APES Unit 8 PPT

Point Pollutant Source

Pollutant that enters environment from an easily identified and confined place (you can point to it)

Nonpoint Pollutant Source

Pollutants entering the environment from many places at once (difficult to point to one source)

Point Source Pollutant Examples

animal waste runoff from a CAFO (ammonia (N), fecal coliform bacteria)

Emissions from smokestack of a coal power plant (CO2, NOx, SO2, PM)

BP Oil Spill (hydrocarbons, benzene)

Nonpoint Source Pollutant Example

urban runoff (motor oil, nitrate fertilizer, road salt, sediment)

Pesticides sprayed on agricultural fields: carried by wind and washed off large agricultural regions into bodies of water

How do large watershed affect estuaries and bays?

Estuaries and bays are polluted by many nonpoint pollution sources from the large watershed that empty into them

Pollutants

Specific chemicals or groups of chemicals from specific sources with specific environmental & human health effects

pollution

vague, nondescript term for any substance that is harmful to the environment (NOT acceptable on FRQs)

range of tolerance

the limits to the abiotic conditions that a species can tolerate (pH, temperature, salinity (saltiness), sunlight, nutrient levels (ammonia, phosphate)

What physiological stress does pollutants cause?

limited growth

limited reproductive function

difficulty respiring (breathing), potentially asphyxiation (suffocation)

hormonal disruption

death (if concentration of pollutant is high enough)

mutualistic relationship in coral

Coral and photosynthetic algae (zooxanthellae)

algae supply sugar to coal and coal supply CO2 + detritus (nutrient containing organic matter) to algae for photosynthesis

why is rising temperature bad for coral reefs?

rising temperature is bad for algae that have narrow temperature tolerance (algae leaves reef when temperature rises), affecting mutualistic relationship with coral (coral bleaching)

coral bleaching

A phenomenon in which algae inside corals die, causing the corals to turn white. Coral loses color and become stressed ad vulnerable to disease without algae (main food source).

how do humans impact coral reefs?

humans disrupt coral reef ecosystems via greenhouse gas emissions (warming ocean temperature and bleaching coral). Overfishing decreases fish populations and bottom trawling can break reef structure + stir up sediment.

Sediment pollution

sediment carried into ocean by runoff makes coral reef waters more turbid, reducing sunlight (photosynthesis)

toxicants

chemicals in sunscreen, oil from roadways, pesticides from agricultural runoff

Nutrients (P/N)

ammonia from animal waste, nitrates/phosphates from agriculture or lawn fertilizers

oil spill effects

Hydrocarbons in crude oil (petroleum) are toxic to many marine organisms and can kill them, especially if they ingest (eat) the oil or absorb through gills/skin
(decreased visibility and decreased photosynthesis due to less sunlight penetrating water surface, oil sticking to bird feathers, oil sinking to bottom and killing bottom-dwellers due to: direct toxicity or suffocation)

what can occur if oil washes ashore?

decrease tourism revenue, kill fish, decrease fishing industry revenue, hurt restaurants that serve fish

how can oil spills affect estuary habitats?

mangroves or salt marshes can be affected as oil can settle deep in root structures, making oil toxic and killing root structure (coastline erosion). Can also remove habitats used by fish and shellfish for breeding.

How can oil spills occur?

when underwater oil wells explode/blows out (BP Gulf spill) or when a tanker runs into a rock/iceberg and is punctures (Exxon Valdez)

4 Ways Oil can be Cleaned Up

1) Booms on surface to contain spread and ships with vacuum tubes to siphon oil off of the surface or devices to skim it off
2) Physical removal of oil from beach sand and rocks with towels, soaps, shovels
3) Chemical dispersants sprayed on oil slicks to break up and sink to bottom (can smother bottom-dwellers and is harmful)
4) Burning oil off surface

Endocrine Disruptors

chemicals that interfere with the endocrine (hormonal) systems of animals
~Binds to cellular receptors meant for hormones, blocking the hormone from being received, or amplifying its effects

How do endocrine disruptors enter the aquatic environments?

Human medications that are endocrine disruptors pass through humans from urine and into sewage systems/flushed down the toilet enter the waters and disrupt animals and habitats

Example of how endocrine disruptors can affect aquatic organisms:

Atrazine (herbicide) enters waterways through agricultural runoff. Atrazine binds to receptors of cells that should convert testosterone in male frogs into estrogen, leading to high estrogen in males, low sperm count, and feminization (development of eggs in the testes of ovary formation).

Atrazine

broad-spectrum herbicide used to control weeds & prevent crop loss:
applied to agricultural fields, and runs off into local surface or groundwater or is carried away by the wind

can contaminate human well-water, or enter body via unwashed produce.

DDT

broad- spectrum insecticide that was phased out, but still persists in environments:
applied to agricultural fields and runs off into local surface or groundwater or is carried away by the winds

phthalates

compounds used in plastic and cosmetic manufacturing:
enter surface and groundwater via intentional dumping of trash, or chemical waste from plastic/ cosmetic factories improperly disposing of waste, and landfill leaching

also found in some cosmetics and plastic food containers

lead, arsenic, mercury (endocrine disruptors)

heavy, metals

mercury

naturally occurring in coal, released by anthropogenic activities:
coal combustion, trash incineration, burning medical waste, heating limestone for cement

how does mercury enter waterways?

attatches to PM released by burning and deposits in soil/water wherever PM settles

can be released if coal ash stored in ponds overflow and runoff

how is mercury an endocrine disruptor?

inhibits estrogen and insulin (interferes with menstrual cycle and ovulation)

teratogen

chemical harmful to developing fetuses (can accumulate in fetus brains)

how can pregnant women reduce the risk of exposure to mercury?

eat less seafood

T/F
By itself, Mercury is toxic.

False

What makes mercury toxic?

bacteria in water sources convert mercury to methylmercury which is highly toxic to animals (neurotoxicant that damage central nervous system)

arsenic

naturally occurring element in rocks underground that can dissolve into drinking water; Natural release into groundwater can be worsened by mining

anthropogenic sources of arsenic

formerly in pesticides applied to agricultural fields (can still linger in soil, wood treatment chemicals to prevent rot, coal combustion and ash)

why is arsenic bad?

carcinogen to organs (lungs, bladder, kidneys) and endocrine disrupting

how is arsenic endocrine disrupting?

affects the specifically glucocorticoid system, but can be removed with water filters

lead

found in oil paint (in homes), old water pipes, and soils contaminated by PM from vehicle exhaust before lead was phased out of gas in 70s (also released in fly ash, PM, of coal combustion)

why is lead bad?

neurotoxicant (damages the central nervous system, especially in children), and endocrine disruptor that can be removed with water filters

how is coal ash bad?

source of mercury, lead, and arsenic

how is coal ash deposited into ecosystems?

can attatch to fly ash (PM) from smokestack and be carried by wind, deposited in ecosystems far away

stored in ponds that can overflow and runoff into nearby surface waters and agricultural fields (can leach into groundwater, contaminating it with arsenic, lead, mercury)

where is coal ash stored?

Both fly and bottom coal ash are often stored on site in ponds, dug into soil and lined with plastic (sometimes)

watersheds

all of the land that drains into a specific body of water (river, lake, bay, etc.)

what determined a is watershed (makes up a watershed)?

slope, ridges of land dividing the watershed (allows different runoff directions),
Mainly: vegetation, soil composition, and slope

what human activities impact H2O quality in a watershed?

agriculture, clearcutting, urbanization, dams, mining

Chesapeake Bay watershed

6 state regions drain into a series of streams/rives and into Chesapeake bay

what makes salt marches and estuary habitats in the bay highly productive?

mix of fresh and salt water and nutrients in sediment in these habitats

what ecosystem services do estuaries and wetlands provide?

Tourism revenue: hotels, restaurants, permits

water filtration: grass roots trap pollutants

habitats for food sources (fish and crab)

storm protection (absorbing and buffering floods)

What does nutrient pollution lead to?

(N & P) excess leads to eutrophication

hypoxia

lack of oxygen

major N/P sources

1) Discharge from sewage treatment plants (N/P levels from human waste)
2) Animal waste from CAFOS
3) Synthetic fertilizer from ag. fields & lawns

major pollutants of chesapeake bay (other than nutrient pollution)

endocrine disruptors (from sewage treatment)

sediment pollution (deforestation, urbanization, tilling agricultural fields) increases turbidity, reduces photosynthesis (covers over rocky streambed habitats)

solutions to watershed pollutants

1) cover crops
2) riparian buffers
3) animal manure management
4) septic tank upgrades
5) improved waste water treatment

wetlands

an area with soil submerged/saturated in water for at least part of the year, but shallow enough for emergent plants (plants adapted to living with roots submerged in standing water)

examples of wetland plants

cattails, lily pads, reeds

ecosystem services of wetlands

Provisioning: habitat for animal & plant foods
Regulating: groundwater recharge, absorb. of floodwater, CO2 sequestration
Supporting: H2O filtration, pollinator habitats, nutrient cycling, pest control
Cultural: tourism revenue, fishing license, camping fees, ed/med research

threats to wetlands

pollutants, urban development, overfishing

how does development affect welands?

wetlands can be filled in or drained to be developed into homes, parking lots, stores, or agricultural land

what is water diversion and how can it be bad in wetlands?

water diversion upstream for flood control, agriculture, or drinking water can reduce water flow and dry up wetlands

how can dams be harmful to wetlands?

dam construction reduces water and sediment (N/P) flow to wetlands

eutrophication

algae bloom due to increase of N/P, leading to decreased sunlight, resulting in plants dying which bacteria use O2 to decompose, resulting in hypoxia and dead zones

oligotrophic waterways

waterways with low nutrient (N/P) levels, stable algae population and high dissolved oxygen (can be due to lack of nutrient pollution, or age of body of water- young)

how do aquatic ecosystems undergo succession?

sediment buildup on bottom (benthic zone) leads to higher nutrient level

overtime, aquatic ecosystems naturally shift from oligotrophic to mesotrophic to eutrophic

dead zones

In a body of water, an area with extremely low oxygen concentration and very little life

how much dissolved oxygen do fish typically require to live?

at least 3 ppm to survive, and 6 ppm to reproduce

solubility

the ability of a solid/liquid/gas to dissolve into a liquid (oxygen dissolving into water in this case)

describe the relationship between water temperature and oxygen solubility

inverse:
as water temperature rises, dissolved oxygen decreases

thermal pollution

when heat released into water has negative effects on organisms living the water:
heat increases respiration rate of aquatic organisms (thermal shock)
hot water also has less O2 (can suffocate organisms)

sources of thermal pollution

Power plants use cool water from surface/ground water sources nearby to cool steam used to turn a turbine back into water to reuse

Steel mills, paper mills, and other manufacturing plants also use cool water to cool down machinery & return warmed water to local surface waters

Urban stormwater runoff can also cause thermal pollution due to heat from blacktop/asphalt

Nuclear power plants require especially large amounts of cool water to cool steam back into water & to cool the reactor core

cooling towers/ponds

used to cool steam back into water and to hold warmed water before returning to local surface water

what is already standardized in nuclear power plants?

cooling towers

persistent organic pollutants

(POPs)
~long lasting and carbon based

synthetic compounds that do not easily breakdown in the environment and accumulate and buildup in water/soil

fat soluble: accumulate and persist in animals' fat tissue instead of passing through the body (doesn't easily dissolve into blood/urine)

how can POPs released from body tissues be disadvantageous?

overtime, released from fatty tissues into blood stream and impact brain and other organs (especially reproductive system)

examples of POPs

DDT (outdated insecticide)

PCBs (plastic/paint additive)

PBDEs (fire-proofing)

BPA (plastic additive)

Dioxins (fertilizer production & combustion of waste and biomass)

Phthalates (Plastics)

Perchlorates (rocket/missile fuel, fireworks)

pesticides (as POPs)

DDT
still persists in soils and sediments in aquatic ecosystems and builds up in food webs

medications (as POPs)

pharmaceutical compounds:
steroids, reproductive hormones, antibiotics, that pass through human bodies into sewage release from treatment plants

persist in streams/rivers and disrupts aquatic organisms' endocrine function

Dioxins

Byproduct of fertilizer production & burning of medical waste, FFs, biomass

90% of human dioxin exposure comes from animal fats (meat, dairy, fish) since dioxins buildup in animal for tissue

PCBs

additives in paint and plastics, released into aquatic ecosystems by industrial wastewater

toxic to fish, causing spawning to failure and endocrine disruption

reproductive failure and cancer in humans

(human exposure comes from animal products)

perchlorates

Given off by rockets, missiles, and fireworks

Especially common near military testing sites or rocket launch pads

Remain in soil and can leach into groundwater or runoff into surface waters

how do POPs disperse?

travel long distances through wind and water, impacting ecosystems far away

enter soil/water, eaten by animals, stored in their fat, eaten by humans or taken via drinking water

how do POPs release into the environment?

wastewater release from industrialization, leachate from landfills or improperly buries industrial waste, fertilizer/pesticide production, emissions from burning waste/biomass

bioaccumulation

absorption and concentration of compounds (especially fat-soluble ones like POPs) in the cells and fat tissues of organism
(doesn't leave body easily, so builds up in fat tissue, leading to increased concentration in an individual over time)

biomagnication

increasing concentrations of fat-soluble compounds like methylmercury and POPs in each level up to the trophic pyramid or food chain
(eat more at each level because of 10% rule; large predators\= salmon, dolphins, whales)

what is the biggest examples of biomagnification?

DDT
results in birds with high DDT and causes thinning of eggshells and massive population decline

describe biomagnification o methylmercury

mercury is emitted from burning coal and by volcanoes, carried by wind, and deposited in water where bacteria convert it into toxic methylmercury

deposits into large predatory fish like tuna and salmon

damage to human nervous system (especially developing fetus) and disrupt reproductive system

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Solid waste from cities (households, businesses, schools, etc.)

waste "stream" refers to flow of solid waste to recycling centers, landfills, or trash incineration (burning) facilities

ex: trash, litter, garbage, refuse

e-waste

old computers, TVs, phones, tablets

only ~2% of MSW: considered hazardous waste due to metals like cadmium, lead, mercury, and PBDEs (fireproof chemicals)

can leach endocrine disrupting chemicals out of landfills if thrown away with regular MSW (should be disposed of at special facilities that recycle parts)

what should not be written in regards to sanitary landfills?

DUMPS

anatomy of a landfill:
clay/plastic bottom liner

layer of clay/plastic on the bottom of a hole in the ground; prevents pollutants from leaking out into soil/groundwater

anatomy of a landfill:
leachate collection system

system of tubes/pipes at bottom to collect leachate (water draining through waste and carrying pollutants) for treatment and disposal

anatomy of a landfill:
Methane recovery system

system of tubes/pipes to collect that methane produced by anaerobic decomposition in the landfill (methane can be used to generate electricity or heat buildings)

anatomy of a landfill:
clay cap:

clay-soil mixture used to cover the landfill once it's full; keeps out of animals, keeps in smell, and allows vegetation to regrow

why do landfills have low rates of decomposition?

there is low O2, moisture, and organic material combustion (landfills typically remain the same size as when they are filled

things that should NOT be in landfills

-hazardous waste (antifreeze, motor oil, cleaners, electronics, car batteries)
-metals like copper and aluminum (should be recycled)
-oil tires: often left in large piles that hold standing water ideal for mosquito breeding

things that SHOULD be landfilled

-cardboard/flood wrappers that have too much food residue and can't be recycled
-rubber, plastic films/wraps
-Styrofoam

what CAN be in a landfill, but would be better somewhere else?

food, yard waste, and paper can/should be recycled or composted

environmental impacts of landfills

groundwater contamination and release of GHGs
~groundwater can be contaminated with heavy metals (lead/mercury), acids, medications, and bacteria if leachate leaks through lining into soil/groundwater beneath
~GHGs like CO2 and CH4 are released from landfills due to decomposition, both contribute to global warming and climate change

NIMBY (Not in my backyard)

idea that communities don't want landfills near them for a number of reasons:
smell and sight, landfills attract animals, groundwater contamination