Ten years of Chornobyl Era Questions

1) Why and how did the explosion happen?
2) If you came in contact with the contaminated milk ans crops, what would happen?
3) What percent of the people who lived by Chernobyl was harshly effected by the explosion?
4) How long has the illnesses been passed on? If it is still being passed, when will it eventually fade?
5) Are people today still being affected by the disaster? If so, how?
6) Will the Chernobyl area ever be safe for humans to re-inhabit it?

5 Questions for the Panel

Would it be safe for me and my family of three year old triplets to live there?

If the site is not safe, what will you do to make it safe?

Is there a way to live close to the area without coming in contact witg any chemicals?

What are the boundaries that I should set for my children so they do not have to come in contact with any dumped materials?

If it is safe now, is there any chance of the chemicals to seep to the surface in the future?

Love Canal Part 2

The toxins dumped in the Love Canal eventually came to the surface, because the blizzard of 1977 overfilled the canal, and the water had to come up from underneath the canal and began oozing out of the top, bringing the toxins with it. When the chemicals were easily able to come in contact with, there was more and more diseases found in children and adult residents that lived around the canal. Diseases such as liver disfuntction, cancer, skin irritation, and birth defects were found and becoming more common sighing the area. When the toxins began seeping up to the surface, they also started moving underground. The toxins eventually made it's way to the rivers north of the are, and it effected the Ecosystems in the river.

Hazards of Oil Dispersants

Susan Shaw was explaining how the oil spill was majorly effecting the marine animals that live in the gulf. The toxins in the water are burning the animals eyes, mouth, nose, and skin. When they come up for air the fumes are causing brain damage, skin damage, lung damage, cancers, and many more harmful effects. Susan went diving in the gulf to see the conditions the animals live in and said that you could barely see there was so much oil. Two days after she went diving she got sick and experiences a fire in her throat. But she said that her sickness was nothing compared to the animals who live there 24/7 . She was also talking about the toxins and the chemicals used to help clean up the oil. She said that both the oil and the chemicals are much more toxic than either of them alone.

In the article it was talking about how that 50% of the oil is no longer in the ocean. But the oil has to go somewhere, which in this case, is the air. The oil is now not only polluting the water, but the air too! When it falls down as rain, the fish in many different places besides the gulf will have this oil in the water making the fish almost everywhere unsafe to eat. Samantha Joyce, a marine biologist from UGA said "A large proportion of this oil is still in the system, floating around the water or trying to make it to the bottom. Until we put a hard number on how fast the oil is degrading, we can't put a hard number on how much oil is still left."

8th Grade DLC Reflection

• How are chemical dispersants harming the animals?
• Is there enough chemical dispersants to clean up all of the oil?
• Do chemical dispersants clump the oil together or get rid of it completely?