Question | Answer |
What is pollution? | Any change in the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of the air, water or land that can affect the health, survival, or activities of human beings or other forms of life in and undesirable way. |
List three types of pollutants | Rapidly biodegradable
Slowly biodegradable
Nonbiodegradable |
Give an example of rapidly biodegradable pollutants | Animal and crop waste |
Give an example of slowly biodegradable pollutants | Persistent; DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and PCB (polychlorinated byphenyls) |
Give an example of nonbiodegradable pollutants | Mercury, lead compounds and some radioactive substances |
List two sources of pollution | Natural
Human (anthropogenic) |
Describe natural pollutants | Usually dispersed over large areas and often diluted or degraded to harmless levels by natural processes |
Describe human, or anthropogenic, pollutants | -Often occurs in concentrated forms in or near urban and industrial areas
-Most common problems are when large amounts of pollution are concentrated in relatively small volumes of air, water, and soil |
Why do we perform pollution control? | Protect the public's health and the environment |
How do we perform pollution control? | Fulfill regulatory requirements
Protect natural systems
Manage and control sewage and stormwater
Manage and control solid and hazardous waste
Control air and noise pollution |
Pollution control is mostly performed to prevent the spread of what types of diseases? | Communicable
Noninfectious |
Describe communicable diseases | Caused by microbes
Spread by a mode of transmission
direct
indirect (airborne, vector borne, vehicle borne) |
Describe noninfectious diseases | Toxic exposures that can lead to cancers, organ damage, developmental problems |
What is the study of harmful levels of pollutants called? | Toxicology |
How is the concentration of pollutants typcially expressed? | Parts per million (ppm)
Milligrams per liter (mg/L)
Parts per billion (ppb)
Micrograms per liter |
What is an additive effect? | Adding the observed effects of pollutants or toxins together |
What is a synergistic effect? | Pollutants or toxins acting together to cause a greater harmful effect than individually |
What are the two main philosophies on pollution control? | -Pollution control should not be increased at the expense of economic growth (can provide funds for dealing with environmental concerns)
-Insufficient pollution control leads to short and long term damages that will reduce economic productivity |
Describe air pollution | Causes breathing problems in urban and industrial areas
Existed for centuries |
Describe soil and groundwater pollution | A few decades ago landfills were common and uncontrolled and chemical spills were not addressed |
Describe surface water pollution | Wastewater and chemical discharge directly to lakes and rivers (e.g. Cuyahoga River Burning) |
What is FIFRA? | Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
Formed in 1947
Pesticides must be registered with the EPA before being marketed |
What is NEPA? | National Environmental Policy Act
Formed in 1970
Requires each federal agency to use Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)
No enforcement agency |
What is RCRA? | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Formed in 1976
Deals with both municipal and hazardous waste to encourage resource recovery and recycling
Enforcement agency: EPA |
What is CWA? | Federal Clean Water Act
Formed in 1972
Restore and maintain the "chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters"
Enforcement agency: EPA |
What is SDWA? | Safe Drinking Water Act
Formed in 1974
Establish federal drinking water standards
Protect underground water sources
Enforcement agency: EPA |
What is CAA? | Federal Clean Air Act
Formed in 1970
Enforcement agency: EPA |
What is CERCLA? | Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
"Superfund"
Formed in 1980
Provides system for cleaning up chemical and hazardous material
Enforcement agency: EPA |
What is AHERA? | Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act
Requires certain procedures to be followed for asbestos abatement in school buildings
Ties to OSHA
Enforcement agency: EPA |
What is TSCA? | Toxic Substances Control Act
Formed in 1976
Regulates newly created chemicals entering into commerce for the first time and current existing chemicals
Enforcement agency: EPA |
What is the Ocean Dumping Act? | Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act
Regulates what can be dumped in the ocean and protects marine environment
Enforcement agency: EPA, U.S. Coast Guard |
What is OSHA? | Occupational Safety and Health Act
Formed in 1970
"Assures so fas as possible every working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions"
Enforcement agency: OSHA(dministration) |
What is AEA? | Atomic Energy Act
Formed in 1954
Provide controls over the possession, development, and use of radioactive materials
Enforcement agency: Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
What is HMTA? | Hazardous Materials Transportation Act
Formed in 1975
Established criteria for transporting hazardous materials
Enforcement agency: Department of Transportation |
What are the three parts to an atomic structure? | Element
Compound
Atom |
What is an element? | Substance composed of all the same kind of atom
Listed on the periodic table |
What is a compound? | Contains two or more elements chemically combined |
What is an atom? | Basic unit of an element
Composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons |
What is the periodic table? | Lists elements according to their atomic number
Provides name and symbol of the element
Atomic weight of element (avg. mass numner of all atoms that make up the element)
How reactive element is |
What are three chemical bonds? | Ionic - positive and negative ion are attracted to one another
Covalent - atoms share electrons
Hydrogen - weak attraction (usually between water molecules) |
What is a solution? | Usually described for liquids, but can also be for solids and gasses, especially in water (aqueous solutions) |
What is a solvent? | Material present in largest amounts |
What is a solute? | Material present in smaller amounts |
What is a saturated solution? | A solution that has as much solute dissolved in it as it can hold |
What is solubility? | Ability of a solute to dissolve in a solvent
Depends on temperature, pressure, and what else is dissolved in that solution |
What is a suspended particle? | Small particles of material larger than atoms suspended in water
-the smaller the suspended particle the longer it takes to settle |
What is a colloidal suspension? | Very fine particles (less than 0.1 micron in diameter)
Resist settling
Can be removed by adding chemicals to get them to settle out (enlargement or changing of molecules) |
How are concentrations expressed? | Volume - mg/L
Weight - mg/kg
Air - mg/M3 or ppm
Water - mg/L, ppm or ppb
Soil/waste - mg/kg, ppm |
Describe acids | Has a pH less than 7 (increase in the H+ concentratoin in an aqueous solution)
Often can corrode metal and dissolve salts
Tastes sour |
Describe bases | Has a pH greater than 7 (increase in the OH- concentration in an aqueous solution)
Caustic, corrosive, to hair, skin and other organic substances
Tastes bitter |
What are common bases? | Sodium hydroxide
Ammonia
Potassium hydroxide
Aluminum hydroxide
Magnesium hydroxide |
What are common organic chemicals? | Wood
Flesh
Cotton
Petroleum
Methane
Solvents
Plastics |
What are common organic pollutants? | Human, animal, food wastes
Industrial chemicals
Petroleum hydrocarbons (fuels and oils)
Many pesticides
Solvents
PCB's |
What are common inorganic pollutants? | Metals
Most acids and bases
Some fertilizers
Most sediment |
What is the hydrologic cycle? | How water moves in and around earth |
List examples of surface water | Lakes
Streams
Ponds
Wetlands
Estuaries |
List examples of groundwater sources | Aquifers
Subsurface saturated zones |
Where is most industrial and municipal wastewater discharged? | Surface water |
What is turbidity? | Measure of the light-scatteirng effect caused by suspended particles in water
Impacts how clear the water is |
What is DO? | Dissolved oxygen
Amount of oxygen gas dissolved in a given quanitity of water at a particular temperature and atmospheric pressure
Usually listed mg/L |
Why is DO important? | Indicates the ability of a body of surface water to support fish and most other forms of aquatic life
Low DO = fish will die from suffocation |
What can reduce DO? | Biodegradable wastes
Aerobic decomposers can reduce the supply of dissolved oxygen |
What is the normal percentage of oxygen in the air? | 21% |
What is BOD? | Biochemical oxygen demand
Measure of the amount of oxygen consumed in the biological and chemical processes that break down organic matter in water |
Why is BOD important? | Higher BOD, the higher the organic content of the water, the more dissolved oxygen that will be used to decompose their organics |
What is BODx? | Amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic decomposition to break down the organic materials in a given volume of water over an x day period |
List sources of BOD to waterways | Natural - topsoil, leaves, animal waste
Non-point - animal manure, fertilizers, urban runoff
Point - effluents from pulp, paper mills, wastewater treatment plants, textiles, food processing plants, failing septic systems |
What is COD? | Chemical oxygen demand
Measure of the oxygen required to oxidize all compounds, both organic and inorganic in water
Sometimes measured instead of BOD |
List the sizes of pollutant particles | Settleable >100 microns, largely organics
Supracolloidal 1-100 microns, largely organics
Colloidal 1nm - 1 micron, bacteria and viruses
Soluble <1nm, inorganics |
List four types of solids | Suspended
Dissolved
Settleable
Volatile |
What is a suspended solid? | Those that can be retained on a filter |
What is a dissolved solid? | Solids that pass through the filter
Determined by a mass balance after evaporating the sample |
What is a settleable solid? | Coarser fraction that will settle due to gravity |
What is a volatile solid? | Solid that can be burned off or volatilized at 550 degrees Celcius |