Love Canal, Superfund Birthplace EarthCache
Love Canal, Superfund Birthplace
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Love Canal, our nations first EPA "Superfund" site. Posted
coordinates are for a parking area. This earthcache will take you
to the infamous "Love Canal" the first EPA "Superfund" site.
Congrats to FerrisFamilyof5 on their First FTF!!
Congrats to Tucci's Team on the STF and their 1300th
find!
The Love Canal disaster is a dramatic example of chemical
migration.
Migration - The movement of chemicals or elements in soil or
groundwater, usually influenced by gravity and the porosity and
permeability of soil and rock.
Porosity
Simple Definition - A property of rocks describing the volume of
pore space relative to the total rock volume. Degree to which soil,
gravel, sediment, or rock is permeated with pores or cavities
through which water or air can move.
Long Definition - Used in geology, hydrogeology, soil science, and
building science, the porosity of a porous medium (such as rock or
sediment) describes the fraction of void space in the material,
where the void may contain, for example, air or water. It is
defined by the ratio: \phi = \frac{V_V}{V_T} where VV is the volume
of void-space (such as fluids) and VT is the total or bulk volume
of material, including the solid and void components. Both the
mathematical symbols f and n are used to denote porosity. Porosity
is a fraction between 0 and 1, typically ranging from less than
0.01 for solid granite to more than 0.5 for peat and clay, although
it may also be represented in percent terms by multiplying the
fraction by 100. The porosity of a rock, or sedimentary layer, is
an important consideration when attempting to evaluate the
potential volume of water or hydrocarbons it may contain.
Sedimentary porosities are a complex function of many factors,
including but not limited to: rate of burial, depth of burial, the
nature of the connate fluids, the nature of overlying sediments
(which may impede fluid expulsion). One commonly used relationship
between porosity and depth is given by the Athy (1930) equation:
\phi(z) = \phi_0 e^{-kz}\, where f0 is the surface porosity, k is
the compaction coefficient (m-1) and z is depth (m). A value for
porosity can alternatively be calculated from the bulk density
?bulk and particle density ?particle: \phi =
1-\frac{\rho_{\text{bulk}}}{\rho_{\text{particle}}} Normal particle
density is assumed to be approximately 2.65 g/cm⊃3;, although a
better estimation can be obtained by examining the lithology of the
particles.
Permeability
Simple Definition - The rate at which liquids pass
through soil or other materials in a specified
direction.
Long Definition - In the earth sciences, permeability (commonly
symbolized as ?, or k) is a measure of the ability of a material
(typically, a rock or unconsolidated material) to transmit fluids.
It is of great importance in determining the flow characteristics
of hydrocarbons in oil and gas reservoirs, and of groundwater in
aquifers. The intrinsic permeability of any porous material is:
{\kappa}_{I}=C \cdot d^2 where ?I is the intrinsic permeability
[L2] C is a dimensionless constant that is related to the
configuration of the flow-paths d is the average, or effective pore
diameter [L] Permeability needs to be measured, either directly
(using Darcy's law) or through estimation using empirically derived
formulas. A common unit for permeability is the darcy (D), or more
commonly the millidarcy (mD) (1 darcy \approx10-12m2). Other units
are cm2 and the SI m2. Permeability is part of the proportionality
constant in Darcy's law which relates discharge (flow rate) and
fluid physical properties (e.g. viscosity), to a pressure gradient
applied to the porous media. The proportionality constant
specifically for the flow of water through a porous media is the
hydraulic conductivity; permeability is a portion of this, and is a
property of the porous media only, not the fluid. In naturally
occurring materials, it ranges over many orders of magnitude (see
table below for an example of this range). For a rock to be
considered as an exploitable hydrocarbon reservoir without
stimulation, its permeability must be greater than approximately
100 mD (depending on the nature of the hydrocarbon - gas reservoirs
with lower permeabilities are still exploitable because of the
lower viscosity of gas with respect to oil). Rocks with
permeabilities significantly lower than 100 mD can form efficient
seals (see petroleum geology). Unconsolidated sands may have
permeabilities of over 5000 mD.
The name Love Canal came from the last name of William
T.Love, who in the early 1890s envisioned a canal connecting the
two levels of the Niagara River separated by Niagara Falls. He
believed it would serve the area's burgeoning industries with much
needed hydroelectricity; however, the power scheme was never
completed due to limitations of DC power transmission, which was
the only means of delivering electricity at the time.
Only one mile (1.6 km) of the canal, about 15 feet (5 m) wide and
10 feet (3 m) deep,stretching northward from the Niagara River, was
ever dug.
By the 1940's, a company by the name of Hooker Chemical and
Plastics Corporation began a search for a dump to store the
increasing amount chemical waste it was producing. Finding Love
Canal ideal, Hooker Chemical made arrangements with the local power
company, then-owner of the site, to dump its waste there. They
prepared the canal for the waste by draining it and lining it with
clay. Into this Hooker began placing fifty-five gallon metal
barrels. In 1947, Hooker bought the land outright.
Source Berton, Pierre. Niagara: a history of the falls.
McClelland& Stewart Inc. 1994.
At the time of the closure of the site, in approx. 1952-53 Niagara
Falls' population had begun to expand. The local school board was
desperate for land, and attempted to purchase an area of expensive
property from Hooker Chemical that had not yet been used to bury
toxic waste.The corporation refused to sell on the grounds of
safety, and took members of the school board to the canal and
drilled several bore holes through the clay, showing that there
were toxic chemicals below the surface. However, the board refused
to capitulate. Eventually, faced with the property being condemned
and/or expropriated, Hooker Chemical agreed to sell on the
condition that the board buy the entire property for one dollar. In
the agreement, Hooker included a seventeen line caveat that
explained the dangers of building on the site:
“ Prior to the delivery of this instrument of conveyance,
the grantee herein has been advised by the grantor that the
premises above described have been filled, in whole or in part, to
the present grade level thereof with waste products resulting from
the manufacturing of chemicals by the grantor at its plant in the
City of Niagara Falls, New York, and the grantee assumes all risk
and liability incident to the use thereof. It is therefore
understood and agreed that, as a part of the consideration for this
conveyance and as a condition thereof, no claim, suit, action or
demand of any nature whatsoever shall ever be made by the grantee,
its successors or assigns, against the grantor, its successors or
assigns, for injury to a person or persons, including death
resulting therefrom, or loss of or damage to property caused by, in
connection with or by reason of the presence of said industrial
wastes. It is further agreed as a condition hereof that each
subsequent conveyance of the aforesaid lands shall be made subject
to the foregoing provisions and conditions. ”
Shortly thereafter, the board began construction on the 99th Street
School in its originally intended location. However, the building
site was forced to relocate when contractors unearthed two pits
filled with chemicals.
The new location was directly on top of the former landfill, and
during construction, contractors broke through the clay seal that
Hooker had installed to contain the chemical waste.
In 1957, the City of Niagara Falls constructed sewers for a mixture
of low-income and single family residences to be built on lands
adjacent to the landfill site. During construction of the gravel
sewer beds, the clay seal was broken again, the walls of the canal
were breached, and chemicals seeped from the canal. The
construction of the LaSalle Expressway restricted groundwater from
flowing to the Niagara River.
Following the wet winter and spring of 1977, the elevated
expressway turned the breached canal into an overflowing
pool.
Source - Zuesse, Eric (February 1981). Love Canal: The Truth
Seeps Out. Reason Magazine.
The three requirements for this earthcache are;
1. Take a photo of yourself with you GPS at either the sign at N
43.05.018, W 078.57.120 OR The intersection of 99th St and Colvin
Blvd, with the street signs in the background.
2.Email me either the uninhabitable acreage enclosed by Colvin
Blvd., 100th St., Frontier Ave. and 95th St. or the length of the
perimeter of that area. DO NOT POST THAT INFO IN YOUR LOG
3. Measure the distance of chemical migration from the WEST edge of
the fenced off area (Old Canal)WEST to the nearest habitable street
(street with occupied housing) to the WEST of the impact zone and
e-mail that information to me as well. Again, DO NOT POST THAT
INFORMATION IN YOUR LOG. Any logs without the required photograph
and email may be deleted without warning.
Also, while you are here, you might want to check out GCGRN8 Love
Canal Revitalized by Barbershop Dru as well as the waymark by Dru.
| I have earned GSA's highest level: |
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Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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