While researching information for another post, I came across a term I had never heard before. super fund siteEssentially, a Superfund site is a site heavily polluted by stranded/opened hazardous waste that is not properly managed and has been given funding by the Environmental Protection Agency for cleanup. I’m here.
according to NBC News“The tanks are leaking and the vapors 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 even called Hanford, which opened in 1943. “The Most Toxic Place in America” and “Underground Chernobyl waiting to happen.”
2.
Gowanus Canal Surrounded by popular communities such as Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Red Hook, it is considered one of the most polluted bodies of water in the United States. It was once the site of gas mills, paper mills, tanneries, and chemical plants that discharged waste into the canal.
according to Gothamist“The infamous ‘black mayonnaise’, canal sediment, is a lethal mixture of petroleum, coal, pesticides, rotting debris, raw sewage, chemicals and heavy metals, including arsenic, benzene, chromium, mercury and lead.” contained. Canal water is polluted by millions of gallons of sewage each year and was contaminated with typhoid, cholera and tuberculosis in the 1970s. “
“Recently diagnosed with gonorrhea. The canal’s shoreline has been polluted by a century of industrial use, including chemical plants and manufactured gas plants, leaving coal tar plumes that have sunken 153 feet underground. .”
3.
of Middlefield – Ellis – Wisman (MEW) Superfund Study Area. It actually consists of three Superfund sites, adjacent to Google’s Mountain View campus in California.
“TCE is a so-called strong solvent that was heavily used in the early days of Silicon Valley by semiconductor manufacturers such as Fairchild, Intel and Raytheon.”
according to sun sentinel“61 acres […] It was the site of a municipal incinerator and had been decommissioned in such a sloppy manner that the soil and water were contaminated with witch venom. “
“Neighbors blamed the incinerator for cancer, birth defects and other health problems.”
Five.
of Reed District, Washington County — Former Mining Site Washington County, Missouri. There are arsenic, barium, cadmium, and lead-contaminated soils, groundwater, surface waters, and sediments that many residents of the area seem unaware of.
according to EPA“As development of the area has progressed over the past 200 years, residents of the area have built homes and developments on mine waste. It has been used as a cheaper option for
“Unfortunately, many people who migrate to the region are not familiar with the mining history of the region and the health risks of exposure to mine wastes containing lead, arsenic and cadmium. .”
6.
of Wolf Alport Chemical Company The site in Ridgewood, Queens, New York, adjacent to Bushwick, Brooklyn, is considered the most radioactive site in New York City.
according to New Yorker“For decades, Wolff-Alport has processed rare earth metals and dumped radioactive thorium waste into sewers.”
“They then sold the thorium to the Atomic Energy Commission, who stockpiled the material for use in nuclear weapons and reactors.”
7.
of McCormick & Baxter Creosoting Co.The site is a 29-acre former timber preservation facility in Stockton, California, where 2 million gallons of creosote (a mixture of hundreds of chemicals) used to treat timber soaked the shore, Consolidated river sediments.
according to Oregon Public Broadcasting“McCormick & Baxter filed for bankruptcy in 1989 after spending nearly 50 years processing wood. I left a legacy.”
8.
of Lipari Landfill, an inactive landfill in Mantua Township, New Jersey, which received household waste, liquid and semi-solid chemical waste, and other industrial materials from 1958 to 1971. It was once considered “the most polluted area in the country.” “Toxic Bathtub”
according to Asbury Park Press“During its 13 years of operation, approximately 3 million gallons of liquid chemical/industrial waste and 12,000 cubic yards of solid chemical/industrial waste were dumped at Lipari.”
“And at least one explosion and two fires were reported at the scene.”
according to EPA“The site was contaminated with lead, cadmium, and zinc from lead mining activities such as smelting, milling, and roasting.”
Also, “The Missouri Department of Conservation has detected elevated lead levels in fish downstream of the mining area that exceed World Health Organization standards. I encourage people not to eat fish.”
Ten.
lastly, Lansdowne Radiation Site in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania Dr. Diklan Haji Kabajan and his family refined radium in their basement in the 1920s to supply doctors and hospitals with radium-tipped needles to treat cancer.
of “Hot House” It was revealed in 1962 during a search for a forgotten radium site. In 1964, authorities spent his $200,000 on decontamination.
The radiation eventually killed the entire family — either from cancer or, in Diklan’s case, from emphysema, likely caused by the smoke.When Dican’s body was exhumed for his study in 1965, his skeleton was Highest level of radiation ever recorded in the human body.
