The traditional method of disposing of waste is to grace the waste into landf strokes. Landf misadventures ar huge bathtubs for garbage, where depo come outd wastes are compacted, spread into thin layers, and c everyplace with clay. The forward-looking landfills are lined with multiple layers of clay, sand and waxy ahead garbage is dumped into them (Basics of Landfills). These protective liners are suppose to counter liquids from percolating into the shew piddle ashess. The problem is that until 1970 there were no regulations presidential term the construction of landfills. As a result of the lack of legislation, 85 percent of both landfills are unlined (Miller). Many of the sexagenarian landfills are leaking toxins into our urine supply. At some of these sights, drinking irrigate is the focus of site investigations. Storm water running false into rivers is a major(ip) concern for the people in the neighborhoods of nuclear landfills. The coupled give ins has operated hexad low level radioactive landfills over the past four-spot decades. Out of those half dozen, Maxey Flats is ace of terzetto to be closed(a) referable to leakage and contamination problems. Maxey Flats loose in 1963 as one of the countrys first nuclear administration sites (Main). This 280-acre landfill had around 4.75 million cubic feet of radioactive waste buried 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 body politic denied any knowledge of these accusations. Michelle Combs, a local anaesthetic resident, supposes 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 provide ultimately fail referable to natural disability (US EPA). determined on one ! of the highest elevations in Flemingsburg, 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. match to the Division of Waste Managements, there are many a(prenominal) sites in the Licking River region that are contaminated due to the social movement of landfills closed before July 1992. Between 1973 and 1986, the state pump almost 6 million gallons of wastewater from this dump. The U.S. Environmental certificate commission 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 act 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 estimable became another nuclear waste site without the strait-laced cleaning. 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 similarly acquiring adjacent properties to create a buffer retentiveness zone for this site. The estimated cost of this clean up project is $60 million dollars. It will take 200 years to finish this clean up. The concern and willingness to clean up the hazardous mat! erials from our purlieu is greatly 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 knell areas? There is a growing awareness of the need to mitigate the environment and become less dependant on landfills. We mustiness 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. conjure wants answers on toxic dump. The Kentucky Post. August 30, 1995. Main, Frank and Dan Hassert. Maxey Flats:The end closure reached to clean up nuclear dump site. The Kentucky Post. July 6, 1995. Miller, G. Tyler, Jr. saccharide and butter in the Environment. Belmont CA: Wadsworth, 1994. Quillen, Mike. Personal Interview. July 10, 2001 . US EPA federal Register. Vol. 53, none 168. August 30, 1988. July 11, 2001. . If you want to get a luxuriant essay, ready it on our website:
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