Love Canal 1892 -- William T. Love

proposed a canal for navigation and hydropower

Only one mile of the canal built, used for swimming and recreation

1920 – land sold at public auction became a municipal and chemical disposal site.

Including:benzene -- causes leukemia

dioxin – causes cancer

Hooker Chemical Company dumped over 20,000 tons of chemicals until 1953.

1953 - Hooker covered the site with dirt and clay and sold the land to the Niagara Falls Board of Education for $1.00

1955 - the 99th Street elementary school opened and homes were built on the 16-acre rectangular site

1960s-1970s repeated complaints to city

Aug. 7, 1978, President Jimmy Carter declared a federal emergency at Love Canal

Aug. 2, 1978 - the NY State Department of Health recommended temporary relocation of pregnant women and young children

April, 1978 – Report in newspaper about toxic chemicals

1976 -- Calspan Corporation hired as consultant

1990s – resettlement of area begins

1980s -- Human Heath issues documented

Of 17 pregnancies in 1979 – 2 normal, 9 birth defects, 2 stillborn, 4 miscarriages

Broken chromosomes

Neurological Problems

1980 – Superfund Site

Managing Hazardous Wastes

• EPA pollution prevention hierarchy:

1. Reduce amount of pollution at the source.2. Recycle wastes whenever possible.3. Treat wastes to reduce hazard and/or

volume.4. Dispose of wastes on land or incinerate

them as last resort.

Points to Know

1) Know the 5 methods of waste disposal. Which is the most common method in the US, and what are two problems with this method?

2) What are some recycling initiatives in the US?

3) What can you do to help reduce the amount of solid waste generated?

4) What are the environmental problems and health risks caused by hazardous wastes? What is the main source of these problems?

5) Know the general story of the Love Canal.

Lecture Objectives:

1. Tectonic Processes

2. Economic Geology and Mineralogy Strategic Resources

3. Environmental Effects of Resource Extraction Mining

- Restoration

4. Conserving Geologic Resources

EnvironmentalGeology

A DYNAMIC PLANET

• A Layered Sphere Core - Interior composed of dense,

intensely hot metal. Generates magnetic field enveloping the earth.

Mantle - Hot, pliable layer surrounding the core. Less dense than core.

Crust - Cool, lightweight, brittle outermost layer. Floats on top of mantle.

A Layered Sphere

Tectonic Processes

• Upper layer of mantle contains convection currents that break overlaying crust into a mosaic of tectonic plates. Slide slowly across earth’s surface.

- Ocean basins form where continents crack and pull apart.

- Magma forced up through cracks in oceanic crust form mid-oceanic ridges.

Tectonic Processes

Tectonic Processes

- Earthquakes are caused by grinding and jerking as plates slide past each other.

- Mountain ranges pushed up at the margins of colliding plates.

Deep ocean trenches mark subduction zones.

Tectonic Processes

Pangea

• Geologists suggest that several times in earth’s history most, or all, of the continents gathered to form a single super-continent, Pangea, surrounded by a single global ocean.

ROCKS AND MINERALS

• A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic, solid element or compound with a definite chemical composition and regular internal crystal structure.

• A rock is a solid, cohesive, aggregate of one or more minerals.

Rock Types

Three major rock classifications:- Igneous- Sedimentary- Metamorphic

Igneous Rocks

• Most common type of rock in earth’s crust.

Solidified from magma extruded onto the surface from volcanic vents.

- Quick cooling of magma produces fine-grained rocks.

Basalt- Slow cooling of magma produces coarse-

grained rocks. Granite

Weathering

• Mechanical - Physical break-up of rocks into smaller particles without a change in chemical composition.

• Chemical - Selective removal or alteration of specific components that leads to weakening and disintegration of rock. - Oxidation

• Sedimentation - Deposition of loosened material.

Sedimentary Rock

• Deposited materials that remain in place long enough, or are covered with enough material for compaction, may again become rock.

Formed from crystals that precipitate out of, or grow from, a solution.

- Shale- Sandstone- Tuff

Metamorphic Rock

• Pre-existing rocks modified by heat, pressure, and chemical agents.

Chemical reactions can alter both the composition and structure of rocks as they are metamorphosed.

- Marble (from limestone)- Quartzite (from sandstone)- Slate (from mudstone and shale)

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY

Metals consumed in greatest quantity by world industry (metric tons annually):

- Iron (740 million)- Aluminum (40 million)- Manganese (22.4 million)- Copper and Chromium (8 million ea)- Nickel (0.7 million)

Non-Metal Mineral Resources

• Sand and Gravel Brick and concrete construction, paving,

sandblasting and glass production.• Limestone

Concrete and building stone• Evaporites

Gypsum and Potash• Sulfur

Sulfuric Acid

Strategic Metals and Minerals

• Of the 80 industrial metals and minerals, between one-third and one-half are considered strategic resources. A country uses, but cannot produce.

- Considered capable of crippling national economy or military strength if supplies were cut off.

Many less-developed nations depend on steady mineral exports for foreign exchange.

Strategic Metals and Minerals

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF RESOURCE EXTRACTION

• Mining Placer Mining - Hydraulically washing out

metals deposited in streambed gravel.- Destroys streambeds and fills water with

suspended solids

Strip-Mining or Open Pit Mining.- Large scars on land surface.- Toxic runoff

Mining

Underground Mining Gas Inhaling Particulate Matter Tunnel Collapse

Restoration

• Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (1977) requires better restoration of strip-mined lands, especially if land classed as prime farmland. Difficult and expensive.

- Minimum reclamation costs about $1,000 / acre while complete restoration may cost $5,000 / acre.

50% of US coal is strip mined.

CONSERVING GEOLOGIC RESOURCES

• Recycling Aluminum must be extracted from bauxite

by electrolysis.- Recycling waste aluminum consumes

one-twentieth the energy of extraction from raw ore.

Nearly two-thirds of all aluminum beverage cans in US are recycled.

Other metals commonly recycled:- Platinum, gold, copper, lead, iron, steel.

Substituting New Materials For Old

• Reduce metal consumption by using new materials or new technologies. Plastic pipes in place of metal pipes. Fiber-optics in place of metal wires. Metal alloys in place of traditional steel.

GEOLOGIC HAZARDS

• Earthquakes - Sudden movements of the earth’s crust that occur along faults where one rock mass slides past another. Gradual movement - creep.

- When friction prevents creep, stress builds up until eventually released with a sudden jerk.

Frequently occur along subduction zones.

Tsunami - Seismic sea swells.

Volcanoes

• Volcanoes and undersea magma vents are the sources of most of the earth’s crust. Many of world’s fertile soils are weathered

volcanic material.- Human / Environmental Dangers

Volcanic Ash Mudslides Sulfur Emissions

Landslides

• A general term for rapid down-slope movement of soil or rock. Many human activities such as forest

clearing and building homes on steep, unstable slopes increase both frequency and damage done by landslides.

Points to know:

• Understand Tectonic Processes.• What is the difference between rocks and minerals?• Economic Geology and Mineralogy

What are Strategic Resources?• What are the environmental effects of resource

extraction• Restoration - What is the Surface Mining Control

and Reclamation Act?• How can we conserving geologic resources?• What are the main types of geologic hazards?