Effects Of The Silver Bow Creek Copper

     Heavy metals, such as copper, lead, mercury, and selenium are another group of toxins that pollute the water as well as the rest of the environment. The source of many of these pollutants are industries, automobile exhaust, mines, and even natural soil.

All the inhabitants of Flint communities regardless of their location had irreversible, permanent brain damage due to lead-contaminated water. It started when traces of E. coli and total coliform were found in the Flint River. The city addressed this problem by increasing chlorine levels in the water, causing the pipes to corrode, releasing lead into the waters. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) were also formed in the water (they are carcinogenic to humans).TTHM is a disinfection byproduct that occur when chlorine interacts with organic matter in the water. At this stage, The lead levels in the water was 13,200 ppb. Water is considered hazardous waste at 5,000ppb (NPR 2016). This tragedy goes to show that this toxic runoff, or even the miss-handling of the water resources in a watershed can affect everyone as the downstream water was piped up into the upstream communities.

There are many factors that contribute to Idaho’s pollution problem, but mining may be the biggest. Mining is a huge industry in Idaho, hence the nickname “The Gem State”. The biggest product from Idaho’s mines is silver. Silver mines are some of the largest polluters in the state. Bunker Hill, or Silver Valley, as the Coeur d’Alene region is known for its numerous mines, was recently named a Superfund site. A Superfund site is a site under protection for removal of toxic wastes by the EPA. Although that beautiful valley was also once known for its abundant wildlife, now the rivers are flooded with phosphorous, selenium, zinc, lead, silver, cadmium, and arsenic, all from tailings of several mines in the region. Lake Coeur d’Alene now contains over 70 million tons of toxic waste sediments in its bottom. This pollution has endangered people in the area for years. In Smelterville, where a smelter ran for nearly 100 years, a large number of people have been diagnosed with health complications caused by extremely high levels of lead and other toxins in their blood. These conditions, for most, have existed nearly all their lives. Many remember being ill for most of their childhood and on. In 1973, before the smelter was closed, the average lead toxin level per deciliter of blood in children tested was 70. A reading of 10 is considered high alert. Rocky Hill, who grew up in Smelterville and

Once these mines were abandoned water slowly began to fill these mines. The water came in contact with all of the leftover minerals, including sulfide, and chemicals began to dissolve into the water. This process of dissolving chemicals into the water essentially turned the water into acid (1). Once the mines finally filled, water began to pour out of the mines into the surrounding area, mostly into a body of water now known as “Tar Creek” (1). This creek then spread the contaminated water throughout the community and into numerous water sources.

The Buffalo Creek flood of West Virginia is believed to be the most devastating coal relate disaster in West Virginia history. The flood occurred in the Buffalo Creek area of Logan County on February 26, 1972 when three dams broke and released 132 million gallons of water and coal waste known by miners as “gob,” and is a thick sludge-like material. The gob contains many toxic chemicals and pollutants such as mercury and arsenic that are left behind from the coal mining process. The wastewater would lie in settling ponds and dams until it could be properly disposed of. The water that was left over from processing coal would be disposed of in two different ways. Some of the water would be pumped from the dam back to the “tipple”, otherwise

This situation showcases the major dependency on the unique physical and chemical properties of water by displaying the results of water contamination. The switch from Detroit to Flint water system proved to be a fatal decision as the chemical and physical properties of the water were altered by both the iron and lead metals. The addition of high levels of chloride left the water exposed to contamination of lead and iron. The corrosion of the pipes occurred when the chlorine disinfectant reacted with the elemental metals of iron and lead. The chemical property of water was altered with these high levels of lead, chloride, and iron. This contamination also left the water with different physical properties such as a reddish-brown colour and a pungent odour as opposed to a colourless and odourless liquid. The manipulated physical and chemical properties of water led to irritability, developmental delay, learning difficulties, hearing loss, and many more. Thus, this situation showcases how living things depend for their survival on the unique physical and chemical properties of water as with these alterations it can lead to lethal consequences.

The Wabigoon – English River in Ontario has been contaminated with mercury for about 40 years now and the government has not approached this issue that affects most of the people of Grassy Narrows First Nation. A majority of the community has mercury poisoning, which could be fatal. Additionally, residents are forced to continue to consume contaminated food. In the 1970s, the government let the river to naturally recover itself and said that it would be better than any attempts to clean it, however, it has only gotten worse. Now, the government says that they do not want to attempt to clean the water until they are completely sure that it will not make the situation worse. Recently, scientists have suggested several solutions that have been successful in the past, but it is still unknown as to when the government will clean the water.

In a website, coppertoxic.com, the author states, “ As unbound levels get too high , copper becomes a powerful reactive toxin to both the body and mind, leading to a number of symptoms including brain fog, fatigue and adrenal burnout, depression,...Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, even cancer”(coppertoxic). Copper can be found just about anywhere in the environment, whether it is in the air or in the water, so it is likely for one to come into contact and overdose with copper toxicity to have diseases such as Alzheimer’s. However, copper can aid a person in the prevention of pathogens in hospitals. In an article labeled, “Hospitals could soon be covered in COPPER to ward off diseases: Metal kills deadly bacteria in minutes”, by Victoria Woollaston, the author writes, “During tests, exposure to copper destroyed the virus completely and irreversibly, leading the researchers to conclude that antimicrobial copper surfaces could be used in communal areas to help reduce the spread of respiratory viruses and protect public health” (Victoria Woollaston). With everyday items such as light switches and door handles coated with copper, patients are now safer than ever from respiratory infections like pneumonia. The extermination of viruses is ensured when coming into contact with a coating of antimicrobial copper. In brief, copper is a great aid in the

That mink ranch has caused DDT to runoff into Spring Lake from the mink farmers washing out the mink pens. That DDT runoff eventually made its way to spring Lake creek. (Heim, 2016). DDT is no longer legal in the United States of America since 1972. It was banned in the United States because DDT was very persistent in the environment and can travel long distances in the upper atmosphere (DDT Ban takes effect, 2015). DDT was first used in World War II to control typhus, malaria, and body lice (epa, 2015). Around the year 2000, The Wisconsin DNR washed out their firefighting foam in Spring Lake creek killing off many clams and possibly different kinds of species. It is also very possible that there were species in Spring Lake creek that are no longer in there due to that event (Heim, 2016). Spring Lake creek initially had beaver dams in it too. In the 1920’s, the beaver dams were removed by dynamite. Once the beaver dams started to show up again in the 1990’s, the beaver dams were removed manually (Heim, 2016). Spring Lake is also a part of Red Cedar lake watershed (Integraded resources management plan 2010, 2010).

The presence of heavy metals is known to cause hypertension, damage to arteries leading to heart disease , Damage the brain cells increasing the risk of dementia, Parkinson's and other diseases, damage to the organs of the body increasing the risk of cancer.

As plumbing ages, problems are bound to occur. Copper pipes are no exception. As copper wears away, it bleeds into the water, causing a greenish hue. Never drink water when it’s contaminated with copper. If you drink the water, you’ll be consuming large amounts of copper, which can lead to copper poisoning [https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002496.htm]. If this happens, you’ll likely experience stomach pain, nausea, and even liver damage. Though rare, liver damage from copper poisoning can be fatal. Yellow skin, known as jaundice, is a sign that the liver is failing and immediate medical attention is necessary.

Due to more and more zinc in the environment, water is being polluted with zinc. With the presence of this massive amount of zinc, the wastewater of industrial plants is not purified satisfactory. Zinc-polluted sludge contaminating the rivers is one of the consequences that is called upon due to the large quantities of zinc. This is a problem as it is possible for large quantities of zinc to increase the acidity of waters. Therefore, only some fish of which live in zinc-contaminated waterways can accumulate zinc. When zinc enters the bodies of these fish, these fish may bio magnify up the food chain. Zinc, as science has proven is an essential need for humans, an essential nutrient, however, excessive amounts are never healthy and even worse may be harmful. Humans getting their hands on excessive amounts of zinc may occur through drinking contaminated water. As stated before, zinc has been contaminating the water pipes and industrial releases as well as wastewaters and it is very adequate for humans to gain access, which may result exposure of zinc to potentially harmful levels. The effects that may be caused by this cause of action may include stomach cramps, skin irritations, vomiting, nausea, and anemia. Exposure to zinc with very high concentration may as well damage the pancreas, disturb the protein metabolism, cause arteriosclerosis and may further cause respiratory disorders. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of zinc may cause something called “metal fume fever”, which affects the lungs and the body's temperature control

Mercury poisoning around the world spread dangerously into the waters and into foods that people ate, especially fish, creating not only health issues, but also environmental issues. Dietary exposure to methylmercury is the most common type of mercury exposure. Methylmercury is an organic form that is found in fish, contaminating them (Gerdes, 2006). Methylmercury was created when elemental mercury got into rivers, lakes, and oceans, therefore forming mercury poisoning in many types of fish. Even though fish contained many good vitamins, minerals, and protein, fish attracted methylmercury, which was extremely toxic to organ of the

The article “Our Preferred Poison” in the March 2005 issue of Discover magazine brings up the issue dealing with mercury poisoning. The author, Karen Wright, writes, “Mercury is unimaginably toxic and dangerous. A single drop on a human hand can be irreversibly fatal. A single drop in a large lake can make all the fish in it unsafe to eat.” This was the opening statement in the article which first grabbed my attention, because I had not thought mercury to be such a deadly substance. After all, it is used in thermometers, so I hadn’t thought it to be as fatally toxic as Wright claims it to be.

The CTBC claims that e-waste accounts for approximately 40 percent of these three toxins that end up landfills, noting that "just 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate 20 acres of a lake, making the fish unfit to eat."