1995, 342 dead snow geese are found in the Berkeley Pit. The Berkeley Pit was an operating open pit copper mine in Butte, Montana from 1955 to 1982. The mine was opened and run by the Anaconda Mining Co. When the mine was closed in 1982 it was 1 mile long by ½ mile wide and 1,780 feet deep. Pumps were run to keep the water down while mining operations were running. When the mine was closed the pumps were shut off and the water level in the pit quickly started rising at a rate of .7 feet per month. By July of 2013 the pit’s water level was 1,047 feet deep. This is a local problem in Butte, Montana.
The pit is highly contaminated with heavy metals and acids. The water in the Berkeley Pit has a very high concentration of heavy metals. As the …show more content…
The pit is currently a spot of highly toxic waste water that is rising extremely quickly. The pit has affected the environment by killing wildlife. In 1995 a flock of migrating snow geese landed in the pit while waiting out a storm. The snow geese were trapped in the pit due to a storm and dense fog. When the storm passed 342 snow geese carcasses were found. At that point the state of Montana and the EPA steeped in to investigate. Colorado State University also conducted an acute study. CSU’s acute study necropsy tests found that the geese had an infection caused by grain fungus. A necropsy test is an examination of an animal carcass after death, similar to an autopsy for a human. The state of Montana found that the insides of the birds were covered with festering sores and burns, due to high exposure to cadmium, arsenic, and copper. Even if these snow geese didn’t die, there would have been sublethal effects, in all likely hood, these geese would have suffered for the rest of their lives, for internal sores and disease. Since this incident, there is now a 24 hour constant wildlife watch. This watch prevents wildlife from staying at the pit for more than a few hours. Also a speaker system was built to blast the sounds of animals in distress, to help discourage animals from entering the pit. Another system built is a structured firecracker array to help scare off any animals. Another environmental factor is the threat to …show more content…
With the pit being contaminated with highly acidic water, the pit might overfill and contaminate the local aquafers and ground water. If this was to happen then the local economy of Butte, Montana would plummet due to the people who would rush away from the town. The people would rush away due to the increase in difficulty of obtaining clean safe ground water. With a suffering economy it would be plausible that the entire town would be abandoned and become a ghost town. If that happened then the entire area would completely go black. Air pollution is also a possible issue. Berkeley Pit Facts says “The oxygen saturation of Berkeley Pit water allows the ore and minerals along the walls of the rock to decay. The dissolved oxygen exposure to pyrite and sulfide minerals creates a reaction that releases acid” (Berkeley Pit Facts Par. 5) If this acid release is releasing acid into the air and then pollutes the air then that could cause people to leave the area, causing local economic issues. On a parallel track, if the air becomes polluted then along with people leaving, no tourism would come
The pit is highly contaminated with heavy metals and acids. The water in the Berkeley Pit has a very high concentration of heavy metals. As the …show more content…
The pit is currently a spot of highly toxic waste water that is rising extremely quickly. The pit has affected the environment by killing wildlife. In 1995 a flock of migrating snow geese landed in the pit while waiting out a storm. The snow geese were trapped in the pit due to a storm and dense fog. When the storm passed 342 snow geese carcasses were found. At that point the state of Montana and the EPA steeped in to investigate. Colorado State University also conducted an acute study. CSU’s acute study necropsy tests found that the geese had an infection caused by grain fungus. A necropsy test is an examination of an animal carcass after death, similar to an autopsy for a human. The state of Montana found that the insides of the birds were covered with festering sores and burns, due to high exposure to cadmium, arsenic, and copper. Even if these snow geese didn’t die, there would have been sublethal effects, in all likely hood, these geese would have suffered for the rest of their lives, for internal sores and disease. Since this incident, there is now a 24 hour constant wildlife watch. This watch prevents wildlife from staying at the pit for more than a few hours. Also a speaker system was built to blast the sounds of animals in distress, to help discourage animals from entering the pit. Another system built is a structured firecracker array to help scare off any animals. Another environmental factor is the threat to …show more content…
With the pit being contaminated with highly acidic water, the pit might overfill and contaminate the local aquafers and ground water. If this was to happen then the local economy of Butte, Montana would plummet due to the people who would rush away from the town. The people would rush away due to the increase in difficulty of obtaining clean safe ground water. With a suffering economy it would be plausible that the entire town would be abandoned and become a ghost town. If that happened then the entire area would completely go black. Air pollution is also a possible issue. Berkeley Pit Facts says “The oxygen saturation of Berkeley Pit water allows the ore and minerals along the walls of the rock to decay. The dissolved oxygen exposure to pyrite and sulfide minerals creates a reaction that releases acid” (Berkeley Pit Facts Par. 5) If this acid release is releasing acid into the air and then pollutes the air then that could cause people to leave the area, causing local economic issues. On a parallel track, if the air becomes polluted then along with people leaving, no tourism would come