Is Hydrofracking a Potential Source of Earthquakes?

With the rising costs of gasoline and the increasing pressure to find sources of oil and natural gas, hydrofracking has become a popular method of attainment of oil & gas by such companies nation and worldwide. While fracking is cost-efficient and relatively environmentally friendly, scientists have seen many benefits to using fracking as a method of oil and gas removal. That is until recently, in which studies conducted over the past several months have led to findings by the USGS that the "spike in earthquakes since 2001 near oil and gas extraction operations is almost certainly man-made." While this has yet to officially be confirmed, there is much evidence suggesting that it is a very valid point. The fluid that is used in the hydraulic fracturing of each well is leading to the creation of increasingly larger amounts of wastewater, which are then most often injected into underground disposal wells. There exists thought that the wastewater injections are changing the pressure and adding lubrication along faults, thereby inducing seismicity. 

After reading the following article, I now can understand the reasoning behind the concern of individuals who have recently been informed that hydrofracking wells will be established nearby their residences. In California, a state bountiful with faults and renowned for earthquakes, I, too, would be very much concerned if the USGS installed a hydrofracking well nearby my home. Although this link between hydrofracking and induced seismicity has yet to be confirmed, the evidence that has been released thus far certainly is a cause for concern for those living within the vicinity of a hydrofracking well. 

For those curious to learn more about the process of hydrofracking along with some of the few environmental issues associated with it, please check out this video (accompanied with some very interesting narration!)

Moringa Oleifera... Shocking New Discovery

A very interesting method of water purification was released a couple of years ago, causing me to be a little surprised that I have yet to hear about it, especially as it proves to be both low-cost and efficient. As most of us are aware, many nations suffer from the lack of drinking water, particularly water in a purified form. Statistics show that nearly a billion people across Asia, Africa, and Latin America rely on untreated surface water for their daily needs, and of that approximately one billion people, about two million of those individuals die as a result of water borne diseases. A miraculous discovery has been made by Canadian researchers, involving the use of a tree called the Moringa Oleifera. This tree, a vegetable-producing tree with a wide variety of alternative uses, is found in nearly each of the regions suffering from lack of clean water. It has been found that the seeds from this tree can be crushed into a powder and used as a "water-soluble extract in suspension, [thus] resulting in an effective natural clarification agent for highly turbid and untreated pathogenic surface water." Proven effective, I can only hope that news of this discovery has been spread to those nations suffering from lack of clean water, and furthermore that world health organizations and similar programs striving to help those in need, are incorporating methods such as the planting of Moringa Oleifera's.

BOD

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) serves as a way to test the level of pollution in our water. Students from USD went into Tecolote Canyon to test the BOD and found that levels were in the 'very good' range, bordering on the 'moderately clean' range, meaning that the waters in Tecolote Canyon are not heavily polluted by organic material.

In any given sample of water, there is dissolved oxygen. Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is the amount of this oxygen that is used by pollutants in the water. Organic materials in the water are consumed by bacteria and this process uses up the oxygen in the water. The higher the BOD, the more organic material is in the water and the more polluted the water is.

Students in USD's Environmental Chemistry class went out seeking to determine the BOD levels in Tecolote Canyon and collected water samples from a creek near the golf course. After the samples were collected, the bacteria that consumes the organic material (pollutants) were still present in the water, so by storing this sample for seven days, bacteria in the water was allowed to consume the pollutants without the bacteria or pollutant level changing. The difference in dissolved oxygen between the first day and the seventh day was the amount of oxygen that was used in the process of bacteria consuming pollutants.

If this difference is very large, then there are a lot of pollutants to be consumed by the bacteria. If the difference is small, then the bacteria did not have a lot of organic material to be consumed. In this case, the difference between the first and seventh day was 2.34, which is in the 'very good' range. Above a 3 is considered 'moderately clean' and above 5 is 'somewhat polluted'.

The samples were also used to analyze the specific molecules in the sample. A gas chromatography machine allows us to put samples in and it uses known samples for comparison and outputs a spectrum of molecules found in the sample and properties of those molecules, then it makes its best guess as to what those molecules are. The molecules mostly seemed to be long chains of carbons and hydrogens, which might be indicative of fuels. Also found were various pollutants resulting from plastic production. No molecules were found in high concentrations that were toxic.

Overall, the samples collected were rather free of pollution.

Sediment Leaching

Sediment Leaching

In any given sample of soil, many organic and inorganic substances can be found.  In order to measure the concentration or amount of these substances, scientists sometimes use a separation technique known as sediment leaching.  In this, the metals are washed from the sample, and collected in a liquid.  This liquid, or eluate, is processed via atomic absorption (AA) spectroscopy to determine the concentrations.  The liquid eluate can also give information as to how good the sample is at neutralizing acids.  This leaching process has been modified and employed by metal, biological, and food processing industries alike.  Recently, in our Environmental Chemistry class, we tested three samples of "sediment": clay from either Arizona or Georgia, soil collected from Tecolote Canyon, and limestone.  The sample collected from Tecolote was within walking distance from our school, so our results have the potential to affect us all directly.  We measured the concentrations of the following ions: potassium, cadmium, copper, zinc, and magnesium.  

Our results indicate that limestone is the best at neutralizing acid, followed by our Tecolote sediment, and clay.  Furthermore, cadmium showed up in minuscule amounts in all the samples, which is good news, because of its inherent toxicity.  Basic compounds such as magnesium and potassium were found in higher amounts in the most neutralizing sample, limestone.  These results enforced previous research

This experiment matters because of the environmental implications a soil sample with high metal concentrations has. For example, plant growth is often greatly reduced in basic soil, because water and essential nutrients are not able to penetrate the soil.  This can cause stunted growth and nutrient deficiency.  Also, nutrient concentration and basicity of soil can counteract the affects of acid rain on our planet.  For more information on this topic, feel free to check out the following websites:

http://www.iss.it/publ/anna/2008/3/443252.pdf

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/333492/leaching

http://pesticidestewardship.org/water/Pages/Leaching.aspx

       

Italy to be the First Customer for LEAPmbr* Wastewater Treatment System

In Messina, Italy is to be the first customer of GE's LEAPmbr* which is a membrane bioreactor "wastewater-treatment technology"  that claims to reduce energy costs and increase productivity.  Once the new plant is in use it will be able to treat a yearly average flow of 21 million liters a day, which is approximately equivalent to 125,000 people's daily water use. 




http://www.thestreet.com/story/11525807/1/ge-announces-first-customer-in-europe-for-its-leapmbr-wastewater-treatment-system-near-messina-italy.html

Membrane Filtration

An Ontario-based company has developed a new membrane technology for purifying drinking water and treating wastewater that costs less than half as much to produce as competing products. After researching I found that they use reverse osmosis as the mechanism, which calculates the size particles to be excluded and use pores that are capable of trapping such particles. This technique is becoming more widely used as costs seem to be lower than other techniques of the past. 


http://www.waterworld.com/index/display/article-display/322063/articles/membranes/volume-1/issue-1/feature/trends-in-membrane-filtration-in-canada.html

China does not have a national law exclusively for wetland protection, which leads to the abuse of the wetlands as violators and polluters are not punished by the local governments or authorities. Since 1978 a total area of "8,152 square kilometers " have been destroyed.  As the article states, wetlands are considered some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems and act as the home to a wide variety of plants and animal life, the article give the example of  like migratory birds. The preservation of wetlands are not only vital in preserving the ecosystems they support but they are also responsible flood control and shoreline stability and play an important role in water purification. Often small villages and communities along the rivers and wetlands rely directly on the water purified from these wetlands for their source of water. Without proper action and protect abuse of the wetland will continue to occur and the water source for many will continue to be polluted. 


http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-05/14/content_15281008.htm

Treating Water With Solar Power

It seems that there are being many new ideas formed on how to clean and purify water, one of them being using solar power to purify water. WorldWater and Solar Technologies Inc. is a company based in New Jersey that is currently creating water purifying systems that treat water with solar. These systems are currently being used in war torn areas and areas that have suffered natural disasters and are not currently built to supply enough water for an entire city but the president/owner hopes to expand the company in the near future the purification systems can be used in larger populated areas.

Fracking Contaminating Our Water Supply

In an article published today, there is a discussion on how the lack of rules and regulations regarding shale gas wastewater are leading to a contamination of our ground water. Among the pollutants see are salts, oils, greases, inorganics, organics, and radioactive materials all of which can be toxic to humans and damage the eco-systems.
The NRDC is pushing for 2 policy changes that will force cleaner wastewater emissions and improve the safety of people.

San Diego Setting the Example

States in the Southwest region of the United States are facing the issue of diminishing water due to climate change. One way to solve this problem is to treat waste water and use that as a source of water. Obviously this does not sound like the most ideal plan, but it has been working in places like San Diego for awhile and now other cities are beginning to follow to solve the water deficit. 

This past weekend, the Advanced Water Purification Facility of San Diego gave free tours of the facility to people for Drinking Water Week 2012.  They are doing this to hopefully make it clear that clean water is important to everyone.  This article gives more details about why this event was happening and what the significance of the facility is.  One good thing about this facility is that it could give San Diego citizens a new, cleaner source of drinking water.

In this article, plans to build a water treatment facility on a Cherokee reservation are being discussed.  Previous to this water treatment facility, the reservation's water was chlorinated as a method of filtration.  As we learned in class, this method is not the best way to go about filtering the water because it released chlorine, which can harm the environment.  It also does not give the reservation as good quality of water than the surrounding area in Delaware County where they are building this facility.  This facility is going to try and give the Cherokees the same well-being that the non-reservation residents already experience.

River Respirators!

At a sea port in Savannah, Georgia, they are conflicted with their need for deeper river canals to keep up with the increasing size of cargo ships and their need to keep dissolved oxygen levels in the water high enough to continue to sustain aquatic life. This article talks about Savannah's plans to install a water bubbler, like in a home aquarium, to add oxygen to the water since the increased depth of the water will decrease the dissolved oxygen levels. This will be the largest scale project to oxygenate the waters of the Savannah River. Although their heads are in the right place, and they are thinking about the wild life as well, only time will tell if their efforts are effective.

Dissolved Oxygen in Tecolote Canyon Streams

Recently an Environmental Chemistry class at the University of San Diego went out to Tecolote Canyon to do some field research on the streams that run through the canyon. One of the points of research was to measure the dissolved oxygen content of the water there. Based off a few field trials, the dissolved oxygen content from the entire stream was around 5.504 ppm. Individual samples of the surface stream water were extracted for further analysis in the lab, and they recorded slightly higher dissolved oxygen content of 6.563 ppm.

What do these numbers mean? If you look at the chart at the bottom of this post, you can see what the ranges of dissolved oxygen mean. Both samples suggest that the stream has enough oxygen present to support fish life.  The surface water samples have a bit higher oxygen content because it is easier to have the oxygen in the air enter into a dissolved state in the water.

            Using equations, you can calculate the optimal dissolved oxygen content for a body of water at a given temperature. For this stream’s temperature, the dissolved oxygen should be around 10.41 ppm. Dissolved oxygen is affected by the following: movement of the water, the temperature, the organisms present, the altitude, and organic wastes. Since the recorded values of dissolved oxygen are lower than the calculated values, some of the factors aside from temperature that the equation accounts for are likely affecting the levels in Tecolote Canyon.

 

Chemistry vs. Bureaucracy

A whistleblowing chemist who warned first-responders to 9/11 lost her job at the EPA in 2010. She had been accusing the EPA of downplaying hazards associated with rubble and was repeatedly harassed for calling attention to his until she finally was sacked.

The dangers that she was calling attention to were high pH levels in caustic dust that was so corrosive that it caused chemical burns in the firefighters' lungs. The dangers might have been avoided if the rescue workers had been provided with adequate protective gear.

On May 7th this year, she was awarded her job back (with back pay!) by a federal court.

Toxic Trouble

An article published tonight discusses toxic substances which have escaped treatment in waste-water facilities and are escaping into the Colorado River. The study looked at water being discharged from waste-water facilities along the Colorado River. Over 100 toxic substances were measured, ranging from household medicines, to pesticides, cleaning products, and flame retardants. There are warnings which have been issued about eating the fish in the river as a way to avoid ingesting the toxic compounds. Overall it seems as though it is hard for water-treatment facilities to keep up with the amount of chemicals that are constantly being introduced into the environment.

Fish bones as a form of soil remediation?

Within the past year, new methods of  have been placed into effect, particularly those concerning the contamination of soils from lead. While many methods of soil remediation currently do exist, the newly practiced method includes that of depositing Alaska Pollock fish bones into soils with high levels of lead. The high levels of calcium phosphate present within the bones of the fish, migrate into the soils, whereby the lead then binds to the phosphates and forms pyromorphite. I think this method of soil remediation is particularly neat, especially as the fish bones would eventually be disposed of as waste, and through this method are able to be recycled. Additionally, the soil remediation process is complete within a matter of days, and is far more cost efficient than other means of remediation.

The image below shows a sack of crushed fishbone being worked into the soil to neutralize the lead.

What's your definition of "navigable waters"?

According to this article, many of America's largest water polluters are outside of the Clean Water Act's reach due to the Supreme Court leaving out these waterways from the law.  Consequently, these polluters are claiming that the law does not apply to their businesses, and pollution rates are rising.  The Clean Water Act was supposed to regulate every polluter, thereby ending dangerous water pollution.  However, currently, as many as half of all the nation's largest pollution contributors continue to pollute because the EPA and other officials lack jurisdiction.  

A court ruling limited the Clean Water Act to applying in "navigable waters," which, for decades, included most large wetlands and streams that connected to major rivers.  But recently, waterways that are entirely in one state, creeks that sometimes run dry, and lakes unconnected to larger water systems may not be technically "navigable" and therefore are not under the Act's jurisdiction.        

“We are, in essence, shutting down our Clean Water programs in some states,” said Douglas F. Mundrick, an E.P.A. lawyer in Atlanta. “This is a huge step backward. When companies figure out the cops can’t operate, they start remembering how much cheaper it is to just dump stuff in a nearby creek.”

I think this fact is frightening as well as frustrating.  It seems like companies will do anything to do the least amount of work possible, regardless of the consequences.  Something within the law needs to be changed, clarified, or both, especially because pollution from these waterways unprotected by the law can make its way into sources of drinking water.  

The mouth of Avondale Creek in Alabama, into which a pipe maker dumped oil, lead and zinc.
A court ruling made the waterway exempt from the Clean Water Act.

View the whole article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/us/01water.html?_r=1

Water Treatment: The New Renewable Energy Source

A relatively new company based in California has found a way to efficiently disinfect waste water. Pasteurization Technology Group, or PTG, combines wastewater disinfection with the generation of renewable energy. The technology used the digester gas, a natural by-product of wastewater treatment to drive a turbine that generates renewable electricity. This resulting energy can in turn be used (as heat) to disinfect the water. This process is efficient, and does not require the use of chemicals such as chlorine, or expensive electrical power and UV lamps.
Article here.

Scientific community expresses alarm at effect of CO2 levels on ocean pH

Anthropogenically created carbon dioxide is dissolving in the ocean and forming carbonic acid, decreasing the pH of the water. Professor John Beardall from the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University believes that ocean acidity levels will more than double by the end of the century. This is alarming to the scientific community because it is unclear how biological life will adapt to these changes, or if many aquatic species will simply be unable to cope with the changes and begin to die out. Specifically, Professor Beardall hopes to research the effects of said acidity on key Australian phytoplankton species.

New Dissolved Oxygen Data Logger Developed

Onset Computer Corporation has recently disclosed that it will be producing a new self-contained Dissolved Oxygen data logger, which not only will include many new technological features but will also set new standards for low cost. Specifically, the new system will cost $1250. The product marketing manager for Onset, Paul Gannett, was quoted as saying, "Fewer site visits, less calibration, and easy data offload in the field are just some of the benefits." After personally experiencing how to measure dissolved oxygen in the field on Monday, I can really appreciate the convenience, incorporated software and other technological advancements offered by this product.

Read more about this here!

Should We Continue Drinking Water Containing Fluoride?

We have all heard the saying too much of anything is a bad thing. Well that is the case when it comes to the issue of drinking water that contains fluoride ion in it. Fluoride has been proven to reduce cavities in children, and dentists have stated that having small amounts of fluoride in water only helps strengthen children's teeth against decay. However, it has been found that certain health problems have developed as people continue to drink fluoride containing water, including cancer. Because of the health problems that have been identified to be caused by fluoride in drinking water many people have started campaigns against having fluoride added to drinking water, stating that they already get the needed amount of fluoride from toothpaste and the additional fluoride they are getting from drinking water is doing more harm than good.

Ocean Acid Levels Alarming

Recently we have been talking about pH levels in water, and I stumbled upon this interesting article about how these factors affect marine life in the oceans.  Increases in anthropogenically-sourced, atmospheric carbon dioxide are threatening the global oceans.  According to research done at Colombia University, higher CO2 emissions are acidifying the oceans at an alarming rate.  In fact, the oceans are acidifying at a faster rate than at any time in the past 300 million years.  The water absorbs carbon dioxide, which turns into carbonic acid, in turn acidifying the oceans.  This drop in pH adversely affects marine life all along the food chain.  For example, when exposed to waters with lower-than-average pH, oyster larvae shells begin to dissolve before they fully form, and sea urchin larvae change shape.  All of this is leading to  higher rates of oyster larvae, sea urchin larvae, and barnacle mortality.  I also briefly looked over the comments posted at the bottom of the article, which were almost as interesting as the article itself.  Some of the people's comments really surprised me: "The next big hoax to fool the fools," "Sure pollution is a problem [ ... ] but the radical crying and whining isn't helping," "Democrats are making up science," and "the ocean is salty and cannot possibly turn acidic."  It seems as if about half the people who read the article do not believe the science.  There was even talk of a conspiracy involving President Obama, because of the Colombia connection.  It is funny how people react to hard-to-swallow, often scientific concepts like global warming, the overpopulation of the earth, or acidification of the oceans.  The motivations of these people are varied, but the science is concrete.  What are our thoughts on the article, people's reactions, or both?

Full article here: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/03/09/2022663/ocean-acid-levels-alarming.html#disqus_thread

No more coral reefs?

Ocean acidification was one topic which was discussed in our book. One website discusses ocean acidification and its impact on marine life. It is suggested that if CO2 emissions continue at their current rate, then most, if not all, existing coral reefs will be gone by the year 2050. This occurs because the decreased pH in the ocean prevents organisms, such as clams and coral reefs, from calcifying. This will not just mean a disappearance of coral reefs, but possible extinction of all marine organisms which inhabit the coral reefs. Furthermore tourist industries and people who survive off of the fish living in coral reefs will need to find a new source of income. In order to prevent their complete extinction CO2 emissions need to decrease.

Did Oxygen-Poor Waters Kill the Dinosaurs?

Could events that occurred around 252 million years ago parallel events that are currently being observed?  In two recent studies, from UC-Santa Cruz and Stanford, scientists are suggesting that the high levels of atmospheric carbon from volcanoes could have had a previously negated primary effect on oceanic organisms, especially those with calcium carbonate tests, before other organisms.  They concluded that the high levels of atmospheric carbon-based gases led exacerbated the extinction of up to 95% of marine organisms through a warming, acidification, and oxygen-reduction of the oceans.  With our emissions eclipsing those of volcanic emissions, are we leading ourselves towards another mass extinction? Read more about it here.

Are the beverages you drink acidic?

The other day in class we discussed some of the issues surrounding pH and its effects on water.  Clearly, a slightly lower or higher pH in an environment can have huge effects on the natural world.  This fact got me to thinking about the liquids we consume on a daily basis, and whether or not the acidity of these beverages affects our bodies in harmful ways.  Although I could not find out this specific information, I did come across this interesting article and table with pH levels of different commercial drinks.  

According to the author, "alkalizing" your body is one of the best things you can do for your health!  Your body wants to have a pH of around 7.3, which is slightly alkaline.  Because your body is 70% water, it is very important to not only keep hydrated, but also to drink alkaline beverages.    

Check the table out! Does any of this surprise you?

See the full article here: http://www.justgoodenergy.com/2009/09/11/is-your-bottled-water-acidic/

Raiding the Bread Basket: Use and Abuse of the Mississippi River Basin

As a society, we always think about our carbon footprint, but what about our "water footprint"?  The Mississippi River basin and watershed in the U.S. is one of the most productive farming regions in the world: indeed, almost 40% of corn grown in the world comes from this area.  Also grown are soy, wheat, cotton, and others.  Think about how often you use these products. In the morning, you eat cereal made from midwestern corn, and you put on cotton clothes.  Your car is partly fueled by ethanol, and your dinner of chicken and rice is also from this area.  The problem is that pollution is affecting the water so bad, if current trends continue, the future looks grim.  

Phosphorous fertilizer costs next to nothing for farmers, but just one speck per gallon can cost society millions in lost recreational value and cleanup costs.  Rice in Arkansas has depleted the groundwater, dropping the local aquifer by  90ft.  A "dead zone" the size of Connecticut served as a study that found that oxygen-deprived female fish developed testes.  

Solutions to this pressing issue are not simple.  For example, if winter rye was planted after harvesting corn or soybeans, the rye would absorb nitrogen so it wouldn't leach into the soil and end up polluting the Gulf of Mexico.  When the rye is tilled, it would provide nitrogen for the soil.  But heavy nitrogen fertilizers are cheaper.  One man believes economic incentives need to kick in before changes are feasible.  What do you think?  

Also, check out this link to calculate your own water footprint: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/water-footprint-calculator/  

You can find the full article here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/120123-mississippi-river-basin/

Does Fracking Lead to Groundwater Contamination?

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of extracting natural grass from rock layers deep within the earth. According to a recent article, this process very commonly causes earthquakes and also may be linked to increasing groundwater contamination and air pollution. The 2010 documentary, Gasland,  illuminated many of the problems associated with the fracking process and its effect on groundwater. Near the end of the trailer for the documentary (at 2:23), you can even see a man set his tap water on fire! An increase in air pollution may also be seen due to more methane being released into the environment. Although fracking has been a very successful method to obtain natural gas and oil from the Earth, I feel that the negative effects that this process may have on the environment and human health must be reconsidered, despite the claims made from industries that fracking has no adverse affects.

Methane Contamination of Groundwater

In Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, she discussed the negative impacts of pesticides leaching into groundwater.  The negative impacts were mainly seen by their effects on biological systems in the 1960s.  However, currently there is a rising controversy lately over the natural gas industry.  This article describes the recent litigation arising from claims that "fracking" or the extraction of natural gas has led to an increase in methane contamination of groundwater.  As this groundwater is used for drinking, and other daily needs, the controversy has risen over whether this can be proven for a fact or not.

Is Sewage Water the New Solution?

This week in Silent Spring we read about the harmful effects of pesticides in water and how this is creating a shortage of clean water for use. According to some people, one way to try solve this water shortage is to recycle waste water from such places like sinks, showers, and toilets. Recycling these waste waters is believed to be one of the better options available right now because it is cheaper than some other possibilities. Obviously one main issue is that, even though the recycled water would clean enough to drink, people do not want to use recycled waste water, whether it is to water their plants or to take a shower in.

Chemical Analysis of Sediments in Tecolote Canyon

Starting in the beginning of the World War Two period, many organochlorine pesticides were created to replace inorganic pesticides to reduce the amount of pesticide sprayed and to target specific pests as the specificity of these new pesticides increased.  Thus, as less total pesticide was sprayed, it was thought that these organochlorine pesticides would have a lesser negative on the environment and ecological systems as a whole.  Here is just one example of how these new organochlorine pesticides were used.  However, these organochlorine pesticides were found to have high persistence levels and would take extremely long to breakdown.  While these pesticides remained in the environment they continued to induce negative effects to humans and the environment, such as being known carcinogens, contaminating ground water, and bioaccumulating to toxic levels in the fatty tissues of organisms.  Some examples of these persistent organochlorine pesticides are DDT, heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin, mirex, and chlordane. 


Chlordane was used in San Diego, California until it was banned in 1988, and was primarily used to eliminate termites.  Thus, “today, people receive the highest exposure to chlordane from living in home that were treated with chlordane for termites” (Chlordane).  Also recent findings have shown that it remains to be present in Tecolote Canyon sediments.  Due to chlordane’s low polarity, it is found in highest concentrations in organic soil and sediments.  Testing of these sediments in 2005, 2007, and 2010 have illustrated the presence of chlordane within sediments in the canyon and Mission Bay, where Tecolote Creek empties.  Due to the historical presence of chlordane in sediments in Tecolote Canyon, University of San Diego students enrolled in Environmental Chemistry under the guidance of Dr. David O. De Haan sampled and tested sediments this year for the presence of chlordane.  Chlordane was spatially variable between all of the sampling sites, with the highest values found within Mission Bay.  However, as the chlordane was found in the sediment, other physical and chemical properties (water content, organic matter content, calcium carbonate content, pH level, and sediment particle size) of the sediments were analyzed to determine any potential correlations these factors might have with the retention of chlordane at these sampling sites. 

Overall chlordane concentration levels at all sampling sites did not appear to show any definitive correlations with any of the physical and chemical parameters analyzed, as positive and negative correlations were found between chlordane concentrations and each physical and chemical factor (See Table).  Thus, it could not be said with much certainty from the analysis if any of these physical or chemical factors were a factor in the retention of chlordane in Tecolote sediments.  While these results were inconclusive and indicate the need for repeated sampling and testing to achieve the goal of this experimental design, other sources of error could have led to these inconclusive results, such as other minerals being present in the sediment, as well as the oxidation of samples from their open-air storage.  Therefore, from these inconsistent results, the physical and chemical factors are not likely to be the primary factors in the retention of chlordane in the sediments in Tecolote Canyon.

Margin of Exposure

In Western Australia, the margin of exposure for various heavy metals and other pollutants that have been banned for over 40 years has been found to be lower in mothers-to-be.  Many pregnant mothers have been found with elevated levels of cadmium, mercury, and uranium in their blood.  This is especially disturbing as the direct effects on the unborn fetuses are reportedly unknown at this time.  High concentrations of these toxins can affect child mental development, as well as potentially increase the cancer risk in these newborns.  This article describes these recent findings in Western Australia.

Ban on Cosmetic Pesticides

The Canadian Cancer Society is calling for a ban on cosmetic pesticides due to the possible health effects, mainly cancer, that they cause. Cosmetic pesticides are not necessary to use, they are simply used for beautification. The research for these cosmetic pesticides is still in its early stages, but it has been known for awhile now that other pesticides have been the causes of certain types of cancers. If it is found that these cosmetic pesticides do cause cancer they will not only have harmed adults but also children who played in the grass and animals.

Hexavalent Chromium Toxic in Drinking Water?

Tap water contaminated with hexavalent chromium 

Although it is suspected that hexavalent chromium (chromium VI) is toxic in drinking water at certain levels, the EPA has recently said that more experimentation is needed before a drinking water standard can be established. Currently, the EPA has only set standards for total chromium, but when it was discovered that chromium VI may be carcinogenic to humans, things were reevaluated. While the EPA claims that they are following this procedure in order to collect enough sound scientific evidence to be more certain that chromium VI is in fact toxic to humans, environmentalists fear that the EPA is waiting for an industry-funded study. Sadly, I would not be too surprised if this was the truth, for the EPA has put money before public heath in the past. Read the entire article here.

Arsenic in the Water: How Much Are We to Blame

A study by Delhi University showed that arsenic is present in the waters of the Yamuna floodplains at five times the limit set by the World Health Organization. The study established the source as coal-based thermal power plants. Samples collected before and after a large monsoon in 2007 found the highest arsenic content in post monsoon water samples. While these high arsenic concentrations are caused by anthropogenic sources, they were certainly exacerbated by the monsoon in 2007. It's interesting now to think about how that monsoon, and other "extreme weather" natural disasters, are possibly affected by man-made global warming. With that in mind you could argue that humans are responsible for the arsenic contaminated water from all approaches.

Chlordane in Tecolote Canyon

Chlordane is a pesticide that was commonly used to control various insect populations in the United States from 1948 to 1988. However, when it was discovered that this pesticide is highly toxic to humans, all approved uses of chlordane were cancelled. Although it is doubtful that new chlordane-contaminating sources are emerging, it is very likely that chlordane is still present in our environment due to it degrading at a very slow rate, allowing for it to remain in soil for over 20 years. Currently, humans can be exposed to chlordane by living in homes that were treated with chlordane in the past to exterminate termites or by digging in soil where chlordane was applied. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides much more information regarding the sources and potential means of human of exposure to chlordane, which can be found here. Also, here is a very interesting and amusing video clip from the 1959 film, “Goodbye, Mrs. Ant,” which instructs how chlordane was to be used as a pesticide before being banned. According to the EPA, the acute effects of chlordane consist of gastrointestinal distress and neurological symptoms, such as tremors and convulsions. Also, chronic inhalation of chlordane can results in serious effects on the nervous system. It is clear that chlordane pollution can be a serious issue to human health if not properly controlled.

In 2010, it was found that chlordane levels in the Tecolote Canyon area in San Diego, California have been declining since 2007. This year, Environmental Chemistry students attending the University of San Diego have conducted a study to see if this trend continues by revisiting many of the sites previously tested in the Tecolote Canyon and measuring the chlordane concentration in collected sediment samples. Furthermore, soil was characterized by particle size distribution, pH level, and the percentage of water, calcium carbonate, and organic matter to see if any of these sediment properties correlate with chlordane concentration. The sampling locations included the river near the YMCA, Tecolote Creek, the creek near the transformer station, Mission Bay, and Fiesta Island. From the data that was collected, it was determined that chlordane was present in all sediment samples with concentrations ranging from 46.5 to 450.4 ppb. The order of highest to lowest average chlordane concentration was determined to be as follows: Mission Bay (357 ppb), Fiesta Island (316 ppb), the creek near transformer station (224 ppb), the creek near YMCA (189 ppb), and Tecolote Creek (132 ppb). When compared to concentrations measured in past years, it was difficult to determine whether or not chlordane levels have continued to decrease due to the fact that some sites contained more chlordane currently while others contained less. Based on these results, more investigation is needed in order to more accurately determine how chlordane concentrations have changed over time. 

High chlordane levels did not seem to correlate with any of the sediment properties measured (particle size distribution, pH, % water, % calcium carbonate, or % organic matter); however, a trend was asserted based on the geographical location of the sediment samples and their respective chlordane concentration. Due to the fact that the samples collected from Mission Bay and Fiesta Island had the highest average chlordane concentrations, it was postulated that the ocean, which drains directly into these two locations, might serve as a chlordane source. Also, with Mission Bay and Fiesta Island being much more residential areas than the other sites tested, it is possible that residential runoff is another source of this toxic pesticide. Overall, this study supports that chlordane continues to wash through the Tecolote Canyon area.

Next Level Green Companies

Currently, one of the main sources of lead and cadmium in our environment is from zinc-rich paints.  This article describes how wind turbine companies, which are one of the main forms of renewable energy, used these zinc-rich paints to coat their turbines with different categories of paints dependent on different types of turbines being created.  Within these paints, there are zinc powders that release into the atmosphere when the turbines erode and decay.  These paints are even more dangerous as they also contain lead and cadmium powders, which are also dangerous heavy metals that can leach into sediments and contaminate fresh water supplies.  However, while low lead and cadmium concentration paints are available many industries continue to use high lead and cadmium containing paints.  Turbine companies are beginning to create a "green standard" that would require suppliers to create low heavy metal paints for their turbines. New meaning to green companies?

Arsenic Discovered in Baby Food

I was rather disturbed to learn about the lack of US regulations of arsenic in food, especially as a recent study conducted by researchers at Dartmouth University has indicated that some brands of baby food, specifically baby formula where 'organic brown rice syrup' (OBRS) is one of the main ingredients, may contain arsenic. As rice is a plant cultivated in soil, and furthermore, a plant that is efficient in taking arsenic form the soil, researchers are concerned about foods containing OBRS, which is often used as a sweetener in organic foods as an alternative to high fructose corn syrup. During the study, one of the organic toddler milk formulas tested was found to contain As concentrations up to six times the EPA safe drinking water limit. While there are currently regulations denoted by the EPA in regards to a "safe drinking water limit," there are no regulatory limits on As in food. I find it sad to think that parents who are feeding their children what they perceive to be wholesome, organic baby food, could possibly be doing quite a bit of harm. This is especially concerning as babies are especially vulnerable to arsenic's toxic effects.

Can Bottled Water be Trusted Everywhere in the World?

With global population growth increasing at an alarming rate, scarcity of the world's resources has become a growing issue with local, regional, and global implications.  The availability of safe drinking water is the most important issue to humans in the majority of this world.  In most developing and third world countries, freshwater contamination is ever present.  Fresh drinking water has become privatized and bottled water boasts the reputation of the safest drinking water in most countries.  However, this article reports that recent tests have shown unsafe levels of arsenic, which is a carcinogen, have been found in many of Pakistan's bottled water.  If bottled water is not always the safest bet, what is? 

Chinese Officials Falsifying Lead Poisoning Level Results

According to this article, some government officials in China are abusing human rights when it comes to lead poisoning, especially in children.  Children are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning because a child's rapidly developing brain is particularly sensitive.  The following is just a short list of the possible damaging effects of lead toxicity: intellectual and developmental disabilities, behavioral problems, hearing loss, attention problems, and decreased visual and motor functioning.  A watchdog organization called Human Rights Watch published a news release last summer that claims China is restricting access to testing, falsifying test results, and denying treatment to those who have been found with traceable levels of lead in their bodies.  Recently, officials from the Chinese Environmental Protection Ministry have begun to crackdown on those who violate environmental restrictions; however, the Chinese government has yet to address the health consequences of the possibly millions of children who are affected.  This reminds me of something Rachel Carson said in Silent Spring about insecticides: "Although [it] is a matter of concern in agriculture and forestry, it is in the field of public health that the most serious apprehensions have been felt" (Chapter 16).  I feel like this is a matter of international concern, the offenders need to be brought to justice, and this blatant abuse of human rights needs to be stopped.  What do you think?


Full article here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/228647.php           

Lead in Lipstick: FDA Not Concerned

The FDA recently tested lipsticks for lead content and found that all 400 lipsticks tested (all of which are sold in the US) contained lead. The FDA assured that the levels of lead present were safe if used as intended, but people are angry, claiming that there is no safe level.
The levels found in the lipsticks were much higher than the limit for lead in candy. While people don't eat lipstick like they eat candy, it certainly adds up over a lifetime of lipstick applications. And although the 4 pounds of lipstick consumed throughout a lifetime seems to be a myth, I imagine that number is not far from the truth.

Fungi May Aid in Reducing Lead Pollution

Recent research had found that some species of fungi are able to transform the molecular structure of lead to its most stable form, which could have big implications for how lead-polluted sites are treated in the future. Specifically, the lead-containing mineral that forms is called pyromorphite, which can sequester lead contaminants in soil. Researches found this to be quite unexpected due to the fact that lead is usually regarded as a pretty stable substance. However, in the this study, lead in the presence of fungi began to show evidence of pyromorphite formation after a month, with mineral formation increasing in abundance with time. This is truly an amazing of nature. I find the ability of fungi to treat toxic lead in this manner to be truly amazing and am delighted that it has finally been discovered. 

Why Do People Still Use Soft Water Even Though it Contains More Lead?

Based off of the reading for this week we learned that soft water contains more lead in it than hard water, and that got me thinking why do people spend more money to soften their water when it could be harming them? This article weighs the pros and cons of both hard water and soft water. Soft water is desired over hard water for certain things like washing clothes, dishes, and taking showers, but should not be used for drinking. The reason that soft water is preferred over hard water for washing clothes and appliances is because of the calcium and magnesium found in hard water, limescale buildup occurs when you wash these things with hard water and can cause appliances to not be as energy efficient or issues with the pipes to arise. The lead found in soft water cannot cause as much harm to humans if it is only being used to wash items, so that is why soft water is used to wash items. Hard water is used for drinking water because it does not contain as much lead in it as soft water and contains minerals in it that have health benefits. The diagram shows how water is softened by exchanging hard calcium and magnesium ions for soft sodium ions.

The Increasing Dead-Zone in the Gulf of Mexico

As the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico continues to expand, environmental groups are suing the EPA to curb pollution of the Mississippi River from pollution such as fertilizers and pesticides, which are blamed to be the ultimate source of the dead zone that is presently the size of Massachusetts. While Mississippi states monitor the water quality standards of the river, the Mississippi River extends from the Rocky Mountains to the state of New York, and sources of runoff such as nitrogen and phosphate, two of the largest contributors to "dead zones," are neither being regulated nor monitored to the extent that they need to be. While the EPA has stated in the past that the monitoring of the wastewater treatment standards in regards to the Mississippi River would not be the most effective way to "address the significant water problems facing our nation," they have yet to respond to the current petition to update wastewater standards. If standards are not modified, then the extent of the pollution which enters the Mississippi River will only continue to worsen, thereby increasing the size and intensity of the dead zone in the south.

Watch and learn more about the dead zone associated with the Mississippi River at minute 1:30 here!