Water Pollution and Hazardous Waste

1. Water Pollution and Hazardous Waste Shelby Davis Sarah Kincaid Period 6

2. What is Water Pollution? • Water Pollution- An harmful change (physical, chemical, or biological) in the quality of water that is dangerous to living organisms or makes the water unsuitable for specific uses • Different types of pollutants that are deleterious towards our water include: • Infectious agents, oxygen-demanding wastes, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals, plant nutrients, sediment, radioactive materials and heat

3. Measuring Water Quality • In order to test the quality of water: • Count the number of colonies of coliform bacteria (The World Health Organization suggests 0 colonies per 100 liters of dinking water) • Determining BOD (biological oxygen demand-the amount of dissolved oxygen needed to break organic materials) • Using chemical analysis • Using living organisms as indicator species

4. Point Source & Non-Point Source Pollution • Point source- pollutants from specific locations (Ex: factories, sewage treatment plants, mines and oil tankers) • Non-point source- cannot be traced from a certain area (Ex: acid deposition and sediments, fertilizers and manure coming from agricultural farmland, streets, etc)

5. River & Stream Pollution • As a result of stream pollution various actions have occurred for cleanup such as: • Water pollution control laws which require industries to cease or reduce their point source discharges • Because of pollution prevention many rivers, including the Cuyahoga River in Ohio, have been saved from high levels of pollution

6. Oxygen Sag Curve • In a river or stream, as bacteria eliminates dissolved oxygen, there is a reduction of populations of organisms with high oxygen requirements, which purifies the stream of waste • An oxygen sag curve represents the dilution and decay of degradable, oxygen-demanding wastes and heat

7. Eutrophication & Cultural Eutrophication • Eutrophication- natural nutrient enrichment within lakes • Cultural Eutrophication- over-nurishment from to plant nutrients due to human activities • Prevention: • Bans or limits on cleaning agents • Soil conservation • Land use control

8. Groundwater Pollution Sources Prevention Monitoring aquifers near landfills Leak detection systems while storing hazardous liquids Regulation of hazardous waste in above-ground tank systems • Salt water intrusions • Chemical dumping • Unlined dumps • Over-pumping • Natural sources *As we dump and store waste over many years the waste can corrode the tanks and leak

9. Ocean Pollution • Sources • Oil spills • Waste disposal • Non-point source pollution • Effects on Coastal Areas • Beach pollution • Shellfish contamination • Water pollution • Habitat destruction • Disturbances on the aquatic species

10. Oil Spills Sources Effects on Ecosystems Depends on: Type of oil Amount released Distance of release from shore Time of year Weather Water conditions • Leaks during normal operation of offshore drilling • Washing tankers • Pipeline and storage tank leaks

11. Solution & Prevention • Primary sewage treatment- the mechanical process that filters out debris and allows floating solids to settle • Secondary sewage treatment- a biological process where aerobic bacteria remove oxygen-demanding organic wastes • Advanced sewage treatment- specialized chemical and physical processes to remove extra pollutants in the water that are remaining in the water

12. U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act • The US Safe Drinking Water Act ensures that the quality of our water meets the standards that allows us to be able to drink it

13. Case Study – The Great Lakes • The Great Lakes are highly susceptible to pollution even though there are tremendous in size • A $20 billion pollution control program has been carried out in order to try and prevent damage to these lakes

14. Case Study – Chesapeake Bay • The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the US; however, it has been disturbed by humans • Levels of phosphates and nitrates have risen, which results in algal blooms • The Chesapeake Bay Program (integrated coastal management) has been put in place to stop destruction

15. Case Study – The Baltic Sea • The Baltic Sea receives a lot of runoff and air water pollutants. Water pollution issues include: • Biological magnification of toxins • Cultural eutrophication • Accidental chemical release • Oil pollution

16. The Love Canal • During the years of 1942 and 1953, Hooker Chemicals filled the Love Canal (located in New York) with toxins. Later, they filled the canal with clay and topsoil. After this, several homes and other community developments on top of the old canal. Due to the remaining toxins leaking through the clay and topsoil, many people were harmed and received long-term health effects from the exposure

17. What is Solid Waste? • Solid waste – undesirable material that is not a liquid or gas • Municipal solid waste – solid waste that comes from cities or urban areas • 75% of the solid waste produced in the United States comes from mining and oil and gas production

18. What are Characteristics of a High-Waste Society? • It would produce • Enough tires to circle the planet three times • Almost 2.5 million nonreturnable plastic bottles per hour • About 1.5 billion pounds of edible food per year • Some 186 billion pieces of junk mail each year

19. Hazardous Waste • Hazardous waste – discarded solid or liquid that • Contains carcinogenic, mutagenic or teratogenic compounds • Catches fire easily • Is reactive or unstable enough to explode • Is capable of corroding metal

20. Case Study – Bhopal, India • At a Union Carbide plant there was a gas eruption, creating a toxic cloud of gas. Many illegal squatters were victims. Their eyes, mouths and lungs burned due to this gas. These people were unaware of the gas in the air because the sirens at the plant had been turned off • Most victims $600 in compensation

21. How to Produce Less Waste • Waste management - a high-waste approach • Viewing the waste production as a result of economic growth • Waste and pollution prevention - a low-waste approach • Recognizing waste as possible resources or harmful substances that we shouldn’t be using

22. How Can We Reduce Waste • Consume less • Redesign processes and products to use less material and energy • Redesign manufacturing processes to produce less waste • Develop easily recyclable products • Design long lasting products • Eliminate excess packaging

23. Service Flow Economy • Customers lease or rent the services provided • A product produced yields more profit because it • Uses minimum amounts of materials • Has a long duration • Is easy to manage and maintain • Provides customers with services they desire

24. Reusing Waste • Example- filling an empty soda bottle with water after drinking the soda • Advantages- Reusing • Extends our resource supplies • Reduces energy use

25. Recycling • Primary (closed loop)- wastes are disposed of to create products of the same type • Secondary (down-cycling)- waste is transformed into different and lower quality products *Case Study: In the year 2000, the United States recycled/composted more municipal solid waste than any other industrialized country has before, which was 30% of all the waste.

26. Detoxifying Hazardous Waste • Bioremediation- the process in which microorganisms and enzymes alter hazardous material into harmless substances • Phytoremediation- the process in which contaminants are removed with the use of genetically engineered plants

27. Burning Waste • Mass-burn incinerators- machines which burn trash and municipal solid waste • Incineration of trash is not always the answer because: • Health threats become an issue due to air pollution

28. What is a sanitary landfill? • This is a landfill where waste is • Disposed of and spread out in thin layers • Compacted • Covered in clay/plastic foam

29. Case Study – Lead • Exposure to lead is hazardous to the nervous system and can lead to symptoms in people who are exposed to it such as: • Nervous system impairment • A decrease in one’s IQ level • A short attention span • Hyperactivity • Issues regarding one’s hearing • Behavior disorders • Reducing one’s lead exposure: • Testing building for leaded paints • Removing lead from piping and other parts of city water systems • Diminishing the use of leaded gasoline

30. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act • Passed in 1984, this act calls for • The EPA to identify hazardous wastes and set standards for management • Those who dispose of more than 220 pounds of waste must obtain a permit • A crave-to-grave system must be used by those with permits to keep order of transferred waste

31. The Superfund • The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (Superfund Program) put many acts and amendments in place • It entails the clean up of deserted waste sites • Those who left these sites polluted these sites must pay (”polluter pays”) • The worst sites are put on the National Priorities list • Once on the list- the sites groundwater has to be tested; it is isolated from the public; and there is clean up of the contaminated soil

32. Brownfields • Abandoned and frequently contaminated industrial and commercial sites • Examples include: • Factories, junkyards, landfills, gas stations