Molasses Spill in Honolulu Harbor and the Clean Water Act - Essay Example

Molasses Spillage in Hawaii Hawaii is an island that is rich various types of bodies of water. These water sources are being used for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes. These bodies of water must be maintained cleaned so as not to make it useful and safe for human use, as well as for the viability of living of the marine and aquatic plants and animals. Water is undeniably one of the basic elements for living. It is the foundation humanity’s survival and prosperity for many of its activities. Water must be kept clean for the sake of all the living organisms including humans that rely on it. Governing bodies must secure that water and its sources are safe and sufficient for the man’s consumption and for the sake of the environment as a whole. Hawaii is established with it state rules and policies that serve to maintain water quality by setting up parameters to control water discharges from various institutions all over the country. The Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR 11-54 Water Quality) and the Clean Water Act are established by the government to have all waters all over the country to be kept clean for fishing and swimming. These policies are amended from time to time to control or end discharges of pollutants into the water and addressing any other water pollution concerns of the country (Hawaii Environment Association, 2009). The island of Hawaii is surrounded by waters. There are around 400 public beaches along the 300 miles coastline of Hawaii (NDRC, 2013). It is but important to have these beaches protected and secured for public use such as swimming, fishing, and other recreational purposes. The Clean Water Act hand in hand with the Department of Health of Hawaii sought to have these bodies of water safe and secure for public use. The Clean Water Act of Hawaii requires all of the Nation’s discharges from both municipal and industrial sources to have discharge permits. It also sets national and uniform minimum treatment requirements for discharges from various sources. There is a required minimum secondary treatment for discharges from the municipal sources. Water discharges that have low levels of treatment and have no great impact to the water quality are the only ones allowed to be discharge to Hawaii’s bodies of water (Hawaii Environment Association, 2009). Water pollution is addressed by the state’s Clean Water Act. One of the threats to the waters of Hawaii is the molasses spill on the waters. Hawaii is rich with sugar industries. One of the by products of making sugar is molasses. Molasses are not thrown in the bodies of water. They are still useful for other food industries as molasses is still rich with fructose and glucose. Molasses have high levels of BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand). They also have high levels of potassium, sulphate and phosphorus content (Balakrishnan,n.d). High BOD of molasses causes water pollution (Pollution Control and Safety,n.d). Other components found in most molasses include lactic acid, ethanol, acetic acide and glycerol. Molasses coming from canes contain about 2% melanoidins- a dark brown pigment that is responsible for the brown discoloration effect to waters. Melanoidins are polymers with high molecular weight. They are rich with antioxidant properties that may be toxic to microorganisms (Balakrishnan,n.d). Molasses is not harmful as some would assume. It is not composed of chemicals that can injure people and that may cause burns to people’s skin. In fact, they are still classified as good ingredients for many food products and used as organic fertilizers. They are processed and boiled juice extracts from sugar manufacturing industries that can no longer be converted to crystals. Molasses, when considered in small amounts is not really harmful in the environment as they are not made up chemicals. However, when massive amount of molasses is spilled on the bodies of water, it becomes a pollutant. Sources of massive spillage of molasses on Hawaii is mostly due to cargoes and shipment of molasses on vessels as they are transferred from one place to another. The incident of molasses spillage in Honolulu , Hawaii is one of the most tragic accounts for water pollution caused by molasses. Accordingly, a faulty pipeline of a California bound container ship discarged around 1400 tons of molasses to the Hawaiian water. This event caused havoc in the marine life as many plants and fishes died. Furthermore, the Hawaiian waters were filled with big fishes and sharks as they devour the dead organisms in the area. The waters of Hawaii turned into a nightmare during these times (The Guardian,n.d). Molasses spill strikes danger to the aquatic and marine ecosystem. Molasses is denser than water (Density, n.d), thus, it sink to the bottom of the sea bed during massive spillage. To remove molasses when spilled on water is indeed a problem and a mystery. Molasses is like sugar syrup added to water. Unlike oil spillage which can be removed from water surfaces through scraping and skimming, molasses is harder to remove. The massive presence of molasses in water is killing the marine lives. Due to the high BOD content of molasses, all the oxygen in the water is sucked thereby suffocating all the animals and plants in the water. Furthermore, the molasses content in water caused an instant discoloration in the waters of Honolulu which might take years to be cleared up. The Hawaiian government admitted that they were not prepared to deal with this spectacular event (Garcia, 2014). Matson of the Matson Navigation Company, the owner of the industry responsible for the incident stated his regret to the overall impact of the incident in the harbors of Hawaii. The lawmakers of Hawaii are conducting deep research and investigation on the said event. Officials of Hawaii also stated that government agencies don’t play a role in overseeing pipelines of industries which is the source of the massive spillage (Circa News, 2013). The broken molasses pipeline has violated the Clean Water Act of Hawaii. State officials said that there is little they can do for the clean up of the molasses spilled. The brown plume devouring the waters that has essentially killed fishes and invited a swarm of sharks in the area can’t be avoided. As stated by Gry Gill, the deputy director of the Hawaii department of Health said, “Our best advice as of this morning is let nature take its course”. Swimmers, snorkelers and surfers are warned off the area due to possible shark attacks (Neuman, 2013). In accordance to the Hawaii Administrative Rules for the Water Quality Standards under its general policy of water quality and antidegradation, it is stated that “where the quality of the waters exceed levels necessary to support propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water, that quality shall be maintained and protected…” (HAR 11-54). This clause is a very clear indication that indeed the massive molasses spillage is a violation and needs to be acted upon by the government. As a start, Matson has been fined up to $25,000 a day for the violation of the Clean Water Act. Matson also spent around $1.3 million cost as an immediate response to the incident used for legal expenses and other claims from third parties. Hawaiian government also proposes special funds for the prevention and proper response programs of other similar events in the future. Accordingly, the government is taking concrete steps to ensure that this incident will not happen again. The special funds calls for update measures of the state’s emergency response plans. Although the state has devised an oil spill scenario response system, they have to devise another unique response agenda for molasses spillage. The steps that need to be taken by the state would depend on the results of the still ongoing investigations and research (Garcia, 2013). As of today, in accordance to Clean Water Act and HAR 11-54, Matson is fined tremendously and would still be fined for further violations as soon as the government would reach conclusions on the said event. The molasses spillage incident in Hawaii serves as grounds for the updates of currently used policies and rules not just for Hawaii but for the rest of the world. It is of prime importance to keep the waters clean and safe for a better world today and for the next generations to come. References: Balakrishnan, Satyawali.(n.d). Wastewater treatment in molasses based alcohol distilleries for COD and color removal: A Review”. Teri University. India. “Density of Liquids”(n.d). Spikes Science Projects. N.d. Web. 4 May 2014 Garcia, Oskar. (2014) “Hawaii Lawmakers Call for Changes After Molasses Spill”. The Huffington Post. Circa News.(2013) “Hawaii state inspector had spotted leak 1 year before molasses spill”. Environment.. HAR 11-54: Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 11. Department of Health: Water Quality Standards. Oct 11, 2012. Hawaii Water Environment Association Since 1962. (2009). “Impacts of the Clean Water Act in Hawaii”. NDRC: Natural Resources Defense Council: “Testing the Waters 2013 A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches”. N.d. Neuman, Scott. (2013). “Hawaii: ‘Let Nature Take Is Course’ on Molasses Spill’”. WWNO “Pollution Control and Safety”. (n.d). Sbioinformaics.com. The Guardian.(2013). Thousands of fish dying as 1,400 tons of molasses ooze into Honolulu harbor”. The Guardian. Read More