Chapter 8: Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution

Cyanide

________ is intentionally poured onto piles of mined rock to chemically extract gold.

feather oil

Seabirds ingest their _________ while preening, damaging their kidneys and livers.

agglomerations

Dispersants, sorbents, and detergents disperse, absorb, or clump oil into sinking gel-like ________.

photodegrades

As the plastic _____ into smaller and smaller pieces, it remains as plastic polymers leaching toxic chemicals into the upper water column.

disintegrates

As the plastic further _______, it becomes small enough to be ingested by aquatic organisms and birds near the ocean’s surface and eventually enters the marine food chain.

Urban Runoffs

These are the major source of urban flooding and water pollution in urban communities worldwide. It also creates:

High CO2

________ levels also make it difficult for fish to use the limited amount of oxygen present in the water and to discharge the CO2 in their bloodstream.

Low CO2

______ levels also result in a decreased rate of photosynthesis.

Heavy metals

These metals are non-biodegradable and can cause decreased reproductive rates and birth defects.

5.0 to 8.5

Most bodies of water have the highest biological diversity when the pH is near 7, with natural waters having pH values from ________.

5.5 to 6.0

Fresh rainwater may have a pH of ________ due to carbon dioxide dissolving in the water, making a weak carbonic acid solution.

total dissolved solids

High levels of _______ (TDS) can affect water clarity and photosynthesis and lead to a decline in the quality and taste of drinking water.

10-15

Wood can take ______ years to decompose.

10-30 days

Paper decomposes in ______, while glass does not decompose.

1 million

Some plastics can take up to ______ years to decompose.

2-5 months

Cotton and cloth can take _____ to decompose.

Toxic or hazardous

_____ wastes are often exported from developed countries to developing countries.

geologic repositories

Salt dome and bed formations, underground caves, and mines are _________.

100-500 years

Metals decompose in ________.

Water pollution

It is the contamination of water bodies

Point source pollution

Release pollutants from known locations, such as discharge pipes, that are regulated by federal and state agencies

Non-point source pollution

A combination of pollutants from a large area rather than from specific identifiable sources

Thermal Pollution

The degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature

Cultural eutrophication

It is the process whereby human activity increases the amount of nutrients entering surface waters

Nitrates

These are water-soluble and are found in fertilizers, which can remain on fields and accumulate, leach into groundwater, or end up in surface runoff and cause algal blooms in surface waters, resulting in decreased dissolved oxygen levels

Phosphates

These are also a component of fertilizers; however, they are not water-soluble, and they adhere to soil particles

Disease-causing microorganisms

Such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoa, can result in swimmers getting sick and shellfish becoming contaminated

Great Pacific Garbage Patch

A large system of rotating ocean currents of marine litter in the central North Pacific Ocean and is characterized by high concentrations of floating plastics, chemical sludge, and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre

Great Patch

Formed as a result of marine pollution gathered by oceanic currents as the gyres rotational pattern drew in waste material from across the North Pacific Ocean

Persistent Organic Pollutants

These are organic (carbon) compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical or biological processes or decomposition due to light

Water quality

Refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water and is a measure of the condition of the water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and/or to any human need or purpose

Water testing

It is a broad description for various procedures that are used to analyze water quality

Alkalinity

It measures the sum of the bicarbonate, carbonate, and hydroxide ions in the water, which raise the pH

Ammonia

When found in natural water, is regarded as an indicator of pollution

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)

It gives an approximation of the level of biodegradable waste in water

Carbon Dioxide

Aquatic vegetation, ranging from phytoplankton to large rooted plants, depends upon carbon dioxide and bicarbonates in the water for growth

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

If its level is too low, it indicates possible water pollution and shows a potential for further pollution downstream because the ability of the stream to self-cleanse will be reduced

Coliforms

These are a form of bacteria that are found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals; their presence in lakes, streams, and rivers is a sign of untreated sewage in the water

Fecal coliforms

They can get into the water from untreated human sewage or from farms and runoff from animal feedlots

Nitrate

This gets reduced to nitrites, which can be harmful to humans and fish

Nitrite

Occurs in water as an intermediate product in the biological breakdown of organic nitrogen being produced either through the oxidation of ammonia or the reduction of nitrate

Phosphates

These are essential nutrients for aquatic plants, but only in very low concentrations

Total hardness

It measures the total concentration of calcium and magnesium ions in the water

Turbidity

It is a measure of how light is scattered in the water column due to solids that do not dissolve but are small enough to be suspended in the water

Absorption

When one substance enters completely into another

Adsorption

When one substance just hangs onto the outside of another

Disinfection

Using chemicals and/or cleansing techniques that destroy or prevent the growth of organisms that are capable of infection

Filtration

Removes clays, natural organic matter, precipitants, and silts from the treatment process

Flocculation sedimentation

A process that combines small particles into larger particles that then settle out of the water as sediment

Ion exchange

Removes inorganic constituents and can be used to remove arsenic, chromium, excess fluoride, nitrates, radium, and uranium

Gland

An organ that secretes particular chemical substances for use in the body or for discharge into the surroundings

Endocrine System

A network of glands that make the hormones that help cells communicate with each other and is responsible for almost every cell, organ, and function in both humans and animals

Endocrine disruptors

These are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine or hormonal systems and can cause behavior, learning and developmental disorders, birth defects, cancerous tumors, and loss of fertility

Bisphenol A (BPA)

Used in plastic manufacturing and epoxy

Dioxins

By-product of herbicide production and paper bleaching, and released during burning wastes and wildfires

Phthalates

Used to make plastics more flexible

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Used to make electrical equipment, heat transfer fluids and lubricants

Wetland

It is a place where the land is covered by water, which can be freshwater, saltwater, or brackish water

Mangrove

A shrub or small tree that grows in slightly salty (brackish) water formed by seawater mixing with freshwater in estuaries

Bioaccumulation

It is the increase in the concentration of a pollutant within an organism

Biomagnification

It is the increasing concentration of a substance in the tissues of organisms at successively higher trophic levels within a food chain

Municipal solid waste (MSW)

More commonly known as trash or garbage-consists of everyday items that are used and then thrown away

Hazardous Wastes

Paints, chemicals, pesticides, etc

Organic Wastes

Kitchen wastes, vegetables, flowers, leaves, or fruits

Radioactive Wastes

Spent fuel rods and smoke detectors

Recyclable Wastes

Glass, metals, paper, and some plastics

Soiled Wastes

Hospital wastes

Microorganisms

Are used to break down biodegradable material and sewage sludge in the absence of oxygen

Incineration

A waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials and the conversion of the waste into ash, flue gas, and heat

Global waste trade

It is the international trade of waste between countries for further treatment, disposal, and/or recycling

Ocean dumping

The deliberate disposal of municipal and/or hazardous wastes at sea

Sanitary landfills

Method of waste disposal where the waste is buried either underground or in large piles, and where waste is isolated from the environment until it is safe

Reducing

Lessening the number of hazardous wastes by substituting and using products that are more "Earth-friendly."

Freon®

Its molecular structure contains chlorine, which seriously degrades the stratospheric ozone layer

Puron®

Substitutes fluorine for chlorine, and has less of an impact on the stratospheric ozone layer

Radioactive wastes

Usually a by-product of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission, such as research and medicine

Low-level radioactive wastes

Contain low levels of radiation and remain dangerous for a relatively short time

High-level radioactive wastes

Contain high levels of radiation and remain dangerous for a very long time

Reactive wastes

These are wastes that are unstable under normal conditions

Source-specific wastes

These are wastes from specific industries

Teratogens

These are substances found in the environment that can cause birth defects

Toxic wastes

These are wastes that are harmful or fatal when ingested or absorbed

Landfill capping

A containment technology that forms a barrier between the contaminated media and the surface, protecting humans and the environment from its harmful effects and limiting its migration

Hazardous waste landfills

Excavated or engineered sites for the final disposal of non-liquid hazardous waste are selected and designed to minimize environmental release

Permanent storage

Isolates hazardous waste from the environment by condensing or concentrating it

Surface impoundments

These are natural topographic depressions, man-made excavations, or diked areas that are used for temporary storage and/or for the treatment of liquid hazardous waste

Injection wells

These stores fluid deep underground in geologically stable, porous rock formations, such as sandstone or limestone, or into or below the shallow soil layer

Waste piles

These are non-containerized piles of solid, non-liquid hazardous waste that are used for temporary storage or treatment

Reduction and cleanup of hazardous wastes

These can occur by producing less waste, converting the hazardous material to less hazardous or nonhazardous substances, and placing the toxic material into perpetual storage

Brownfield

It is land that was previously used for industrial or commercial purposes, may have been contaminated with hazardous wastes, and is commonly found in large urban areas