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Environmental science > Pollution > Flashcards

Pollution Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the properties of pollutants?

A
  • toxicity
  • reactivity
  • state of matter
  • density
  • energy form
  • persistence
  • adsorption
  • solubility
  • synergism
  • bioaccumulation
  • biomagnification
  • mutagenic
  • carcinogenic
  • teratogenic
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2
Q

What is pollution?

A

the term given to a variety of events and processes that d harm to the planet but especially living organisms

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3
Q

What can pollutants be?

A
  • a material ie CO2
  • forms of energy ie radiation
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4
Q

What is persistence?

A

A measure of how long it takes for a pollutant to chemically break down

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5
Q

What is mobility?

A

How easily the material can move in the environment

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6
Q

What is adsorption?

A

The process by which a solid holds molecules of a gas or liquid or solute as a thin film - how adhesive it is.

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7
Q

What is solubility?

A

A measure of the ease with which the molecules of a
material (the solute) separate and become dispersed in a liquid (the
solvent).

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8
Q

What is bioaccumulation

A

Bioaccumulation is the process by which the
amount of substance in a living organism
increases.

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9
Q

What is biomagnification

A

Results in pollutants that bioaccumulate to become
more concentrated along a food chain.

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10
Q

What is synergism?

A

Synergism is the interaction between the effects of different
substances that exaggerates the overall effect.

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11
Q

What is mutagenic action

A

A mutagen is a material or form of energy that causes chemical
changes to DNA.

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12
Q

What is carcinogenic action

A

A carcinogen is a mutagen that causes body cells to start to
multiply in an uncontrolled way.

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13
Q

What is teratogenic action

A

A teratogen causes non-inherited birth
abnormalities.

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14
Q

What factors affect the dispersal of pollutants

A
  • water currents
  • air and wind currents
  • temperature inversions
  • presents of adsorbent materials
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15
Q

What is meant by air, wind and water currents

A
  • How far pollutants are dispersed
  • the direction and area it will disperse over
  • how much of the pollutant is dispersed
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16
Q

How do pollutants normally disperse

A

Temperatures in troposphere decline with increasing altitude, allowing pollutant gases to rise, disperse and become diluted. This is because the warm air causes the pollutants to become less dense but more buoyant

17
Q

What is temperature inversion?

A

A break from normal troposphere temperature gradients. Air higher in the troposphere is warmer than air closer to the ground.

18
Q

What factors effect the formation of
temperature inversions?

A
  • Valleys: colder, denser air can collect.
  • Low wind velocity: temperature layers do not mix.
  • Cloudlessness: infrared energy radiates out, allowing the ground to
    cool more quickly.
  • Water vapour: if mist or fog forms close to the ground this reflects
    more sunlight, so the ground is cooled less.
  • Light surfaces reflect more heat than dark surfaces. This is called
    the albedo effect.
19
Q

What affect does temperature inversions have on the dispersal of pollutants

A
  • Pollutants become trapped
    by the temperature
    inversion.
  • They remain more dense
    and less buoyant.
  • So do not disperse and
    dilute.
20
Q

What is the problem with adsorption?

A
  • Pollutants may adsorb onto materials such as clay particles or organic materials in aquatic sediments.
  • Adsorption may immobilise the pollutant and stop it causing
    problems.
21
Q

What factors affect the degradation of pollutants

A
  • temperature (Chemical reactions occur more rapidly when temperatures are higher)
  • light levels (Light can provide the activation energy for
    chemical reactions)
  • oxygen (Oxygen is required for many chemical and biological
    reactions, including those involving pollutants)
  • pH (affect the solubility of substances)
  • Interaction with other pollutants (Some interactions may increase the
    effects of a pollutant or its toxicity)
22
Q

What is a point source

A

a single, identifiable source of pollution, such as a pipe or a drain.
- ie industrial wastes commonly discharge to rivers and sea in this way

23
Q

What is a non point source

A

often termed ‘diffuse’ pollution and refer to those
inputs and impacts which occur over a wide area and are not easily attributed to a single source
- ie forestry land use, urban land use

24
Q

What is a critical pathway analysis

A

Used to predict the movement of pollution in the environment, and how it can affect living organisms, locations and the severity

25
Q

How can environmental sampling
be used?

A

When a pollutant is released the environment is monitored to check if it is
becoming concentrated in places that are considered to pose a threat to humans
or areas we consider to be important.
- The monitoring programme should confirm the accuracy of the CPA.
- if the levels are acceptable, then it can be assumed that every where else is safe as long as the CPA has been done accurately.

26
Q

What is critical group monitoring

A

Proactive, not reactive - Monitor exposure, assess potential risks before health impacts occur if unacceptable, emissions must be controlled further.

27
Q

How to control the emission location

A

Proactive, not reactive - Monitor exposure, assess potential risks before health impacts occur if unacceptable, emissions must be controlled further.Proactive, not reactive - Monitor exposure, assess potential risks before health impacts occur if unacceptable, emissions must be controlled further.

28
Q

What are the principles of control

A
  • If the costs of preventing the damage caused by the pollution are less than the costs of the damage, then there is a clear financial incentive to prevent it.
29
Q

What is the precaution principle

A

Assumes that a waste will cause pollution if released, until
research confirms it is unlikely to do so, then release may be permitted.

30
Q

What are some control methods

A

Production prevention
- Desulphurisation of fossil fuels before combustion

Release prevention
- Electrostatic precipitators for smoke control.
- Catalytic converters for control of NOx, CO and hydrocarbons in vehicle exhaust emissions.

Post-release remediation
- Oil-spill clean ups
–Phytoremediation of land contaminated with heavy metals.

Alternative processes
- Use of electric vehicles instead of diesel or petrol vehicles.
- Use of pyrethroid pesticides instead of the more polluting organochlorines, for example, DDT.
- The use of renewable energy resources instead of fossil fuels.

31
Q

How to control the efficiency of pollution

A

ALARA
- As low as reasonably achieved

BATNEEC
- Best available technology, not entailing excessive cost

Environmental science (1 decks)

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