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Environmental Science > Chapter 21 and 22 > Flashcards

Chapter 21 and 22 Flashcards

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1
Q

In the 1970s and 1980s, what did closing old landfills create?

A

A “solid waste crisis” that turned out to be temporary

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2
Q

What have many old landfills been converted into?

A

parks, golf courses, nature preserves

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3
Q

Municipal solid waste (MSW)

A

total of all materials thrown away from homes and small businesses

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4
Q

Examples of msw

A

trash, refuse, garbage

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5
Q

Who collects MSW?

A

local governments

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6
Q

What is municipal solid waste different from?

A

hazardous waste and nonhazardous industrial waste

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7
Q

Nonhazardous industrial waste

A

generated by industries

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8
Q

Why is the amount of MSW generated in the U.S. increasing?

A

more people, changing lifestyles, excessive packaging

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9
Q

What was the average MSW in 1960?

A

2.7 lbs/person/day

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10
Q

What is the average MSW now?

A

4.4 lbs/person/day

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11
Q

Why is it hard to disose of MSW in an environmentally sound and healthy way?

A

we generage huge amounts of MSW

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12
Q

What percent of MSW composition is paper and cardbord?

A

32.7%

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13
Q

What percent of MSW composition is yard waste?

A

12.7%

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14
Q

Who pays for the cost of waste pickup?

A

collectors bill households (some towns completely leave it u to the private sector)

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15
Q

What do state and federal regulations begin to apply at?

A

disposal

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16
Q

What happened to MSW until the 1960s

A

it was burned and buried in dumps

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17
Q

smoldering dumps

A

smelled and attracted flies and rats

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18
Q

Incineration (combustion facilities)

A

burn waste completely

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19
Q

What does incineration cause?

A

air pollution

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20
Q

Why have landfills and combustion declinded in the last 10 years?

A

recycling has increased

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21
Q

What were open dumps replaced by?

A

landfills

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22
Q

Why were open dumps and incinerators phased out in the 1960s and 1970s?

A

public pressure and air pollution laws

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23
Q

Landfill

A

waste is put on or in the ground and covered with earth

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24
Q

What do landfills minimize?

A

air pollution andn vermin

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25
Q

Why did landfill managers not understand ecology, the water cycle, or products of decomposition?

A

they didn’t have regulations to guide them

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26
Q

Where were landfills put on?

A

any cheap land outside of town

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27
Q

Leaching

A

chemicals dissolve in and are transported by water

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28
Q

Leachate

A

water with various pollutants

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29
Q

What makes up leachate?

A

organic matter, heavy metals, chemicals

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30
Q

Why is leachate dangerous?

A

it can enter groundwater aquifers

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31
Q

Superfund list

A

sites where groundwater contamination threatens human health

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32
Q

What state has 145 sites on the Superfund list?

A

Florida

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33
Q

What supported the Superfund list?

A

Federal money

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34
Q

What made up 54% of MSW disposal?

A

Landfills

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35
Q

What made up 33.4% of MSW disposal?

A

Recycling

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36
Q

What made up 12.6% of MSW disposal?

A

Combustion

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37
Q

What does buried waste undergo?

A

anaerobic decomposition

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38
Q

What does buried waste that undergos anaerobic decomposition produce

A

biogas

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39
Q

Biogas

A

methane, CO2, hydrogen

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40
Q

An effect of biogas being highly flammable

A

they seep horizontally through soil, entering homes and causing explosions

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41
Q

Another problem with biogas

A

it kills vegetation

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42
Q

What can happen to biogas after they’re captured

A

they can be purified and used as fuel

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43
Q

What happened in 2008?

A

commercial landfill gas produced electricity and gas for 1.4 million homes

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44
Q

What do captured biogas reduce

A

greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use

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45
Q

The landfill gas-to-energy project

A

will reduce annual greenhouse emissions by 40 million pounds of carbon dioxide by avoiding the use of fossil fuels

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46
Q

Methane from closed MA landfill being mined is used to do what?

A

generate electricity to power over 3,000 homes

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47
Q

Plastics in MSW

A

resist decomposition

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48
Q

Petroleum-based polymers

A

resist microbial digestion

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49
Q

What kind of polymers have been developed?

A

biodegradable plastic polymers

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50
Q

What happens to waste as it compacts and decomposes?

A

settles

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51
Q

What has never been put on landfills?

A

Buildings

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52
Q

What do landfills that have been converted to playgrounds and golf courses create?

A

Shallow depressions or deep holes

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53
Q

Where are new landfills sited on?

A

high, stable ground above the water table, away from airports

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54
Q

What does water drain into?

A

A leachate-collection system (and is treated)

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55
Q

What do tile plastic liners, and compacted soil collect?

A

Leachate, after which it will be treated

56
Q

What do abandoned landfills become?

A

recreational facilities

57
Q

Desirable consequences of siting problems

A

it encourages recycling and stimulates combustion of MSW

58
Q

Fly ash

A

contains most of the toxic substances

59
Q

What is fly ash a product of

A

incineration

60
Q

Why can fly ash be disposed of?

A

if it is combined with water, then with bottom ash

61
Q

Two-thirds of combustion facilites

A

are waste-to-energy (WTE)

62
Q

What does WTE produce?

A

electricity for 2.3 million homes

63
Q

Air pollution

A

has decreased through strict regulations

64
Q

Odor pollution

A

plants are isolated from residential areas

65
Q

Siting

A

facilities are located in industrial areas

66
Q

Toxic ash

A

must be disposed of in secure landfills

67
Q

Source reduction

A

reducing waste at its source

68
Q

Examples of source reduction

A

designing, manufacturing, purchasing, or using materials to reduce the amount/toxicity of trash

69
Q

What percent of MSW is recyclable

A

75%

70
Q

Primary recycling

A

the waste is recycled into the same material

71
Q

Secondary recycling

A

waste is made into different products that may or may not be recyclable

72
Q

What makes up 64% of what gets recycled?

A

yard wastes

73
Q

What makes up 47% of what gets recycled?

A

paper, cardboard, insulation

74
Q

What makes up 28% of what gets recycled?

A

Glass

75
Q

What makes up 12% of what gets recycled?

A

Plastic

76
Q

What makes up 39% of what gets recycled?

A

metals

77
Q

The Global Recycling Network

A

an information exchange promoting recycling and ecofriendly products

78
Q

What does recycling do?

A

saves energy and resources and decreases pollution

79
Q

What will two-thirds of households participate in?

A

curbside recycling

80
Q

What do successful recycling programs have?

A
  1. mandatory regulations, with warnings or sanctions for violators
  2. drop-off sites for large items
81
Q

Newspapers

A

the most important item that is recycled

82
Q

What percentage of newspapers are recycled?

A

78%

83
Q

Recycled paper

A

routinely recovered andr erouted back into processing

84
Q

Most MSW glass

A

containers for beverages

85
Q

Bottle laws

A

require a deposit on all beverage containers

86
Q

How many states have adopted bottle laws?

A

11

87
Q

Numbers and letters on the bottom of plastic bottles

A

tell the type of plastic polymer in the bottle

88
Q

Plastic bags

A

kill thousands of marine animals and turtles yearly and are hard to recycle and almost indestructible

89
Q

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

A

DDT, toxaphene, chlordane, PCPs, dioxins

90
Q

Toxicology

A

the study of the harmful effects of chemicals on human and environmental health

91
Q

Where are POPs carried to in the air?

A

the Arctic

92
Q

What happens after POPs condense on the snowpack?

A

they enter water during the spring thaw

93
Q

Three-fourths of Inuit women

A

have PCB levels 5 times above safe levels

94
Q

Effects of human exposure to chemicals

A

immune-system disorders, hormone disruptions, cancer, imbalances in births

95
Q

Dose

A

level of exposure multiplied by the length of time of exposure

96
Q

What is dose linked with?

A

response (effects)

97
Q

What does exposure to hazardous chemicals come from?

A

the workplace, food, water, and environment

98
Q

Threshold level

A

the level below which there are no ill effects

99
Q

What do effects of the threshold depend on?

A

concentration and duration of exposure

100
Q

Hazardous material (HAZMAT)

A

a chemical that presents a certain hazard or risk

101
Q

Properties of hazardous materials

A

ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, toxicity

102
Q

Ignitability

A

substances that catch fire readily (gasoline)

103
Q

Corrosivity

A

substances that corrode tanks and equipment (acids)

104
Q

Reactivity

A

chemically unstable substances

105
Q

chemically unstable substances

A

may explode or create toxic fumes if mixed with water (explosives, sulfuric acid)

106
Q

Toxicity

A

substances that are injurious when eaten, inhaled, or touched (chlorine, pesticides, etc)

107
Q

Two classes of toxic chemicals that do not readily break down

A

Heavy metals and synthetic organics

108
Q

Heavy metals

A

are soluble in water and can interfere with enxyme functioning

109
Q

Exposure of heavy metals

A

mental retardation, insanity, birth defects

110
Q

Mining and industrial wastes; vehicle emissions; lead-acid batteries; fertilizers; paints; treated woods; plastics floating on the world’s oceans; and aging water supply

A

Common sources of heavy metals

111
Q

Lead

A

the most prevalent heavy metal contaminant

112
Q

Other examples of common sources

A
  1. mercury
  2. cadmium
  3. arsenic
113
Q

Petroleum-derived and synthetic organics are the basis for…

A

plastics, fibers, synthetic rubber, paintlike coatings, solvents, pesticides, preservatives

114
Q

Acute effects of being exposed to organic comounds

A

poisoning, death

115
Q

extended exposure to organic compounds

A

mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic (causing birth defects) effects

116
Q

Halogenated hydrocarbons

A

synthetic organics that contain halogens

117
Q

Halogens

A

choline, brimine, flourine, iodine

118
Q

Perchloroethylene (PERC)

A

a halogenated hydrocarbon

119
Q

What here PERCs used in?

A

dry cleaning as a solvent, in home products

120
Q

Phythalates

A

soften plastic and possible hormone disrupters

121
Q

Bisphenol A (BPA)

A

used in plastics

122
Q

Why are heavy metals and nonbiodegradable synthetic organics hazardous?

A

they bioaccumulate

123
Q

Why did the minamata disease occur in Japan?

A

Mercury bioaccumulated and biomagnified

124
Q

What ended disposal of hazardous wastes into the air and water?

A

the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts

125
Q

Deep-well injection

A

boreholes are drilled thousands of feet below groundwater into porous formations

126
Q

Wastes in wells

A

react with natural material, leaving them less hazardous

127
Q

EPA’s Underground Injection Control Program

A

wells must be limited to geologically stable areas

128
Q

Wells

A

can keep toxic wastes from contaminating water

129
Q

Ponds

A

excavated depressions into which liquid wastes are drained and held

130
Q

Impoundments can receive wastes indefinitely if:

A

the bottom is well sealed, and evaporation equals input of wastes

131
Q

Secure landfill

A

a reasonably safe landfill that is lined, has a leachate-removal system, and is monitored and properly capped

132
Q

What are concentrated liquids or solids put into?

A

drums

133
Q

When ealry land disposal was not regulated…

A

deep wells injected wastes into groundwater

134
Q

Midnight dumping

A

disreputable businesses pocketed fees, then illegally dumped wastes in abandoned warehouses, vacant lots, or landfills

135
Q

Orphan sites

A

some companies or individuals stored wastes on their own property, then went out of business, abandoning the property and wastes

136
Q

Love Canal, New York

A

brought the problem of unregulated dumping to the public’s attention

137
Q

Problems of toxic chemical wastes occur in three areas:

A
  1. cleaning up messes already created
  2. regulating disposal of wastes being produced
  3. reducing the quantity of hazardous waste product

Environmental Science (14 decks)

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