Chapter 21 and 22 Flashcards
1
Q
In the 1970s and 1980s, what did closing old landfills create?
A
A “solid waste crisis” that turned out to be temporary
2
Q
What have many old landfills been converted into?
A
parks, golf courses, nature preserves
3
Q
Municipal solid waste (MSW)
A
total of all materials thrown away from homes and small businesses
4
Q
Examples of msw
A
trash, refuse, garbage
5
Q
Who collects MSW?
A
local governments
6
Q
What is municipal solid waste different from?
A
hazardous waste and nonhazardous industrial waste
7
Q
Nonhazardous industrial waste
A
generated by industries
8
Q
Why is the amount of MSW generated in the U.S. increasing?
A
more people, changing lifestyles, excessive packaging
9
Q
What was the average MSW in 1960?
A
2.7 lbs/person/day
10
Q
What is the average MSW now?
A
4.4 lbs/person/day
11
Q
Why is it hard to disose of MSW in an environmentally sound and healthy way?
A
we generage huge amounts of MSW
12
Q
What percent of MSW composition is paper and cardbord?
A
32.7%
13
Q
What percent of MSW composition is yard waste?
A
12.7%
14
Q
Who pays for the cost of waste pickup?
A
collectors bill households (some towns completely leave it u to the private sector)
15
Q
What do state and federal regulations begin to apply at?
A
disposal
16
Q
What happened to MSW until the 1960s
A
it was burned and buried in dumps
17
Q
smoldering dumps
A
smelled and attracted flies and rats
18
Q
Incineration (combustion facilities)
A
burn waste completely
19
Q
What does incineration cause?
A
air pollution
20
Q
Why have landfills and combustion declinded in the last 10 years?
A
recycling has increased
21
Q
What were open dumps replaced by?
A
landfills
22
Q
Why were open dumps and incinerators phased out in the 1960s and 1970s?
A
public pressure and air pollution laws
23
Q
Landfill
A
waste is put on or in the ground and covered with earth
24
Q
What do landfills minimize?
A
air pollution andn vermin
25
Why did landfill managers not understand ecology, the water cycle, or products of decomposition?
they didn't have regulations to guide them
26
Where were landfills put on?
any cheap land outside of town
27
Leaching
chemicals dissolve in and are transported by water
28
Leachate
water with various pollutants
29
What makes up leachate?
organic matter, heavy metals, chemicals
30
Why is leachate dangerous?
it can enter groundwater aquifers
31
Superfund list
sites where groundwater contamination threatens human health
32
What state has 145 sites on the Superfund list?
Florida
33
What supported the Superfund list?
Federal money
34
What made up 54% of MSW disposal?
Landfills
35
What made up 33.4% of MSW disposal?
Recycling
36
What made up 12.6% of MSW disposal?
Combustion
37
What does buried waste undergo?
anaerobic decomposition
38
What does buried waste that undergos anaerobic decomposition produce
biogas
39
Biogas
methane, CO2, hydrogen
40
An effect of biogas being highly flammable
they seep horizontally through soil, entering homes and causing explosions
41
Another problem with biogas
it kills vegetation
42
What can happen to biogas after they're captured
they can be purified and used as fuel
43
What happened in 2008?
commercial landfill gas produced electricity and gas for 1.4 million homes
44
What do captured biogas reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use
45
The landfill gas-to-energy project
will reduce annual greenhouse emissions by 40 million pounds of carbon dioxide by avoiding the use of fossil fuels
46
Methane from closed MA landfill being mined is used to do what?
generate electricity to power over 3,000 homes
47
Plastics in MSW
resist decomposition
48
Petroleum-based polymers
resist microbial digestion
49
What kind of polymers have been developed?
biodegradable plastic polymers
50
What happens to waste as it compacts and decomposes?
settles
51
What has never been put on landfills?
Buildings
52
What do landfills that have been converted to playgrounds and golf courses create?
Shallow depressions or deep holes
53
Where are new landfills sited on?
high, stable ground above the water table, away from airports
54
What does water drain into?
A leachate-collection system (and is treated)
55
What do tile plastic liners, and compacted soil collect?
Leachate, after which it will be treated
56
What do abandoned landfills become?
recreational facilities
57
Desirable consequences of siting problems
it encourages recycling and stimulates combustion of MSW
58
Fly ash
contains most of the toxic substances
59
What is fly ash a product of
incineration
60
Why can fly ash be disposed of?
if it is combined with water, then with bottom ash
61
Two-thirds of combustion facilites
are waste-to-energy (WTE)
62
What does WTE produce?
electricity for 2.3 million homes
63
Air pollution
has decreased through strict regulations
64
Odor pollution
plants are isolated from residential areas
65
Siting
facilities are located in industrial areas
66
Toxic ash
must be disposed of in secure landfills
67
Source reduction
reducing waste at its source
68
Examples of source reduction
designing, manufacturing, purchasing, or using materials to reduce the amount/toxicity of trash
69
What percent of MSW is recyclable
75%
70
Primary recycling
the waste is recycled into the same material
71
Secondary recycling
waste is made into different products that may or may not be recyclable
72
What makes up 64% of what gets recycled?
yard wastes
73
What makes up 47% of what gets recycled?
paper, cardboard, insulation
74
What makes up 28% of what gets recycled?
Glass
75
What makes up 12% of what gets recycled?
Plastic
76
What makes up 39% of what gets recycled?
metals
77
The Global Recycling Network
an information exchange promoting recycling and ecofriendly products
78
What does recycling do?
saves energy and resources and decreases pollution
79
What will two-thirds of households participate in?
curbside recycling
80
What do successful recycling programs have?
1. mandatory regulations, with warnings or sanctions for violators
2. drop-off sites for large items
81
Newspapers
the most important item that is recycled
82
What percentage of newspapers are recycled?
78%
83
Recycled paper
routinely recovered andr erouted back into processing
84
Most MSW glass
containers for beverages
85
Bottle laws
require a deposit on all beverage containers
86
How many states have adopted bottle laws?
11
87
Numbers and letters on the bottom of plastic bottles
tell the type of plastic polymer in the bottle
88
Plastic bags
kill thousands of marine animals and turtles yearly and are hard to recycle and almost indestructible
89
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
DDT, toxaphene, chlordane, PCPs, dioxins
90
Toxicology
the study of the harmful effects of chemicals on human and environmental health
91
Where are POPs carried to in the air?
the Arctic
92
What happens after POPs condense on the snowpack?
they enter water during the spring thaw
93
Three-fourths of Inuit women
have PCB levels 5 times above safe levels
94
Effects of human exposure to chemicals
immune-system disorders, hormone disruptions, cancer, imbalances in births
95
Dose
level of exposure multiplied by the length of time of exposure
96
What is dose linked with?
response (effects)
97
What does exposure to hazardous chemicals come from?
the workplace, food, water, and environment
98
Threshold level
the level below which there are no ill effects
99
What do effects of the threshold depend on?
concentration and duration of exposure
100
Hazardous material (HAZMAT)
a chemical that presents a certain hazard or risk
101
Properties of hazardous materials
ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, toxicity
102
Ignitability
substances that catch fire readily (gasoline)
103
Corrosivity
substances that corrode tanks and equipment (acids)
104
Reactivity
chemically unstable substances
105
chemically unstable substances
may explode or create toxic fumes if mixed with water (explosives, sulfuric acid)
106
Toxicity
substances that are injurious when eaten, inhaled, or touched (chlorine, pesticides, etc)
107
Two classes of toxic chemicals that do not readily break down
Heavy metals and synthetic organics
108
Heavy metals
are soluble in water and can interfere with enxyme functioning
109
Exposure of heavy metals
mental retardation, insanity, birth defects
110
Mining and industrial wastes; vehicle emissions; lead-acid batteries; fertilizers; paints; treated woods; plastics floating on the world's oceans; and aging water supply
Common sources of heavy metals
111
Lead
the most prevalent heavy metal contaminant
112
Other examples of common sources
1. mercury
2. cadmium
3. arsenic
113
Petroleum-derived and synthetic organics are the basis for...
plastics, fibers, synthetic rubber, paintlike coatings, solvents, pesticides, preservatives
114
Acute effects of being exposed to organic comounds
poisoning, death
115
extended exposure to organic compounds
mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic (causing birth defects) effects
116
Halogenated hydrocarbons
synthetic organics that contain halogens
117
Halogens
choline, brimine, flourine, iodine
118
Perchloroethylene (PERC)
a halogenated hydrocarbon
119
What here PERCs used in?
dry cleaning as a solvent, in home products
120
Phythalates
soften plastic and possible hormone disrupters
121
Bisphenol A (BPA)
used in plastics
122
Why are heavy metals and nonbiodegradable synthetic organics hazardous?
they bioaccumulate
123
Why did the minamata disease occur in Japan?
Mercury bioaccumulated and biomagnified
124
What ended disposal of hazardous wastes into the air and water?
the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts
125
Deep-well injection
boreholes are drilled thousands of feet below groundwater into porous formations
126
Wastes in wells
react with natural material, leaving them less hazardous
127
EPA's Underground Injection Control Program
wells must be limited to geologically stable areas
128
Wells
can keep toxic wastes from contaminating water
129
Ponds
excavated depressions into which liquid wastes are drained and held
130
Impoundments can receive wastes indefinitely if:
the bottom is well sealed, and evaporation equals input of wastes
131
Secure landfill
a reasonably safe landfill that is lined, has a leachate-removal system, and is monitored and properly capped
132
What are concentrated liquids or solids put into?
drums
133
When ealry land disposal was not regulated...
deep wells injected wastes into groundwater
134
Midnight dumping
disreputable businesses pocketed fees, then illegally dumped wastes in abandoned warehouses, vacant lots, or landfills
135
Orphan sites
some companies or individuals stored wastes on their own property, then went out of business, abandoning the property and wastes
136
Love Canal, New York
brought the problem of unregulated dumping to the public's attention
137
Problems of toxic chemical wastes occur in three areas:
1. cleaning up messes already created
2. regulating disposal of wastes being produced
3. reducing the quantity of hazardous waste product
