CEEN302 Exam 1 (2)

Rossby Wave

• Large scale wave caused by Earth’s rotation

• affects jet streams and weather patterns

Multi-media System

• Environmental framework

• pollutants are among air, water, and soil

NAAQS (1970)

• National Ambient Air Quality Standards

• concentration limits set by EPA for public health and welfare

DOT

• United States Department of Transportation

• emission standards

OSHA

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration

• workspace exposure limits

NSPS

• New Source Performance Standards

• mobile and stationary

CAA (1974)

Clean Air Act

CAAA (1990)

• Clean Air Act Amendments

  • Title I: criteria pollutants

  • Title II: mobile sources

  • Title III: HAPS

  • Title IV: acid rain

  • Title V: permits

  • Title VI: ozone

CMHAPO

SWDA

Solid Waste Disposal Act

TSDA

Toxic Substances Disposal Act

RCRA

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

CERCLA

• “Superfund”

• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

• cleanup and liability standards for contaminated areas

Box Model Approach

• well-mixed control volume

• internal mechanisms

Black Box Approach

• inputs and outputs only

• no defined internal mechanisms

PM2.5 vs PM10

• PM2.5: penetrate deep into lungs; most associated with cancer and pulmonary diseases

• PM10: only reach upper respiratory system; trapped in mucus

Smog

Air pollution mixture of NOx and SOx

Photochemical Smog

• Smog formed when NOx and VOCs react under sunlight

• produce O3

Industrial Smog

• mostly SOx

• from coal combustion

6 Criteria Pollutants

1. CO: binds to hemoglobin, reducing blood oxygen

2. NOx: contribute to smog and acid rain

3. SOx: contribute to acid rain and cause respiratory irritation

4. O3: secondary pollutant, causes lung irritation

5. PM2.5-10: fine particles that cause damage to heart and lungs

6. Pb: neurotoxin that harms brain and nervous system

Secondary Pollutant

primary pollutant + physical or chemical transformation

SIPs

• State Implementation Plans

• designed to achieve NAAQS

EPA

United States Environmental Protection Agency

AQI

Air Quality Index

Attainment vs Non-Attainment

whether or not a region meets NAAQS

CAAA 1977

• LAER - Lowest Achievable Emission Rate

• BACT - Best Available Control Technology

• PSD - Prevention of Significant Deterioration

  • Class I: wilderness

  • Class II: moderate (Golden)

  • Class III: industry

NESHAP

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants

MACT

• Maximum Achievabe Control Technology

• for HAPS specifically

Causes of indoor air pollution

• metabolizing

• combustion

  • smoking

• building materials

ASHRAE

• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers

• ventilation standards

Radon

• radioactive decay product of uranium in rock

• major indoor risk for lung cancer

Meteorology

Dispersion depends on wind, pressure, and temperature

Turbulence

Chaotic air movement that causes mixing

Adiabatic process

• Temp. change due to expansion or compression

• no heat exchange

Lapse Rate

Rate of temp. change with altitude

Anabatic wind

Warm, upslope, daytime wind

Katabatic wind

Cool, downslope, nighttime wind

Atmospheric dispersion

depends on meteorology, topography, and stack height

Plume buoyancy

• Vertical rise of emissions

• affected by heat and density

Colorado's Air Pollution Permit Backlog – The Colorado Sun

• delays in state air permitting process

• staffing shortages and regulatory complexity

• implications for industry projects and environmental oversight

EPA Stops Regulating Greenhouse Gases – NPR

• federal rollback/reinterpretation of greenhouse gas regulation

• legal implications for the Endangerment Finding

• federal vs state authority

Colorado Plays the Long Game on the Endangerment Finding – The Colorado Sun

• Colorado preparing to maintain GHG regulation regardless of federal shifts

• Focus on state-level authority under the CAA

• Political and regulatory strategy to preserve climate protections

CA: where did the contamination occur?

• Woburn, MA

• municipal wells G and H

CA: what were the primary contaminants?

1. Trichloroethylene (TCE)

2. Perchloroethylene (PCE)

CA: what was the main legal challenge, and how was it explored?

• proving causation between contamination of wells G and H and leukemia

It was proved by:

• Groundwater flow modeling

• Soil and water sampling for TCE and PCE

• Epidemiologic analysis

• Toxicology

• Statistics

GSETS

CA: what was the outcome of Phase I?

• W. R. Grace and Company was found liable and settled for $8 million

• Beatrice Foods was not found liable — no proven correlation

• The case ended in settlement before a full damages trial

CA: why wasn’t Phase II completed?

• too economically risky for plaintiffs

CA: what are the main themes of the book in relation to environmental engineering?

• Groundwater fate and transport

• Causation vs. correlation

• Modeling limitations/assumptions

• Engineering ethics and regulation

Endangerment finding

Scientific and legal determination that greenhouse gases are a threat to health and safety

CA: who are the main characters?

• Jan Schlichtmann

  • A personal injury lawyer who takes on a high-risk environmental lawsuit against two large corporations, Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace, ultimately risking his career and financial ruin.

• Anne Anderson

  • A mother whose son, Jimmy, was diagnosed with leukemia; she acts as the catalyst for the lawsuit after becoming suspicious of the town's water supply.

• Jerome Facher

  • A meticulous, brilliant defense attorney for Beatrice Foods who runs a methodical defense, acting as a direct counterpoint to Schlichtmann's emotional style.

• Walter Skinner

  • The U.S. District Court judge overseeing the trial, noted for being impatient with the procedural delays and sometimes showing preference for the defense's approach.