Air Pollution
This criteria air pollutant causes asphyxiation (inability of the body to receive enough oxygen leading to suffocation).
What is carbon monoxide (CO)?
This water quality indicator measures the amount of oxygen that is present in a body of water and is essential for the survival of aquatic organisms.
What is dissolved oxygen (DO)?
This step of sewage treatment removes solids and debris.
What is primary treatment?
This is the phenomenon that occurs when the concentration of a pollutant increases in an organism's body fat over time.
What is bioaccumulation?
This piece of legislation protects public health by regulating emissions and sets maximum levels of emissions for the six criteria air pollutants.
What is the Clean Air Act?
This is an air pollution control device that is located in coal-burning power plants and factories.
What are scrubbers?
These two gases combined with water vapor lead to the formation of acid rain (precipitation).
What are NOx and SOx?
There will be a likely increase in this water quality indicator if there is more sediment runoff near the body of water.
What is turbidity?
This can be used as a disinfectant in the tertiary step of sewage treatment before effluent is discharged.
What are chlorine, UV light, and ozone?
This is the term for toxic chemicals that are fat soluble (in organisms) that persist in the environment and resist degradation.
What is persistent organic pollutants (POPs)?
This piece of legislation sets standards for the quality of water in rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water.
What is the Clean Water Act?
These are three toxic heavy metals discussed in class (list two) that can contaminate water.
What are Lead (Pb), Arsenic (As), and Mercury (Hg)?
This is a gas that can enter homes through cracks in the foundation or basement and exposure to the gas can lead to lung cancer.
What is radon?
This heavy metal can lead to neurological damage in young children due to higher concentrations of the organic form of this heavy metal found in larger fish.
What is mercury (methylmercury is more toxic)?
Modern sanitary landfills are lined with this material at the bottom to prevent groundwater contamination.
What is clay/plastic?
This is the measure of the amount of substance (usually measured in mg/kg) it would take to kill 50% of the test population.
What is LD50?
This piece of legislation gives the federal government authority to clean up toxic waste spills at brownfields, historically contaminated sites.
What is CERCLA (Superfund Act)?
These are two environmental disasters discussed in class caused by the presence of pollution.
What is Love Canal (hazardous waste), BP Deepwater Horizon/Corexit (oil spill), Exxon Valdez (oil spill), Flint Michigan (presence of lead in water), etc.?
These substances (there are two) combined with sunlight and oxygen contribute to the formation of photochemical smog.
What are NOx and VOCs?
These are TWO substances found in everyday consumer materials that can block or mimic hormones in the endocrine system for organisms (endocrine disruptors).
What is BPA (found in plastics), DDT (an insecticide), PCBs (found in plastics), phthalates, PBDE, dioxins, etc.?
This MSW disposal method is convenient and inexpensive but the ash produced can be contaminated with toxic chemicals.
What is incineration?
This insecticide/pesticide is a danger to birds because it is a persistent organic pollutant and an endocrine disruptor.
What is DDT?
This piece of legislation tracks hazardous waste from "cradle to grave", from the generation of the waste to its proper disposal.
What is RCRA (Resource Conservation Recovery Act)?
These are four items that DO NOT belong in the recycle bin.
What are yard waste/wood, tires/auto parts, foods/liquids, e-waste, paper napkins, foam, clothing/textiles, etc.?
This device reduces these harmful criteria air pollutants: NOx, CO, and hydrocarbons.
What are catalytic converters?
These are TWO causes of decreased dissolved oxygen levels in water.
What is higher temperatures, decomposition of organic matter, cultural eutrophication, algal blooms, etc.?
This is the greenhouse gas that is produced in modern sanitary landfills due to anaerobic bacteria breaking down organic matter.
What is methane (CH4)?
This water quality test can be used to most reliably and accurately determine if there is contamination from animal waste found in bodies of water.
What is fecal coliform test?
This piece of legislation established water standards for over 90 contaminants in community water systems.
What is Safe Drinking Water Act?
This is an effect of noise pollution on animals in marine ecosystems.
What is marine animals cannot communicate, navigate, hunt, hard time detecting predators, difficulty breeding, etc.?
This phenomenon occurs (and keeps air pollutants trapped) when there is a layer of warm air trapped between layers of cool air.
What is a thermal inversion?
These are TWO anthropogenic activities that directly contribute to cultural eutrophication.
What is water treatment discharge, agricultural and residential runoff, animal waste, sewer and drainage overflows, household products?
This contaminated liquid is collected in a modern sanitary landfill to prevent groundwater contamination.
What is leachate?
These are two historically common diseases caused by the consumption of dirty untreated sewage water leading to inflammation of organs in the digestive tract.
What is cholera and dysentery?
This "legislation" requires the FDA to ban carcinogenic (cancer-causing) additives.
What is Delaney Clause? (not on Unit 7 Exam.)
Water next to a sewage treatment plant will have elevated levels of these three water indicator tests.
What are fecal coliform bacteria, biological oxygen demand (BOD), nitrates, phosphates, turbidity, pH (debatable, not guaranteed based on the type of waste)?