Examining the Environmental Compartments

1. Examining the Environmental Compartments Air, Water, & Soil (briefly)

3. Air Pollution • The accumulation of substances in the atmosphere that can cause harmful health effects to living things or negatively affect the public welfare • Economic impact of property or crop damage

4. Human Activity • Transportation • Power and heat generation • Industrial processes • Burning of solid waste

5. Natural Processes • Volcanic eruptions • Natural forest fires

6. Air pollution laws To control smoke emissions • 1880’s – Chicago and Cincinnati • 1890’s – Pittsburgh and New York City

7. Number of days in a 5-yr period characterized by poor air circulation, for at least a 48-hr period.

8. Killer Fogs • Donora, Pennsylvania - 1948 • London, England – 1952 • Caused the death of thousands and the illness of tens of thousands

12. Oregon - 1952 • Became the first state to pass air pollution control legislation and establish a state air pollution control agency

13. Health problems brought on or aggravated by air pollution • Lung diseases, such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema • Cancer, particularly lung cancer • Neural disorders, including brain damage • Bronchial asthma and the common cold • Eye irritation • Those most sensitive: • Young children whose respiratory systems are still forming • People who suffer from diseases of the heart and respiratory system

14. Modern Smog • No longer smoke and soot • Photochemical reactions & electrical motors produce ozone • Very reactive, breaking down biological tissues and cells • Damages crops and vegetation, buildings and art treasures

15. Precursors to this reaction • Volatile Organic Compounds or VOC’s created in the combustion, handling and processing of petroleum products • Nitrogen Oxides or NOx produced by combustion • Levels are highest during summer daytime hours

17. California’s Distinctions • Most severe air quality problem • Most advanced air pollution controls • ¾ of the country’s health problems from air pollution are in So. California

18. Common Air Pollutants – Fig 5.5Table of Pollutants & Health Concerns • Carbon monoxide • Airborne particulates • Sulfur dioxide • Lead • Nitrogen oxides • Asbestos

19. Beryllium • Vinyl chloride • Mercury • Arsenic • Benzene • Radionuclides

21. National Ambient Air Quality Standards - NAAQS • Enforced by the EPA under the authority of the Clean Air Act to reduce outdoor pollution • Identifies safe levels of CO, Pb, NOx, O3, SO2, and particulates – the criteria pollutants • Can pose sanctions on areas that are in nonattainment

22. Smog and Crops • California’s agricultural industry is losing $300 million each year to air pollution • Also damages forests, range and pasture land • California's geography and climate coupled with population growth and dependence on cars

23. Harm to native plant groups • Needles and debris from trees killed by smog increases the risk of forest fires, reduces seed germination and seedling survival • At a reproductive disadvantage, these plants may be replaced by new plant communities completely altering the food chains within the ecosystem

24. Sources and fate of air pollutants • Primary pollutants enter the air directly • Oxides of carbon and nitrogen and hydrocarbons from vehicle emissions • Sulfur oxides and particulates from industry • Secondary pollutants form from another substance that was released into the air • Ozone

25. Indoor air pollution • The most people spend 90% of their time indoors • New buildings are tightly constructed to save energy (ex. Radon) • Up to 30% of new and remodeled buildings may have air quality problems

26. Eye, nose and throat irritation • Fatigue • Headache • Nausea • Irritability • Forgetfulness • Impairment of the nervous system • Cancer

27. Sources of indoor pollutants • Tobacco smoke • Building materials • Furnishings • Space heaters • Gas ranges • Wood preservatives • Air fresheners • Solvents • Cleaning agents

28. New Section:Water Pollution • Over 17% of the nation’s waterways are significantly polluted • 10% of all medium and large sized public water systems exceed health based limits for lead • Wetlands are being destroyed at a rate of between 350,000 and 500,000 acres per year

29. Threats to clean water • Applications of pesticides and fertilizers • Uncontrolled hazardous waste disposal • Leaking underground storage tanks • Use of septic tanks and drainage wells

30. Global Perspective • The average American uses 180 gallons of fresh clean water a day • Rural villagers in third world countries may spend up to 6 hours a day obtaining a supply of tainted water • 10 million people die every year of intestinal diseases

31. Four major categories • Municipal (Class provide examples) • Industrial (Class provide examples) • Nonpoint • Dredge and fill activities

32. Nonpoint Sources • Run off from farming • Urban areas • Forestry • Construction activities • Contribute up to 75% of the contamination in rivers and streams

33. Dredging • Stirs up bottom sediments re-exposing PCB’s and heavy metals • Where sediment is piled on shore it may harm sensitive wetlands

34. Groundwater • Half of Americans and 95% of rural Americans use groundwater • From 1950-1960 groundwater use has increased by 150%

35. Sources of Groundwater Contamination • Septic tanks • Underground storage tanks • Agricultural activities • On-site landfills • Surface impoundments • Municipal landfills • Abandoned waste sites

36. Oil and gas brine pits • Saltwater intrusion • Road salting • Land application of sludge • Regulated waste sites • Mining activities • Underground injection wells • Construction activities

37. Key Terms • Aquifer - water bearer, stores and transmits water • Aquitard - confining bed • Vadose Zone - unsaturated zone • Saturated Zone - phreatic zone • Water Table – piezometric surface

38. Porosity – the volume of space between particles within a substance • Permeability – how easily water can pass through (hydraulic conductivity) • Artesian aquifers – confined aquifer • Groundwater gradient – drop in elevation of water table, divided by the distance

50. Soils & Contaminants • Soils is a connection between water (groundwater) and the atmosphere • Soil is created from weathered rock and is a complex mixture of materials • We’ll be covering these materials in detail in lab