Garnet

1) Garnet is mined in the US, Australia, China, and India, Russia and Turkey.

2) Garnet is mined through surface mining. A more specific process used to mine garnet is open-pit mining. In this process, layers of rock are removed one by one until the desired stone is revealed. Dynamite is used to remove large volumes of materials and after the entire process is over, a giant pit is left over. This pit is usually used as a landfill.

3) Garnet is a gemstone that is formed in standard igneous and metamorphic rock processes.

Chemical makeup: Garnets always contain a silicate molecule in addition to other metal ions depending on what variation it is.

4) Garnet is processed through a series of varied strength magnetic separators, washing, drying, and screening.

5) The mining of Garnet does have some environmental impacts because there are many machines being used to actually dig up the gem, it has to be transported many far places due to its unavailability, and it has to be processed in a factory-like setting.

6) Garnet is used in a lot of jewelry because it is less expensive and more durable than other gem stones; it is also the birthstone for January. Garnet is also used as an abrasive in industrial as sand papers, sand belts, and as an abrasive blasting material.

7) Garnet price varies depending on the type selected. The price of almandine garnet varies between $.30 and $4.00 per carat depending on size and quality.The price of rhodolite garnet varies between $1.00 and $10.00.Spessartite- garnet in cabochon is priced at about $3.00 a carat due to the fact that good quality stones are very rare.DERMATOID - garnet is priced by the stone because it is very rare and expensive.

8) At the mining site, after there is a large ditch remaining, it is usually filled in by being used as a landfill.

9) Yes, garnet can be reused/recycled because it is a very hard and durable gem stone.

Quarter 3 Article 5

2) EPA Adds Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal to the National Superfund List of Hazardous Waste Sites

3) Source: EPA March 3, 2010

5) Miller Chapter: 18

6) Region: Local- Gowanus Canal

7) The gowanus canal in New York has been put on the priorities list for the National Superfund. Officials have said that this is the best way to get the heavily contaminated,long neglected, urban waterway to be cleaned up. The entire 1.8 miles of the canal is polluted due to the immense amount of industrial activity going on since the late 1800's. Tests have revealed that the sediment in the Gowanus Canal is contaminated with a variety of pollutants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals and volatile organic contaminants. Wells will be installed to monitor these levels in April 2010. For now, meetings are continuously being held to figure out exactly what to do.

8) It is nice to see the EPA's Superfund at work right here in NY. I'm sure that this will be a very long and hard task but it's nice to see that this horribly contaminated waterway is being taken care of.

9) Superfund list: there have been 1,620 sites on the list throughout the years and 341 have been removed which leaves 1,279 sites left on the superfund list.

Quarter 3 Article 4

2) 100 Percent of Fish in U.S. Streams Found Contaminated with Mercury

3) Source: Naturalnews.com March 2, 2010

5) Miller Chapter: 18

6) Regoin: National- USA

7)In a study done by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), all of the fish tested from 291 freshwater streams across the US were contaminated with mercury. 66% of these fish had mercury levels higher than the EPA's concern level. Due to biomagnification, the mercury builds up as the food chain goes along. This means that concentrations are high in the fish that people eat the most. The ingested mercury causes severe damgage to the nervous system of fetuses, children, and even adults. The number one cause of mercury consumption is fish and shellfish but most predominantly, the toxin originates from the burning of coal for electricity. The highest levels of methyl mercury were found in the southeast of the US.

8) I was very surprised to find that 100% of the fish tested were contaminated with mercury. It makes me think twice before I carelessly pick out a piece of fish from the store.

9) Methyl Mercury: the more toxic, organic form of mercury found in the environment.