Superfund sites Essay Example for Free

Superfund sites Essay Superfund sites are defined as any land in the U. S that has been polluted by hazardous wastes and requires cleanup process as it poses as risk to human health and the environment, (Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA), 2007). One of the sites in the state of Texas (Superfund Information Systems, 2007), is the â€Å"BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL† (EPA ID: TXD980864649). National Priorities Listing (NPL) had got the site listed on 5th October 1984. According to BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (ORANGE COUNTY) TEXAS(2008), the site has a population of 7,600 people which is within 3 miles. The site is a marshy area near the Neches River and the Sabine Lake, occupying 10 acres. Some of the main contaminants in the area are benzene, metals, phenols, chlorinated hydrocarbons in soil, arsenic compounds, naphthalenes and pyridines. The waste volume is about 156,000 cubic yards. The contaminated media was sediments and solid waste. If the site is not suited for human exposure then a study is undertaken to check for contamination and the posing risk to human health. Some of the risks posed by these contaminants are as follows, direct contact (causes cancer), surface contact (marsh have been effected) and ground water (contains organic compounds and metals). The remedy was put into place in June 1998 which consisted of consolidation of sediments that were affected from marsh, drains, channels and drum disposals. The next step involved stabilization of waste and construction of to cover the stabilized waste. Some of the other remedial activities undertaken were evaluation of soil and waste, relocation and consolidation of shallow wastes, clay dike construction, construction of roads, closing of piezometers wells and wastewater treatment plant constructions that includes decontamination of water active area storm waters and dewatering operations from ground water. There is also a constant monitoring of air to check if action levels are not exceeded on the site. Some of the activities that were achieved during 8th February 2006 and 1st May 2006 are excavations of affected and waste sediments which were transported or relocated to industrial landfills for disposal and solidification, verification of waste and sediments. This process also included placement of soil cover. The deletion process has been successfully done on the 15 October 2007. The non-residential land included 10 acres. The major milestones of the site are present status of the site are Final Assessment Decision was taken on the 15 October 1984. This is followed by the Final remedial action on the 16th December 1996. The human exposure control is underway presently. The contamination groundwater migration under control report says that this site is not a ground water site and finally the construction has been declared complete as of 14 September 1998. After the complete remedial process some of these sites may or may not be used for recreational purposes. These sites then come under non-residential use, residential use or land reuse. Once the complete risk analysis is done the EPA takes the action of controlling any human exposure until the cleanup process is done. At the BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (ORANGE COUNTY) TEXAS, site as of now has human health and environment protections and safety under control and there is no potential risk to human health or the environment. References U. S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2007). Superfund. What is a Superfund site?. Retrieved on 22 February 2008 from http://epa. custhelp. com/cgi-bin/epa. cfg/php/enduser/std_adp. php? p_faqid=172p_created=1065036363p_sid=OMReyNZip_accessibility=0p_redirect=p_lva=p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0xMDUmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0xp_li=p_topview=1 Superfund Information Systems (2007). Superfund Site Progress Profile BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (EPA ID: TXD980864649). Retrieved on 22 February 2008 from http://cfpub. epa. gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo. cfm? id=0602911 BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (ORANGE COUNTY) TEXAS (2008). EPA ID# TXD980864649. Site ID: 0602911 Bridge City. EPA REGION 6. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 02. Retrieved on 22 February 2008 from http://www. epa. gov/earth1r6/6sf/pdffiles/0602911. pdf

Effect of fluoride ions on corrosion behavior of nickel Essay

1. Introduction: Titanium alloys are very reactive materials and reacts instaneusely with oxygen, forming an oxide film, which give them excellent anti corrosive properties []. Thus, titanium alloys have proven to be the most tissue compatible inorganic materials, especially for dentistry []. Nickel-titanium wires, which have a near equiatomic composition, were introduced to orthodontic clinical use by Andersen and colleagues in the early 1970’s []. They have been highly popular in dentistry because have a much lower elastic modulus and wider elastic range than other orthodontic wires such as those composed of beta-titanium, stainless steel, and cobalt-chromium-nickel []. NiTi alloys have excellent biocompatibility with living tissue and corrosion resistance in various simulated body fluids []. These properties originating from the spontaneously formed thin oxide passivation layer mainly consist of TiO2 []. For patients with orthodontic fixed appliance, mouth rinsing with fluoride-containing products is an effective method for the prevention of caries because such appliances have complicated morphologies []. However, reduced corrosion resistance of pure titanium and titanium alloys in fluoride containing environments that attack the protective surface oxide layer and cause allergic reactions to NiTi wires after insertion had been reported []. The corrosion resistance of pure titanium and titanium alloys largely depends on the fluoride concentrations []. Some studies concerning the corrosion behavior of titanium alloys in fluoride containing environments have been reported []. It is claimed that the fluoride containing solution with fluoride ions more than 20 ppm may destroy the protective oxide la... ...tive layer increases. 5. Conclusions The corrosion resistance of NiTi was studied in ringer’s solution for different chloride ion concentrations. Our results show that the increasing of the chloride ion concentration can accelerate the corrosion of NiTi alloy. The OCP values in KCl and NaCl contained solutions are less negative at lower concentrations than in higher ones and the resistance to corrosion decreases as the chloride concentration increases. According to the EIS analysis, NiTi presents a good corrosion resistance even at higher concentration of chloride ions but the polarization resistance and capacitance value of protective oxide layer decreases as the concentration of ions increases. Acknowledgements The author acknowledges the Shiraz University, school of materials science and engineering for the financial supports. (Grant No. 89-GR-Eng-58)

Film Analysis – Blade Runner

MAC 170: INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES ASSIGNMENT ONE – FILM ANALYSIS FILM CHOSEN: Blade Runner (1982) EXTRACT: INT – Sebastian’s Building, starting with the shot of Deckard climbing up the wall. Duration: 9 minutes (Chapter 30, Blade Runner: The Final Cut, 2007) The following essay will be a close analysis of an extract from the 1982 film Blade Runner, which was directed by Ridley Scott. Blade Runner is a science-fiction film based on the book ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’ which was written by Phillip K. Dick.This essay will also explore how Ridley Scott’s use of mise en scene and editing in Blade Runner can exhibit him as an auteur. An ‘auteur’ is known as the ‘author’ of the film; a director that uses recognisable and similar traits and themes throughout a number of their films. The ‘auteur’ was created through the ‘auteur’ theory, which argues that the director is the most importan t person behind making a film. It was first established by an establishment of film makers in 1950’s Paris. Some of these film makers were Francois Trauffaut, Jean Luc-Goddard and Jacques Rivette.They were angered by a critical establishment in France that lauded a film’s fidelity to a screenplay or novel and regarded the film director as merely a translator of material from the verbal medium to the cinematic. For this view Trauffaut and company substituted a notion of personal cinema – a cinema in which the director, not the screenwriter, could be seen as the controlling force behind the film. (Allen & Gomery, 1985: 71-72) This quote explains how the auteur theory was established, and how Trauffaut created la politique des auteurs, which is a policy in which the director is the main creative force when making a film.Ridley Scott can be classed as an auteur for his repeated use of strong female characters, which are present both in Blade Runner, Alien (1979) and Thelma & Louise (1991), the future and the unknown, and the ‘created’ human. This essay will explore these points using the close analysis of Blade Runner, whilst also comparing Blade Runner to Alien. Ridley Scott can be classed as an auteur for his use of setting in his films; he tends to create a post-apocalyptic setting, mainly set in the ot-so-distant future. This can be seen in the extract of Blade Runner, from the wide angle, long shot of Deckard on the roof. The tall buildings, which are close together, help to connote an industrialised city, and the lack of organic matter helps to show the futuristic world as very bleak, old and dirty. The use of space surrounding Deckard when he is hanging from the roof help to establish that the city lacks people and is very de-humanised and an almost dystopia, which is very similar to Alien.Alien and Blade Runner warn us against a capitalist future gone wrong, where such feelings and bonds are so severely truncated that a qu ite literal dehumanization has become perhaps the gravest danger. (Byers, 1990: 39) This dehumanization feature which Ridley Scott has placed into both Blade Runner and Alien gives both films a sense of fear to the audience when both films were first released, that the possibility of the earth being dehumanized is quite great.The shot of Deckard hanging from the roof also shows how high the building is, with the audience barely being able to see the floor, which helps to connote a sense of uncertainty from the audience, as they are unsure as to whether or not Deckard will fall. The use of rain in this scene is very powerful, as it makes the scene feel very depressive, creating a bleak aspect to the film whilst also creating a ‘bad feeling’ for the audience, as it connotes to the audience that something bad is going to happen.This helps to establish a bleak, industrialised future, a one in which there are little humans on earth in Blade Runner, similar to Alien which can help to describe Ridley Scott as an auteur. Ridley Scott can also be defined as an auteur for his use of strong and determined protagonists, especially in Blade Runner and Alien. In this scene extract, Deckard can be seen as a strong protagonist due to his determination to ‘retire’ Roy. This scene however, also shows the audience the similarities between Roy and Deckard.The cross cutting editing used at the start of the scene when both characters are dealing with their similar hand injuries helps to show the similarity between Roy and Deckard as they are both dealing with the same sort of pain. Deckard in this scene seems very determined to retire Roy, however when Roy does die, the audience seem to get the feeling that Deckard seems sad about this. The editing in this extract is quite slow at first, using long shots before cutting helping to create a slow pace to the scene.The extract then changes pace however, when Roy is ‘hunting’ Deckard, the editing b ecomes quite fast and rapid making it exciting for the audience to watch. The shot when Roy smashes his head through the wall helps to show the slow pace turning fast. The way the editing is quite slow and then there is a jolt – the point where Roy smashes his head through the wall – the editing then speeds up a little after this shot, until Roy’s death where the editing slows down rapidly, using slow-motion to evoke sadness from the audience.The Roy smashes his head through the wall helps to show a sense of power from Roy, which creates a sense of danger toward Deckard from the audience, making them feel like he is not safe. There are a lot of cross-cuts between Roy and Deckard, which helps the audience to see the similarities between the two characters, almost hinting that Deckard could be a replicants too. The fading between the dead Roy and Deckard, and the use of close ups on Deckard’s sad face makes the audience feel quite sad too.In this scene we l earn that Roy just wanted to live and not be a ‘slave’ which creates empathy from the audience. The significance of the dove which is released when Roy dies connotes that the bird was almost a representation of Roy – and the shot of the bird flying away is a symbol of Roy finally being ‘free’ which leaves the audience feeling sad and almost regretful that they saw Roy as the villain, especially when we see him jumping in and out of the shadows at the beginning of the scene, as if this was almost a game to him.In this scene, Roy can be seen as the anti-hero. The use of lighting surrounding Roy when he has died makes him appear almost god-like, signifying him as powerful, which he has been throughout this scene. The long shot of Roy and Deckard, when Roy has just pulled the dangling Deckard from the roof to safety signifying that Roy can be seen as an anti-hero, connotes that Roy has more power over Deckard. The way Deckard is lying on the floor at Roy ’s feet shows Deckard in a submissive way, that human’s are powerless against replicants.The close up, low angle on Roy’s face after this, makes the audience feel quite scared of Roy. His eyes are big, almost ‘crazy’ and the way Pris’ blood is running down his face make the audience feel scared of Roy. Ridley Scott’s lack of lighting in this extract can help to identify Ridley Scott as an auteur, as he also uses a lack of lighting in Alien. The shot of Roy behind the barbed wire, almost signifying a caged animal which replicants have shown similarities to throughout the film, creates a sense of fear and uncertainty for the audience.The way the light is shining behind him creating a lot of shadows, makes Roy seem a little mysterious as the audience are uncertain as to what is going to happen next. The way the lighting throughout the extract creates a lot of shadows, making the extract feel bleak and dark, creating almost a Film Noir fee l to the film, creates a bleak, and dark feel for the audience. Throughout the extract, the only lighting we see is artificial, as the only light comes from lamps, bright lights from a ‘Spinner’ advertising the new world or bright neon billboard’s which helps to give the film an artificial and futuristic tone.Ridley Scott’s use of dark colours in this scene, such as grey, black and blue, creates a sinister feel to the scene making the audience know something bad is going to happen. This is similar to Alien, as all the lighting in that film is artificial too, coming from the lights from the ship, and the 1984 Mac advert which Ridley Scott directed, can define him as an auteur. The way Ridley Scott continually uses similar features and themes among his films helps to exhibit him as an auteur.Blade Runner and Alien are very similar in terms of editing and mise en scene, the use of this in Blade Runner helps to establish Ridley Scott as an auteur as he uses th ese themes and effects in many more of his films. Word Count: 1505/1602 Bibliography Allen, R. C. & Gomery, D. (1985) Film History: Theory and Practice, McGraw Hill Byers, Thomas B. (1990) ‘Commodity Futures’ in Kuhn, A. (ed. ) Alien Zone, Cultural Theory and Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema, London: Verso. Caughie, J. (ed. ) (1981) Theories of Authorship, London: Routledge Nelmes, J. (ed. ) (2003) Introduction to Film Studies, London: Routledge

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