Love Canal
 1892 -- William T. Love
proposed a canal for
navigation and hydropower
 Only one mile of the canal built,
used for swimming and
recreation
1920 – land sold at public auction
became a municipal and chemical disposal site.
Hooker Chemical Company dumped over
20,000 tons of chemicals until 1953.
Including:
benzene -- causes
leukemia
dioxin – causes cancer
1953 - Hooker covered the site with dirt and clay
and sold the land to the Niagara Falls Board of
Education for $1.00
1955 - the 99th Street elementary school opened
and homes were built on the 16-acre rectangular
site
1960s-1970s repeated
complaints to city
1976 -- Calspan Corporation hired as consultant
April, 1978 – Report in newspaper about toxic chemicals
Aug. 2, 1978 - the NY State
Department of Health recommended
temporary relocation of pregnant
women and young children
Aug. 7, 1978, President Jimmy
Carter declared a federal
emergency at Love Canal
1980s -- Human Heath issues documented
Of 17 pregnancies in 1979 – 2 normal, 9
birth defects, 2 stillborn, 4 miscarriages
Broken chromosomes
Neurological Problems
1980 – Superfund Site
1990s – resettlement of area begins
Managing Hazardous Wastes
•
EPA pollution prevention hierarchy:
1. Reduce amount of pollution at the source.
2. Recycle wastes whenever possible.
3. Treat wastes to reduce hazard and/or
volume.
4. Dispose of wastes on land or incinerate
them as last resort.
Points to Know
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Know the 5 methods of waste disposal. Which is the
most common method in the US, and what are two
problems with this method?
What are some recycling initiatives in the US?
What can you do to help reduce the amount of solid
waste generated?
What are the environmental problems and health
risks caused by hazardous wastes? What is the
main source of these problems?
Know the general story of the Love Canal.
Environmental
Geology
Lecture Objectives:
1. Tectonic Processes
2. Economic Geology and Mineralogy
 Strategic Resources
3. Environmental Effects of Resource Extraction
 Mining
- Restoration
4. Conserving Geologic Resources
A DYNAMIC PLANET
•
A Layered Sphere
 Core - Interior composed of dense,
intensely hot metal. Generates magnetic
field enveloping the earth.
 Mantle - Hot, pliable layer surrounding the
core. Less dense than core.
 Crust - Cool, lightweight, brittle outermost
layer. Floats on top of mantle.
A Layered Sphere
Tectonic Processes
•
Upper layer of mantle contains convection
currents that break overlaying crust into a
mosaic of tectonic plates.
 Slide slowly across earth’s surface.
- Ocean basins form where continents
crack and pull apart.
- Magma forced up through cracks in
oceanic crust form mid-oceanic ridges.
Tectonic Processes
Tectonic Processes
-
-
Earthquakes are caused by grinding and
jerking as plates slide past each other.
Mountain ranges pushed up at the margins
of colliding plates.

Deep ocean trenches mark
subduction zones.
Tectonic Processes
Pangea
•
Geologists suggest that several times in
earth’s history most, or all, of the continents
gathered to form a single super-continent,
Pangea, surrounded by a single global
ocean.
ROCKS AND MINERALS
•
A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic,
solid element or compound with a definite
chemical composition and regular internal
crystal structure.
•
A rock is a solid, cohesive, aggregate of one
or more minerals.
Rock Types

Three major rock classifications:
- Igneous
- Sedimentary
- Metamorphic
Igneous Rocks
•
Most common type of rock in earth’s crust.

Solidified from magma extruded onto the surface
from volcanic vents.
-
-
Quick cooling of magma produces fine-grained
rocks.
 Basalt
Slow cooling of magma produces coarsegrained rocks.
 Granite
Weathering
•
•
•
Mechanical - Physical break-up of rocks into
smaller particles without a change in
chemical composition.
Chemical - Selective removal or alteration of
specific components that leads to weakening
and disintegration of rock.
- Oxidation
Sedimentation - Deposition of loosened
material.
Sedimentary Rock
•
Deposited materials that remain in place long
enough, or are covered with enough material
for compaction, may again become rock.
Formed from crystals that precipitate out
of, or grow from, a solution.
- Shale
- Sandstone
- Tuff
Metamorphic Rock
•
Pre-existing rocks modified by heat,
pressure, and chemical agents.

Chemical reactions can alter both the
composition and structure of rocks as they
are metamorphosed.
- Marble (from limestone)
- Quartzite (from sandstone)
- Slate (from mudstone and shale)
ECONOMIC GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY
Metals consumed in greatest quantity by world
industry (metric tons annually):
- Iron
(740 million)
- Aluminum
(40 million)
- Manganese
(22.4 million)
- Copper and Chromium (8 million ea)
- Nickel
(0.7 million)
Non-Metal Mineral Resources
•
•
•
•
Sand and Gravel
 Brick and concrete construction, paving,
sandblasting and glass production.
Limestone
 Concrete and building stone
Evaporites
 Gypsum and Potash
Sulfur
 Sulfuric Acid
Strategic Metals and Minerals
•
Of the 80 industrial metals and minerals,
between one-third and one-half are
considered strategic resources.
 A country uses, but cannot produce.
- Considered capable of crippling national
economy or military strength if supplies
were cut off.
 Many less-developed nations depend
on steady mineral exports for foreign
exchange.
Strategic Metals and Minerals
•
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF
RESOURCE EXTRACTION
Mining
 Placer Mining - Hydraulically washing out
metals deposited in streambed gravel.
- Destroys streambeds and fills water with
suspended solids

Strip-Mining or Open Pit Mining.
- Large scars on land surface.
- Toxic runoff
Mining

Underground Mining
 Gas
 Inhaling Particulate Matter
 Tunnel Collapse
Restoration
•
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
(1977) requires better restoration of stripmined lands, especially if land classed as
prime farmland.
 Difficult and expensive.
- Minimum reclamation costs about
$1,000 / acre while complete restoration
may cost $5,000 / acre.
 50% of US coal is strip mined.
CONSERVING GEOLOGIC RESOURCES
•
Recycling
 Aluminum must be extracted from bauxite
by electrolysis.
- Recycling waste aluminum consumes
one-twentieth the energy of extraction
from raw ore.
 Nearly two-thirds of all aluminum
beverage cans in US are recycled.
 Other metals commonly recycled:
- Platinum, gold, copper, lead, iron, steel.
Substituting New Materials For Old
•
Reduce metal consumption by using new
materials or new technologies.
 Plastic pipes in place of metal pipes.
 Fiber-optics in place of metal wires.
 Metal alloys in place of traditional steel.
GEOLOGIC HAZARDS
•
Earthquakes - Sudden movements of the
earth’s crust that occur along faults where
one rock mass slides past another.
 Gradual movement - creep.
- When friction prevents creep, stress
builds up until eventually released with a
sudden jerk.
 Frequently occur along subduction
zones.
 Tsunami - Seismic sea swells.
Volcanoes
•
Volcanoes and undersea magma vents are
the sources of most of the earth’s crust.
 Many of world’s fertile soils are weathered
volcanic material.
- Human / Environmental Dangers
 Volcanic Ash
 Mudslides
 Sulfur Emissions
Landslides
•
A general term for rapid down-slope
movement of soil or rock.
 Many human activities such as forest
clearing and building homes on steep,
unstable slopes increase both frequency
and damage done by landslides.
Points to know:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Understand Tectonic Processes.
What is the difference between rocks and minerals?
Economic Geology and Mineralogy
What are Strategic Resources?
What are the environmental effects of resource
extraction
Restoration - What is the Surface Mining Control
and Reclamation Act?
How can we conserving geologic resources?
What are the main types of geologic hazards?