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electronic waste

1/29/2016

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It has been a busy week!  I apologize for the delay in this blog post.
 
Right now, most school budgets are depleted for the 2015-2016 class year.  My book,
Chemistry on a Budget, contains inexpensive chemistry labs that could be useful.  You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. Check it out!
 

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
 
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report.  This way the teacher has the option!  Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout. 
 

It will take a week or so to get to you, so Order Now!
 
*Some of you have purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
 
On January 28, 2016, a paper was published by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan titled “Turning electronic waste into gold“ .
 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160128122901.htm

“The biggest issue with gold [in electronics] is it is one of the least reactive chemical elements, making it difficult to dissolve … recycling gold from electronic scraps like computer chips and circuits involves processes that are costly and have environmental implications.”
 
This article caught my attention, but upon further investigation there were many issues that warranted discussion, and some healthy skepticism.
 
I was not able to find the original article with the specific chemical process.
 

The concerns about computer waste and what can be recycled are an interesting topic for Extra Credit research. 

According to this 2010 article, “Around 40 million tons of e-waste are produced each year, with much of it unaccounted for, according to findings by Solving The E-waste Problem (Steps), a UN [United Nations]-initiative supported by many major electronics companies.
While often dumping grounds for e-waste exported from the EU [European Union] and the U.S., countries such as China and India also will have to deal with a huge growth in home-produced e-waste fueled by a boom in sales of electronics. “ 


http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/02/23/eco.ewaste.gold/


“Cell phones, tablets, laptops, and other electronic devices are sold by the billions, but when today’s electronics break, become obsolete, or just go out of fashion, most consumers send them to the dump. …

The toxicity of e-waste is one of the biggest concerns. Hazardous chemicals associated with electronics include polyvinyl chlorides, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and lead, just to name a few. And when e-waste byproducts leach into ground water, are burned, or get mishandled during recycling, bad things can happen. Health problems associated with such toxins include impaired mental development, cancer, and damage to the lungs, liver, and kidneys.”

http://machinedesign.com/materials/whats-going-electronic-waste
(BTW, this article can be downloaded in PDF format if desired.)
 
 

As reported in this 2008 Audubonmagazine.org article:
“While some of this detritus languishes in attics and basements, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that each year about two million tons of it [computer waste] are dumped and left to fall apart and leak their toxic innards across the landscape. Discarded electronics comprise 70 percent of heavy metal contamination in the nation’s landfills, a horrifying thought for anyone who worries about public health. “
http://archive.audubonmagazine.org/features0805/technology.html

According to a 2015 article titled “India's mounting e-waste woes” : “What's most worrying is that whatever e-waste is collected is still being done so in an informal and unorganized way, posing a serious health risk to the workers involved in the trade.  ...
[I]n a place called Seelampur, children work with their hands, handling acid baths and toxic metals such as cadmium and mercury in order to extract gold and copper from the circuit boards of discarded electronic items. This is the infinitely less-sexy underbelly of India's glittering IT story.”
http://www.zdnet.com/article/indias-mounting-e-waste-woes/
 
“There’s a lot of value, and health and environmental threats, being left behind in e-waste. Experts estimate that
a mere 10 to 15 percent of the gold in e-waste is being recovered. And it turns out that most of what is being recovered and recycled is taking place in poorer, less developed countries in what’s grown to be an ‘informal’ global network of e-waste importing nations.”
http://www.triplepundit.com/2014/06/step-initiative-turning-e-waste-e-resource/
 
United States citizens purchase new electronics every few years.  Here is an article that discusses the waste issue and provides recommendations for proper treatment:
http://www.moneycrashers.com/electronic-e-waste-recycling-disposal-facts/
“Every time you replace one of your electronic devices, it’s your responsibility to be sure your old one gets recycled properly.”
 

This topic of Electronic Waste is current and personal to most of your students.   Also, it could spark the imagination of the student who researches waste management and/or develops a new, effective process.
 
*Remember, this Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom.  Remember, you can check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
 
Also, 
Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.

Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.

Enjoy your weekend!
​
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Methane Leak in California

1/22/2016

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Wow, the school year is almost halfway through!  Congratulations!
 
Right now, most school budgets are depleted for the 2015-2016 class year.  My book,
Chemistry on a Budget, contains inexpensive chemistry labs that could be useful.  You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. Check it out!
 

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
 
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report.  This way the teacher has the option!  Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout. 
 

It will take a week or so to get to you, so Order Now!
 
*Some of you have purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
 
Methane [CH4] has been leaking at a storage facility in the Santa Susana Mountains in California  -- this was first reported on October 23, 2015.
 
The following article contains video footage of the methane (CH4) gas leak.

http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/12/infrared-video-of-huge-southern-california-methane-leak-makes-plume-visible/
 
One family has already filed a lawsuit – residents are reporting symptoms of dizziness, fatigue, coughing and irritation in the eyes and throat, and bleeding.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/16/us/california-methane-gas-leak/
 
"A broken injection-well pipe about 500 ft (152.4m) below the surface is believed to be the culprit behind the leak, reports say. Pipes like this are used by utility companies to insert gas into the ground for storage until a later time when it can be withdrawn and sold for use.  It is not known why the pipe ruptured."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35244634
 
“Gov. Jerry Brown declared an emergency last week for the prolonged blowout that requires the utility (Southern California Gas Co.) to cover the costs and instructs state regulators to protect ratepayers.
The well is one of 115 in the Santa Susana Mountains where Southern California Gas Co. [SoCalGas], a division of San Diego-based Sempra Energy, stores natural gas in a vacant oil field about a mile and a half underground. It is the largest natural gas storage facility west of the Mississippi River and can provide energy to all of Southern California for a month."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-porter-ranch-california-methane-gas-leak-20160110-story.html
 
“It’s a combination of oil and gas companies failing to monitor and maintain aging infrastructure and a lack of oversight of the oil and gas industry. For too long, we have gone without federal and state standards that require sufficient leak and safety inspections for oil and gas facilities, and industry has shown it can’t be trusted to fix the problem on its own.
When leaks do occur, they may go unnoticed indefinitely, since methane is colorless and odorless."
https://www.edf.org/climate/aliso-canyon-leak-sheds-light-national-problem
 
“To stop the leak, the utility company...is drilling down 8,000 feet and using a relief well to intersect the leaking pipe and plug it up. Crews are being very careful, drilling just 20 feet a day.  Still, SoCalGas announced they expect to have the leak plugged by the end of February.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-methane-leak-affected-area-doubles-in-size/
 
“Methane itself poses no long-term health risks, but a severe natural gas leak can
cause short-term symptoms, including dizziness, fatigue, nausea, headache and irregular breathing. Officials believe the ailments community members are experiencing are from an odorant added to natural gas to make it detectable.”
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/california-natural-gas-leak-just-one-of-thousands-across-country/
 
“ ‘Methane [CH4]  is in a category of greenhouse gases known as
short-lived climate pollutants,’ California's Air Resources Board [ARB] says on its website. "These types of gases remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time than longer-lived climate pollutants, such as carbon dioxide (CO2); but when measured in terms of how they heat the atmosphere, their impacts can be tens, hundreds, or even thousands of times greater than that of carbon dioxide."
http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/massive-methane-leak-displaces-thousands-southern-california-n487381
 
 [As reported on January 20, 2116,] “[a]ir quality regulators agreed… to scrap a proposal to capture and burn off some of the methane spewing into the air from a subterranean pipeline rupture that has forced thousands of Los Angeles residents from their homes since October [2015]. … The stench of odorized methane fumes has sickened scores of people and led to efforts to temporarily relocate more than 6,000 households from the Porter Ranch community of northern Los Angeles at the edge of the leaking Aliso Canyon gas storage field.”
 
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-methane-idUSKCN0UY2U0
 
The following article summarizes this issue into 5 facts that may be useful for classroom discussion:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/5-facts-to-know-about-the-california-methane-leak/
 
I have written about several ecological accidents/ concerns over the past few months.  This was not to be alarmist, but to inspire discussion in your classes about the cost/benefit of maintaining infrastructure and the potential cost/benefit of cleanup of past toxic disposal.
 

I have stated before in the blog post “Current Event – Radioactive Waste from WWII” dated 10/30/2015, that you might want to coordinate with the corresponding Social Studies teacher(s) because these clean-up decisions are made by elected representatives within budgetary limits.  Your students will be tax-paying, voting citizens very soon and will have a voice/choice with their representatives and town/cities where they live!
 
*Remember, this Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom.  Remember, you can check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
 
Also, 
Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
 

Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.


Enjoy your weekend!
​
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Doce River mine accident (Brazil)

1/13/2016

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You’ve gotten back into the school routine for a few weeks.  I hope it’s going well!
 

You might have received an amazon.com gift card or other monies for the holidays – you can use some of it to get the lab book Chemistry on a Budget.
 
This book contains inexpensive chemistry labs to expand your repertoire.  You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com.
 

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
 
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report.  This way the teacher has the option!  Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout. 
 

It will take a week or so to get to you, so Order Now!
 
*Some of you have purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
 
You may be conducting mid-year exams at your school during the next few weeks.  A past blog entry dated 01/04/2015 discusses various aspects of
Midterm Examinations and could be helpful.
 
In November of 2015, a mine accident occurred in Brazil on the Doce River.  A past blog entry about older
Abandoned Mines in the U.S. was posted on 07/15/2015; and, a Colorado Mine Accident was a current event posting on 08/13/2015.
 
 “The [Brazilian] accident buried the small historic town of Bento Rodrigues…under mud. At least 11 people have died and more than 600 were displaced. In addition, the water supply of more than 250,000 people in the area was interrupted as it was contaminated with heavy metals.
[Tons]… of mud made up of iron ore waste and silica… have spread over 800km and reached one of the largest Brazilian rivers, the Rio Doce. The contaminated mud…has…toxic substances like mercury, arsenic, chromium and manganese at levels exceeding drinking water limits, [and] has reached the coast... It could potentially impact the wider marine ecosystem.”

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2015/11/brazil-mine-disaster-dam-collapse
 
Here is a video clip providing a summary of the environmental disaster and showing the severity of the environmental damage:
“Toxic mud traveling down Brazil’s Rio Doce river has made its way to the Atlantic Ocean, and biologists say the chemicals could disrupt the delicate marine habitat that is a breeding ground for a variety of species, including the threatened leatherback turtle, dolphins and whales. The sludge contains dangerous levels of mercury, arsenic, chromium and manganese.”
http://www.ibtimes.com/toxic-mud-brazil-mine-collapse-reaches-atlantic-ocean-threatening-dolphins-turtles-2195381
 
“According to the latest models…the mud plume is expected to disperse along the coast around six miles south of Regência, two miles north and 1.5 miles out to sea.
The area is rich in marine life, including humpback whales and La Plata dolphins, but Almeida’s greatest concern is for the endangered leatherback turtle. The beach is one of the only regular nesting grounds for the creature in
Brazil.
… Fears over the presence of heavy metals and other toxins in the mud have also led ANA, the [N]ational [W]ater [A]gency, to suspend the use of the Rio Doce for human consumption.”
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/22/anger-rises-as-brazilian-mine-disaster-threatens-river-and-sea-with-toxic-mud
 
IGAM [the Institute for Water Management in Minas Gerais] found levels of arsenic, lead, aluminum, chromium, nickel and cadmium many times higher than the legal maximums at various points along the river…”
http://www.mining.com/toxic-elements-found-in-water-weeks-after-brazils-mine-disaster-vale/
 
“Brazil’s government…filed a $5.2 billion lawsuit against Vale and BHP Billiton…for irreparable damage and the country's worst environmental disaster. According to the United Nations, the collapse of mining company Samarco Mining’s Fundão dam in Minas Gerais released 50 million tons of iron ore waste, contained high levels of toxic heavy metals and other chemicals in the Doce river. “
http://www.latintimes.com/pulse/brazil-sues-mining-companies-doce-river-environmental-disaster-356737
 
Here is another current example of a mining disaster endangering the health of humans and the surrounding ecosystem. 
 
*Remember, this Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom.  Remember, you can check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
 
Also, 
Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
 
You might have received an amazon.com gift card or other monies for the holidays – you can use some of it to purchase the lab book Chemistry on a Budget which is very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.


Have a good week!
​
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four new elements

1/7/2016

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Congratulations on completing the first week of 2014!
 

You might have received an amazon.com gift card or other monies for the holidays – you can use some of it to get the lab book Chemistry on a Budget.
 
This book contains inexpensive chemistry labs to expand your repertoire.  You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com.
 

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
 
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report.  This way the teacher has the option!  Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout. 
 

It will take a week or so to get to you, so Order Now!
 
*Some of you have purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
 
The Periodic Table is an essential tool for the study of Chemistry.  Past blog posts include:
02/23/2014      The Periodic Table
04/01/2015      NOVA video "Hunting the Elements" (2012)
12/03/2015      Periodic Table Trend Activities
12/11/2015      Video: "The Mystery of Matter" (2015)
 
A very exciting development in science this week is that
“[c]hemistry textbooks as we know it are officially out of date, as four new elements will soon be added to the periodic table.”

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/04/world/periodic-table-new-elements/index.html
 
“Now, that doesn’t mean that these four elements were all discovered last week. In order to get a coveted spot on the periodic table, a newly-discovered element has to be double-checked by researchers at the IUPAC [International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry]. However, superheavy elements like these (so-called because of the high number of protons each atoms contains) are highly unstable and only exist in labs for a fraction of a second at a time, making them difficult to verify,
Rachel Feltman reports for the Washington Post.”
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/four-new-elements-are-added-periodic-table-180957705/?utm_source=facebook.com&no-ist
 
This is a nice opportunity to discuss the history of The Periodic Table -- check out my post on 12/11/2015 presenting the video "The Mystery of Matter" (2015).
 
Your students may have questions about why we even try to find new elements if the half-lives are so short (fractions of seconds at times).  One point is that we may discover an element that may have an important use that we can’t even anticipate.
 
Other articles that may be useful class assignments include the following:
 
1) Here is a very brief summary:

https://www.rt.com/news/327875-four-new-elements-periodic/
 
2) This is a brief article describing the new elements 113, 115, 117 and 118.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/01/new-elements-periodic-table-seventh-row-iupac
“Researchers are hopeful that an ‘island of stability’ may exist beyond element 118, allowing production of further superheavy elements, although exactly where this island can be found or whether it exists at all is still a matter of debate.”
 
3) This article provides a brief history of the development/ discovery of artificial elements, and provides another reason for the development of new elements related to the birth of stars:

http://phys.org/news/2016-01-elements-periodic-table-blast.html
 
This current discovery is quite unique and is a very exciting topic to discuss in your class.
 

My blog post next week will discuss the current news coverage about the methane gas leak in California.   Stay tuned!

*Remember, this Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom.  Remember, you can check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
 
Also, 
Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
 

You might have received an amazon.com gift card or other monies for the holidays – you can use some of it to purchase the lab book Chemistry on a Budget which is very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.


Enjoy the weekend!
​
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    Author

    Marjorie R. Heesemann is a chemistry teacher with 15 years of experience who is now working to develop resources for the Chemistry classroom.

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