The type and spatial distribution of past waste at the abandoned Wilkes Station, East Antarctica
ABSTRACT Legacy waste is a significant problem in Antarctica. This is particularly the case where waste generated on stations prior to the 1980s was incinerated, placed in landfill sites or disposed of at sea. Although several Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) reports from the 1980s recognise that...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247412000721 2024-05-19T07:29:08+00:00 The type and spatial distribution of past waste at the abandoned Wilkes Station, East Antarctica Fryirs, Kirstie Snape, Ian Babicka, Nadia 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247412000721 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247412000721 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 49, issue 4, page 328-347 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 journal-article 2013 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247412000721 2024-05-02T06:50:58Z ABSTRACT Legacy waste is a significant problem in Antarctica. This is particularly the case where waste generated on stations prior to the 1980s was incinerated, placed in landfill sites or disposed of at sea. Although several Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) reports from the 1980s recognise that there are contaminated sites at the abandoned Wilkes Station, there has been no systematic attempt to classify the waste or define the spatial scale of the problem, making development of strategic and systematic clean-up or preservation programmes difficult. This article reports on a project to classify the waste remaining on Clark Peninsula using categories listed in Annex III, Article 2 of the Madrid Protocol (1991). 536 sites with one or more waste items have been identified in nine categories that are based on the degree of waste hazard, recyclability, heritage value and waste management potential. Fuel drums, petroleum hydrocarbons waste and contaminated sediment occur at 38% of the sites. This waste includes around 1020 partially full fuel drums. Heritage items that illustrate expedition life at Wilkes occur at about 10% of the sites. Solid, non-combustible waste, including scrap metal, copper wire and pipe, and steel mechanical parts, occurs at 25% of the sites. Potentially hazardous or harmful waste including electrical batteries, plastics including fuel bladders, food remains, treated timber and containers containing persistent compounds occur at 28% of sites. Although hazardous substances, such as caustic soda, explosives and asbestos, occur at only 9% of the sites, these items represent significant contamination and heath issues for the sites and for visiting explorers. Any future clean-up operations will require more than just the physical removal of waste. Preservation, removal and treatment of various types of waste from Wilkes will be required as part of a multi-year, multi-strategy approach. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Australian Antarctic Division East Antarctica Polar Record Cambridge University Press Polar Record 49 4 328 347 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
ABSTRACT Legacy waste is a significant problem in Antarctica. This is particularly the case where waste generated on stations prior to the 1980s was incinerated, placed in landfill sites or disposed of at sea. Although several Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) reports from the 1980s recognise that there are contaminated sites at the abandoned Wilkes Station, there has been no systematic attempt to classify the waste or define the spatial scale of the problem, making development of strategic and systematic clean-up or preservation programmes difficult. This article reports on a project to classify the waste remaining on Clark Peninsula using categories listed in Annex III, Article 2 of the Madrid Protocol (1991). 536 sites with one or more waste items have been identified in nine categories that are based on the degree of waste hazard, recyclability, heritage value and waste management potential. Fuel drums, petroleum hydrocarbons waste and contaminated sediment occur at 38% of the sites. This waste includes around 1020 partially full fuel drums. Heritage items that illustrate expedition life at Wilkes occur at about 10% of the sites. Solid, non-combustible waste, including scrap metal, copper wire and pipe, and steel mechanical parts, occurs at 25% of the sites. Potentially hazardous or harmful waste including electrical batteries, plastics including fuel bladders, food remains, treated timber and containers containing persistent compounds occur at 28% of sites. Although hazardous substances, such as caustic soda, explosives and asbestos, occur at only 9% of the sites, these items represent significant contamination and heath issues for the sites and for visiting explorers. Any future clean-up operations will require more than just the physical removal of waste. Preservation, removal and treatment of various types of waste from Wilkes will be required as part of a multi-year, multi-strategy approach. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fryirs, Kirstie Snape, Ian Babicka, Nadia |
spellingShingle |
Fryirs, Kirstie Snape, Ian Babicka, Nadia The type and spatial distribution of past waste at the abandoned Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
author_facet |
Fryirs, Kirstie Snape, Ian Babicka, Nadia |
author_sort |
Fryirs, Kirstie |
title |
The type and spatial distribution of past waste at the abandoned Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
title_short |
The type and spatial distribution of past waste at the abandoned Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
title_full |
The type and spatial distribution of past waste at the abandoned Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
The type and spatial distribution of past waste at the abandoned Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
The type and spatial distribution of past waste at the abandoned Wilkes Station, East Antarctica |
title_sort |
type and spatial distribution of past waste at the abandoned wilkes station, east antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247412000721 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247412000721 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Australian Antarctic Division East Antarctica Polar Record |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Australian Antarctic Division East Antarctica Polar Record |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 49, issue 4, page 328-347 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247412000721 |
container_title |
Polar Record |
container_volume |
49 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
328 |
op_container_end_page |
347 |
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1799477726083547136 |