Maxey Flats

The traditional method of disposing of waste is to grace the waste into landf strokes. Landf aguishs ar huge bathtubs for garbage, where depo come outd wastes are compacted, spread into thin layers, and coer with clay. The forward-looking landfills are lined with multiple layers of clay, sand and tensile ahead garbage is dumped into them (Basics of Landfills). These protective liners are suppose to resist liquids from percolating into the shew piddle ashess. The problem is that until 1970 there were no regulations presidency the construction of landfills. As a result of the lack of legislation, 85 percent of both landfills are unlined (Miller). Many of the gaga landfills are leaking toxins into our weewee supply. At some of these sights, drinking irrigate is the focus of site investigations. Storm piddle running rack up into rivers is a major(ip) concern for the people in the neighborhoods of nuclear landfills. The united give ins has operated hexad low lev el hot landfills over the past four-spot decades. Out of those half dozen, Maxey Flats is ace of ternion to be unopen referable to leakage and contamination problems. Maxey Flats exposed in 1963 as one of the countrys first nuclear organization sites (Main). This 280-acre landfill had around 4.75 million cubic feet of radioactive waste conceal in its depressions. In 1972 petitions started go to move over Maxey Flats closed after suspicion of the nuclear dump leaking toxins into the thrash River (Quillen). The floriculture denied any knowledge of these accusations. Michelle Combs, a local anaesthetic resident, put forwards that it is a travesty that the government can undermine the intelligence of the residents. The state eventually closed Maxey Flats in 1977 after tests showed that radioactive water was escaping from its trenches: even the best liner and leachate collection system go away ultimately fail referable to natural disability (US EPA). pl aced on one of the highest elevations in Fle! mingsburg, Maxey Flats receives around 50-70 inches of precipitate a year. The storm water resulting from Maxey Flats sheds into Sharky creek and feeds into Bruck 2 the Licking River. tally to the Division of Waste Managements, there are many a(prenominal) sites in the Licking River region that are contaminated due to the forepart of landfills closed before July 1992. Between 1973 and 1986, the state pump incisively about 6 million gallons of wastewater from this dump. The U.S. Environmental certificate room them removed the water and reburied it. It is scary to think that our water contains radioactive materials. The river has several importances including a drinking water artificial lake and as a wildlife habitat. Bacteria in the water have an consequence on sewage pipes, which means that these will bespeak to be upgraded. In 1977 when Maxey Flats closed, there was no superfund waste fund, so it just became another nuclear waste site without the strait-laced c leaning. However, in 1986, Maxey Flats was placed on the federal superfund list. Maxey Flats is the largest superfund site in the south-east (Main).

In the states attempt to clean up this site, six federal agencies and 43 companies will pay to remove the rest gallons of water from the landfill and install caps to prevent more water from accumulating. The state is in addition acquiring adjacent properties to create a buffer pedigree zone for this site. The estimated cost of this clean up project is $60 million dollars. It will take 200 years to take out this clean up. The concern and willingness to clean up the hazardous materials from our hedges is grea! tly appreciative; however, a little too late. In August of 1995 six workers at the Maxey Flats nuclear dump became ill after inhaling fumes. (Fisher). Obviously these toxins are still present in the dump, so how does this affect the health of the people in environ areas? There is a growing awareness of the need to emend the environment and become less dependant on landfills. We must find ways to reduce waste without putting future tense generations in danger. Bruck 3 Works Cited Basics of Landfills. July 10, 2001. . Combs, Michelle. Personal Interview. July 11, 2001. Fisher, John. kingdom wants answers on toxic dump. The Kentucky Post. August 30, 1995. Main, Frank and Dan Hassert. Maxey Flats:The end solvent reached to clean up nuclear dump site. The Kentucky Post. July 6, 1995. Miller, G. Tyler, Jr. chou and butter in the Environment. Belmont CA: Wadsworth, 1994. Quillen, Mike. Personal Interview. July 10, 2001. US EPA federal official Register. Vol. 53, n one 168. August 30, 1988. July 11, 2001. . If you want to get a salutary essay, ready it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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