Ch 2.3 Freshwater pollution Flashcards
Water Pollution
Addition of any substance that has a negative effect on water.
Pollutant
Substance that cause pollution.
Point source
Specific source of pollution that can be identified.
Non-point source
Widely spread source of pollution that is difficult to link to a specific point of origin.
Pesticide
Chemical intended to kill insects and other organisms that damage crops.
Acid rain
Rain that is acidic than normal, caused by release of molecules of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the air.
What are the main types of human activity that cause water pollution?
- Human waste
- Industrial waste
- Chemical runoff
How levels of pollution change in the food chain?
When a larger organism consumes smaller organism, it also consume the pollutants that were eaten by them.
Over time, the pollutants build up in larger organism (higher in the food chain)
How did people prevent Cholera and other diseases carried in human waste?
- Treating waste water before released to the environment
- Locate septic tanks away from drinking wells
- Testing well water to see if the drinking water is polluted
- Boil water for drinking and cooking
What are the types of pollutants produced by industries?
- Chemical from mining and manufacturing
- Smoke and exhaust from burning coal or oil, air pollution causes acid rain
- Heat pollution, when water is heated after cooling the machinery
How does acid rain affect the environment?
When acid rain falls on lakes and ponds, the water become acidic that fish can not survive.
Acid rain also harm trees and eats away the stone of buildings
What are the chemical runoff?
From farm: fertilizers and pesticides
From road: salt, oil and gasoline
What are the solutions to water pollution?
Cleaning up existing problems
Prevent new problems
