Environmental chemistry 9

Topic 1-6

Aerobic

Has or requires oxygen

Anaerobic

Doesn’t have or require oxygen

LD50

The amount of toxin needed to kill 50% of the population

Point source

A small defined point of pollution

Non point source

And undefined, usally large area creating pollution

What units is PPM in

Mg/kg or mg/L or ml/kl

Enzymes

Run the chemical reactions that take place in the body

Organic Nutrients

Contain carbon and hydrogen

Inorganic substances

made of elements other than carbon and hydrogen

What are the 3 treatments for Wastewater treatment

● Primary Treatment – physical separation of large solids and sediments
● Secondary Treatment – BACTERIA decompose organic matter and, once removed (BIOSOLIDS), the remaining water is treated with chlorine, ozone or UV light
● Tertiary Treatment – percolation of water through plant bed to remove PHOSPHATES or NITRATES

Groundwater pollution aquifers

Areas where wells will produce useful amounts of water. The water is naturally filtered and is usually free of bacteria

Waste management landfills

Landfills need water, oxygen, and microorganisms for proper decomposition of materials

Leachate

Hazardous waste

Biodegradability

If something is biodegradable, it is an organic substance that can be broken down by bacteria, fungi, etc into CO2 and H2O

Solvent

Used to dissolve another substance

Sanitary landfills

Used for normal household and industrial waste. Garbage is compacted and covered daily with earth and sometimes clay.

Clay liner at bottom prevents toxic leachate from reaching groundwater supplies.

Secure landfills

where hazardous waste is placed in or on land and that is designed, constructed and operated to prevent any pollution from being caused by the facility outside the area of the facility.

Bioremediation

A way of using living things to solve a problem

The 4 Rs

Reuse, reduce, recycle, recover

CFC’s

human-made pollutants that react in Earth’s stratosphere and cause ozone (O3(g))to breakdown. This has caused holes to form Earth’s ozone layer that protects ultraviolet radiation from reaching and harming biological organisms. Even though CFC’s are no longer used, they are very stable so will remain in the atmosphere for a long time.

How can surface water pollution be controlled?

treating sewage, chlorinating wastewater, and using high-intensity ultraviolet light to destroy bacteria and viruses.

Persistent toxin

Cannot be broken down easily in the enviroment

Non-persistent toxin

Can be broken down by naturally occurring processes

Macroinvertebrates

organisms that tell us about the quality of the environment by their presence or absence in water

Oxygen sag graph zones

Clean zone, decomposition zone, septic zone, recovery zone

Accute toxicity

Fatal in 1 exposure to toxin

Chronic toxicity

Take time and mutiple exposures for the toxin to become fatal

Chemicals and nutrients are used for:

Energy, growth, bodybuilding, and cell repair

How do plants absorb minerals

Root hairs specially designed to uptake and concentrate these minerals

\- They are then transported to other parts of the plant where they are used to create organic compounds such as proteins, lipids and vitamins.

Substrate

A material on which an organism moves or lives

What number for fertilizer is what nutrient? 5-10-5

5-nitrogen 10-phosphate 5-potash