Landfills and Waste Problem

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Only in recent years has there been a growing awareness in the United States concerning waste dump sites. Landfills, as they are known, first came into public view in 1978 when the Love Canal incident in Niagara Falls, New York was revealed. It was discovered that toxic wastes that had been dumped into the canal in previous years by Hooker Chemicals and Plastics Corporation had begun to seep up into houses and schools that had been built ignorantly upon the dump site. The wastes were first suspected of causing health hazards when numerous occurrences of miscarriages and birth defects were reported from the area near the canal. In 1980, President Carter declared the canal an emergency area that demanded immediate attention. He evacuated 710 families, joining another 239 families that had already abandoned their homes when the waste had first been discovered in 1978. Experts speculated that the toxic chemicals may have caused chromosomal damage to the residents of the area, as well as chromosomal aberrations which were frequently linked to cancer and genetic damage in the offspring. Upon recognition of the problem, other waste dumps, both toxic and non-toxic, began to be carefully examined for health hazards. Experts on waste and chemicals have since found numerous previously unsuspected dangers from non toxic waste, and the ways of disposing of it. These are affecting both our ecological system, as well as human physiology.

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ng more hydrogen chloride to escape into the environment. Dioxin can also be controlled by scrubbers, as shown in other countries, such as Sweden. Here, strict limits on dioxin emission are set, unlike the United States where no standards for incinerator emission or human exposure have been set. The price of scrubbers can add $5 to $10 to the $20 to $35 tipping fee that waste-to-energy plant operators charge for burning each ton of garbage (Hershkowitz, 1987). Many involved in this industry claim these prices to be too high, but technology to stop these pollutants is important to society, and human health should not be given a dollar value. Another problem with incinerators is that of the disposal of the left-over ash, which is highly toxic. The ash must be carefully collected from the plant and disposed of securely in landfills so dioxin and heavy metals cannot contaminate water supplies. Again, the Swedes have strict enforcement on this, while the United States is still trying to find a way to test its toxicity. So, while the search continues, no regulations have been set, and more and more toxic ash is escaping into our environment. Another way of reducing the waste going to landfills is by recycling. In past years
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Environmental Conservation, West Coast, Compared Sweden, President Carter, Southern California, Congressmen Senators, Arthur Kill, Technology Review, Plastics Corporation, Fresh Kills, hershkowitz 1987, aluminum cans, hydrogen chloride, recycling center, health hazards, technology review, technology review 90, review 90, sunset 1989, tons solid waste, solid waste, separate waste, review 90 pp,
Approximate Word count = 1845
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

Landfills and Waste Problem

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