Introduction
The government through regulatory bodies requires firms to properly manage their waste for the sake of the environment. All kinds of processing plants need to dispose of their waste material to ensure that the surrounding is safe for other persons to use. Mercury is a key waste poison to the mercury that contaminates the environment and make it hazardous to exist in one. It is thus imperative that firms which have mercury as part of their waste component deal substantially with the product. The following paper studies a case of the Mercury Recovery Facility that creates a federal clean site and an occurrence that relates to the case study.
Case Study
The case study titled “Mercury Recovery Facility Creates Federal Clean-Up Site”, discusses the Mercury Refining Company (MERECO) that accepts wastes containing mercury from thermometers, dental amalgam, batteries as well as many others. The company takes the mercury waste and refines it for resale. Before the year 1980, the refining process would dump the waste into an embankment of a tributary with no name moving into a creek. Furthermore, the contaminated groundwater would flow its way off the site into other lands.
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The facility experienced a fire outbreak in the year 1981 and used water to put out the fire. The result was contamination of the water that further ran off the site. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) tested some samples and discovered heavy presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and contamination by mercury. The company was in the year 1983 placed on the List of National Priorities as one of the most hazardous sites of waste management in the country (VanGuilder, 2012).
Mercury is a poisonous metal that occurs naturally and is released into the environment. It is usually released into waterways where fish and other aquatic life consume it. In return, the human population take fish and hence bring the metal to their bodies. Trace amounts of the metal do not harm. However, large chunks of the same imply high health risks for all animals and humans and more so the infants, foetuses and the young children because mercury in large amounts in the body adversely affect kidneys and the nervous systems (True, n.d.). According to the case study, MERECO dumps mercury into the embankment on purpose that later on leaks into a creek. In addition, firewater and rainwater leaked into the environment after contamination with the excess amounts of mercury undoubtedly contributing to high levels of mercury in the wildlife and human consumption.
MERECO should not have dumped these wastes into the environment but instead create a controlled dumping site that would be contained by concrete, clay and other material that is non-penetrable to prevent accidental leakage of the wastes. Moreover, the storage of the wastes needed to have had secondary and tertiary means of avoiding the accidental leakage. One good example is storing the waste in airtight containers and provide it with a trench that would catch the accidental leaking of hazardous waste.
The case study further mentions a fire that took place at the company. Burning mercury converts to methylmercury that becomes airborne and thus able to contaminate species from a wide range. The result is that all birds and other herbivores can easily get the mercury due to its large levels of insulation (Tolme, 2012). Mercury is harmful to the ozone layer and pollutes it to destruction.
Similar Occurrence
A similar event took place in Brunswick, GA with the MAZMAT incident. The LCP Chemical Industrial facilities dumped toxic wastes into the environment for 70 years (Graitcer, 2015). It was estimated that there were 300,000 pounds of mercury dumped into the ground and the surrounding marshlands. Mercury together with other contaminants were found 30 miles from the actual site of dump (Graitcer, 2015). The contamination was significantly widespread that the Environment Protection Agency of the United States placed it on the superfund site (EPA, n.d.). A clean up started in the year 1994 and has since then seen more than 13 acres removed and tidal channels cleaned. However, there was an unsuccessful attempt to use caustic brine pool to clean up the site. Courtesy of the failure, an alternative of the carbon dioxide (CO2) revealed positive results and was upheld for the process of cleaning the site. The site has remained under a clean-up and it is possible that it may never be cleaned to completion.
The two are just examples of the known cases of such problems. However, there are a number of cases of negligence in the control and management of wastes because of the tendency of manufacturers to take short cuts so as to save on money. In the end, the society is the one that suffers and feels the pressure that comes from the environmental menace and increased taxes that must go to the clean-up process. Furthermore, mercury and other PCBs are rampant and are consumed on a daily basis by people causing major health implications.
Conclusion
All kinds of processing plants need to dispose of their waste material to ensure that the surrounding is safe for other persons to use. Mercury is a key waste poison to the mercury that contaminates the environment and make it hazardous to exist in one. The case scenario is a show of negligence and intentional ignorance of the proper procedures to take care of the environment.
References
EPA Superfund Program: LCP Chemicals Georgia, Brunswick, GA. (n.d.). Retrieved June 1, 2016, from https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0401634
Graitcer, P. (2015, March 30). Does Living Near A Superfund Site Increase Cancer Risks? Retrieved June 01, 2016, from http://www.gpb.org/news/2015/03/30/does-living-near-superfund-site-increase-cancer-risks
http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?url=http://library.books24x7.com/toc.asp?bookid=49314
Tolmé, P. (2012, November 7). Mercury's Harmful Effects - National Wildlife Federation. Retrieved June 05, 2016, from https://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2013/Mercury-and-Wildlife.aspx
True, M. (n.d.). Mercury and PCBs in fish. Retrieved June 05, 2016, from http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/flavors-of-the-west/mercury-pcbs-fish-seafood
VanGuilder, C. (2012). Hazardous Waste Management: An Introduction.
