CA+-+Homework+1

Claudia Anzini Sustainability Problems and Solutions Homework 1 2/3/14

 One of many growing concerns today is the treatment of agricultural wastes across the world. Of these wastes, swine manure is one of the worst. It not only contains many pathogens for disease, but if left untreated and placed on fields, it can spread these pathogens to consumable plants or make the field unfit for vegetation growth. One solution to these problems has been to convert the swine manure into biogas, but this solution may be just as bad as the original problem. Luu Quynh Huong has researched the health risks of swine manure based biogas in his paper “Hygienic Aspects of Livestock Manure Management and Biogas Systems Operated by Small-Scale Pig Farmers in Vietnam[1].” The results of this research left many things in question. In a broad sense, it was discovered the reason many farmers switched to this biogas system was to reduce to foul smell that came from the pig manure as well as reduce the number of flies that surrounded it. Most farmers were content with the positive results they saw. Huong discovered, however, that digesting the manure had very little health benefits. If left untreated, manure in its natural state can contaminate the air and water, which would result in further contamination of drinking water and food crops with bacteria and parasites. The digested biogas was found to still be contaminated with //E. coli//, roundworm eggs, and trematode eggs. If this biogas were to be used as a fertilizer, it would contaminate the soil and freshwater plants, thus infecting humans as well. These results show that a simple solution to a growing problem may be worse than the problem itself.

 Another growing concern is the amount of chemical and nuclear wastes that are building up. While not every level of nuclear waste needs extreme disposal methods, the majority of them do. These intermediate and high-level radioactive nuclear wastes have been accumulating over the years with very little being done to dispose of them. David Wagman’s “Nuclear Waste Disposal Sites Still Rare After All These Years[2]” looks at the United States current plan for nuclear waste disposal, as well as many other countries long term goals. In 2010, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future was established to recommend a plan of action for disposal of radioactive wastes. Their new 10 year strategy includes launching new and larger repository sites as well as accepting more fuel from shut down reactors. Other plans include continuing work on the Yucca Mountain storage facility. The United States is one of few countries that still uses direct disposal as the sole method of removing nuclear wastes. Many other countries have moved towards reprocessing these wastes back into viable fuels. Some countries, such as Germany, have even begun plans to phase out the use of nuclear power stations. By doing so, they have also shifted from reprocessing the fuel back to disposing or storing it.

__Citations __


 * 1) Huong, Luu Quynh, Henry Madsen, Le Xuan Anh, Pham Thi Ngoc, and Anders Dalsgaard. “Hygienic Aspects of Livestock Manure Management and Biogas Systems Operated by Small-Scale Pig Farmers in Vietnam.” //Science of The Total Environment// 470–471 (February 1, 2014): 53–57. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.09.023.


 * 1) Wagman, David. “Nuclear Waste Disposal Sites Still Rare After All These Years.” //Power// 157, no. 4 (April 2013): 67–72.

