Global Courant 2023-05-10 22:16:02
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While researching information for another post, I came across a term I had never heard before: Superfund site. Essentially, a Superfund site is a place that has been severely contaminated by hazardous waste that has been left out/opened, not properly managed, and then funded by the Environmental Protection Agency to clean it up.The terrifying thing is that in the United States THOUSANDS of these sites exist. And FYI, according to Time, New Jersey, California and Pennsylvania have the most sites. Here’s a look at some of the most devastating locations across the country:1.The Hanford nuclear sitea decommissioned nuclear manufacturing complex in Benton County, Washington that was involved in the Manhattan project. It has been referred to as the most toxic place in America “America’s Chernobyl.”According to NBC news“The tanks leak and the fumes they emit contain toxic and radioactive chemicals known to cause cancer as well as brain and lung damage.” In 2016, 61 workers were exposed to these chemicals and toxins.Some nuclear experts have even gone so far as to mention Hanford, which opened in 1943. “the most poisonous place in America” and “an underground Chernobyl waiting to happen.”2.Gowanus Channel in Brooklyn, New York, which is surrounded by popular communities such as Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Red Hook, and is considered one of the most polluted bodies of water in the US. It was once the site of gas works, paper mills, tanneries and chemical plants that discharged waste into the canal.According to GothamistThe canal’s sediment – the infamous ‘black mayonnaise’ – is a deadly mix of oil, coal, pesticides, decaying debris, raw sewage, chemicals and heavy metals, including arsenic, benzene, chromium, mercury and lead. of the canal is contaminated each year by millions of gallons of sewage, leading to it becoming contaminated with typhoid, cholera and tuberculosis in the 1970s.“In more recent years, gonorrhea has been diagnosed. The canal’s shoreline has been poisoned by a century of industrial use, including chemical plants and manufactured gas plants, which have left coal tar plumes that have sunk 150 feet underground.”3.The Middlefield-Ellis-Whisman (MEW) Superfund Study Area, which is actually three Superfund sites, and is adjacent to Google’s Mountain View campuses in California.In 2013, as Forbes reported that two of Google’s buildings suffered from toxic fumes seeping from the ground. The article explained“The pollution is caused by trichlorethylene coming up through the soil.”“TCE, as it is called, is a powerful solvent that was used in large quantities by semiconductor manufacturers such as Fairchild, Intel and Raytheon in the early days of Silicon Valley.”4.The Wingate Road Municipal Incineration Dump in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the city operated a waste incinerator from 1954-1978.According to the Sun sentinel“The 61-acre property (…) had been the site of a municipal incinerator and the removal operation was so sloppily executed that soil and water were contaminated with a witches’ brew of toxins.”“Local residents blamed the incinerator for cancer, birth defects and other health problems.”5.The Washington County Lead District – Old mining site in Washington County, Missouri. It has contaminated soil, groundwater, surface water and sediment with arsenic, barium, cadmium and lead through historic mining practices, of which many residences in the area appear unaware.According to the EPO“As development in the area has progressed over the past 200 years, residents of the area have built homes and developments on mining tailings. Many people have used mining tailings as a low-cost option for use in gravel driveways or even children’s sandboxes.”“Unfortunately, many people moving to the area are not familiar with the mining history of the area or the health risks associated with exposure to mining tailings that contain lead, arsenic and cadmium.”6.The Wolff Alport Chemical Company location in Ridgewood, Queens, New York, which is adjacent to Bushwick, Brooklyn, and is considered the most radioactive place in New York City.According to the New Yorker“For decades, Wolff-Alport processed rare earth metals and dumped the waste product, radioactive thorium, into the sewage system.”“They later sold their thorium to the Atomic Energy Commission, which stored the material for use in nuclear weapons and reactors.”7.The McCormick & Baxter Creosoting Co. site, a 29-acre former wood preservation facility in Stockton, California, where a whopping 2 million gallons of creosote (a mixture of hundreds of chemicals) used to treat wood drenched the shore and trapped river sediment.According to Oregon public broadcaster“McCormick & Baxter filed for bankruptcy in 1989 after handling wood for about 50 years. It left behind a legacy of thick creosote, copper, chromium, zinc, arsenic, PCPs and other contaminants.”8.The Lipari landfill, an inactive landfill in Mantua Township, New Jersey that accepted household waste, liquid and semi-solid chemical waste, and other industrial materials between 1958 and 1971. It was once considered “the country’s most polluted canal,” which is what locals called it “toxic bathtub.”According to Asbury Park Press“During 13 years of operation, approximately 3 million liters of liquid chemical/industrial waste and 12,000 cubic meters of solid chemical/industrial waste were dumped in Lipari.”“And at least one explosion and two fires have been reported at the site.”9.The Big River Mine Tailings/St. Joe Minerals Corp. site located 70 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri, where there used to be a former mining area known as the “Old Lead Belt”.According to the EPO“The site became contaminated with lead, cadmium and zinc from lead mining activities, including smelting, grinding and roasting.”Also, “The Missouri Department of Conservation has detected elevated levels of lead in fish downstream of the mining area above World Health Organization standards. The state of Missouri is advising people not to eat fish they catch in the Big River downstream of this area.”10.finally, the Lansdowne radiation site in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania where Dr. Dicran Hadjy Kabakjian and his family refined radium in the basement of their home to supply doctors and hospitals with radium-tipped needles for cancer treatment in the 1920s.The ‘hot house’ came to light in 1962 during a search for forgotten radium sites. In 1964, authorities spent $200,000 to decontaminate it.The radiation eventually killed the whole family – either from cancer, or in Dicran’s case from emphysema likely caused by the fumes. When Dican’s body was exhumed for study in 1965, his skeleton recorded the highest levels of radiation ever recorded in the human body.I just learned about “Superfund sites,” that is
While researching information for another post, I came across a term I had never heard before: Superfund site. Essentially, a Superfund site is a place that has been severely contaminated by hazardous waste that has been left out/opened, not properly managed, and then funded by the Environmental Protection Agency to clean it up.
You can learn more about the history of the Superfund program hereif you feel so inclined.
Bob Riha Jr/Getty Images
The terrifying thing is that in the United States THOUSANDS of these sites exist. And FYI, according to Time, New Jersey, California and Pennsylvania have the most sites. Here’s a look at some of the most devastating locations across the country:
1.The Hanford nuclear sitea decommissioned nuclear manufacturing complex in Benton County, Washington that was involved in the Manhattan project. It has been referred to as the most toxic place in America “America’s Chernobyl.”
Jeff T. Green/Getty Images
According to NBC news“The tanks leak and the fumes they emit contain toxic and radioactive chemicals known to cause cancer as well as brain and lung damage.” In 2016, 61 workers were exposed to these chemicals and toxins.
Corbis/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
Some nuclear experts have even gone so far as to mention Hanford, which opened in 1943. “the most poisonous place in America” and “an underground Chernobyl waiting to happen.”
Corbis/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
2.Gowanus Channel in Brooklyn, New York, which is surrounded by popular communities such as Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Red Hook, and is considered one of the most polluted bodies of water in the US. It was once the site of gas works, paper mills, tanneries and chemical plants that discharged waste into the canal.
Epics / Hulton Archive
According to GothamistThe canal’s sediment – the infamous ‘black mayonnaise’ – is a deadly mix of oil, coal, pesticides, decaying debris, raw sewage, chemicals and heavy metals, including arsenic, benzene, chromium, mercury and lead. of the canal is contaminated each year by millions of gallons of sewage, leading to it becoming contaminated with typhoid, cholera and tuberculosis in the 1970s.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
“In more recent years, gonorrhea has been diagnosed. The canal’s shoreline has been poisoned by a century of industrial use, including chemical plants and manufactured gas plants, which have left coal tar plumes that have sunk 150 feet underground.”
Epics / Hulton Archive
3.The Middlefield-Ellis-Whisman (MEW) Superfund Study Area, which is actually three Superfund sites, and is adjacent to Google’s Mountain View campuses in California.
Sopa Images/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
In 2013, as Forbes reported that two of Google’s buildings suffered from toxic fumes seeping from the ground. The article explained“The pollution is caused by trichlorethylene coming up through the soil.”
Smith Collection / Getty Images
“TCE, as it is called, is a powerful solvent that was used in large quantities by semiconductor manufacturers such as Fairchild, Intel and Raytheon in the early days of Silicon Valley.”
Medianews group / MediaNews group via Getty Images
4.The Wingate Road Municipal Incineration Dump in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the city operated a waste incinerator from 1954-1978.
Jodi Jacobson/Getty Images/iStockphoto
According to the Sun sentinel“The 61-acre property (…) had been the site of a municipal incinerator and the removal operation was so sloppily executed that soil and water were contaminated with a witches’ brew of toxins.”
Jacob/Getty Images
“Local residents blamed the incinerator for cancer, birth defects and other health problems.”
Gorodenkoff/Getty Images/iStockphoto
5.The Washington County Lead District – Old mining site in Washington County, Missouri. It has contaminated soil, groundwater, surface water and sediment with arsenic, barium, cadmium and lead through historic mining practices, of which many residences in the area appear unaware.
According to the EPO“As development in the area has progressed over the past 200 years, residents of the area have built homes and developments on mining tailings. Many people have used mining tailings as a low-cost option for use in gravel driveways or even children’s sandboxes.”
Georgeclerk/Getty Images/iStockphoto
“Unfortunately, many people moving to the area are not familiar with the mining history of the area or the health risks associated with exposure to mining tailings that contain lead, arsenic and cadmium.”
Roman Novitskii/Getty Images/iStockphoto
6.The Wolff Alport Chemical Company location in Ridgewood, Queens, New York, which is adjacent to Bushwick, Brooklyn, and is considered the most radioactive place in New York City.
Alex Potemkin/Getty Images/iStockphoto
According to the New Yorker“For decades, Wolff-Alport processed rare earth metals and dumped the waste product, radioactive thorium, into the sewage system.”
Ucg/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
“They later sold their thorium to the Atomic Energy Commission, which stored the material for use in nuclear weapons and reactors.”
Smith Collection / Getty Images
7.The McCormick & Baxter Creosoting Co. site, a 29-acre former wood preservation facility in Stockton, California, where a whopping 2 million gallons of creosote (a mixture of hundreds of chemicals) used to treat wood drenched the shore and trapped river sediment.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
According to Oregon public broadcaster“McCormick & Baxter filed for bankruptcy in 1989 after handling wood for about 50 years. It left behind a legacy of thick creosote, copper, chromium, zinc, arsenic, PCPs and other contaminants.”
Lucentius/Getty Images
8.The Lipari landfill, an inactive landfill in Mantua Township, New Jersey that accepted household waste, liquid and semi-solid chemical waste, and other industrial materials between 1958 and 1971. It was once considered “the country’s most polluted canal,” which is what locals called it “toxic bathtub.”
St. Louis Post Dispatch / TNS via Getty Images
According to Asbury Park Press“During 13 years of operation, approximately 3 million liters of liquid chemical/industrial waste and 12,000 cubic meters of solid chemical/industrial waste were dumped in Lipari.”
Vchal/Getty Images/iStockphoto
“And at least one explosion and two fires have been reported at the site.”
Uma Shankar Sharma / Getty Images
9.The Big River Mine Tailings/St. Joe Minerals Corp. site located 70 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri, where there used to be a former mining area known as the “Old Lead Belt”.
Wesley Spindola/Getty Images/iStockphoto
According to the EPO“The site became contaminated with lead, cadmium and zinc from lead mining activities, including smelting, grinding and roasting.”
Eifel Kreutz/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Also, “The Missouri Department of Conservation has detected elevated levels of lead in fish downstream of the mining area above World Health Organization standards. The state of Missouri is advising people not to eat fish they catch in the Big River downstream of this area.”
Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
10.finally, the Lansdowne radiation site in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania where Dr. Dicran Hadjy Kabakjian and his family refined radium in the basement of their home to supply doctors and hospitals with radium-tipped needles for cancer treatment in the 1920s.
Carsten/Getty Images
The ‘hot house’ came to light in 1962 during a search for forgotten radium sites. In 1964, authorities spent $200,000 to decontaminate it.
Stock Depot/Getty Images/iStockphoto
The radiation eventually killed the whole family – either from cancer, or in Dicran’s case from emphysema likely caused by the fumes. When Dican’s body was exhumed for study in 1965, his skeleton recorded the highest levels of radiation ever recorded in the human body.
Nattapon Malee/Getty Images/iStockphoto
