Unit 8 APES: Terrestrial and Aquatic Pollution

What are the primary sources of water pollution?

Agricultural activities, industrial facilities, and mining.

What is the definition of water pollution?

A change in water quality that can harm organisms or make water unfit for human uses.

What are point sources of water pollution?

Pollution sources located at specific places that are easy to identify, monitor, and regulate.

What are nonpoint sources of water pollution?

Broad, diffuse areas that are difficult to identify and control, making cleanup expensive.

What are the leading causes of water pollution?

Agricultural activities, sediment erosion, fertilizers, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and mining.

What is the impact of infectious disease organisms in water?

Contaminated drinking water leads to an estimated 1.6 million deaths annually, mostly in children under five.

How can streams cleanse themselves of pollutants?

Through dilution and biodegradation of wastes by bacteria, although this process takes time.

What is the oxygen sag curve?

A graph showing the depletion of oxygen in water as biodegradable wastes are broken down by bacteria.

What are the types of organisms found in clean water?

Normal clean water organisms include trout, perch, bass, mayflies, and stoneflies.

What is cultural eutrophication?

The process where excessive nutrients from human sources lead to algal blooms and increased bacteria in water bodies.

What causes cultural eutrophication?

Runoff containing nitrates and phosphates from farms, feedlots, streets, and sewage plants.

What are some methods to prevent or reduce cultural eutrophication?

Removing nitrates and phosphates, diverting lake water, cleaning up lakes, and using herbicides and algaecides.

What are the major pollution problems affecting groundwater?

Chemicals from agriculture, industry, and transportation can spill into groundwater, making it undrinkable.

Why can't groundwater cleanse itself effectively?

Due to slow flow, less dissolved oxygen, fewer decomposing bacteria, and low temperatures.

What is the impact of arsenic in drinking water?

Long-term exposure can lead to skin, lung, and bladder cancer.

What are some methods to purify drinking water?

Using reservoirs and purification plants, exposing water to sunlight (UV), and using products like LifeStraw.

What is the U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act?

A law that sets maximum contaminant levels for pollutants affecting human health.

What is the Clean Water Act (CWA)?

A law that regulates discharges of pollutants into U.S. waters and establishes quality standards for surface waters.

How does thermal pollution affect lakes?

Nuclear power plants use water to cool reactors, which can lead to temperature increases in lakes.

What is the effect of low water flow in lakes on pollution?

Lakes are less effective at diluting pollutants due to stratified layers and little vertical mixing.

What are the consequences of biological magnification?

Pollutants accumulate in organisms at higher trophic levels, leading to increased toxicity.

What is the significance of the Gulf of Mexico in the context of cultural eutrophication?

Nitrates from the Mississippi have tripled since 1950, leading to blue-green algae blooms and fish kills.

What role do bacteria play in water pollution?

Bacteria can break down biodegradable wastes but can also lead to oxygen depletion in water.

What are some examples of hazardous waste sources?

Pesticides, fertilizers, coal strip mine runoff, and buried gasoline tanks.

How do pollutants affect aquatic ecosystems?

Pollutants can disrupt food webs, harm wildlife, and degrade water quality.

What are the health risks associated with contaminated drinking water?

Contaminated water can lead to various diseases and health issues, including cancer.

What is the importance of monitoring water quality?

Monitoring helps identify pollution sources, assess ecosystem health, and protect public health.

What is thermal pollution?

The increase in temperature of water bodies due to human activities, often from cooling systems, which disrupts the natural temperature balance and harms aquatic life.

What are the consequences of thermal pollution?

It can move organisms from their optimal zones into zones of tolerance or intolerance, harming biodiversity.

What are the major sources of ocean pollution?

Most ocean pollution originates from land, including oil, toxic chemicals, and solid waste.

What is the key to protecting oceans from pollution?

Reducing the flow of pollution from land, air, and streams into ocean waters.

What are some common pollutants found in U.S. coastal waters?

Raw sewage, nitrates (NO3-), phosphates (PO43-), harmful algal blooms, and mercury (Hg).

What is bioaccumulation?

The concentration of a pollutant in an organism from the environment, which increases over time.

What is biomagnification?

The increasing concentration of pollutants as they move up the food chain.

What are the effects of urban sprawl on water pollution?

It leads to contamination of shellfish beds and beaches from bacteria, viruses, and runoff of fertilizers.

What is the impact of agricultural runoff on water bodies?

It adds excess nitrogen and phosphorus, leading to algal blooms and oxygen depletion.

What is a red tide?

An explosive growth of toxic microscopic algae caused by excess nitrogen, which can poison marine life.

What are oxygen-depleted zones?

Areas in water bodies where oxygen levels are so low that aquatic life cannot survive, often caused by algal blooms.

What are the two major ocean garbage patches?

The North Pacific Garbage Patch, consisting of two rotating gyres filled with tiny plastic pieces harmful to wildlife.

What caused the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill?

Equipment failure and poor decisions during deep-sea oil drilling, releasing 4.9 million barrels of crude oil.

What are volatile organic hydrocarbons?

Chemicals that can kill aquatic organisms and are released during oil spills.

What methods can prevent oil spills?

Implementing double hulls for oil tankers and improving oil-spill cleanup capabilities.

What is the Clean Water Act?

A 1972 U.S. law aimed at reducing water pollution and regulating discharges into water bodies.

What is primary sewage treatment?

A physical process that removes large solids from sewage.

What is secondary sewage treatment?

A biological process that uses bacteria to break down organic matter in sewage.

What is tertiary sewage treatment?

Advanced treatment that involves special filtering processes, including chlorination.

What are some sustainable methods to reduce water pollution?

Using composting toilet systems, wetland-based sewage treatment, and reducing toxic chemical use.

How can we improve conventional sewage treatment?

By removing toxic wastes before they reach treatment plants and using natural methods.

What is the relationship between land-use and ocean pollution?

Land-use practices contribute to pollution runoff that affects ocean health.

What are the health risks associated with swimming in waters with blended sewage?

Increased risk of exposure to pathogens and contaminants that can cause illness.

What is the role of wetlands in water treatment?

Wetlands can naturally filter pollutants and improve water quality.

What are some achievements of the Clean Water Act?

Improvements in sewage treatment and reductions in point-source pollution.

What are the challenges faced by developing countries in reducing water pollution?

Limited resources and infrastructure to implement effective sewage treatment and pollution control.

What is the significance of using natural nutrient cycles in water purification?

They can help purify water sustainably while reducing waste.

What is the impact of sediments from construction sites on waterways?

Sediments can choke fish and plants, cloud waters, and block sunlight.

What are the benefits of using organic farming techniques?

They reduce the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers, minimizing water pollution.

What is solid waste?

Solid waste is material that is discarded and contributes to pollution, including valuable resources that could be reused or recycled.

What are the two main types of solid waste?

Industrial solid waste and municipal solid waste (MSW).

What percentage of solid waste in the U.S. is industrial waste?

98.5% of all solid waste is industrial waste.

What are the environmental impacts of hazardous waste?

Hazardous waste threatens human health and contributes to environmental degradation.

List the classes of hazardous waste.

Organic compounds, toxic heavy metals, radioactive waste.

What is the first step in a sustainable approach to solid waste management?

To reduce solid waste.

What are the three Rs in waste management?

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

What is integrated waste management?

A strategy that uses a variety of methods to manage waste effectively.

What is composting?

Using bacteria to decompose biodegradable waste into nutrient-rich organic matter.

What are the six strategies for reducing waste?

1. Change industrial processes to eliminate harmful chemicals. 2. Redesign manufacturing to use less material and energy. 3. Develop easy-to-recycle products. 4. Eliminate unnecessary packaging. 5. Implement fee-per-bag waste collection systems. 6. Establish cradle-to-grave responsibility.

What are the benefits of refusing, reducing, reusing, and recycling?

They decrease consumption of resources, reduce pollution, and save money.

What is primary closed-loop recycling?

Recycling materials into the same type of product.

What is secondary recycling?

Converting materials into other products, such as tires.

What are the advantages of recycling paper?

Uses 64% less energy, produces 35% less water pollution, and 74% less air pollution compared to producing new paper.

What is the current recycling rate of plastics in the U.S.?

Currently, only 7% of plastics are recycled.

What are the advantages of waste-to-energy incineration?

Reduces trash volume and produces energy.

What are the disadvantages of waste-to-energy incineration?

Can be expensive to build, produces hazardous waste, and emits air pollutants.

What are the environmental impacts of burning solid waste?

Contributes to air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

What is the role of materials-recovery facilities (MRFs)?

They can encourage increased trash production and facilitate recycling.

What is source separation in waste management?

Separating recyclable materials from waste at the point of disposal.

What is the impact of composting on soil?

It supplies plant nutrients, slows soil erosion, retains water, and improves crop yield.

What are the trade-offs of recycling?

Reduces energy use and pollution but can be costly and inconvenient.

What is the importance of establishing cradle-to-grave responsibility?

It holds manufacturers accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products, including disposal.

What is the significance of fee-per-bag waste collection systems?

They incentivize waste reduction by charging for each bag of waste collected.

What are the potential benefits of taxing plastic shopping bags?

Encourages the use of reusable bags and reduces plastic waste.

What are the main components of a waste-to-energy incineration system?

Includes a furnace, boiler, turbine, and various pollution control devices.

What are sanitary landfills?

Sanitary landfills are sites where waste is compacted in layers between clay or foam, designed to minimize environmental impact.

What is the purpose of bottom liners in landfills?

Bottom liners are containment systems that prevent leachate from contaminating groundwater.

What are open dumps?

Open dumps are large pits used for waste disposal, commonly found in less-developed countries, and can involve burning garbage.

What happens when a landfill is full?

When a landfill is full, layers of soil and clay are used to seal in the trash, preventing exposure.

What is leachate?

Leachate is the liquid that drains or 'leaches' from a landfill, which can contaminate groundwater if not properly managed.

How is methane generated in landfills?

Methane is produced during the decomposition of organic waste in landfills and can be collected for use as fuel.

What are the advantages of sanitary landfills?

Advantages include low operating costs, ability to handle large amounts of waste, and the potential for filled land to be repurposed.

What are the disadvantages of sanitary landfills?

Disadvantages include noise, traffic, dust, greenhouse gas emissions, and potential groundwater contamination.

What is the first step in managing hazardous waste sustainably?

The first step is to produce less hazardous waste.

What is integrated management of hazardous waste?

Integrated management involves producing less waste, converting it to less hazardous substances, and ensuring long-term safe storage.

What percentage of U.S. e-waste is recycled?

Only 14% of U.S. e-waste is recycled, despite the U.S. producing roughly 50% of the world's e-waste.

What are some methods for detoxifying hazardous waste?

Methods include physical and chemical detoxification, bioremediation, phytoremediation, and incineration.

What is phytostabilization?

Phytostabilization is the use of plants to absorb contaminants and prevent them from reaching groundwater or surface water.

What is the purpose of deep-well disposal?

Deep-well disposal is used for the safe disposal of hazardous liquid wastes, but it carries risks of leaks and contamination.

What are surface impoundments?

Surface impoundments are lined pools used for the evaporation of hazardous waste, but they can lead to water pollution if not managed properly.

What is the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)?

The RCRA, enacted in 1976, sets standards for hazardous waste management and covers only 5% of hazardous wastes.

What is the Comprehensive Environmental, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)?

CERCLA, established in 1980, created the National Priorities List for hazardous waste sites and facilitates cleanup efforts.

What are the key principles for transitioning to a low-waste society?

Key principles include reducing resource use, reusing and recycling wastes, and recognizing that everything is interconnected.