Florida Crisis Highlights a Nationwide Risk From Toxic Ponds

 There is a giant wastewater pond in Piney Point, Florida caused by industrial and agricultural sites.  This pond was recently in danger of catastrophic danger.  After the threat of collapse had passed (after pumping millions of gallons out of ponds into local waterways), residents could return to their homes after being forced to evacuate.  These ponds are vital to major industries, but cause major environmental damage.  When metals and radium are left in this pond, they are left to evaporate into our atmosphere.  This is one of the causes of global warming.  These ponds are starting to run out of capacity for more wastewater.  As previously mentioned, the way they stop these ponds from overflowing is by releasing millions of gallons into nearby waterways.  This will damage those waterways and kill some organisms living in them.  This waste also ends up on the land eventually as it moves down the waterways.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/climate/florida-ponds-toxic-waste.html

I think there are ways to manage this waste differently and more effectively.  Most of this article seems like people making the mistake of not caring about what happens with this toxic waste.  It is necessary to dispose of this waste properly because it will affect many ecosystems and our own lives as a whole.  This reminds me of the unit where we learned about this type of waste and how badly it can affect ecosystems.

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 16, 2021 at 10:15 AM

    The amount of pollution created shouldn't surprise me, but it does. Small things that should not have happened in the first place, continue to occur. The problem could be solved with funding and research, but it is more convenient for these companies to evacuate people and pump the pond into local waterways.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 27, 2021 at 8:13 AM

    i think that its crazy how much pollution there is in water. We need that water but were trashing it because we make too much waste and don't know what to do with it.

    ReplyDelete

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