APES: Solid and Hazardous Waste, and Pollution

Clean Air Act (1970)

Mandated pollution control measures, resulted in dramatic improvement in air quality

troposphere

innermost layer of atmosphere, supports life

stratosphere

contains the protective ozone layer (global sunscreen)

ozone layer

filters 95% of harmful UV radiation, allows life to exist on land

ozone depletion

ozone is thinning over Antarctica and the Arctic

Air pollution natural sources

wind-blown dust, pollutants from wildfires or volcanic erutopions, volatile organics released by plants

air pollution human sources

mostly in industrialized and urban areas, power plants and industrial facilities, motor vehicles

primary pollutants

emitted directly into the air

secondary pollutants

formed from reactions of primary pollutants

acid deposition

caused mainly by coal-burning power plants and motor vehicle emissions

harmful effects of acid deposition

contributes to respiratory disorders, releases toxic metals from soils and rocks, lower pH, leaches soil nutrients, damages forests, statues, and bulidings

major outdoor pollutants

carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides and nitric acid, sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid, particulate matter, ozone, volatile organic compounds

Lead

highly toxic pollutant

factors that reduce outdoor air pollution

gravity, rain, snow, salty sea spray, winds, natural chemical reactions

factors that increase outdoor air pollution

urban buildings, hills, mountains, high temperatures, VOC emissions from trees and plants

radon gas

pollutant from underground deposits of certain minerals

health effects of air pollution

asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer, heart attack, stroke

solid waste contribution

pollution and includes valuable resources that could be reused or recycled

hazardous waste contribution

pollution, natural capital degradation, health problems, and premature deaths

hazardous (toxic) waste

threatens human health or the environment, can undergo violent or explosive chemical reactions, or can cause disease

classes of hazardous waste

organic compounds, toxic heavy metals, radioactive waste

types of hazardous waste

cleaning, paint products, general, gardening, automotive

electronic waste

fastest-growing solid waste problem in the United States and the world, contains valuable materials that could be recycled or reused

how to deal with solid waste

produce less, reuse or recycle, safely dispose of what is left

the four rs of waste reduction

refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle

6 strategies of waste reduction

change industrial processes to eliminate or reduce harmful chemicals, redesign manufacturing process to use less material and energy, develop easy-to-recycle products, cradle-to-cradle responsibility, eliminate unnecessary packaging, fee-per-bag waste collection systems

cradle to cradle

creating more reusable products, banning wasteful ones

primary, closed-loop recycling

materials recycled into same type

secondary recycling

materials converted to other products

types of waste that can be recycyled

preconsumer, postconsumer

preconsumer

internal waste generated in manufacturing process

postconsumer

external waste generated by product use

upcycling

recycled form more useful than original item

downcycling

recycled form less useful than original item

trade-offs recycling advantages

reduces energy and mineral use and air and water pollution, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, reduces solid waste

disadvantages

can cost more than burying in areas with ample landfill space, reduces profits for landfill and incinerator ownders, inconvenient for some

burning waste

contributes to air and water pollution and greenhouse gases, heat can be used to heat water or interior spaces, ash contains toxic chemicals that must be disposed or stored

burying waste

sanitary landfills, compacted layers of waste between clay or foam, liners collect leaching liquids

storying hazardous waste

burial on land or long-term storage, deep-well disposal, surface impoundments (lined ponds, pits or lagoons)