Unit 8: Land and Water Pollution

Point Source Pollution

enters from easily identified and confined place, can point to it

Point Source Pollution Examples

animal waste runoff from CAFO, emissions from smokestack of coal power plant

Nonpoint Source Pollution

enters from many places at once, difficult to point to one individual source

Nonpoint source Pollution examples

urban runoff, pesticides, estuaries from large watersheds

Pollutants

specific chemicals or groups of chemicals from specific sources with specific environment and human health effects

low pH

more acidic

Coral reef mutualistic relationship

algae supply sugar and coral supply CO2 + detritus

Temperature Tolerance of Reef Algae

algae leave reef when temperature increases and pollutants runoff, coral lose color and become stressed and vulnerable w/o a food source

Human impacts on coral reef

GHG emissions, overfishing, urban runoff, toxicants, eutrophication

Oil Spill effects

decrease tourism revenue, kill fish, decrease fishing revenue, destroys mangroves

Oil spill cleanup methods

booms on surface to contain spread, vacuum tubes to siphon oil off of surface, oil slices to break up and let oil slip to bottom, burn oil off surface

Endocrine Disruptors

chemicals that interfere with the endocrine (hormonal) system of animals

How do endocrine disruptors work

bind to cellular receptors meant for hormones, blocking the hormone from being received or amplifying its effects

Atrazine

broad spectrum herbicide used to control weeds and prevent crop loss

runs off into water or is carried by wind

DDT

broad spectrum insecticide that was phased out but still persists

runs off or is carried by wind

Phthalates

compounds used in plastic and cosmetic manufacturing

enters water via intentional dumping or chemical waste from factories

Arsenic

naturally occurring element in rocks underground that can dissolve into drinking water and by mining, formerly in pesticides

carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting

Lead

found in old paint, old water pipes, and soils contaminated by PM from vehicle exhaust before lead was phased out of gas in the 70’s

neurotixcant, endocrine disruptor

Coal Ash

can be a source of mercury, lead, and arsenic

carried by wind from smokestacks or leach into groundwater/overflow from ponds

Mercury

naturally occurring in coal, released by anthropogenic activities such as coal combustion or trash incineration

converts to toxic methylmercury

Wetlands

an area with soil submerged in water for at least part of the year, but shallow enough from emergent plants

Provisioning wetland services

habitat, plant food

supporting wetland services

H2O filtration, pollinator habitats, nutrient cycling, pest control

Regulating wetland services

groundwater recharge, CO2 sequestration, absorption of floodwater

Cultural wetland services

tourism revenue, fishing licenses, camp fees, research

Threats to wetlands

nutrients, sediments, endocrine disruptors

development, dams

overfishing

Cultural Eutrophication

anthropogenic nutrient Pollution (N+P) that leads to eutrophication

Eutrophication Process

1.) Too much nitrogen and phosphorus cause algae bloom on water surface

2.) algae die off, bact. break down dead algae and use up O2

3.) low O2 levels kill aquatic animals, bact. use up more O2 to decompose dead animals

Major Nitrogen/Phoshporus sources

discharge from sewage treatment plant, animal waste from CAFO’s, synthetic fertilizer

Oligotrophic Waterways

waterways with low nutrient levels, stable algae population, and high dissolved oxygen

Solubility

the ability of a solid, liquid, or gas to dissolve into a liquid (O2 dissolving into water)

Thermal Pollution

when heat released into water has negative effects on organisms in water

ex. heat increases respiration rate (thermal shock), less O2

Water temperature and O2 solubility relationship

Inverse, as water temperature increases, dissolved oxygen decreases

Sources of thermal pollution

power plants, mills, urban stormwater runoff

Cooling Towers

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

POPS

Persistent organic pollutants

Synthetic POPS

human made compounds that don’t easily breakdown in the environment, accumulate and buildup in water and soil

Fat-Soluble POPS

accumulate and persist in animal’s fat tissue instead of passing through body, can slowly be released from fatty tissue into blood stream and impact brain and other organs over time

Examples of POPS

DDT(insecticide), PCB’s (plastic/paint additive), PDBE’s (fireproofing), BPA (plastic additive), dioxins, phthalates, perchlorates

POPS in pesticides

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

POPS in medications

pharmaceutical compounds, steroids, reproductive hormones, antibiotics, persists in streams/rivers and disrupt endocrine function

POP: Dioxins

byproduct of fertilizer production and burning of medical waste, FF’s, and biomass, dioxins build up in animal fat tissue

POP: PCB’s

additives in paint and plastic, released into aquatic ecosystem by industrial wastewater, spawning failure and endocrine disruption in fish, reproductive failure and cancer in humans(through animal products)

POPS: Perchlorates

given off by rockets, missiles, and fireworks, remain in soil and can leach into groundwater or runoff to surface waters

Transport of POPs

travel long distances through wind and water, wastewater release, leachate from landfills, fertilizer/pesticide production, emissions from burning waste/biomass

enters soil/water, eaten by animals and stored in their fat, then eated by humans or taken in via drinking water

Bioaccumulation

absorption and concentration of compounds (esp. fat soluble ones like POPs) in the cells and fat tissues of organism

build up in fat tissues to higher concentrations over time

Biomagnification

increasing concentration of fat soluble compounds like methylmercury and POPs in each level of trophic pyramid or food web/chain

MSW (municipal solid waste)

trash, litter, garbage

waste stream

flow of solid waste to recycling centers, landfills, or trash incineration

Sanitary landfills

landfills designed to have minimal ecosystem impact

Methane recovery system

collect methane produced by anaerobic decomposition, methane can then be used for heat/electricity

Clay cap

clay-soil mixture used to cover landfill once it’s full

Leachate collection system

tubes/pipes at bottom to collect leachate (water draining through waste and carrying pollutants)

Clay/Plastic bottom liner

layer of clay/plastic on bottom of hole in ground, prevents pollutants from leaching out

Pros of recycling

less demand for new materials, less energy needed to ship raw materials and produce products, less landfill volume

Cons of recycling

costly, requires some energy, wrong items recycled sometimes

Composting

organic matter (food scraps, paper, etc.) being decomposed under controlled conditions

Waste turned to energy

waste can be incinerated and produce electricity, methane gas produced by decomposition in landfills can be burned for electricity

Dose response studies

studies that expose an organism to different doses of concentrations of a chemical to measure response of organism

Independent variable of dose response study

concentration of chemical (added to food, water, or air)

Dependent variable of dose response study

response measured in organism (usually death or impairment)

LD 50

dose or concentration of the chemical that kills 50% of population being studied

Dose response curve

data from a dose response study, graphed with mortality % or other effect on the y-axis and dose concentration of chemical on x-axis

Toxicity threshold

lowest dose where an effect (death, cancer) starts to occur

ED 50

dose concentration of a toxin or chemical that causes a non lethal effect in 50% of tested population

To find maximum allowable levels for human of a dose

divide LD 50 or ED 50 dose concentration by 1,000

Primary Treatment

physical processes to remove large objects with screens and settling tanks

Secondary Treatment

biological processes, bacteria perform aerobic decomposition to break down organic matter in aeration tanks

Effluent

liquid waste discharged into a surface body of water, typically from a wastewater treatment plant

Tertiary Treatment

ecological/chemical processes to remove final impurities and pollutants like N/P based chemicals, also disinfects with chlorine, ozone, or uv light

Routes of Exposure

ways a pollutant enters human body

ex. mercury from seafood

Synergism

the interaction of 2+ substances to cause an effect greater than each individually

ex. asthma caused by PM and COVID damaging lungs

Dysentery

bacterial infection caused by food/water being contaminated with feces

treated with antibiotics

intestinal swelling, blood, dehydration

Mesothelioma (asbestos)

type of cancerous tumor caused by exposure to asbestos, primarily affecting the lining of respiratory tract, heart, or abdominal cavity

Tropospheric ozone (O3) effects

worsens respiratory conditions, limits lung functions, irritates lungs and eyes

comes from photochemical breakdown of NO2 (car exhaust, coal, NG combustion)

Pathogen

a living organism (virus, bacteria, fungus) that causes an infectious disease

Vector

a living organism that carries and transmits infectious pathogens to other organisms

Pathogen spillover

when a disease originates in animals and spreads to humans

Plague

bacterial infection transmitted by fleas that attach to mice and rats

Tuberculosis

bacterial infection that targets the lungs

spread through droplets of coughs and sneezes in the air from infected person

Malaria

parasitic protist infection caused by bite from infected mosquitos

West Nile

virus infection caused by bite from infected mosquitos, birds are main host, causes brain inflammation

Zika virus

virus infection caused by bite from infected mosquitos and sexual contact, babies affected

SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)

coronavirus infection caused by respiratory droplets from infected person, causes pneumonia

MERS (middle east respiratory syndrome)

virus respiratory infection transmitted from animals to humans

Cholera

bacterial disease contracted from infected water