Exam 5 (Chps 17 - 20) Flashcards
adaptation strategies
- shift agriculture
- eco structures
- emergency preparedness
- help poor
- promote development/ economic progress
- control disease
Safe Drinking Water Act
- 1974
- higher standards than CWA
- 94 contaminents
sources of VOCs
- incomplete combustion
- evaporation of solvents and gas
- emissions from plants
climate sensitivity
- response to greenhouse gases
- concentrations measured in rise in temp as a result of rise in greenhouse gas concentration
primary clarifiers
- 3rd step in primary treatment
- organic matter settles to bottom, fat to top
4 environmental hazards
- Chemical
- Cultural
- Biological
- Physical
Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
- CSAPR
- replaces CAIR
- requires reductions in NOx and SO2 to aid states in the East to achieve ozone and particulate matter reductions
Biological Nutrient Removal
removing nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus) and oxidizing detritus from treated waste water so no eutrophication occurs.
Atmospheric-Ocean General Circulation Models
- AOGCM
- computer models generated from:
- atmosphiric circulation patterns
- ocean circulation
- radiation feedback from clouds
- land surface processes
bar screen
- 1st step in primary treatment
- removes debris (which is incinerated)
sources of nitric acid
photochemical reactions between NOx and OH radicals
eutrophication
nutrient rich water supporting algae or other surfact plants
positive feedback
a process leads to even more intensification of that process
ex: evaporation leads to more water vapor leads to more heat leads to more evaporation…
risk factors of povery
- shorter life (less medical treatment)
- malnutrition
- less education
- priorities/inequality (how government helps or not, environmental racisim)
sources of lead
- battery manufacture
- lead smelters
- combustion of leaded fuels and solid waste
oligotrophic
low in nutrients
windrows
long narrow piles that allow air to circulate easily
sources of ozone and peroxyacetyl nitrates
photochemical reactions between VOCs and NOx
Meridional Overturning Circulation
- MOC
- conveyor belt of ocean continually moving water masses from the deep to the surface
Health effects of air pollution
- respiratory (ozone, particulates, NOx)
- blood function (carbon monoxide)
- immune system (NOx)
- brain (mercury)
- cancer (benzene)
Milankovitch cycles
- periodic oscillations in climate due to solar orbit
- 100K, 41K, 23K cycles
activated sludge
mixture of detritus feeding organisms that breadk down biomass in secondary treatment
criteria maximum concentration
any pollutant over this highest single concentration will have negative impact
sources of suspended particulate matter
- soot,
- smoke,
- salts,
- combustion carbon,
- dust,
- dirt
- metals,
- atmospheric reaction of gases
Mercury and Air Toxics Standards
- 2011
- EPA rules that require all coal and oil fired power plants to limit emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants
- industries had 4 years to comply
Mitigation strategies
- cap and trade
- remove subsidies
- tax fossil fuels
- renewable energy
- nuclear energy
- carbon capture (sequestration and reforestation)
- stabilize population growth
climate
average temp expected in a typical year in a given region
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
progressive lung disease that makes it hard to breathe involving asthma, bronchitis and emphysema
biogas
gaseous mixture 2/3rds methane
Clean Air Interstate Rule
- CAIR
- 2005
- EPA rule establishing cap-and-trade programs for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in 28 eastern states
secondary pollutants types
- sulfuric acid
- peroxyacetyl nitrates
- ozone
- nitric acid
Air Pollution Control Act
1955
became Clean Air Act
epidemiology
study of the causes of disease through an examination and comparison of large populations in different locations or following different lifestyles or habits
cap-and-trade
a form of market-based environmental policy that sets a maximum level of pollutant, distributes permits, and allows industries to trade permits to achieve their allowable pollution
trickling filter system
- 1st step of secondary treatment
- allows water to percolate through bed of rocks with various bacteria and detritus
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
An EPA administered program that addresses point-source water pollution through issuance of permits that regulate pollution discharge.
North Atlantic Deep Water
- NADW
- Water from the south moves north, cools, sinks to 4000m
- becomes denser when evaporation increases salinity
sources of sulfuric acid
photochemical reactions between sulfur dioxide and OH radicals
maximum contaminent level
max level of pollutants in drinking water
industrial smog
- smoke + fog
- soot, sulfurous compounds, water vapor
stratosphere
- 16-50K
- temp increases w/ altitude
- little vertical mixing, slow exchange of gases w/ tropo via diffusion
phosphorus in water
a limiting factor or an organic pollutant
acid deposition
any form of acid precipitation but also fallout of dry acid
inversions
- flip the usual warm air below / cool air above
- warm air traps pollutants
atmospheric brown cloud
ABC
forest fires, fossil fuels, farm wastes, stoves
pH
expression of concentration of hydrogen ions from 0-7
albedo
reflectivity of surface to sunlight
biosludge
- organic matter remaining after anaerobic digestion
- nutrient-rich humus-like material suspended in water
3 factors that influence atmospheric cleansing
- amount
- space
- mechanisms that remove pollutant
Thermohaline Circulation
- movement of temp and salinity in the oceans
- Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC)
- North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW)
ENSO
- El Niño La Niña Southern Oscillation
- reverse the trade winds
- El Niño is warm
- La Niña is cold
Montreal Protocol
- 1987
- reduce CFCs 50% by 2000
- 196 nations
acid neutralizing capacity
in a water body, ability to neutralize acid with buffer chemicals
Maximum Achievable Control Technology
MACT
The best technology available for reducing the output of especially toxic industrial pollutants
evidence for recent climate change
- increase in warter temps / decrease in cooler
- heat waves and droughts increasing and intensifying
- droughts cover more land
- more fires
- patterns of precipitation changing, increasing floods and storms
- shifting seasons
- melting sea ice and glaciers
- migrating wildlife
- ocean acidification
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
Legislation establishing energy policy by emphasizing demand-side policies (conserving energy, renewables)
normal atmospheric cleansing
- hydroxyl radicals - render pollutants harmless
- sea salts - aerosols that form rain
- sunlight - breaks molecules
toxicology
study of the impacts of toxic substances on human health and the pathways by which such substances reach humans
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
NAAQS
allowable levels of ambient criteria air pollutants set by EPA
Ocean Atmospheric Oscillations
- North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)
- Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO)
- El Niño/La Niña Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
Integrated Risk Information System
IRIS
evaluation of risk information on hazards that chemicals pose to human health
run by the EPA
photochemical smog
produced when several pollutants from cars (nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons) are acted on by sunlight
equity principle
- rich and poor should have the same decision-making powers
- international and intergenerational
base
releases hydroxide ions when disolved in water
How CFCs and halogens destroy the ozone layer
in stratosphere UV breaks them apart releasing chlorine atoms which attack ozone
chlorine catalytic cycle
sources of nitrogen oxides
- combustion
- wood burning
raw sludge
fat and organic matter seperated in primary clarifiers
Steps to bring back the ozone layer
- banned CFCs in cans
- Montreal Protocol, 1987, reduced 50% by 2000, 196 Nations
- using HFCs and HCFCs
- thinking about methyl bromide and nitrous oxide
grit chamber
- 2nd step in primary treatment
- allows grit to settle (then taken to landfill)
3 methods for turning sludge to fertilizer
- anaerobic digestion
- pasturization
- composting
criteria pollutants
levels used as gauge for determination of air or water quality
primary pollutant types
- particulates,
- VOCs,
- Carbon Monoxide,
- Nitrogen Oxides,
- sulfur dioxide,
- lead,
- air toxics,
- radon
sludge cake
treated sludge dewatered by rollers
pasteurization
dried and heated sludge cake
nitrogen
in water a limiting factor or a nutrient
tropopause
- between troposphere and stratosphere
- air begins to warm
criteria continous concentration
highest sustained
mortality
incidence of death in a population
acid
releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
addresses point-source pollution and issues permits that regulate discharges from wastewater treatment plants and industrial sources
ambient standards
levels that need to be achieved to protect environmental and human health
Impacts of Air Pollution on the Environment
- crop damage
- forest damage
- ozone depletion
- acid deposition (including soil damage)
- pH in aquatic systems
Climate Change Science Program
20 reports from hundreds of scientists across different disciplines about research on climate change
activated sludge system
1st step in secondary treatment
detritus-feeding organisms (activated sludge) consume most of the biomass as water percolates over rocks
air bubble or paddle system for aeration
how primary pollutants are produced
direct products of combustion and evaporation
criteria pollutants
167 chemicals
Tabacco Control Act
2009: gave the FDA authority to regulate tobacco
pathways of risk
- poverty
- tobacco use
- disease transmission
- toxic chemicals
- natural disasters
nonpoint sources
discharge of pollution that isn’t easy to ID source (run-off, deposition, etc.)
benthic plants
attached water plants
- submerged aquatic veg (SAV)
- emergent veg
rotavirus
highly contagious and common virus that almost every child gets. Causes severe diarrhea that can kill children in developing countries.
tipping point
we are likely close, if not past, but we can mitigate disaster
Total Maximum Daily Load
evaluates all nonpoint sources according to the water body’s ability to assimilate the pollutant
epidemiological study
tracks how sickness spreads through a community
benzene
- carcinogen
- organic chemical in oil products and tobacco smoke
sources of air toxics
- combustion
- industrial processes
- building materials
- solvents
anaerobic digestion
- put in sludge digesters
- bacteria feeds on sludge w/out oxygen
- by-product is biogas
point sources
discharge of substances easy to ID (factories, etc.)
how secondary pollutants are produced
primary pollutants undergo reactions with naturally occuring compounds in the atmosphere and produce undesirable compounds
weather
variable, local, short term
radiative forcing
- influence any particular factor has on energy balance of the atmophere-ocean-land system
- positive = warming
- negative = cooling
phytoplankton
photosynthetic algae, protists, cynobacteria
secondary treatment
or biological treatment
uses organisms (natural decomposers and detritus feeders) to desolve gunk
only oxygen needs to be added
bed load
sediments washed along the bottom of a body of water
pathogens
disease causing bacteria, viruses, parasites
Younger Dryas
- at the end of the last ice age
- 6000 years of warming, then sudden 1,500 yrs of cold
- then 7 degree increase in 50 years
photochemical oxidants
formed by interactions between nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons driven by sunlight
risk management
hygiene hypothesis
immune systems need to encounter microbes when they are young in order to keep inflammatory responses under control
best management practices
soil and water
all the practices that can be used to minimize erosion, runoff, leaching
monsoon
seasonal airflow created by major differences in cooling and heating between oceans and continents usually leading to excessive rain
NAO
- North Atlantic Oscillations
- pressure centers switch, alternating wind and storms
CFCs
synthetic organic molecules that contain one or more of both chlorine and fluorine atoms and that are known to cauce ozone destruction
risk assessment
process of evaluating risks associated with a particular hazard
hydroxyl radical
- OH
- oxidizes many gasous pollutants into products that are harmless or can be brought down to earth
troposphere
- between 8-16K from the ground
- temp decreases w/ altitude
- much verticle mixing, turbulent
- substances entering may be washed back to Earth
- all weather and climate
Kyoto Protocol
- 1997
- 38 nations (not developing) agreed to reduce emissions of 6 greenhouse gases to 5.2% below 1990 levels by 2012
- India, China, US not participating
Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation
- IPO
- pressure centers switch, altering wind and storms (similar to NAO)
- over decades
criteria pollutant types
SPLONC
- sulfur dioxide
- particulates,
- lead
- ozone,
- nitrogen oxide,
- carbon monoxide,
composting
raw sludge mixed with wood chips or water absorbing material then placed in windrows and turned. Bacteria break down to humus-like material
sources of radon
- rocks and soil
- natural breakdown of radium and uranium
acid precipitation
- acid rain, fog, snow and any other form of precipitation that is more acidic than normal (less than pH 5.6)
- sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen
chlorine catalyst cycle
- in the stratosphere
- cyclical chemical process in which chlorine monoxide breaks down ozone
- promotes chemical reaction without itself being used up
sources of sulfur dioxide
combustion of sulfur containing fuels (esp. coal)
secondary clarifier
- 2nd step of secondary treatment
- organisms settle and become next batch of activated sludge
- water trickles out for BNR
Copenhagen Accord
- 2009
- 187 countries
- pledges to limit temp increases to 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels
- set targets by 2020
- not binding
cryosphere
snow, glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice
aerosols
microscopic liquid or solid particles originating from land and water surfaces
morbidity
incidence of disease in a populatin
Clean Air Act Amendments
- 1970, 1977, 1990
- set ambient standards
- established control methods and time tables
fronts
boundaries of air masses w/ different pressures and temps
Durban Platform
- 2011
- agreement to begin negotiations that would lead to legally binding agreement by 2015,
- to take effect in 2020
National Center of Environmental Assessment
- NCEA
- EPA agency
- assessment of substances and processes that are widely released into the environment
types of greenhouse gases
- carbon dioxide
- water vapor
- methane
- nitrous oxide
- ozone
- CFCs
- other hydrocarbons
greenhouse gas
absorbs infrared energy and contribues to air temp (blanket)
