https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09 Timeline based off significant events that highlight the history of environmental science. en-us 2020-09-21 17:57:31 UTC 2023-06-04 08:06:24 UTC hello@padlet.com 0609013844fuller https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765451124 Mercury from a factory owned by Chisso was released in the form of waste and got into the waters of Minamata Bay. Once there bioaccumulation and biomagnification lead to locals who ate the fish there getting poisoned. Contamination continued for almost a decade after this point.
SOURCE: The National Institute for Minamata Disease's Minamata Disease Archives]]> 2020-09-21 18:04:16 UTC https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765451124 0609013844fuller https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765539121 A nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania had a partial meltdown which was caused by errors in design and human error. Meltdown happened when coolant escaped from a valve and a plant operator failed to recognize a problem and workers unknowingly shut off an automatic cooling system. Officials did not respond to the situation well initially, giving untruthful answers.
SOURCE: Three Mile Island Website, Dickinson College.]]> 2020-09-21 18:23:33 UTC https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765539121 0609013844fuller https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765668869 The worst accident in the history of the nuclear power industry; its effects were felt across Russia and some of its neighboring countries. People were evacuated from the most severely affected areas, hundreds of thousands of people in total were evacuated. Even so, tens of thousands still were in radiated areas 15 years later.
SOURCE: International Atomic Energy Agency website, Chernobyl Nuclear Accident]]> 2020-09-21 18:55:02 UTC https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765668869 0609013844fuller https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765819108 A US built ship, the Torrey Canyon was built in 1959 and was chartered to BP at the time. The ship was headed to Milford Haven when it crashed into a reef at full speed (17 knots), this was due to a plotting error, miscommunication, and bad timing combined with the ship's poor maneuverability. Because of this, 6 tanks were ripped open  when the ship was carrying over 100,000 tonnes of oil making it the largest in the UK to date.
SOURCE: "The Torrey Canyon's Last Voyage" from Loughborough University.]]> 2020-09-21 19:39:04 UTC https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765819108 0609013844fuller https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765882251 Due to several failures on the part of the crew (including an intoxicated captain who may have been impaired) and lack of support for the ship, the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground of a reef at 12:04 AM, March 24. In all , 35,000 metric tonnes of oil was spilled, about a fifth of all the oil the ship was carrying. The effect of this spill on the environment was drastic, despite tens of thousands of animal carcasses being found, the toll was likely much more, this is not even counting the billions of fish eggs that may have been lost.
SOURCE: "Questions and Answers about the spill" from Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council]]> 2020-09-21 19:59:56 UTC https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765882251 0609013844fuller https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765918201 In 2011 a 6.0-magnitude earthquake and related tsunami hit Japan, among the wide damage were several reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The cooling systems were damaged during the disaster and the total amount of radiation released has caused the accident to be on the same crisis level as Chernobyl, despite the amount of radiation being almost 10 percent less (the crisis levels are done on a logarithmic scale which looks at impact). As a result, radiation leaks have caused impacts on the air, vegetables, ocean, and tap water of the surrounding region.
SOURCE: "Japan: Nuclear crisis raised to Chernobyl level" BBC]]> 2020-09-21 20:12:58 UTC https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765918201 0609013844fuller https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765989681 During April in the Gulf of Mexico the Deepwater Horizon rig, leased to BP at the time, was affected when an oil well it was positioned over had a release of natural gas which ignited on the platform of the rig. 11 workers were killed and the rig was sunk as a result, additionally oil began releasing from the tanker which peaked at over 60,000 barrels a day. The effect from millions of barrels of oil being spilled was a vast one, and this was further amplified by poor handling of the situation afterwards.
SOURCE: "Deepwater Horizon oil spill" Encyclopedia Britannica]]> 2020-09-21 20:40:39 UTC https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/765989681 0609013844fuller https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/766089887 In February, officials at a local steam station noticed coal ash (a byproduct of burning coal for resources) that was leaking from a storm sewer into the Dan River. The EPA estimates that 39,000 tons of ash and 27 million gallons of ash pond water were put into the river, affecting both North Carolina and Virginia. Natural resources effected were fish and local birds (including threatened and endangered species) in addition to plants, surface water, and lands.
SOURCE: "Dan River Coal Ash Spill" U.S. Department of the Interior]]> 2020-09-21 21:31:31 UTC https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/766089887 0609013844fuller https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/766102029 In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, a dam breach at a power plant with a coal ash dump caused muck to be seen in the nearby river. Coal ash contains toxic metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic, among others. This is not the first ash spill by Duke, and is not even the first in the wake of the hurricane.
SOURCE: "Dam Breach at N.C. Power Plant Causes Coal Ash Spill into Cape Fear River" Insurance Journal]]> 2020-09-21 21:38:51 UTC https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/766102029 0609013844fuller https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/766135814 A fire erupted at a chemical plant in Iraq, the result was a release of sulfur dioxide and smog into the atmosphere. When it was over, an average of 21,000 tonnes of sulfur dioxide a day was released, with a total of about 600,000 tonnes of sulfur dioxide - the largest ever man-made release. The fire, which released about 60% of the sulfur released by Mt. St. Helens, damaged millions of dollars of local crops while also causing respiratory problems.
SOURCE: "Iraq sulphur fire breaks records" BBC]]> 2020-09-21 21:59:30 UTC https://padlet.com/0609013844fuller/7o3177avhq9wqn09/wish/766135814