses or parks, or to label them “brownfields” sites, suitable for commercial or industrial uses. Some countries they've got a several of companies that cleans the streets and oceans to protect the environment and the animals especially endangered animals from extinction. That's way they ship these waste to a far place away from the
For example, the plant that I work for within Hillshire brands is a sliced deli meats manufacturer and we needs to communicate certain dangers to the community when outbreaks of disease or other disasters occur. The companies must also take certain safety measures for protecting nearby residents from leaks like ammonia that may affect the water or air quality. We dispose of inedible meat on a daily basis so this is not regular garbage, these scraps are handled by a special waste company that has the correct licenses required to dispose of the product correctly. There are state and federal laws that protect people from unethical environmental practices. Companies that violate these laws may face stiff penalties.
Chapter 4 describes the horrific consequences of pre-1991 landfills. Humes writes, “Trash, sometimes with hazardous chemical waste mixed in, had been buried carelessly all over the country for decades without installing plastic barriers and other protections now deemed essential to containing landfill pollution”( 2013 p.92). Humes describes a tragic incidence near Niagara Falls, New Jersey in the 1970s. “In the 1950s, there was a residential community near Niagara Falls in New York. The community was built on what had been at one time a toxic chemical disposal site” (Humes, 2013, p.92).
The word dangerous is used to describe something that can cause harm to an individual: a dangerous job is just that. For the first time in the book, Schlosser focuses on what he considers the most dangerous job in the fast food industry: sanitation workers. He does this throughout chapter eight in the section “the worst”. Schlosser incorporates vivid descriptions of slaughter house conditions as well as accounts involving those affected by the lack of safety precautions to implicitly compare the similarities between sanitation workers of the slaughter house and the cattle that are also being murdered there. Schlosser’s main purpose for this section, and the chapter as a whole, is to emphasize the hazardous conditions that workers must endure
There are factories located relatively close to the wetland, which release gases and smoke affecting the biophysical processes in the
Manure and chemical filled lagoons are a common component of industrial farming. A colossal amount of waste is produced from COFAs, therefore it has to go somewhere. That somewhere would be the prior mentioned lagoons which are then sprayed or leaked into the soil. Contaminated soil can affect both ground and surface water. The runoff can go in two directions; either absorbed into the ground or washed into rivers or lakes in the surrounding area.
In The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury warns specifically of human greed which causes environmental damage. In other words, humans strive to fulfill their own needs and wants, overlooking the environmental consequences to achieve this. Furthermore, this can be seen in the real world with pollution which is a by-product of cars, planes, factories, mines, and human waste. For example, in an article from Newsela which documents concerns of polluted mine water, they point out: “About 3 million gallons of water filled with cadmium, lead and arsenic poured into tiny Cement Creek and from there into the Animas River. Colorado and New Mexico officials cautioned people to stay out of the water” (“After Years of Holding Back” Newsela)
Recent surveys by the State Department of Environmental Conservation point to the presence of approximately 100 chemical dump sites in the county (New York
Louisiana wetlands’ are currently undergoing catastrophic environmental issues. It’s major environmental problem is the loss of its wetland. Louisiana’s wetland loss has been occurring for thousands of years. Many organisms have been affected by this loss. Most organisms loose their habitats, while others unfortunately die out.
Nalo Hopkinson’s story “A Habit of Waste” takes place in a society where bodies are interchangeable, the main character is Cynthia, a Caribbean woman who discards her body for the figure of a white woman. When analyzing this fictional tale from a post-colonial lens, it is clear that the author is focusing on giving a voice to the experiences of those born after colonization and the history that was crushed along with it. The author uses an emotional appeal to express the struggles people of colour, specifically Caribbeans, face post-colonization. Cynthia's desire to belong outweighs any logic or ethics, and as a result of white supremacy, this sense of belonging comes in the form of internalized racism. Living in a society filled with racist ideologies often leads to internalized racism, as shown in this short story.
Animals being effected by trash, such as plastic, ending up in the ocean, the forest, and neighborhood parks are being quickly wiped
Have you ever seen a yellow river? Golden river, not so golden after all. In Colorado there was a mine spill in the Animas River that affect many people, animals and their land. The Animas River was polluted with with toxic chemicals that have left an environmental disaster and people can get diseases, from the water, leaving people to wonder if their way of life will ever be the same. The Animas river flowed a yellow color through several states contaminating hundreds of miles of land and the biggest indian reservation in the nation.
Canadian company TransCanada hopes to build Keystone XL a pipeline that carries Canadian tar sand oil from Canadian border to the Golf Coast. According to Derber “the pipeline extracts some of the dirtiest oil on the planet, a process that sends many polluting chemicals into the ground waters and releases methane, the most potent greenhouse gas, into the air, creating one of the greatest climate threat” (p. 115). A leak from a pipeline carrying the tar sand oil could cause environmental damage and pollute our drinking water and agricultural irrigation. The builders of the Keystone XL Pipeline are wilders. According to Derber, “environmental wilding in the natural environment, such as reckless polluting that causes global warming” (p. 11).
On a daily basis Puerto Rico’s shores suffer severe damage by waste created by negligent people who have no awareness whatsoever about the importance of ecological preservation. The islands
The Indutrial Revolution began in Britain in the 1700’s and spread throughout different parts of world. During this peiriod, vast amounts of people started moving from rural areas to urban areas looking for better job opportunities. Prior to the Industrail Revoliution, manuafcturing was often done in people’s homes. Slowly indutrialization established new machinery including the devlopment of the steam engine along with iron and textile industries. This was a great advancemt for the United States.
Industrial and capital hubs in developing countries are similarly characterized by multiple urban sprawls, informal settlements and overcrowding. The local governments or municipalities in many developing countries are highly challenged by mainly poor or weak policy and legislative provisions to regulate and enforce waste management guidelines. They also lack adequate funding and the correct capacity in terms of waste management personnel. All these challenges lead to situations where these local authorities are failing to take effective decisions with regards to solid waste management. It is worth noting that the decisions which municipalities are facing in terms of managing solid waste are not only difficult and capital intensive but they impact greatly on the natural environment as well as on social lives of people, therefore solutions to this issue are a matter of