Transcript jacksonville, ar

Jacksonville, AR
Super Fund Site
By Mitch Cooper & Haley Herbert
Vertac, INC.
Timeline of the Dioxin Plant
From 1948-1996
1948 - January 1987 Vertac site manufactured herbicides
1978 National Dioxin Survey
1983 Site placed on the National Priority List
1984 - July 1986 proposed interim remedy implemented
1985 Incineration pilot studies were conducted
February 1987 Emergency drum over packing
August 1990 - December 1990 First Trial Burn
October 9-11, 1991 Second Trial Burn
January 1992 Incineration of drummed wastes began
June 1993 EPA assumed management of the site
September 1994 On-site incineration completed and remaining waste transported
off site for incineration
March 1996 Transport to off-site incinerator was completed
December 1996 Off-site disposal of residual salt and ash was completed
Remediation of the Vertac
Superfund Site
• Remediation of Vertac Superfund Site reduced the environmental risks for the
citizens of Jacksonville, a city with approximately 30,000 residents.
•About 10,000 cubic yards of highly contaminated waste were treated by incineration.
• Approximately 25,000 cubic yards of debris resulting from demolition of buildings and
equipment have been disposed in the on-site Resource Conservation Recovery Act,
Subtitle C landfill (consolidation/containment unit).
•Approximately 20,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil have been disposed
(contained) in the on-site RCRA landfill.
•The numerous cleanup actions performed to date have reduced the further spread of
contaminants and the threat of exposure to dioxin wastes from the tanks and drums on
site, as well as the threat of dioxin exposure from contaminated buildings and debris,
soil and groundwater.
Effects Of Incineration
The Remedial Investigations evaluated risks to human health and the
environment. Results from the risk assessments identified future risks to
future workers at the site due to ingestion of contaminated soils, and surface
water, and groundwater. Future risks were also determined due to
contamination of a nearby stream from surface water runoff
Dioxin effect on a
northern pike
Community feelings
on Incineration
The community was opposed to the idea
of incineration for many different reason:
•The community felt that Vertac had already lied to
them about dioxin and then learned that the
incineration process only removed 99.9% of the toxins
which left .01% of toxins per ton to be released into the
atmosphere.
•The toxins that were being released into the
atmosphere were known to cause major birth defects
along with cancer and other diseases. The community
had already suffered from disease and did not believe
that the incineration process wouldn't hurt them any
further.
Federal Waste Legislation
According to Annette Crusher who is with the Arkansas
Department of Environmental Quality the federal legislation
that superfund site received was a waver through the fed
government. The legislation that was passed was a land ban on
putting Dixon and other wastes into the ground.
Environmental Ethics
and Solution's
The ethics of Incineration can be viewed in different ways, but overall
the incineration process is not a major threat to the environment or
people. According to the CDC when studying the Jacksonville
community their studies showed that the incineration process had no
affect on the number of cases of cancer or other diseases. The solution
to the dioxins being released into the atmosphere is simple. As long as
the incineration process is being conducted at a high enough heat level
to where all the chemical bonds are broken no toxins will be released
into the atmosphere and that is the major solution to the problem.