Hi all- it has come to my attention that the blog prompts are out of order on the syllabus. However, the readings are in order with the correct due dates. Here is the blog prompt for the Bob Guild tour we will be taking on Monday.
Blog 12 prompt:
What interested you most about the River Alliance organization? What is a Superfund Site? Summarize the background of the Columbia Organic Chemical plant. Briefly describe the environmental controversies in your hometown (or use the EPA locator to describe a Superfund site near your home). What is one question you have for Bob Guild?
Please be at the corner of Wheat and Sumter as close to 2:20 as you can. We will leave at 2:30. Have a great weekend!
Autumn
As a new resident of the Columbia area/Midlands region I have already spent multiple afternoons appreciating the beauty and recreation offered along the Congaree River through the easy access of the Congaree River Walk. This river walk and other projects like it along the Congaree, Saluda, and Broad Rivers are examples of the great work being done by the River Alliance organization to increase community access and protection of these great natural resources. The thing which I find most interesting about the River Alliance organization is how it has been able to bring all of the local government partners of Columbia, Cayce, West Columbia, Richland County, and Lexington County to make sure that everyone has a seat at the table and that we are all working together to improve the water ways which we share as a region. A Superfund site is a site which is an abandoned chemical waste hazard somewhere in the United States which the EPA will add to their database and rank it accordingly based on its level of danger and how it should be cleaned up, how this cleaning will be monitored, and how future pollution will be avoided. The Columbia Organic Chemical Plant was a plant in Columbia which was open from 1944-1984 and a number of chemicals were made there such as insecticides, industrial cleaners, and many specialty chemicals. The plant burned down many times and it eventually left Columbia for a new location in Cassatt, South Carolina but the soil surrounding the original plant site still contains many harmful chemicals to this day. There aren’t too many current environmental controversies in my hometown and there are no local EPA Superfund sites but ten to twenty years ago there was a large controversy as a result of water and soil pollution which had been the result of decades of industrial work along our local waterways from the local textile mills which used to dominate central North Carolina.
ReplyDeleteMy question for Bob Guild is that I would like to know what is currently the greatest obstacle to efforts to improve water quality and nature preservation along our local rivers?
One of the things that interested me most about River Alliance was the way they give back to the community. The fact that they are non-profit and work to generally benefit the local community is commendable. They help stimulate cultural and economic growth which ends up branching out and help many more people. A superfund site is a site which is an abandoned chemical waste in the United States which the EPA adds to their database and ranks it. Columbia Organic Chemical plant is located in Kershaw County, SC. A wide variety of chemicals were produced at the facility, including insecticide formulations, industrial cleaners, and small quantities of specialty chemicals for use in research. Several hundred chemicals were manufactured at the plant. I do not know of many environmental contorversies in my area other than slight oil spills in the river and ocean. When I went on to the EPA website and saw that there was a issue in Wall Township, NJ I was shocked. This is the town directly next to mine. In this case in 1985 the EPA found high levels of hazardous materials in the water and soil. This was the location of an old printing company where they dumped waste into old drums and a pond behind the building allowing it to spread around the property. The EPA ran tests and decided that a long-term clean up plan was necessary for the site. To this day there are regulated human visitations here. One question I have for Bob Guild is: What was the biggest environmental disaster here in the Columbia area that affected our water supply?
ReplyDeleteTo me, the most interesting part of the River Alliance Organization was the Three Rivers Greenway. This is a series of paths along the three main rivers (Broad, Saluda, Congaree) that allow citizens to “reconnect with the natural world”. I found it interesting because it is essentially located in the city. Most environmental attractions are out in the country away from urban areas. I feel that the greenway gives the general public a more convenient option of exploring nature. A Superfund site is an abandoned chemical waste hazard that the EPA records and adds to a list (and rates based on severity of problem). The COCC operated during a 40 year period from 1944 to 1984. During this time, it produced various chemicals for various uses. Multiple times it was burned down and rebuilt. Eventually, the plant was relocated to Kershaw County, but by this time it had already contaminated the soil and caused damage to the area of its original location. One of the environmental concerns in my hometown of Olathe, Kansas was the presence of the Delphi Battery Plant. Even though it is currently out of operation, several studies have shown that it has leaked contaminants into the soil and surrounding water supply. To make matters worse, it is located in a residential community, as there are houses almost right next to the old plant site. I feel that something really needs to be done about this (as nothing really as been done up to this point), as the contaminants can be found outside of the one fenced-in area.
ReplyDeleteMy question for Bob Guild: Which of Columbia’s problems (regarding water, water supply, etc.) has the greatest effect on the USC campus?
I think it’s great how the River Alliance is trying to reconnect citizens to the natural world, also bringing in economic development, and building a sense of community all at the same time. It’s a very holistic approach to bettering society, with multiple benefits as a result. A Superfund Site is a site that was at one point used for abandoned hazardous wastes, which are toxic to the environment, in which environmental programs address and try to “fix”. The Columbia organic chemical plant is such a site where soils were contaminated by waste material over time. Chemical holding tanks were installed in the 70’s to collect liquid wastes, which eventually leaked out. This Columbia chemical plant primarily produces insecticide formulations, industrial cleaners, and small quantities of specialty chemicals. Now, the EPA is trying to fix the problem.
ReplyDeleteIn my hometown of Spartanburg, SC, a 30-acre property called Arkwright Dump is being evaluated for cleanup. It was operated as a dump in the 50’s and 60’s and eventually as a landfill for medical, automotive and other wastes. The site, containing heavy metals, pesticides, and organic chemicals are shown to be present in site soils, ground water, surface water, and sediment of the surrounding area. A project team known as the ReGenesis project is currently working towards revitalization. There are other efforts aiming at involving the community as well as controlling institutional wastes and treating the ground water as well as monitoring it.
My question for Bob Guild is this: is public water from water fountains in Columbia, SC safe to drink? Are there toxins in our water source that we are unaware of? How does Columbia secure safe drinking water for its citizens?
Something that interested me most about the River Alliance is that fact that it exists. I am happy to see that 5 local governments came together to create an organization that promotes experiencing and protecting the outdoors. The River Alliance is beneficial in multiple ways. A superfund site is a place that is contaminated with hazardous substances. The superfund law was passed by the EPA to enforce more clean ups of these toxic sites so chemicals do not become a danger to the environment. The Columbia Organic Chemical Company operated for 40 years and moved in the 80's,and during that time spilled, dumped, leaked, and buried dangerous chemicals. There was an environmental controversy in my home town of Myrtle Beach, SC, in 2007. An electronics company called AVX was sued by several different groups because of the pollution it gave off (trichloroethylene). The pollution lowered property value, prevented construction, and damaged the Earth. And I would like to ask Bob Guild about the change in tourism after the River Alliance was established.
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ReplyDeleteI was most interested by the fact that the Greenway encompasses 9.5 miles of trails along the rivers which are accessible to wheelchairs and strollers, therefore making them very user-friendly.
ReplyDeleteA superfund site is a place that has been deemed an area that may need to be monitored or cleaned up by the Superfund program. The Superfund program is an EPA program that was established by the CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) of 1980, and hopes to attend to abandoned hazardous waste sites. This law allows the EPA to clean up such sites and to force responsible parties to execute cleanups or repay the government for EPA cleanups.
The Columbia Organic Chemical Plant is located in Richland County, South Carolina and is a 3 acre property that was operated as a chemical processing facility from 1944 to 1984. the COCC plant produced various chemicals, such as insecticide, industrial cleaners, and specialty chemicals for use in research.
While the facility was in business, soil on and around the site was contaminated by the wastes from COCC which were spilled, dumped, or buried at the site. In the 1970’s the COCC put in a sump tank to collect liquid waste. Although the plant was relocated to another part of South Carolina, records suggest that a large portion of the waste that was collected in the tank leaked out over time.
According to the EPA Superfund site locator, one site in my hometown is the Kodak Plant in Rochester, NY that was recently shutdown. Some of the controversy and concern regarding the plant’s wastes include soil tests, and volatile organic compounds. Ground water in the immediate area has been contaminated with volatile organic compounds, most of which is contained on-site. Off-site ground water in the area is not currently used as a potable water supply. Rather, drinking water is supplied by the Monroe County Water Authority, and is taken from surface waters nearby. There has been no evidence that any surface water used for drinking has been impacted from this facility. The extracted and treated ground water was released into the Genesee River under a New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NYSPDES) permit.
One question I have for Mr. Guild is what are the local environmental controversies and what can students do to help remedy these controversies?
I was most interested in the immense number of things you can do on these Three Rivers thanks to the efforts of the River Alliance. I often only think of biking and walking along trails but it is so true that there is something for everyone to do along these rivers. Everyone can find their own way to enjoy nature which is a big reason this effort is so important to the community.
ReplyDeleteA Superfund site is a location that has been deemed hazardous by the EPA due to toxic waste left behind from the dumping of chemicals, or polluting companies.
The Columbia Organic Chemical plant was a chemical production plant which was run between 1944 and 1984 in Columbia. It manufactured various chemicals for insecticides and industrial cleaners using several hundred different chemicals. Various fires over the lifetime of this plant caused many chemicals to be released into the ground and area surrounding the plant. Various chemicals have been spilled, dumped or leaked into the surrounding area and a dump tank failed to contain chemicals.
According to the EPA site, there is a Superfund site in Cleveland, Ohio a little ways away from where I live. CMR planned to use the site as a recycling facility, however, the site was only used to collect and store wastes in vats and barrels. The site was used until 1980 when a fire occurred. In 1981, 2,000 containers of flammable and non-flammable chemicals were removed under an emergency response action. Liquid and solid materials from six 3,500 gallon vats were also removed. The EPA is still unsure about the reuse of this land.
Question: What is a fun group activity we can plan to do as a class on the Three River Greenway?
I found the article about the 12,00 years of history initiative very interesting. I would definitely consider myself a history nerd, so the fact that such a local area has artifacts dating as far back as the Ice Age is embarrassingly cool for me. This park movement should absolutely be put on historical reserve under the Antiquities Act to preserve such an irreplaceable area.
ReplyDeleteA Superfund site is an uncontrollable or abandoned hazardous waste site that is monitored by the EPA in order to protect local ecosystems and communities. Sites are given a ranking based on their contamination potential and level of danger.
The Columbia ORganic Chemical Company was in operation between 1944 and 1984 producing chemicals such as insecticides and cleaners. The chemicals that were waste or byproducts were left in the soil during its reconstruction after fire and decades of operation. Consequently, the surrounding area is not safe for development.
Rochester Property is in a rural area in my home county. There are four trenches filled with toxic materials dumped there in the early 70's. The waste was removed in the 90's when it was found to be a threat to groundwater supplies.
Question for Bob Guild: If there was just one single thing we as college students could get involved in and support, what should it be and how can we do so?
Something that really caught my interest was the River Alliance. The way they give back to the community just took me back, and made me look at myself and how I could give back more. As a non-profit organization, they truly work together to benefit the local commune is exceptionally admirable. The River Alliance’s work ends up extending itself to facilitate many people in the way that they help fuel the economic and cultural growth.
ReplyDeleteA superfund site is a site in which there is abandoned chemical waste within the US, which then the EPA adds to their database and ranks it.
The Columbia Organic Chemical plant is located in Kershaw County, South Carolina. At this facility there were an extensive array of chemicals that were manufactured, which included industrial cleaners, insecticide formulations, and trivial amounts of specialty chemicals that are used in research. I’m not very aware of many controversies that strike the environment in my area per-se, other than big city pollution and local chemical plants in the nearby state.
On the EPA site I couldn’t find my direct town for which I live in, however I found one relatively close by and was a bit in shock. Southampton is a beautiful town on the coast of Long Island, that for a many summers I have beached at. It’s generally known for upper-status life and it’s amazing golf club. In the case though, I found that there was a now inactive landfill that still exist there. At the time it was active, it was a threat to the groundwater, yet since has been thankfully no longer a threat. The clean up approach began in the 1980s and was finished before the 1990s came about.
A question I have for Bob Guild is, “Are there any inactive landfills in Columbia that may have affected the ground water of the area, or inactive landfills that to this day still effect groundwater here?”
The River Alliance interested me particularly in the area of all the opportunities and access to recreational activities on the rivers provided by the "Three Rivers Greenway." The parks that have been established and the riverwalk areas are great resources and ways to get people from the community to come outside and to enjoy nature. With the establishment of these trails and pathways, along with their ease of access, it is even easier for families to come outside and for citizens to have ample opportunities to simply enjoy nature. This was most interesting to me because I just love to be outside and having access to something like this would gain great appreciation from me.
ReplyDeleteA Superfund site is one in which there is uncontrolled hazardous waste. The EPA's mission with Superfunds is a program by the federal government to clean up these sites in order to protect the environment and people's health. The Columbia Organic Chemical Company (COCC) site located in Richland County, South Carolina is surrounded by both residential and commercial properties. The COCC produced chemicals such as industrial cleaners, insecticides, and those used in research. These all contained hazardous chemicals that seeped into the soil after the plant was destroyed by a frie in 1958. A chemical holding tank on site has also leaked out into the soil, making this area unsafe and contaminated.
Most of the Superfund sites I could find in Texas are around Houston, so I decided to go with the Bailey Waste Disposal Site southwest of Bridge City in Orange County, Texas. This is near the coast. The site was originally part of a tidal marsh and contained two lakes built by the landowner, Mr. Joe Bailey. He would dredge the marsh and pile the sediments to build levees until Hurricane Carla brought saltwater into the ponds. The fish were killed, and Mr. Bailey then allowed dumps of industrial waste in the levees. As of now, it looks as if all requirements according to CERCLA have been fulfilled and the area has been restored. The contaminated soils were capped so the infiltration of rainwater and any direct contact is no longer a possibility to worry about.
My question for Bob Guild is what the most impacting initiative would be for us to take as students against contamination in the area? What groups could we associate ourselves with in order to help correct current damages/contamination and to prevent further contamination in the future?
What I found the most intriguing about the River Alliance Organization is that they pulled together the provisions to acquire funding for the wonderful idea: the Three Rivers Greenway. To see the reintegration of the City of Columbia and surrounding areas with their river systems is a great feeling, and that is the main determination of the River Alliance. The Greenway does exactly what it is designed to do, and it truly is a landmark for the environmentalists of Columbia. The rivers have so many activities to offer as entertainment, as well as secluded areas for wildlife encounters; I have enjoyed going to different parts of the Greenway many times. “Superfund” is the federal government's program to clean up the nation's uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. A superfund site is a toxic waste site that was abandoned and has been selected by the EPA for regulated cleaning of the site. The Columbia Organic Chemical Company operated a facility that manufactured hundreds of chemicals from 1944 to 1984 when then production was moved. The COCC was horrible when it came to disposing of hazardous waste properly. They finally attempted to install a chemical holding tank during the 1970’s, but most of the liquid waste leaked out inevitably. (The owners must have become aware of the damage, and relocated before prosecution.) In 2010 the San Bruno ‘natural gas’ pipeline exploded in a residential area killing 8 people and causing a shockwave the same as a magnitude 1.1 earthquake. This neighbor is one mile away from the neighborhood my family lives in San Bruno! Pacific Gas & Electric are the owners of the pipeline and in 2012 evidence was discovered that proves it was the company’s own negligence that led to the accident. My question for Bob Guild would be what kind of an impact does the long-term pollution left behind from industrial facilities have on us today? (Ex. Water contamination)
ReplyDeleteWhat interested me most is the riverwalk. I have used the riverwalk before to get down to the river. It is so satisfying to know that our local governments could come together to do something that is actually good and gives back to the community. The Columbia Organic Chemical Plant was a specialty chemical plant that existed from 1944-1984. It is within and surrounds residential and commercial properties. Many varieties of chemicals were produced at this plant. The plant was destroyed by fire in 1958 and was rebuilt over its original location. During the years after that, there were several more fire damages done to the facility. This lead to chemical waste entering the soil, being buried, or being spilled. The fact that these chemicals are in the ground, and are in the soil that is so close to a residential and commercial area is very scary. These chemicals could eventually enter these local waterlines and could affect the health of the people in their homes and businesses. I used the EPA finder and found that my county was listed. I live in Prosperity, South Carolina which is in Newberry county. I live about 2 minutes away from the glorious Lake Murray. I found a document stating Lake Murray is eutrophic, which means it is rich in nutrients and is at risk to eutrophication, which means it has excessive amounts of nutrients caused from run-off that enters the lake.
ReplyDeleteMy question for Bob would be what efforts are being made to try to get rid of or fix this chemical exposed soil and do the people in the surrounding areas even know what they have been exposed to?
The thing I found to be most interesting about the River Alliance Organization was just their general outlook and goals. They strive to do whatever they can to allow people to gain access to river's but to also maintain safety within the environment. I thought this to be an interesting concept because I know that many people can enjoy the river in their free time, and with the ability to easily access it many more may begin to take advantage. A Superfund Site is an abandoned site on which hazardous chemicals have been escaping into the soil, and which the EPA has selected and is making efforts to clean the area. The Columbia Organic Chemical Company was a chemical plant located in Richland County, South Carolina. It was in existence from 1944-1984, during which time a multitude of chemicals were produced. A fire in 1958 caused the destruction of the original plant leading to the reconstruction of the plant in the same location, but fires were a continual problem and over time waste begin to spill into the soil in the surrounding area. Using the EPA national Superfund site locator I was able to find a site just twenty minutes from my home in Virginia. C and R battery Company is located just 650 feet south of the James River. Between 1970 and 1985 the company made an effort to recover lead and lead oxide by dismantling car and truck batteries. This process lead to the contamination of soul in the surrounding areas and even drainage ditching leading into the James River. One question I have is what can we do in our environment to try and avoid the contamination of our rivers?
ReplyDeleteSomething I really enjoyed about the River Alliance Organization is the Three River Greenway. This 9.5 mile pathway takes you along the three main rivers in Columbia, and gives the members of our community the opporunity the see the beauty of the area that we live in. I have been to the riverwalk before, and it is really astonishing. I would consider this pathway a hidden gem, because many of the inhabitants of Columbia dont know about it. This easily accessable an handicap friendly pathway gives everyone in Columbia the opporunity to spend tiem with and enjoy the nature around. A superfund site is an abandoned hazardous waste site that has been taken over by the EPA so that they can regulate the waste and be in charge of cleaning it up so that chemicals dont continue to leak into our soil and water. The Columbia Organic Chemical Plant was a factory that existed decades ago that was resonsable for producing a great deal of chemicals. After many damaging fires, the plant was closed down, but chemicals have continued to spill into the neighboring soil and ecosystems. I grew up in Lanacaster, PA which is about 30 minutes from 3 mile island, a large nuclear power plant. A consistent controversy that is debated is whether the powerplant should exist in an area so close to a large number of people. The powerpant had a nuclear meltdown in 1979, and the people in my area still feel the health affects of it to this day. If the powerplant were to have another, worse, meltdown, millions of people could die, be displaced from their homes, or suffer severe health consequences. My question for Bob, is what are people doing to try and fix and clean the soil that the Columbia Organic Chemical plant had detremental chemicals leaking into?
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