This project addresses average contaminants released into the New River at the Radford Army Arsenal. PCB’s and wastewater are continuously released into the river at this location, and the data found was analyzed from several aspects. It is important to know, given the parameters of the New River, the distance down river from the arsenal in which the water could be considered safe. Also, it would be beneficial to know whether the given concentrations of contaminants have enough of an impact on fish to the point where they could be considered unsafe to eat.
Environmental engineering is highly applicable to chemical spills, waste spills, and other contaminant spills, especially when they occur in a common water source, such as the New River. …show more content…
In January of 2014, a chemical spill in the Elk River in West Virginia led to a public warning to not use their water for 10 days. Environmental engineers then went door to door conducting water tests to determine the lasting effects of the chemical spill on the water in the neighboring town, (2).
Another effect of spills in rivers is its impact on fish. This is a critical part of river spills and environmental engineering, especially when several species of fish are edible. When contaminants enter the water, the fish end up ingesting the contaminants. Fish bioaccumulate these contaminants; causing high enough concentrations to which they can have health impacts on people who eat these contaminated fish. It is critical that environmental engineers understand the role that they play on protecting the public when toxic spills occur, especially spills that enter sources of water.
A wide range of social and ethical concerns arise from the scenario of harmful contaminants mixing upstream of a public body of water. In the article, Water Quality in the Kanawha-New River Basin, Paybins further identifies this harmful contamination as a result of past industrial activities, coal mining, and improper disposal of human and animal wastes …show more content…
The majority of life in a body water will be made up of aquatic animals such as fish. Fish depend on dissolved oxygen to survive. As pollutants and contaminants enter a body of water, they alter the oxygen concentration through the consumption of dissolved oxygen. According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 23.55 million gallons of wastewater is disposed into the New River (4). When the BOD of a body of water begins to be consumed by bacteria, it consequently takes away from the DO avaliable for fish. This decrease in DO required for aquatic life causes competition between species within the water, further causing a spike in death rate. This concept of eutrophication is ultimately a result of increased concentration of nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen. Additionally, the fluctuation (not solely decrease) in DO reduces the growth rate of various aquatic species such as the rock bass and yearling trout (5). This has multiple ethical implications given that many industries and markets depend on the assumption that aquatic population rates will remain consistent. Additionally, many lifestyles are influenced by the availability of fish. Consider the population of individuals that partake in fishing activities along the New River; In the PNAS Journal article, Phosphorous Control is Critical to Mitigating Eutrophication, Carpenter mentions
Environmental engineering is highly applicable to chemical spills, waste spills, and other contaminant spills, especially when they occur in a common water source, such as the New River. …show more content…
In January of 2014, a chemical spill in the Elk River in West Virginia led to a public warning to not use their water for 10 days. Environmental engineers then went door to door conducting water tests to determine the lasting effects of the chemical spill on the water in the neighboring town, (2).
Another effect of spills in rivers is its impact on fish. This is a critical part of river spills and environmental engineering, especially when several species of fish are edible. When contaminants enter the water, the fish end up ingesting the contaminants. Fish bioaccumulate these contaminants; causing high enough concentrations to which they can have health impacts on people who eat these contaminated fish. It is critical that environmental engineers understand the role that they play on protecting the public when toxic spills occur, especially spills that enter sources of water.
A wide range of social and ethical concerns arise from the scenario of harmful contaminants mixing upstream of a public body of water. In the article, Water Quality in the Kanawha-New River Basin, Paybins further identifies this harmful contamination as a result of past industrial activities, coal mining, and improper disposal of human and animal wastes …show more content…
The majority of life in a body water will be made up of aquatic animals such as fish. Fish depend on dissolved oxygen to survive. As pollutants and contaminants enter a body of water, they alter the oxygen concentration through the consumption of dissolved oxygen. According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 23.55 million gallons of wastewater is disposed into the New River (4). When the BOD of a body of water begins to be consumed by bacteria, it consequently takes away from the DO avaliable for fish. This decrease in DO required for aquatic life causes competition between species within the water, further causing a spike in death rate. This concept of eutrophication is ultimately a result of increased concentration of nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen. Additionally, the fluctuation (not solely decrease) in DO reduces the growth rate of various aquatic species such as the rock bass and yearling trout (5). This has multiple ethical implications given that many industries and markets depend on the assumption that aquatic population rates will remain consistent. Additionally, many lifestyles are influenced by the availability of fish. Consider the population of individuals that partake in fishing activities along the New River; In the PNAS Journal article, Phosphorous Control is Critical to Mitigating Eutrophication, Carpenter mentions