Environmental Pollution

Pollutant

any substance present in greater than natural concentration as a result of natural or human activity that has a net detrimental effect to its environment

Contaminant

Same as pollutant, but has no detrimental effect to the environment and is a result of human activity

Source

Where a pollutant originates from

4 Types of Sources

Anthropogenic, Natural, Point, Non-point

Receptor

Anything affected by the pollutant

Sink

long-time depository of pollutant

Environmental chemistry

study of the chemical processes, reactions and conditions that occur in the Earth’s environment

5 closely related spheres

Hydrosphere, Geosphere, Atmosphere, Anthroposphere, Biosphere

Law of mass conservation

Mass in an isolated system is neither created nor destroyed

3 outcomes when a chemical is present

remain, transported, transformed

Transport

process that moves pollutants into environmental media

Fate

eventual disposition of a chemical contaminant

Fate and Transport involves tracing

physical movement and reactivity

Advection

movement of masses of fluids in water or air that carry pollutants with them

Convection

Vertical Advection

Flux Density

rate at which a chemical is transported per unit area

Other term for diffusive transport

Fickian Transport

Diffusive Transport

movement from levels of higher concentration to levels of lower concentration

EDDIES

Swirls of fluid

3 things that happen when a pollutant is released

Chemical Reactions, Biological Uptake, Binding to a release from surfaces

Carbon

Mostly stored in rocks and sediments and the ocean

Photosynthesis

CO2 + H2O + energy → C6H12O6 + O2

Combustion

any organic matter is burned in the presence of Oxygen, giving of CO2

Metabolism

reaction carried out by bacteria in deco

Sedimentation

organisms have carbon and when they die they are deposited in sediments

Nitrogen Fixation

conversion of N2 to NH3, NH4 or NO3

Biological fixation

organisms able to fix nitrogen e.g. Rhizobium

Physiochemical fixation

type of fixation caused by lightning

Nitrification

ammonia to nitrates

Assimilation

when plants absorb nitrogen in the form of ammonia and nitrates they accumulate

Ammonification

these organisms die and the nitrogen is converted back to ammonia

Denitrification

NO3→ N2

Excellent solvent

Property of water due to the elements of water which is significant for transport of nutrients and waste products

Maximum Density

4 degrees

Transparent

property of water that allows light to pass through

Wetlands

flooded areas where water is shallow enough to grow bottom rooted plants

Epilimnion

Surface layer of stratification

Hypolimnion

bottom layer of stratification

Thermocline

middle layer of stratification

overturning

mixing

Dissolved Oxygen

amount of elemental oxygen dissolved in water

8.32 mg/L

solubility of oxygen at 25 degrees

bicarbonate (HCO3)

acts as an acid and a base in water

Human waste (excreta)

First water pollution

Coliform

relatively harmless microorganisms but could be indicators of fecal matter in water

Soap

has a polar head making soluble in water

Chromium (III)

The natural chromium present in the water

methylcobalamin

microorgansims use this to convert mercury

Minamata Bay disease

comes from ingesting fish filled with mercury in Japan

Cyanide

metal cleaning and mining processes

Microbial toxins

red tide caused by dinoflagellates

Biggest problem in pesticide

Highly biodegration resistant

DDT

common pesticide used after ww2

polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

May enter ecosystems and remain still in the environment

5 Physical Parameters

Turbidity, Odor, Temperature, Suspended Solids, Total Dissolved Solids

Chemical Parameters

Acidity

BOD

DO