Quiz 4

Is Ozone an indoor or outdoor pollutant

Outdoor

What is ozone? How does it enter the air?

A highly reactive variant of oxygen that is produced by photochemical reactions.

It enters the air as a result of combustion (power plants, cars, solid waste disposal) and nitrogen oxides contribute to its formation,

Ozone’s effect on humans

Irritates the eyes and respiratory system

Chronic exposure damages the lungs

Short term exposure can increase mortality from CDV and respiratory diseases

True or false: ozone is an indicator of other chemicals produced by motor vehicles and used as a general measure of air pollution

True

True or False: poor air quality due to excessive ozone levels is not widespread

False, it is very widespread

How is ozone controlled?

Clean Air Act → EPA has set emission standards

New cars have reduced emissions of ozone producing chemicals

Montreal Protocol: reducing production of CFCs (ozone layer)

What are the negative effects of the ozone layer depletion

More UV radiation

Increased amount of cataracts

Increased skin cancer

Harmful effects to crops

Harmful effects of mercury

Causes neurological damage

Affects young children the most (focus on pregnant women)

Most common route is through eating fish

Is mercury an outdoor or indoor pollutant?

Outdoor pollutant in terms of emissions from coal burning power plants and fish.

Indoor in terms of breaking thermometers or scientific equipment

How does mercury get into the environment?

It is an emission from coal-burning power plants

In old scientific equipment and thermometers

How is mercury controlled?

Regulations under the Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act

EPA mercury emission rules from power plants

Fish consumption advice for pregnant/nursing women and children

Recommendations to remove mercury products from homes and schools

Mercury thermometers are banned in many states

Harmful effects of lead

It damages red blood cells and harms the brain and nervous system especially in children

True or false: lead is believed to be the single most important environmental threat to the health of American children even at low levels

True

Is lead an indoor or outdoor pollutant?

Both

Leaded gasoline (outdoor)

Lead paint and pipes (indoor)

How does lead get into contact with humans?

Lead paint

Lead pipes

Lead gasoline (banned)

How is lead controlled?

Screening for lead in the blood of children

Consumer Product Safety Act: making sure toys and furniture have a limited amount of lead in paint/surface coatings

Safe Drinking Water Act (regulations on lead in water)

Clean Air Act and catalytic converters

Lead paint ban

Lead pipe bans

Phasing out leaded gasoline

Harmful effects of asbestos

Stiffening and scarring of the lungs

Cancer

Where is asbestos found and what was it used for?

Crumbling walls and ceilings of old buildings (put in a lot of schools)

Used for its strength and fire resistance

Is asbestos an indoor or outdoor pollutant?

Indoor

How is asbestos controlled?

Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act: required school inspection and removal (not widely enforced)

Many uses of it are banned and there are stricter occupational exposure standards

Examples of radiation

Radon: natural decay of uranium/radium in soil

UV exposure

X-rays

Harmful effects of radiation

Various kinds of cancer (skin, lung, etc)

Leukemia

Cataracts

Radium poisoning

How do we combat radiation?

EPA testing kits

Sealing crack/openings in homes

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (set exposure standards)

FDA limitation on radioactive pharmaceuticals

How does carbon monoxide get into the environment?

Motor vehicle exhaust

Smoking

Wood stoves

Harmful effects of carbon monoxide

Highly toxic

Interferes with the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood

Affects the brain, causes headaches, and impairs mental processes

How do we combat carbon monoxide?

Identified as a criteria air pollutant under the Clean Air Act (has to be tracked nationally)

Catalytic converters

Tailpipe emission standards

Better ventilation

Is carbon monoxide an indoor or outdoor pollutant?

Mostly outdoor but also indoor (wood stoves and smoking)

What are sanitary landfills

They are the most common method of municipal waste disposal

Large hole lined with plastic, refuse spread in thin layers, compacted by bulldozers, covered each day with a thin layer of soil

Vents and drains for liquids, dissolved metals, and other toxins

Standards under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Pros of sanitary landfills

Safer than dumping in the ocean or using incineration

Contains waste (no groundwater contamination)

Capture methane gas and use it for renewable electricity

Can be repurposed into a park once full/closed

Cons of sanitary landfills

They take up a lot of space

It is expensive to transport garbage (tipping fee)

Not in my backyard

Recycling strategies

Curbside collection

Refundable deposits on bottles and cans (Michigan 10 cent deposit → 95% recycling rate)

State laws requiring minimum recycled content in newspaper

Pros of recycling

Reduces landfill dependence

Bottle deposit programs are effective

Cost-effective as long as landfill tipping fees stay high

Cons of recycling

Lack of a market for used glass, plastic, metal, and paper

Paper can’t be recycled indefinitely because the fibers degrade

Sensitive to economic downturns

Can still emit toxic gases

What are factory farms?

Concentrated animal feeding operations

Produce 1 million tons of manure every day that are stored in lagoons where liquids are allowed to evaporate, however, many are broken, overflowing, and emitting gases like ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and methane

What do nearby residents of factory farms suffer from?

Headaches

Respiratory problems

Nausea

Groundwater contamination that causes nitrate poisoning

Why is regulation weak around factory farms?

Most are owned by a few powerful companies that lobby against restrictions

What is sludge

The solid byproduct left over after sewage treatment that is caught on screens and settling tanks

How did they used to dispose of sludge?

Ocean dumping or incineration

How is sludge disposed of now?

Turned into biosolids and used as fertilizer (55%)

Buried