Environmental Studies. Superfund Site: Green River Disposal, Inc. and How did Lake Nyos suddenly kill 1,700 people - Essay Example

Environmental Studies al Affiliation How did Lake Nyos suddenly kill 700 people? Lake Nyos in Cameroon was quite, calm, still and blue before frothy spray out of the lake occurred in 1986. The frothy spray started by producing a rumbling sound that could be heard by the people living around the lake. The frothy sprays created white cloud over the water that grew 100 meters tall from the ground (Susan, 1986). The farmers who got out to investigate the scene lost consciousness after breathing the air in the cloud making some people to lose their lives.

The heavy cloud created by the frothy spray channeled through the valley to settlement schemes leading to more deaths as a result of unconsciousness after breathing air in the cloud. Everybody was killed in Nyos, and kam expect four people who survived the horror cloud. The cloud followed the splitting valley as far as 25 kilometers, killing several people along with it. After three days, the cloud disappeared, and the unconscious people regained consciously and realized that their family members and livestock had lost their lives.

The lake too had also changed to become shallow. Plants and leaves also floated on the rusty water on the lake (Susan, 1986). Lake Nyos is Crater Lake and located in high inactive volcano region, pocket of magma lies below the lake and releases carbon dioxide into the water body that transfomrs the water into carbonic acid (Susan, 1986). In 1986, it was the carbon dioxide released by magma below the water that caused frothy spray of cloud that chocked and killed more than 1700 people and 3500 livestock in Cameroon (Susan, 1986).

Superfund Site: Green River Disposal, Inc. The green river disposal, Inc. site comprises the areas where various industrial wastage was buried by operators from 1975 to 1988. The site was named in the national priority list by EPA 1990 because of polluted ground water, sediments and leachate that resulted from waste disposal. The area covers 14 acres and is located along the Ohio River (U.S Environmental Protection Agency, 2013). It is situated in the sparingly populated Daviess County in Kentucky close to the town of Maceo (U.

S Environmental Protection Agency, 2013). There are forest, farmland and scattered residential development among other land uses. An investigation of the site revealed contaminated ground water, leachates and sediments as the pollutants of concern. The contaminations resulted from the disposal of waste and other metal contaminants. The clean-up techniques being carried out include landfills and refills. The EPA has provided oversight role in leading PRPs in investigation and the clean-up responsibility (U.

S Environmental Protection Agency, 2013). The clean-up activities for the first began in 1996 and completed the following year, and the second phase of cleaning began in 2002 and the year 2004, they required monitoring of the ground water. The third phase of site clean-up was completed in 2011 and found out that the approach used would continue to protect people and the environment. EPA has also worked closely with the community and state partners in developing long term clean-up plan for the site, reflecting the agency’s commitment to safety and health of the community and the environment.

EPA has also enforced legal agreement with the site’s PRPs to investigate and clean-up the site (U.S Environmental Protection Agency, 2013). The PRPs also funds and supervise the process of the clean-up. References Susan L. Nasr. (1986). How did Lake Nyos suddenly kill 1,700 people? Retrieved on November 5, 2014 from http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/lake-nyos.htm U.S Environmental Protection Agency. (2013). Superfund sites. Retrieved on November 5, 2014 from http://www.epa.gov/region4/superfund/sites/npl/kentucky/gnrivdiky.html