-Teen Biotech Challenge-
Bioremediation
Contaminated Sites
By definition, a contaminated site is an area of land in which the soil or underlying groundwater or sediment contains a hazardous waste or substance in an amount or concentration that exceeds provincial environmental quality standards. A site is contaminated if it is unsuitable for specific uses of land, water, and sediment.
Many sites became contaminated during past industrial or commerical uses. Such activities often resulted in chemicals and other toxic materials being spilled or deposited on land.
Contamination ~ What Does It Mean ?
Love Canal: Case Study In Soil Contamination
Love Canal: The Love Canal is an abandoned project by William T. Love to create a dream community four miles south of Niagara Falls. The Hooker Chemical Company, from 1942 to 1953, began using the canal as a chemical waste dump. By the time Hooker Chemical Company sold the land to Niagara Falls School Board to liberate itself from any future liability, the canal contained approximately 21,000 tons of toxic chemicals, twelve of which are known carcinogenic. The sixteen-acre land became a neighborhood for approximately 800 families. By the late 1970s, the public became aware of the previous owner’s activities when investigations revealed a sequence of unfathomable illnesses. Due to the excessive amount of rainfall that occurred in the late 1970s chemicals began to infiltrate the ground and spread into basements and yards. President Jimmy Carter issued a state of emergency in 1978 and 1981 to evacuate and relocate families. Love Canal became a public symbol of catastrophic consequences created by illegally disposing various chemicals for environmentalists (3.13) (3.15).
Chinese River Runs Bright Red After Chemical Dumping
Jian River: Factories workers have confirmed the illegal dumping of red dye from a local chemical plant. The Jian River turned blood red because of the dumping and the chemical plant has been shut down because of the news. Luckily, no traces of heavy metals were present. (3.4)
Yucca Mountains: America has been dumping the by-products of nuclear fission known as nuclear waste in the Yucca Mountains and waiting for it to decay. As it decays, radiation is emitted and therefore, the Yucca Mountains are deemed off-limits. To solve the problem of having a nuclear dump site, scientists are close to proving how a strain of bacteria can neutralize unstable elements (3.11). Click here to read more about the bacteria…
Yangtze River: Over the past five decades, pollution levels have increased 73% from cities along the Yangtze River. The yearly sewage and industrial waste has been disposed into the river and accumulated to approximately 25 billion tons of waste. Discharge from ships have deteriorated the health of the river causing loss of floodplain areas which diminishes the basin's capability to detoxify pollutants. With pollutants such as: oxidized inorganic and organic material, ammonia nitrogen, and suspended substances inhabiting the Yangtze River, its source as a reservoir for drinkable water has significantly reduced. (3.12)
From Industrial Wasteland to Community Park
BrownField: Brownfields are considered properties that may be reused but are contaminated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substance or pollutants. These sites could include previous factories that dump wastes without proper treatment. In response, phytoremediation is applied to remediate the contaminated site. (3.5)