Lecture 2

Question 1

Name 4 major sources of lead in the air.

Answer 1

Metals processing, waste incinerators, utilities, and lead-acid battery manufacturers.

Question 2

Depending on the level of exposure of what criteria air pollutant can affect the nervous system, kidney function, immune system, reproductive & developmental systems and the cardiovascular systems.

Answer 2

Lead.

Question 3

What demographic of people are especially sensitive to lead exposures?

Answer 3

Infants/children.

Question 4

What effect can lead have on infants?

Answer 4

Behavioral problems, learning deficits and lowered IQ.

Question 5

What effect does elevated levels of lead in the environment have on plants and animals?

Answer 5

Decreased growth and reproduction.

Question 6

What effect does lead have on vertebrates?

Answer 6

Neurological effects.

Question 7

Air toxics can be gases, compounds, or elements. Name a compound air toxic.

Answer 7

Asbestos.

Question 8

Acid deposition is better known by what other name?

Answer 8

Acid rain.

Question 9

What 2 types of acid deposition is there?

Answer 9

Wet deposition and dry deposition.

Question 10

Rain and snow are already naturally acidic, but their acidity becomes problematic below what pH level?

Answer 10

5.

Question 11

Which acid forms from sulfur dioxide, and becomes a major cause of acid deposition?

Answer 11

Sulfuric acid.

Question 12

Current government regulations and changes in industrial practices are expected to reduce the rate of SO2 and nitrogen emissions in what sector?

Answer 12

Electricity.

Question 13

What does acid deposition do to metal, paint, and stone?

Answer 13

Corrodes metal, deteriorates paint and stone.

Question 14

What is the effect of acid deposition on algae and seagrass?

Answer 14

Acid deposition may increase their photosynthetic and growth rates.

Question 15

What marine species may be harmed by acid deposition?

Answer 15

Molluscs, corals and some varieties of plankton.

Question 16

What is the effect of acid deposition on coral reefs?

Answer 16

They may become vulnerable to storm damage and slow the recovery rate.

Question 17

What is common in the chemical compounds that thin the Earth’s ozone layer in the upper atmosphere?

Answer 17

They contain gaseous chlorine or bromine from industry and other human activities.

Question 18

Where is the thinning of the ozone layer most pronounced?

Answer 18

In polar regions, especially over Antarctica.

Question 19

How is ozone-destroying chlorine liberated from CFCs?

Answer 19

UV radiation.

Question 20

What are CFCs?

Answer 20

Chlorofluorocarbons are a major source of chlorine in the stratoshpere.

Question 21

Which protocol began the phaseout of CFCs in 1987?

Answer 21

The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer.

Question 22

The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer sought to achieve a 50% reduction in global consumption from 1986 by what year?

Answer 22

1998.

Question 23

In the countries that were parties to the Montreal protocol, how much had the consumption of ozone-depleting chemicals fallen by 2005?

Answer 23

90% - 95%.

Question 24

GWP is the ratio of the radiative forcing from emissions of one kg of a GHG to that from the emission of one kg of what other GHG?

Answer 24

Carbon dioxide.

Question 25

GWP is a ratio that is measured over a period of time. What is the usual period of time considered?

Answer 25

100 years.

Question 26

Describe a form of water pollution, besides the release of substances into bodies of water.

Answer 26

The release of energy, in the form of radioactivity or heat.

Question 27

Name 4 major water contaminants.

Answer 27

Pathogens, organic waste, nutrients, and toxic organic chemicals.

Question 28

What is the primary source of water-contaminating pathogens?

Answer 28

Domestic sewage.

Question 29

Sewage-treatment processes reduce the wastewater levels of pathogens and what other pollutant?

Answer 29

Organics.

Question 30

Besides untreated sewage, from where else can pathogens enter waterways? (3)

Answer 30

Runoff from naturally vegetated areas, malfunctioning septic systems, and stormwater drains.

Question 31

Pathogens can lead to health issues ranging from mild impacts to serious life-threatening illnesses. Name 2 such serious illnesses.

Answer 31

Typhoid and cholera.

Question 32

Organic pollution (the release of organic compounds into water courses) can lead to the depletion of what in surface waters?

Answer 32

Oxygen.

Question 33

Organic pollutants consist of what 4 organic compounds?

Answer 33

Proteins, carbohydrates, fats and nucleic acids.

Question 34

Organic waste originates from what 4 sources?

Answer 34

Domestic sewage (raw or treated), urban run-off, industrial (trade) effluents and farm wastes.

Question 35

What nutrients can be considered as a major water contaminants?

Answer 35

Nitrogen and phosphorous.

Question 36

Nitrogen and phosphorous support the growth of which water based organisms?

Answer 36

Algae and aquatic plants.

Question 37

Nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients that are natural parts of aquatic ecosystems.

Answer 37

True.

Question 38

When are nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorous considered pollutants?

Answer 38

When they are present in excess.

Question 39

Infants are vulnerable to what nitrogen-based compound in drinking water?

Answer 39

Nitrates.

Question 40

What pollutants are produced by excess nitrogen in the atmosphere?

Answer 40

Ammonia and ozone.

Question 41

What are the 3 potential harms of ammonia and ozone in the atmosphere?

Answer 41

Impaired ability to breathe, limited visibility and altered plant growth.

Question 42

Can excess *atmospheric* nitrogen harm the health of forests, soils, and waterways?

Answer 42

Yes, when the excess nitrogen comes back to earth.

Question 43

The 4 primary sources of excess nitrogen and phosphorus are?

Answer 43

Agriculture, stormwater, wastewater, and fossil fuels.

Question 44

What additional substance is found in toxic synthetic organic chemicals?

Answer 44

Chlorine.

Question 45

Some organic chemicals are known or suspected carcinogens, meaning what?

Answer 45

Meaning they are cancer causing.

Question 46

Some organic chemicals are known or suspected mutagens, meaning what?

Answer 46

Meaning they produce genetic mutations.

Question 47

Oil spills count as water contamination via an organic compound.

Answer 47

True.

Question 48

Pesticides count as a class of toxic organic compounds.

Answer 48

True.

Question 49

Name 3 observed effects of pesticides (such as DDT) on organisms.

Answer 49

Reduction in reproductive capacity, birth defects, and tumors.

Question 50

VOCs count as a class of toxic organic chemicals.

Answer 50

True - volatile organic compounds.

Question 51

VOCs are often used as what 2 things?

Answer 51

Industrial or household solvents, and as ingredients in chemical manufacturing processes.

Question 52

Many VOCs are known/suspected mutagens.

Answer 52

False - carcinogens.

Question 53

Solid waste falls under what two categories?

Answer 53

Hazardous solid waste, and nonhazardous wastes.

Question 54

Which act passed in 1976 was established to set up a framework for the proper management of hazardous waste?

Answer 54

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

Question 55

Hazardous wastes are classified on the basis of which of their properties?

Answer 55

Their biological, chemical, and physical properties.

Question 56

What are the 6 possible characteristics of hazardous solid waste?

Answer 56

Toxic, reactive, ignitable, corrosive, infectious, or radioactive.

Question 57

What characteristic of liquids makes them ignitable?

Answer 57

Flashpoints below 140 degrees Fahrenheit .

Question 58

Can nonliquids or gasses also be considered ignitable?

Answer 58

Yes - nonliquids with the potential to ignite via the specific conditions and compressed gases.

Question 59

Corrosive waste can do what?

Answer 59

Corrosive waste can rust and decompose materials.

Question 60

Corrosive waste can be basic, rather than acidic.

Answer 60

True.

Question 61

Aqueous waste with what acidity level is considered corrosive?

Answer 61

2 pH (or less).

Question 62

When is waste is considered reactive?

Answer 62

When it's capable of explosion and detonation that may produce toxic gases.

Question 63

When is waste considered toxic?

Answer 63

When it's fatally poisonous to ingest or absorb.

Question 64

What kind of batteries are considered toxic?

Answer 64

Lithium-sulfur batteries.

Question 65

What chemical analysis process is used to determine whether there are hazardous elements present in a waste?

Answer 65

The Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP).

Question 66

The TCLP involves a simulation of what?

Answer 66

Of leaching through a landfill.

Question 67

Is Municipal solid waste (MSW) considered hazardous?

Answer 67

No - MSW is nonhazardous.

Question 68

Radioactive waste in Canada is defined as any material (liquid, gaseous or solid) that contains what?

Answer 68

A radioactive nuclear substance.

Question 69

Can radioactive waste contain hazardous substances that are not radioactive?

Answer 69

Yes.

Question 70

List the 5 activities that produce radioactive waste.

Answer 70

Nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons reprocessing.

Question 71

The storage and disposal of radioactive waste to protect human and environmental health is regulated by who?

Answer 71

Government agencies.

Question 72

What are the 3 broad categories of radioactive waste?

Answer 72

Low-level waste, (LLW), intermediate-level waste (ILW), and high level waste (HLW).

Question 73

High-level radioactive wastes are the highly radioactive materials produced as a byproduct of what?

Answer 73

The reactions that occur inside nuclear reactors.

Question 74

What are the two types of high level waste?

Answer 74

Spent nuclear fuel and reprocessing extracts isotopes from spent fuel.

Question 75

Spent nuclear fuel is used fuel from a reactor that is no longer efficient in creating electricity. Why then is it considered high-level waste?

Answer 75

It is still thermally hot, highly radioactive, and potentially harmful.

Question 76

Reprocessing extracts isotopes from spent fuel (that can be used again as reactor fuel) are characterized by what? (2)

Answer 76

Intensive radioactivity and very long half-life.

Question 77

What is transuranic waste?

Answer 77

Waste that contains manmade elements heavier than uranium on the periodic table.

Question 78

When is transuranic waste produced?

Answer 78

During nuclear fuel assembly, nuclear weapons research and production, and during the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.

Question 79

Transuranic waste falls into what two categories?

Answer 79

Contact-handled and remote-handled.

Question 80

What can be said about the radionuclide content found in low-level radioactive waste?

Answer 80

LLW contains material with radionuclide content above the established clearance levels.

Question 81

Low-level radioactive waste is free of long-lived radionuclides.

Answer 81

False - but there are limited amounts.

Question 82

The radioactivity of low-level radioactive waste is necessarily just above background levels found in nature.

Answer 82

False - LLW can be highly radioactive.

Question 83

When is low-level waste typically removed from on-site storage by licensees?

Answer 83

Either when it is no longer radioactive, or when amounts are large enough for shipment to a low-level waste disposal site.

Question 84

What are the four classes of low-level radioactive waste?

Answer 84

Class A, Class B, Class C, and Greater than Class C.

Question 85

Which of the four classes of low-level radioactive waste are generally acceptable for near-surface disposal?

Answer 85

Classes A, B, and C.

Question 86

What is the Initial step in refining uranium ore dug from the ground?

Answer 86

Milling.

Question 87

What are the residues from uranium ore milling called, and what do they contain?

Answer 87

Mill tailing contains radioactive decay products from the uranium.

Question 88

Where are mill tailings and raffinates stored?

Answer 88

In specially designed ponds called impoundments.

Question 89

Resource depletion occurs when the rate of consumption is greater than the rate of what?

Answer 89

Replenishment.

Question 90

Natural resources fall under what two categories?

Answer 90

Renewable and non-renewable.

Question 91

Humans consume resources for what 3 primary needs?

Answer 91

Food, energy, raw materials.

Question 92

The term "land use" refers to what?

Answer 92

The human use of land.

Question 93

Land use activities are necessarily economic.

Answer 93

False - they may also be cultural.

Question 94

How are the uses different for public and private lands?

Answer 94

Urban development is rare on public land, and private land is rarely protected for wilderness users.

Question 95

What 2 land use activities are major drivers of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation?

Answer 95

Agriculture and forestry activities.

Question 96

Give 3 examples of ecological services that biodiversity provides?

Answer 96

Cleaning water, absorbing chemicals, providing oxygen.

Question 97

Name 2 natural disturbances that biodiversity allows ecosystems to adjust to.

Answer 97

Fires and floods.

Question 98

What are the benefits to genetic diversity?

Answer 98

Preventing diseases and helping species adjust to changes in their environment.

Question 99

When is change and degradation of an area considered habitat loss?

Answer 99

When the area can no longer serve as a home to native species.

Question 100

What are the 3 major types of habitat loss?

Answer 100

Habitat destruction, fragmentation, and degradation.

Question 101

Filling in wetlands, dredging rivers, mowing fields, and cutting down trees are examples of what kind of habitat loss?

Answer 101

Habitat destruction.

Question 102

Roads, development, dams and water diversions are examples of what kind of habitat loss?

Answer 102

Habitat fragmentation.

Question 103

Pollution, invasive species, and disruption of ecosystem processes are examples of what kind of habitat loss?

Answer 103

Habitat degradation.

Question 104

What are the 5 main causes of habitat loss?

Answer 104

Agriculture, land conversion for development, water development, pollution, climate change.