1.5 Pollution

Question 1

What is pollution?

Answer 1

The human action of adding substances to the environment at a rate faster than natural processes can render it harmless, impacting the environment and organisms inhabiting it.

Question 2

What are pollutants? What are the two types?

Answer 2

• Matter
• Energy
• Living organisms

Two types:
1. Primary
2. Secondary

Question 3

What are primary and secondary pollutants + examples:

Answer 3

Primary: active on emission
- plastic
- CO2
- sewage

Secondary: formed by primary pollutants and undergo physical/chemical changes:
- SO2 and NOx to make acid rain
- microplastics

Question 4

What are the types of pollution?

Answer 4

Point source:
comes from 1 identifiable source

Non-point source:
numerous dispersed sources

Chronic pollution:
release of constant (small) amounts over a long period of time

Acute pollution:
release of large amount of pollution over short period of time

Question 5

What are the factors affecting pollution?

Answer 5

• Population
• Development of new technology

Question 6

What are the two ways to detect/measure pollution?

Answer 6

Direct measurement:
- precise and quantitative measurement of a single point in space and time
-require time, equipment and money which limits frequency of measurement

Indirect measurement:
- Recording changes in a biotic or abiotic factor
-assumes change is caused by pollution and is less precise
- requires less knowledge
- can be carried over a longer time and area

Question 7

Examples of indirect and direct measurements of pollution:

Answer 7

Direct:
- rainwater pH
- atmospheric CO2 conc
- nitrate conc of seawater

Indirect:
- dissolved O2 in freshwater
- presence/absence of indicator species

Question 8

What are the pollution management strategies?

Answer 8

1. Reduce:
   - limit pollutant released through education, legislation, campaigns
2. Control:
   - place limits, taxes, alternate forms of counteracting effects
3. Restore damaged system:
   - clean up, remove pollutant, restock depleted populations/resources

Question 9

Examples of each pollution management strategy:

Answer 9

1. Reduce:
   Montreal protocol and CFC ban
2. Control:
   - carbon capture and storage
3. Restore:
   Great pacific garbage patch clean up

Question 10

What was the great stink?

Answer 10

19th century London:
- Rapid population increase + new invention of flushing toilet + drought and heat (population , ecthnology, environmental)
- sewage everywehre + polluted river
- affected human health and elite

Question 11

What is DDT?

Answer 11

Pesticide that kills pests:
- used in 1950’s
- used domestically, agriculturally and medically for malaria

Question 12

What were the reasons for banning DDT? Why was it controversial?

Answer 12

Reasons for banning:
- found to be carconogenic
- bioaccumulation and biomagnified in organisms/food chains