Superfund Sites in Picher Oklahoma Essay Example for Free

Superfund Sites in Picher Oklahoma Essay Superfund Sites in Picher Oklahoma Introduction            The Tar Creek superfund site which is also known as Picher lead and zinc mining district is found in the far northeastern part of Oklahoma near its border with Kansas. The site was part of the Tri-state mining district that included areas of Missouri and Kansas and was one of the largest lead and zinc mining areas in the world. The Tar Creek site is considered to be one of the largest superfund site in America covering a geographic area of about 50 square miles and costs a total remediation fee of about 540 million dollars to 61 billion dollars. Tar Creek is a small stream that is characterized by still pools and is the major drainage system for the in the Picher field area, and it flows to the south passing between the towns of Picher and Cardin. Despite efforts that were put to prevent further contamination, there was minimal improvement in the surface water quality. The measures taken to divert the water were seen to be only partially effective (State Oklahoma report). As part of action to remedy the situation, eighty-three wells abandoned wells were refilled, dikes were constructed to divert surface water around collapsed mine shafts and the mines. The first operable unit cost ten million dollars.            The superfund program by the Environmental protection Agency has been highly criticized and praised over the years since the beginning of its implementation. There are some superfund sites that were cleaned successfully and reclaimed, however, others like the Tar Creek superfund site, which has been listed in the National Priorities List for several years. The Tar Creek has witnessed minimal notable improvement since the cleanup efforts began. The purpose of this research document is to investigate the difference between sites that have been cleaned and reclaimed successfully and those that have not seen any meaningful change. The paper will also determine the factors that influence speed and ease of the cleanup, suggest changes that can be made to the current process of superfund cleanup that will be beneficial to all sites. Overview and Analysis of Risks Involved            Tar creek is a region that is found at the northwest of Oklahoma near the town of Picher and is part of land segments in the southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri. It totals about 1,200 acres and 40 square miles in size. The area was part of the Tri-state Mining District between 1900 to late 1960s. Excessive mining carried out in the area produced pollutants of lead, zinc and cadmium that resulted in highly acidic water flowing into ponds and streams on the surface while some seeped into ground water. Other specific affected towns apart from Picher include Miami, Hockerville, Cardin, and Quapaw.            The problems found in Tar creek site, and Picher have historical beginnings in long time mining of zinc and lead in the area. Mining in the area began in 1900 and went on through to the late 1970s. The process of mining lead and zinc creates large quantities of unused mining materials which pile up above the ground and are always known as â€Å"chat† piles. These chat piles can be quite huge and may resemble hills. Over time, mining companies disposed of the chat by creating large piles above the ground and tailing ponds or dumping it into flotation. Some chat piles could rise as high as 200 feet, and all of it had increased level of lead and other heavy metals.            It is approximated that about 1.7 million tons of led was generated from the mining of about 181 million tons of lead deposits, giving rise to a significant amount of lead contaminated waste. It was posited that at during the time of clean up, there were thousands of acres (Fifty square miles or two thousand nine hundred) and more than 265 million tons of chats that are lead contaminated (Hu, Shine and Wright, 2007).            The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey estimate that Tar Creek has 75 million tons of chat piles. The Environmental Protection Agency listed Tar Creek on the National Priorities List in 1983.This made it subject to Comprehensive Environmental Compensation, Response, and Liability Act. Environmental Protection Agency found that tailings were found all over residential properties in the Tar Creek, with the foundation of business units and homes built on chat. Apart from that, another by-product arising from the mining operation is highly acidic mine water. The zinc and lead mines were that abandoned began to fill with surface runoff. During the late 1970s, the drainage of the acid mines containing heavy metals started to discharge into Tar Creek from boreholes, natural springs and open mine shafts.            Several public health problems are presented by the superfund site that include mine shaft hazards, acid mine drainage, poor air quality due to dust laden with lead. Others include soil contamination linked to chat piles and mine waste and exposure of young children and vulnerable population to contaminated materials. More health risks are attributed to human consumption of wild food and fish from the Tar Creek superfund site and including the Spring River and Neosho river watershed.            All these environmental and human health problems are still being examined by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Human Health Services and other local state agencies. In 2003, several federal agencies (the Environmental Protection Agency, U. S. Army Corps, and the Department of Interior) signed a memorandum of understanding facilitating cooperation of the agencies to achieve a holistic approach to the risk posed from the Tar Creek superfund site. Federal, private and state efforts are implemented and coordinated by the Department of Environmental Quality in Oklahoma to ensure that a comprehensive solution to the health and environmental problems is achieved in the area. Several tribal authorities are conducting additional solutions to restore their environment and protect the health of community members. Possible Solutions to the Problem            Superfund is currently not set up to handle complex and large areas like Tar Creek. Superfund is focused on site remediation as a permanent solution to the problem. However, in situations such as Tar Creek it is not easy to achieve a permanent solution within a short time. Therefore, the residents of this area and the surrounding areas are exposed to contaminants for a substantial period, which increases risk human health effect on the environment.            Solving this problem requires separate cleanup process are included where the complexity, size or government restrictions in the area will lead to prolonged cleanup time or significant delays. For superfund sites like Tar Creek, two cleanup approaches should be used. The first approach should aim at getting a permanent solution, as is the current goal of the superfund process. The second approach should be a temporary solution which will minimize exposure of people, environment and wildlife to the contamination while a permanent solution is lookedfor. An example of this is covering contaminated soil using a capping system (United States Environmental Protection Agency).            There are various measures that can be implemented at the Tar Creek superfund site that can provide immediate and significant benefits. The first action should be extensive community education program. The Environmental Protection Agency should take measures to inform the community about the dangers and hazards that are linked to the pollution and inform them of measures they can take to protect their health. People need to be informed of the importance of regular hand washing. Measures should be put in place to inform residents of the risks that can result from playing on the piles of chat and the area creeks. Warning signs and fences to prevent people from entering the polluted areas should be erected. The education program can help to decrease the blood lead level of people living in the area (United States Environmental Protection Agency). Public education programs are beneficial; however, it is not a requirement for superfund sites. It is up to those charged w ith overseeing the site to initiate such programs. Individuals living in the areas that are polluted deserve the right to know the nature of pollution they are exposed to and the measures they can implement to protect themselves. Immediately a problem is identified, education and public awareness programs should begin. Public education programs should begin as soon as the site is listed in the National priority list.            Another measure that can be beneficial at the Tar Creek is the removal of chat from residential properties. Chat coverings such as roads, driveways and playground surfaces should be removed and replaced. Apart from this, some of the chat in the chat piles can be used as an aggregate for asphalt, reducing the volume of chat over a number of years. Asphalt made with the chat can be used to plug mine shafts and pave roads while containing the heavy lead and zinc metals and decreasing their mobility. Removal of chat can result in a reduced blood lead level in the people living in the area. The removal process is projected to have more positive outcomes as progress continues. For example, piles of chat shrink exposure of community members to dust as a result of wind will reduce. In addition to that, contamination of ground water by rainwater runoff will reduce as the chat piles shrinks.            The surface water quality should be improved through construction of passive treatment projects while harnessing the filtration capability of the surrounding ecosystem. To reduce exposure to lead dust, the amount of chat used in asphalt mixes needs to be increased, chat roads should be paved and chat piles and millponds near residential areas should be re-navigated. In addition to this, the state can alleviate mine hazards by locating and mapping vent holes and mine shafts and filling them with chat. The other method is to reclaim the land by removing the chat, re-vegetating and re-contouring the land.            In addition to this, state governments can easily manage awareness and education programs, without interrupting the federal cleanup work. If the area is very complex, local governments, and the state can focus on smaller or projects that are less complex like the chat removal. At the same time, federal resources should be used on the most complex areas of the cleanup exercise. Federal agencies have a tendency to control the state and local governments rather than working together with them. Measures should be added to the current superfund program to enable greater state and local government participation. More funds and high awareness could quicken the cleanup process.            The superfund process should change the way threats to the environment and health are viewed. In general, measures should be taken the moment an imminent threat to human health and the environment has been identified. (US EPA). In Tar Creek exposure over a day or several days will not have any notable impact on a person’s health. However, over a period of years, exposure to contaminants in the area may affect the reproductive, cardiovascular, and central nervous system for people who are exposed. It can also cause hyperactivity and retardation in young children (Church). The people residing in Tar Creek area had been exposed to contaminants for several years, their health was seriously at risk due to the chronic threat affecting the people for over fifty tears (Brock et al., 1995).            To reduce the threat to human health due to exposure contaminated materials, a new classification system should be introduced to the superfund process. Conditions that that would create a significant threat to human health as a result of repeated exposure can be classified as a chronic threat. A timeline can be established, based on the nature of the contaminant, the duration of time over which the environment and the public had were exposed, and the extent of contamination. This timeline will determine the acceptable period to improve the situation. If significant improvement is not realized within the period, the situation should be classified as an immediate threat. Conclusion            Even though the superfund process has been successful in many cases, it can be improved upon. Measures that include mandatory education programs, testing for cross-contamination at the beginning of the site investigation, implementation of temporary remedies for particularly complex or large cleanup sites can be used to encourage greater state intervention. Addressing chronic threats has not improved substantially over time and is a measure that should be taken to improve the current cleanup processes. However, these means are not the only means for improving effectiveness and efficiency of the Superfund process.            Superfund should be treated as work in progress. The process should be reviewed for problems and flaws on a continuous basis. In addition, unsuccessful and successful sites should be reviewed for particular activities that led to their success or failure. Information that is acquired from these reviews should be used to come up with new procedures and policies that can be added to the existing superfund process. The Superfund process can never be perfect, but continuous monitoring and revision of the process will help make the system very efficient. References Brock, F. V., K. C. Crawford, R. L. Elliott, G. W. Cuperus, S. J. Stadler, H. L. Johnson, and M. D. Eilts, (1995): The Oklahoma Mesonet: A Technical Overview. J. Atmos. and Oceanic Techno. 12, 5-19. Church, Thomas W., and Robert T. Nakamura (1993).Cleaning Up the Mess: Implementation Strategies in Superfund.Washington D.C. The Brookings Institution. Oklahoma State Department of Health. Retrieved December 2014 from:http://www.health.state.ok.us/PROGRAM/envhlth/sites/ottawa.html. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Ohio River Park: Current Site Information.Retrieved on December 2014 from: http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/npl/PAD980508816.htm. United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Superfund Program, Ten Years of Progress.EPA/540/8-91/003. December 2014. Source document

Eulogy for Grandmother :: Eulogies Eulogy

Eulogy for Grandmother My grandmother was a truly amazing person. She was brilliant, compassionate, and outgoing, a fantastic dancer with a sense of humor, and without any ego at all. In other words, exactly like me! Seriously, though, we have a lot in common. Among other things, I inherited her curly hair, her mind for trivia, and her obsession with books and music... She preferred mystery novels and jazz standards, while I liked science fiction and rock n' roll, but those differences are only skin-deep. Like she always said, "I guess that's why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream." (She preferred butter pecan.) That reminds me of one small difference between us: she was an amazing cook, while I still have trouble boiling water. Meatballs with all-day sauce, stuffed shells, followed by icebox cake... It was all so good. You could walk into her apartment and pass out from the smells alone. It makes me hungry just thinking about it. And when I'd walk home from elementary school and let myself into her empty apartment, there would always be a note on the TV, telling me that there were cookies and milk in the fridge. It's the little things... I always knew that she was thinking about me. As we both grew older, we grew even closer. I did some pretty terrible things in high school, but she always took my side, even when I was clearly in the wrong. She defended and protected me, mostly from my mom. Years later, at my wedding, she serenaded us in a garden in Cambria, accompanied by a jazz band. She sang, "It had to be you, wonderful you... It had to be you." She had such a beautiful singing voice, and I swear, she must have known the lyrics to every single song written before 1959. We shared a dance afterwards. Even though I was taller than her, she still made me feel like a little boy, as we danced cheek-to-cheek. It was the best day of my life. When I think of her, I think of her warm embrace. On my bad days, she would hold and comfort me. Grandma would wrap me in her arms and protect me from the rest of the world, and make me feel that everything was going to be all right. Even in her hospital bed, holding her hand and listening to her soft breath, I wanted to kick my shoes off and be hugged by those safe, strong arms. Eulogy for Grandmother :: Eulogies Eulogy Eulogy for Grandmother My grandmother was a truly amazing person. She was brilliant, compassionate, and outgoing, a fantastic dancer with a sense of humor, and without any ego at all. In other words, exactly like me! Seriously, though, we have a lot in common. Among other things, I inherited her curly hair, her mind for trivia, and her obsession with books and music... She preferred mystery novels and jazz standards, while I liked science fiction and rock n' roll, but those differences are only skin-deep. Like she always said, "I guess that's why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream." (She preferred butter pecan.) That reminds me of one small difference between us: she was an amazing cook, while I still have trouble boiling water. Meatballs with all-day sauce, stuffed shells, followed by icebox cake... It was all so good. You could walk into her apartment and pass out from the smells alone. It makes me hungry just thinking about it. And when I'd walk home from elementary school and let myself into her empty apartment, there would always be a note on the TV, telling me that there were cookies and milk in the fridge. It's the little things... I always knew that she was thinking about me. As we both grew older, we grew even closer. I did some pretty terrible things in high school, but she always took my side, even when I was clearly in the wrong. She defended and protected me, mostly from my mom. Years later, at my wedding, she serenaded us in a garden in Cambria, accompanied by a jazz band. She sang, "It had to be you, wonderful you... It had to be you." She had such a beautiful singing voice, and I swear, she must have known the lyrics to every single song written before 1959. We shared a dance afterwards. Even though I was taller than her, she still made me feel like a little boy, as we danced cheek-to-cheek. It was the best day of my life. When I think of her, I think of her warm embrace. On my bad days, she would hold and comfort me. Grandma would wrap me in her arms and protect me from the rest of the world, and make me feel that everything was going to be all right. Even in her hospital bed, holding her hand and listening to her soft breath, I wanted to kick my shoes off and be hugged by those safe, strong arms.

Central Theme in Demian

In Herman Hesses' novel, Demian, he constantly makes the point in having self acceptance. Self acceptance is a value that someone holds in which they are happy with who they are and it is sometimes referred to as self love. Herman illustrates his own journey through the character, Sinclair, on his conquest to obtain this value of self acceptance. Through the incidents that happen in Sinclair's life, he eventually under goes the process of being able to accept him self for who he is. Once this has happend he finds an inner harmoney that could only been reached through self acceptance. His novel begins with a troublesome event that causes Sinclair to acquiesce and sumbit to an older kid. This causes him to lose his morals and values and caues an inner turmoil in his character. This is when two realms are pointed out veiwed by this character as â€Å"night and day†. Night can be referred to as â€Å"love and strictness, model behavior and school†. As night can be refereed to as the darkside which it â€Å"promised and demanded different things†. Sinclair talks about how these two realms can easily overlap one another if your not careful with your actions and behavior. Growing up in a some-what put together household with religion and good education, he realizes that it is very easy to cross into the these two realms; â€Å"day and night, two different worlds†. These realms are at two opposite ends in which he describes in detail how good it is to be in ‘day' and how scary it is to be in ‘night'. Sinclair does not like to put himself into the situation of actions that would be considered night. Although at times he does think about the actions and inherit consequences of being in the darkness he would not even attempt to participate and do such a thing. When Sinclair meets Demian he is amazed by how mature and responsible and sophisticated he is. He is not one who conforms his beliefs with society and will tell you how he sees and thinks it. As they have just met, Demian immediately starts to talk to Sinclair on a Biblical lesson they had learned in school. He tells him how he has interpretated it and Sinclair is very astonished to have learned a new way of seeing the story of Cain and Abel. In fact, Demian sees the story the complete opposite way as to the rest of how the class and teacher veiws it because he has put a philosphical and questionable idea behind it. He wants to talk to the kid more about what he thinks on other things in life. Demian helps Sinclair and gives him advice on how to stop being tractable to Franz, the older kid, in a way relating the Biblical story. Demian opens up the ‘darkside' to Sinclair. He begins to think about being more of an independent person, more say, then just continuing to follow his authoratative figures. By thinking more for himself, he feels that the ‘darkside' is growing onto him and beginning to open up to him. After quickly growing a relationship with Demian, he realized that he use's a psychological act to give him power. SinClair does not understand how he is able to do such a thing in order to get his way from people, by performing hand movements and staring them down. Demian gives a little moral lesson to SinClair on how one must â€Å"desire it strongly enough so that his/her whole being was ruled by it. † SinClair though is not able to fully fulfill Demians words and does not accomplish what he wants to do making him very frustrated. Once again, Demian advises Sinclair in another one of his interpretations on theology; this time being about Crucifixion. Standing up for what you believe in is one of the processes for obtaining self acceptance. SinClair understands what Demian is implying and realizes that in order to be who he truely is, he must figure out what he believes and disbelieves to find himself along with his morals and values- once more a process to obtain self acceptance. For SinClair, it seems that a light has come through into his world as he sees a girl he names Beatrice. He decides to go and paint her but finds that it looks more like Demian. SinClair was able to see the light coming throught to him but no paying attention to the other side, it was ignored. Hesse uses Sinclair’s painting as a metaphor for his inner thoughts and desires. At first he realizes that his painting is beautiful because it is of the girl that his eyes have fallen in love with (desires) but he does not recognize that it is Demian (inner thoughts). He is, however, unsuccessful until he allows himself to give into his â€Å"imagination and intuition that arose spontaneously†¦ † When he does this, his painting seems to differentiate male and femal, light and dark. SinClair, hanging out with men who go to bars to get drunk does not confide into going to have one night stands. He veiws his sexual desire much more then a one time deal as it means love and has strong feelings and veiws towards it. It was the image of an angel and Satan, man and woman in one flesh, man and beast, the highest good and the worst evil. † Sinclair begins to love himself completely. . Sinclair was finally able to come into recogniztion with self love and loving what he truely liked and believed. â€Å"I wanted only to try to live in accord with the pro mptings which came from my true self. Why was that so very difficult? † Eventually, in doing so, his fear took over and he was not able to continue his self acceptance. Walking home from a church, SinClair had always stopped by church to sit and listen to an organist while he plays. This helps him think about himself as the music is not considered good or bad or part of ‘night' or ‘day'. He states that it's â€Å"music that seemed to listen to itself† and that is what SinClair has been trying to do his whole life- find his self acceptance. . Herman Hesse uses the character of Sinclair to give the illistration that one must over come his or her troubles and find their inner self and inner harmony to find their individuality . However, through this, the reader should ask their self â€Å"How well do they know their self? Do they accept their self? and What must they do to finally love their self? â€Å"

The History Of Media Shield Laws - 1275 Words

This paper will discuss the history of media shield laws in the U.S. and Hawaii. It will argue the pros and cons of the need and importance of such shield laws in Hawaii to help enhance the First Amendment. According to the West s Encyclopedia of American Law (n.d.) shield laws are statues that â€Å"make communications between news reporters and informants confidential and privileged, freeing journalists of the obligation to testify about them in court.† The encyclopedia compares this to a doctor-patient, lawyer-client or priest-parishioner privilege. Where these laws are in action, journalists are free to protect their sources. If subpoenaed by a state court, journalists are free to refuse to give up their confidential sources or unpublished material. This makes it easier for journalists to report on a broad variety of topics, but these laws are also controversial because they challenge the government interests when it comes to bringing criminals to justice (Shield Laws, n.d .). Research shows that Hawaii used to have a shield law – the best in the country according to several people – but it was overturned in 2013. Today, 49 states and the District of Colombia have implemented shield laws of different variation of protection (Riker, 2015). At the same time, there does not exist any media shield laws at the federal level (Shield Laws 101, n.d.). History of Shield Laws The first documented case of the need for shield laws for journalists found place in 1848. A journalist wasShow MoreRelatedEssay about Rape Shield Laws995 Words   |  4 PagesRape Shield Laws Facing with much criticism from women’s group with the legal definitions of rape and how rape cases are being processed in the legal system, the government is forced to pass a Rape Law reform in the 1970s. Rape law reform urging courts to treat rape case the same as other crimes, rape law reforms modified traditional rape laws and ratified evidentiary reforms in every state in the United States. 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