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Aluminum. Chrisitian Tsang, Brett Drozdowski , Joe Kubacki. Uses in the USA.
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Aluminum Chrisitian Tsang, Brett Drozdowski, Joe Kubacki
Uses in the USA • Aluminum is used to make everything from cans to cars. Vehicles, house hold items, mirrors, and it comes in a foam. We need aluminum because its light and strong at the same time so it’s the ideal material for a lot of things.
Where it comes from • Aluminum comes from bauxite, a very common ore. 8% of the earths crust is aluminum so its basically an unlimited resource. • The process to turn aluminum compounds into aluminum require temps. From 140 degrees Celsius to 240 degrees Celsius and pressures of 35 atmospheres.
Concerns on Aluminum Mining • Human rights wise, about two years ago pressure was mounted on a UK based company called FTSE. The issue was over their Indian bauxite facility. The violation is over human and forest rights in an area of India where mining is very prevalent. The company was held accountable for the abuse of the villagers in the area for force labor. Because of this, the company was disbanded and charges were placed on the company.
Health Concerns Aluminum is only dangerous if large amounts are inhaled or ingested. Workplaces would issue protective gear if aluminum was a concern. Some of the effects of heavy aluminum exposure is muscle aches, weakness, bone pain, impaired immune system, and Loss of coordination
Environmental concerns • Environmentally, aluminum is acquired by cutting down rain forests to get to the bauxite ore. Alcoa, an Australian mining company, had developed in 1990 a computer program to help reforestation within Austral. They even won an award in 1990 from the U.N. for their program
Work citied • "Aluminium." Lenntech. Lenntech, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. <http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/al.htm>. • "Effects of Aluminum on People." Global Health Center.com. Global Healing Center , n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.globalhealingcenter.com>. • "Industry Overview." Aluminum Association.com. Aluminum Association, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.aluminum.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=The_Industry>.