April 9, 2014 – 13 Days until Earth Day…
13 tons of hydrochloric acid is released during a single NASA space shuttle launch
Other Environmental Implications of a Single Space Shuttle Launch:
- Produces 28 tons of carbon dioxide (the average car generates about half a ton per month)
- Burns 500,000 gallons of fuel
- Releases 23 tons of harmful particulate matter
- The most common contaminant is a chlorinated solvent called trichloroethylene whose breakdown products contain substances known to cause birth defects and cancer
- Solvents and a host of flame retardants, arsenic and nickel penetrate the soils surrounding Launch Pad 39B (the main shuttle pad)
- Burns five tons of super-cooled propellant each second
- The released hydrochloric acid kills any fish and plants within half a mile of the launch site
- Uses as much energy as a single American in his or her entire lifetime
Researchers note that the environmental cost of a launch is approximately the same as that of New York City over a weekend. Despite the fact that the Kennedy Space Center saw the end of its final space shuttle mission back in 2011, the environmental implications caused by the 135 total launches will continue to affect Cape Canaveral, Florida for decades. Carcinogenic chemicals used in the launching of the space shuttles has seeped deep into the sand beneath the launch pads and other structures at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. These chemicals form toxic goo that will take a reported $1 billion in cleanup costs agency-wide over many decades.
The Cleanup
NASA estimates it will spend $96 million over the next 30 years at Kennedy Space Center and the Air Force says it will take another $50 million to get the rest of its cleanups at Cape Canaveral under way by 2017. NASA created theEnvironmental Compliance and Restoration (ECR) Program in order to clean up chemicals released into the environment from their past activities. Cleanups are prioritized to ensure that the highest priority liabilities are addressed first in order to protect human health and the environment and preserve natural resources for future missions. There are267 known contaminated sites at Kennedy Space Center, 141 of which have been cleaned up. The rest are in various stages of assessment or remediation.
References:
