Posted: December 5th, 2014

The Sydney Tar Ponds

The Sydney Tar Ponds;

The following research paper will explore the historical impact of the Sydney tar ponds. It will examine the historical contamination factors and the challenges hindering the clean up process. The major part of the paper will be dedicated to exploring the environmental challenges resulting from the toxin produced and deposited in the region. In order to address this problem effectively, the research paper will seek to answer some of the following questions.
1.    What are the sources of the toxic chemicals in the area?
2.    What factors have contributed to the contamination of the area for over a hundred years?
3.    What are the legal requirements not or met by the steel company?
4.    Why have the government and community interventions not successful as expected?
5.    What are the appropriate measures to address in order to purify the site?
6.    What are the economic and social challenges associated with this debris?7.    What are the environmental impacts of these contaminants to the society, the environment and the human population in the area?
In order to find sufficient answers to these questions, the study will review various literatures on the same and focus on the government reports. In so doing, an in-depth understanding of the situation will be uncovered. Additionally, a historical update of the situation will help in figuring the appropriate remedial strategies that can be effectively implemented to solve the problem. Most importantly, the environmental impact on the same will be the central theme of the study. A clear understanding of the environmental, health and safety of the human population within the locality will be examined with a critical eye. This will unveil the efforts put in by the government and other stakeholders and the challenges hindering a successful clean up project implementation.
The purification process of the site is integral for the environmental benefit of the region. However, the health and safety impact on the same are equally important. From a historical perspective, the effectiveness of the government intervention has not been successful. This calls for better policies to enhance the effectiveness of the cleanup process.
The Sydney tar ponds are located in the eastern show of the Sydney harbour. In the recent past, the Sydney Steel the Sydney Tar Ponds Corporation has continuously emptied its coal-based contaminants and sludge. However, programs to clean up the waterway have been faced by false starts, delays and political controversy.  The Canadian ponds are said to be contaminated with over 700, 000 tonnes of toxic-laden soils. The ponds are located in a densely populated urban area with an estimated population of 30, 000 people. Community-based organizations and the government have teamed together to initiate the cleanup program despite there being some political and social challenges on the same.
The Sydney tar ponds are as a result of hundreds of years of contamination from the steel company. The process of turning steel to the coal from the 19th century has contributed in the production of a soup of toxic compounds made of deadly chemicals such as mercury, lead and other heavy metals. This has resulted into environmental hazards with over a million tonnes of contaminated soil sediments spreading over three major sites, namely; the North and South Tar ponds as well as the former Coke Oven Site.
Annotated bibliography
Canada. (2007). Evaluation of the Interim Cost-Share Agreement for the Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens Sites Remediation Project: Final report. Ottawa: Public Works and Government Services Canada, Audit and Evaluation Branch.

This paper discusses the evaluation of the success of the cleanup process based on the economic value. By focusing on the cost sharing between the two companies, that is, Sydney tar ponds and the coke ovens, the research will establish a continuous update on the situation. The use of this paper will be helpful in a successful evaluation and writing of the research paper.

Dillon Consulting Limited. (2010). Environmental Effects monitoring and Surface Water Compliance Monitoring Program: pre-construction/baseline report (final). Volume I of II. Nova Scotia: Sydney Tar Ponds Agency. http:// www.tarpondscleanup.ca/~stpa/upload/reports.
This report gives a detailed analysis of the environmental effects of the tar ponds. Since the paper address the environmental impact of the Sydney tar ponds, it will be helpful in the successful completion of the paper. It also gives an insightful focus on the clean up process and success. This will be an incredible source in establishing the transformation process through the cleanup project to determine the effectiveness of the program. It gives an analytical approach for writing the paper by giving an elaborate report that is useful in examining the future success of the cleanup program based on the past level of contamination.
Furimsky, E. (2002). Sydney Tar Ponds: Some Problems in Quantifying Toxic Waste. Environmental Management. Doi: 10.1007/s00267-002-2649-z
This article focuses on the problems related to the quantification of the toxic waste in the area. Due to the contamination of the region by poisonous chemicals from the steel company, it is difficult to estimate the amount of toxic waste. This paper addresses this problem and assists in providing the appropriate ways of addressing this problem. This paper will be useful in the research because in order to write a creditable research paper; statistical analysis is helpful. However, the significant challenges in estimating the amount of toxic waste are important for success of the project.
Lee, K., Yeats, P., Smith, J., Pertie, B., & Milligan, T. G. (2002). Environmental effects and remediation of contaminants in Sydney Harbour, NS. TSRI Project Number 93. Nova Scotia Science, 2425, vii. 108 pp.
The environmental effects of the Sydney tar ponds are the main focus of this article. On the same account, the research paper focuses on the environmental effects and remedial strategies to clean up the area. The article gives a historical, informative record on the progress of the environmental effects and the appropriate remediation.  This article will be suitable for the study as it shall provide the environmental impact of the tar ponds. It will also recommend the appropriate and most viable strategies in eliminating the toxic in the region.
Lee, G. F., & Jones-Lee, A. (2006). Progress toward remediation of the Sydney Tar Ponds: A major Canadian PCB/PAH ?superfund? Site. Remediation Journal. doi:10.1002/rem.20116

This article gives a detailed analysis of the way forward in towards resolving the tar pond toxic issue in the area. It gives an insightful, viable strategy in eliminating the toxic in the region. Consequently, this article will be important in writing the paper as it will help in proposing adequate and suitable recommendations for an effective elimination of the debris and the restoration of an amicable environment.

Sydney Tar Ponds Agency (N.S.), AMEC Earth and Environmental. (2004). Remediation of the Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens sites: Project description. Sydney: Nova Scotia, Sydney Tar Ponds Agency.

The Sydney Tar Ponds Agency report gives a recommendation on how to resolve the toxic problem associated with the Sydney tar ponds and the elimination of waste products by the steel company. In addition to offering appropriate recommendation, the paper will be helpful in figuring the way forward in achieving the necessary success of eliminating any form of toxic hazards in the area.

Sydney Tar Ponds Agency (N.S.). (2010). Former Tar Ponds site: Future use: sowing the seeds of change. Sydney: Sydney Tar Ponds Agency.

The Sydney Tar Ponds Agency report focuses on the future. After resolving the current problem, the future of change is inherent. This article provides the projected life after the full implementation of the recommendations and the achievement of the debris control and elimination. It gives the most appropriate change required and desired by the Canadian government and other stakeholders. As a result, the article will be helpful in focusing on the life after the toxic waste. It will help in the analysis of how life in the area will be and compare the environmental, health and safety standards between the two periods.

Walker, T.R., MacAskill , D., Rushton, T., Thalheimer, A.H., Weaver, P. (2013) Monitoring effects of remediation on natural sediment recovery in Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-013-3157-8.

This article talks about the assessment of the chemical contamination in the Sydney Harbor. It looks at the three-year remediation of the steel facility that has operated in the area over a hundred years and caused a historical pollution in the region. The article looks at the various chemical components in the area and focuses on monitoring how efforts have been put in place to eliminate these chemical sediments. This article is important for this paper because it will help in estimating the overall success of the various cleanup programs implemented by the government and other stakeholder organizations.

References
Canada. (2007). Evaluation of the Interim Cost-Share Agreement for the Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens Sites Remediation Project: Final report. Ottawa: Public Works and Government Services Canada, Audit and Evaluation Branch.
Dillon Consulting Limited. (2010). Environmental Effects monitoring and Surface Water Compliance Monitoring Program: pre-construction/baseline report (final). Volume I of II. Nova Scotia: Sydney Tar Ponds Agency. http:// www.tarpondscleanup.ca/~stpa/upload/reports.
Furimsky, E. (2002). Sydney Tar Ponds: Some Problems in Quantifying Toxic Waste. Environmental Management. Doi:10.1007/s00267-002-2649-z
Lee, K., Yeats, P., Smith, J., Pertie, B., & Milligan, T. G. (2002). Environmental effects and remediation of contaminants in Sydney Harbour, NS. TSRI Project Number 93. Nova Scotia Science, 2425, vii. 108 pp.
Lee, G. F., & Jones-Lee, A. (2006). Progress toward remediation of the Sydney Tar Ponds: A major Canadian PCB/PAH ?superfund? Site. Remediation Journal. doi:10.1002/rem.20116
Sydney Tar Ponds Agency (N.S.), AMEC Earth and Environmental. (2004). Remediation of the Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens sites: Project description. Sydney: Nova Scotia, Sydney Tar Ponds Agency.
Sydney Tar Ponds Agency (N.S.). (2010). Former Tar Ponds site: Future use : sowing the seeds of change. Sydney: Sydney Tar Ponds Agency
Walker, T.R., MacAskill , D., Rushton, T., Thalheimer, A.H., Weaver, P. (2013) Monitoring effects of remediation on natural sediment recovery in Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-013-3157-8.

This is an assignment that will require you to produce an audio-narrated PowerPoint or equivalent of 5 minutes’ duration on the subject of the history behind an environmental issue facing society today, or which has faced and/or shaped human society in the past. Acceptable equivalents to Powerpoint would be Apple Keynote (exported into PowerPoint format, as only Keynote can open native Keynote presentations), OpenOffice Impress, or Prezi if you’re feeling adventurous. You can select any topic you wish, so long as it has an historical focus to it. Thus, an examination of the Sydney Tar Ponds would be a good choice, but only if you spent the majority of your research and presentation time on the history of the Tar Ponds and the circumstances that led up to the present environmental conditions there. On the other hand, an analysis of atmospheric chlorofluorocarbons that simply analysed CFC levels in the Arctic and Antarctic since 2005, with no historical discussion of how they came to be there, or what their historical uses were, would not do well. Partly to ensure that your topics are “do-able”, and partly to get you working on the project early in the term – the earlier you start, the earlier you get to finish! – you must submit a written proposal to me. The proposal, which I would expect to be about 2-3 pp in length, single-spaced, must contain the following information: your name and id; the tentative title of the topic; a 250-word (1-paragraph) outline of the topic with at least two or three thesis questions that will guide your research; and a mechanically correct annotated bibliography of at least eight sources, print or electronic. Note that thesis QUESTIONS are NOT thesis STATEMENTS. At this point in your research I would absolutely not expect you to have developed thesis statements. Consider the following analogy. You are a detective investigating a crime. If you show up at the crime scene and immediately say, “That person did it. Arrest them,” in the absence of compelling evidence, you wouldn’t bemuch of a detective. However, if you show up at the crime and say, “Right. What’s the murder weapon? Who has blood on their hands? Who had motive to commit the crime? Who had the opportunity?” and so on, and you then spend time gathering evidence that answers those questions, then you would be following a strong investigative line. At the END of the evidence gathering and analysis process you could confidently say, “Based on my investigations, its pretty clear that the butler did it.” THAT would be your thesis statement. At this earlier point, however – the proposal point – you should be positing QUESTIONS, not yet answers.
An annotated bibliography is one in which each of your source citations includes a paragraph- length description of the source (its subject, its major argument, and how you foresee yourself using the item in your research). Annotations need not be long – indeed, they should be no longer than 100 words or so, not including the actual citation itself, of course – but they must convey the elements outlined above. Citations must be in the Chicago Manual of Style Format – this is a history course, after all!
The major focus of the PowerPoint itself must be the historical dimension of the chosen issue, although you should also pay close attention to the current status of the problem (if it persists to the present day), the major points of debate (these can range from political to economic, philosophical to social), and the potential scope and scale of the problem. I strongly encourage you to employ web-based research in undertaking your investigation: there is a great deal of excellent environmental material available on the internet; but remember that you should be cautious when approaching these materials – some of them can be tendentious and / or non- analytical in their focus. Restrict your use of web-based material to institutional sites (universities, non-governmental organisations, major environmental groups such as Greenpeace or the Sierra Club, etc., government sources, or news services such as the Environmental News Network – enn.com). Avoid, if at all possible, personal web-pages unless you can cross-reference and support material gleaned there from other sources. You may find it useful to review the excellent tutorial, Credible Sources Count, dealing with internet research developed by the staff at the Vaughan Library. It may be found at http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/webevaluation/.
The Powerpoint will be graded on a metric that includes mechanical components, the success in defining the topic and its historical dimensions, the use of graphically-presented information, the presence of a reference list, the overall timing of your narration and the Powerpoint slideshow, and so on. I will provide a very detailed explanation of the metric, and what you must do to score well on it, later on in the course. Note that mechanics will form a substantial grading factor here. You are expected to employ Chicago Manual of Style guidelines and mechanical correctness will be a substantial factor in grading. You can find an accessible Styleguide which covers the mechanical basics on the course ACORN page, and more detailed discussions of Chicago Format may be found in the History Subject Guide accessible from the front page of the Vaughan Library website.

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