Problem Question
The topics of the environmental protection and safety of human beings in potentially dangerous and polluted areas are rather vital for the survival and proper development of mankind. Therefore, the problem question of the current write-up is: Were the concerns about the proximity of the site to schools, flood zones, streams, residential areas, etc. so as to consider possible harmful effects on humans justified when the Silresim site in Lowell was selected for the National Priority List?
Hypothesis
Accordingly, the above problem question allows making the following hypothesis. The concerns about the proximity of the site to schools, flood zones, streams, residential areas, etc. so as to consider possible harmful effects on humans might have been one of the leading factors in making the decision about the inclusion of the Silresim site into the National Priority List.
Procedure/Results
To either prove or reject the above-presented hypothesis of this paper, it is necessary to use the GIS map available through the CERCLA Overview website. When this website is accessed, it is necessary to follow the NPL link and choose the Where You Live option. Next, it is necessary to select Region 1 in the emerging list and access point #94 which deals with the site of the Silresim Chemical Corporation. After accessing the GIS map of the Silresim Chemical Corporation site, it is necessary to read the substantial information portions headed Description, Threats and Contamination, Clean-up Approaches, Environmental Progress and Current Site Status. The data from these points allows speaking about the great problematic character of the Silresim site for the NPL that, however, sees considerable improvements, especially as a result of the 3rd Five Year Review that schedules the final stages of the clean-up procedures carried out at the site. Zooming the map in and out and using the Redraw Map options allows seeing different layers of the site and collecting the necessary information items about Silresim.
Results
As a result of using the GIS map of the Silresim site, it is possible to find out information on any of the concerns that served, according to the hypothesis of the current paper, as the factors for selecting the Silresim site to be present in the National Priority List. Thus, according to the hypothesis, the proximity of schools in the area neighboring to the waste site left by the Silresim Chemical Corporation was the main reason for the site inclusion into the NPL. Thus, the GIS map of the area reveals the fact that there are six schools located nearby, i. e. Carter, Temple, Highland, Lawrence, Ymca, and Manchester schools.
At the same time, the GIS map of the Silresim site allows stating that there are no flood zones, either of special or moderate hazards, observed in the discussed area. The situation with the streams in the site is completely opposite to the flood zones as about a dozen of streams are observed in the Silresim site and its neighboring territories. Finally, the major factor that facilitated the inclusion of the Silresim site into the NPL is the great density of residential areas neighboring the site as far as numerous streets are situated near the sire and even in the way that crosses the site territory.
Analysis
To describe the clean-up process of the Silresim site the following five words and phrases can be used:
- 1991 final clean-up plan;
- 2003 and 2008 modification of clean-up goals;
- Comprehensive but long clean-up procedure;
- Final clean-up stages announced;
- The Third Five-Year Review.
Analyzing the four information points retrieved via the GIS map of the site, it is necessary to state that Silresim displays all the factors that served as concerns for including it in the NPL. The proximity of schools to the site means that numbers of children are under the threat of health care issues caused by the waste site pollutions in case if no activities under NPL are taken to clean the site up. The absence of flood zones reduces the risk of environmental complications and effects of the waste site on human beings, but still, it is not the reason to stop the clean-up operations. At the same time, a lot of residential areas stress the need for urgent NPL actions and clean-up activities in the Silresim site. Finally, the wide variety of streams increases the risky character of the site as water flows of these streams have the potential for spreading the water pollutants observe in the site to other areas through groundwaters and related streams.
Conclusion
Concluding this write-up, it is necessary to state that the concerns about the proximity of the site to schools, flood zones, streams, residential areas, etc. so as to consider possible harmful effects on humans have been the leading factors in making the decision about the inclusion of the Silresim site into the National Priority List. Accordingly, the hypothesis of this paper can be proved. At the same time, errors might have occurred in the process of data retrieval especially in connection with the usage of the GIS map and the skills to operate this interactive tool. In any case, the knowledge about the location of the waste sites and about the clean-up programs carried out at those sites is vital for the development of the community in the residential areas neighboring the waste sites in question.