Soil: The Foundation for Land Ecosystems 28/04/2012 20:40:00

Five golden rules of the tropics Keep soil covered Use minimal or no tillage Use mulch to provide nutrients to the soil Maximize biomass production Maximize biodiversity Most soils are hundreds of years old They change very slowly Soil science is at the heart of agriculture and forestry Soil is classified by profile, structure, and type

Soil texture: relative proportions of each soil type Parent material: mineral material of the soil Soil has its origin in the geological history of an area Weathering: gradual physical and chemical breakdown of parent material It may be impossible to tell what the parent material was Soil separates: small fragments smaller than stones Sand: particles from 2.0 to 0.063 mm

Silt: particles range from 0.063 to 0.004 mm Clay: anything finer than 0.004 mm Gravel, cobbles, boulders: particles larger than sand You can see the individual rock particles in sand Clay particles become suspended in water Clay is gooey because particles slide around each other on a film of water

Soil properties are influenced by its texture Larger particles have larger spaces separating them Small particles have more surface area relative to their volume Nutrient ions and water molecules cling to surfaces These properties profoundly affect soil properties

Infiltration, nutrient- and water-holding capacity, aeration Workability: the ease with which soil can be cultivated Clay soils are hard to work with: too sticky or too hard Sandy soils are easy to work with Horizons: horizontal layers of soil from soil formation Can be quite distinct Soil profile: a vertical slice through the soil horizons Reveals the interacting factors in soil formation O horizon: topmost layer of soil Dead organic matter (detritus) deposited by plants High in organic content Primary source of energy for the soil community Humus: decomposed dark material at the bottom of the O horizon A horizon (topsoil): below the O horizon A mixture of mineral soil and humus Permeated by fine roots Usually dark May be shallow or thick Vital to plant growth Grows an inch or two every hundred years E horizon: pale-colored layer below the A horizon Eluviation: process of leaching (dissolving) minerals due to downward movement of water B horizon (subsoil): below the E horizon Contains minerals leached from the A and E horizons High in iron, aluminum, calcium, other minerals, clay Reddish or yellow colored from oxidized metals C horizon: parent mineral material Weathered rock, glacial deposits, volcanic ash

Reveals geologic process that created the landscape Not affected by biological or chemical processes

Gelisols Soils with permafrost within 2 m of the surface Histosols Organic soils Spodosols Acid forest soils with a subsurface accumulation of metal-humus complexes Andisols

Soils formed in volcanic ash Oxisols Intensely weathered soils of tropical and subtropical environments Vertisols Clayey soils with high shrink/swell capacity Aridisols CaCO3 containing soils of arid environments with subsurface horizon development Ultisols Strongly leached soils with a subsurface zone of clay accumulation and <35% base saturation Mollisols Grassland soils with high base status Affisols Moderately leached soils with a subsurface zone of clay accumulation and >35% base saturation Inceptisols Soils with weakly developed subsurface horizons Entisols Soils with little or no morphological development Fertilizer: nutrients added to replace those that are lost Organic fertilizer: plant or animal wastes or both Manure, compost (rotted organic material) Leguminous fallow crops (alfalfa, clover) Food crops (lentils, peas) Inorganic fertilizer: chemical formulations of nutrients Lacks organic matter Much more prone to leaching

Transpiration: water is absorbed by roots and exits as water vapor through pores (stomata; singular = stoma) in the leaves Oxygen enters, and carbon dioxide exits, through stomata Loss of water through stomata can be dramatic Wilting: a plants response to lack of water

Conserves water Shuts off photosynthesis by closing stomata Severe or prolonged wilting can kill plants

Infiltration: water soaks into the soil Water runoff is useless to plants and may cause erosion Water-holding capacity: soils ability to hold water after it infiltrates Poor holding capacity: water percolates below root level Plants must depend on rains or irrigation Sandy soils Evaporative water loss depletes soil of water The O horizon reduces water loss by covering the soil

Aeration Novice gardeners kill plants by overwatering (drowning) Roots must breathe to obtain oxygen for energy Land plants depend on loose, porous soil Soil aeration: allows diffusion of oxygen into, and carbon dioxide out of, the soil Overwatering fills air spaces Compaction: packing of the soil Due to excessive foot or vehicular traffic

Reduces infiltration and runoff Strongly influenced by soil texture

Relative acidity (pH) The pH scale runs from 1 to 14 7 is neutral (neither acidic or alkaline) Different plants are adapted to different pH ranges Most do best with a pH near neutral Many plants do better with acidic or alkaline soils Blueberries do best in acidic soils Dead leaves, roots, other detritus on and in the soil Support a complex food web Bacteria, fungi, mites, insects, millipedes, spiders, earthworms, snails, slugs, moles, etc. Millions of bacteria are in a gram of soil Humus: residue of partly decomposed organic matter In high concentrations at the bottom of the O layer Extraordinary capacity for holding water and nutrients Composting: fosters decay of organic wastes Is essentially humus

Animals feeding on detritus also ingest mineral soil particles Castings: earthworm excrement of stable clumps of glued inorganic particles plus humus Burrowing of animals keeps clumps loose Soil structure: refers to the arrangement of soil particles Soil texture: refers to the size of soil particles A loose soil structure: best for infiltration, aeration, and workability Topsoil: clumpy, loose, humus-rich soil Loss of topsoil reduces crop yield by 8590% Mycorrhizae: a symbiotic relationship between the roots of some

plants and certain fungi Fungi draw nourishment from the roots Fungi penetrate the detritus, absorb nutrients, and pass them to the plant Nutrients are not lost to leaching Bacteria add nitrogen to the soil Nematodes: small worms that feed on roots Detrimental to plants May be controlled by other soil organisms (e.g., fungi) Mineralization: loss of humus and collapse of topsoil All that remains are the minerals (sand, silt, clay)

Erosion: the process of soil and humus particles being picked up and carried away by water and wind Occurs any time soil is bared and exposed Soil removal may be slow and gradual (e.g., by wind) or dramatic (e.g., gullies formed by a single storm) Vegetative cover prevents erosion from water Reducing the energy of raindrops Allowing slow infiltration Grass is excellent for erosion control Vegetation also slows wind velocity Splash erosion: begins the process of erosion Raindrops break up the clumpy structure of topsoil Dislodged particles wash between other aggregates Decreases infiltration and aeration Sheet erosion: the result of decreased infiltration More water runs off, carrying away fine particles Gully erosion: water converges into rivulets and streams Waters greater volume, velocity, energy remove soil Once started, erosion can turn into a vicious cycle Less vegetation exposes soil to more erosion Desertification: a permanent reduction in the productivity of arid, semiarid, and seasonally dry areas (drylands)

No-till agriculture: a technique allowing continuous cropping while minimizing erosion Routinely practiced in the U.S. After spraying a field with herbicide to kill weeds A planting apparatus cuts a furrow through the mulch Drops seeds and fertilizer Closes the furrow The waste from the previous crop becomes detritus So the soil is never exposed Low-till farming uses one pass (not 612) over a field Contour strip cropping: plowing and cultivating at right angles to contour slopes Shelterbelts: protective belts of trees and shrubs planted along plowed fields The U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Established in response to the Dust Bowl Regional offices provide information to farmers and others regarding soil and water conservation practices U.S. soil erosion has decreased through conservation Windbreaks, grassed waterways, vegetation to filter runoff Irrigation: supplying water to croplands artificially Dramatically increases production

Is a major contributor to land degradation Flood irrigation: river water flows into canals to flood fields Center-pivot irrigation: water is pumped from a well into a giant pivoting sprinkler The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is involved with supplying irrigation water to the western states Irrigating 4 million hectares (10 million acres) Worldwide irrigation is huge and is still rising Salinization: the accumulation of salts in and on the soil Suppresses plant growth Even the freshest irrigation water has some salt Watering dryland soils dissolves minerals in the soil Evaporation or transpiration leaves salts behind Salinization is considered a form of desertification Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act (FAIR) (1996) reduced subsidies and controls Farmers had greater flexibility over what to plant Declining prices prompted farm aid packages, which maintained subsidies and controls 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act subsidized farm products and kept price supports and farm income The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 kept high subsidies and encouraged farmers to plow grasslands But it does have programs to conserve soil and wetlands

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP; 1985) Farmers are paid $125/hectare ($50/acre) per year Highly erodible land is put into forest or grass In 2008, 14 million hectares (34.7 million acres) were enrolled, saving 454 million tons of topsoil from erosion/year The 2009 acreage was reduced to 32 million acres Conservation activities now receive $5 billion/year Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) The 2002 Conservation Security Program (CSP) Encourages stewardship of farms, forests, watersheds Renamed the Conservation Stewardship Program in the 2008 farm bill $1 billion to enroll 12 million acres of farmland

Nuclear Power

28/04/2012 20:40:00

Countries reconsidered nuclear power after the 1986 catastrophic accident at Chernobyl, in the Soviet Union Other sources of electricity have their own problems Coal: generates the most greenhouse gases and pollution Oil and natural gas: are limited Oil: vital for transportation Hydroelectric: already heavily developed Wind and solar: provide only a small amount of electricity The objective of nuclear power: to control the nuclear reaction Energy is released as heat Heat is used to boil water to steam The steam turns a conventional turbo generator Nuclear plants are base load plants They always operate (except during refueling) They are large (up to 1,400 MW) Nuclear energy involves changes at the atomic level Fission: a large atom of one element is split into two atoms of different elements Fusion: two small atoms join to form a larger atom of a different element The products of both have less mass than the starting material The small mass is multiplied by the speed of light squared, resulting in a tremendous release of energy

 speed

Fission occurs when a neutron hits the nucleus of

235

U at just the right

Some atoms of 235U undergo radioactive decay and release neutrons These neutrons can hit other 235U atoms, producing highly unstable 236 U 236U undergoes fission into lighter atoms (fission products) More neutrons are given off, releasing lots of energy This domino effect causes a chain reaction A nuclear reactor has a continuous chain reaction But does not amplify it into an explosion Control is through enriching uranium to 35% 235U Faster neutrons absorbed by 238U convert it to 239Pu Plutonium also undergoes fission and releases energy Moderators surround the enriched uranium A moderator slows down neutrons to the right speed to trigger another fission Light-water reactors (LWRs): moderator is near-pure water Loss of cooling accident (LOCA): occurs when a cracked reactor loses The missing moderator would stop fission The fuel core could still overheat Meltdown: enough energy is released to melt the core

water

Molten material falling into remaining water could cause a steam explosion Backup cooling systems keep the reactor in water The entire assembly is encased in a concrete containment building

Indirect products of fission: materials in and around the reactor can become radioactive by absorbing neutrons Radioactive wastes: direct + indirect products of fission High-level wastes: direct products of fission Are highly radioactive Low-level wastes: indirect products of fission For example, reactor materials Are much less radioactive Include material from hospitals and industry High doses: radiation can prevent cell division Radiation sickness: exposure (> 1 Sv) prevents replacement or repair of blood, skin, other tissues Can lead to death in days or months Low doses: can damage DNA Cells can form tumors or leukemia Damaged eggs or sperm can cause birth defects Effects of exposure may go unseen for 1040 years Other effects: weakened immune system, mental retardation, cataracts

Environmental Hazards and Human Health 28/04/2012 20:40:00

Pollution: the presence of a substance in the environment that because of its composition or quantity prevents functioning of natural processes and produces undesirable environmental or health effects

Pollutant: any material that causes pollution Usually by-products of some desirable action Agriculture, comfortable homes, transportation, etc. Pollution has increased due to population and consumption Along with accumulation of non-biodegradable products (e.g., plastic, synthetic organic chemicals) Environment: the whole context of human life The physical, chemical, and biological setting of where and how people live Home, air, water, food, workplace, climate, etc. Hazard: anything that can cause: Injury, disease, death to humans Damage to personal or public property Deterioration or destruction of environmental parts Health: a state of complete physical, social, and mental well-being Not just the absence of disease or infirmity Environmental health focuses on disease Health: the absence of disease Two measures are used to study disease Morbidity: the incidence of disease in a population

Mortality: the incidence of death in a population Epidemiology: the study of the presence, distribution, and prevention of disease in populations Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Part of the Department of Health and Human Services Provides tools and information to protect health Involved in health risk management and prevention Each state has its own public-health agency Can require shots, quarantines, monitoring diseases, etc. The U.S. has a huge health care industry Medicare, Medicaid, hospitals, physicians, etc. Health policies are limited by information and funding Limited funds should go to strategies that achieve the greatest risk prevention Countries have access to the WHO Established by the UN in 1948 Everyone should get the highest possible level of health Staffed by professionals and governed by the World Health Assembly A universal indicator of health In 1955, it was 48 years

It is now 68 years and will rise to 73 by 2025 Longer lives: due to social, medical, economic advances Epidemiologic transition: decreasing death rates accompany development Infectious diseases are replaced by diseases of aging But 92 million children still die each year Common diseases kill 47% of people in poor countries Industry and intensive agriculture have their own hazards Four classes of environmental hazards: Cultural, biological, physical, chemical There are two ways to consider hazards to health Lack of access to resources (clean water, food) Exposure to hazards in the environment that brings risk of injury, disease, or death Cultural hazards: many factors that cause death or disability are a matter of choice People engage in risky behavior (smoking, drinking, drugs, dont exercise, risky sexual practices, etc.) Through history, humans have battled bacteria and viruses The black plague and typhus The 19th century brought vaccinations and bacteriology Bacteriologists discovered most bacterial diseases The 20th century brought virology, antibiotics, immunizations

Global eradication of smallpox; victory over polio The battle will never be won Diseases are inevitable

25% of deaths are due to infectious or parasitic diseases Respiratory infections (diphtheria, influenza, etc.) are the leading causes of death in this category Pneumonia is the most deadly of these diseases Respiratory diseases lead to death in developing nations Mostly in children already weakened Most children are infected by rotavirus They die from untreated diarrhea in developing nations Food or water contaminated with bacteria also cause diarrhea Mycobacterium tuberculosis infects one-third of all people Tuberculosis has resurged due to complacency, HIV-weakened immune systems, and drug-resistant strains Malaria kills 881,000 people each year A mosquito infects a person with a protozoan parasite Red blood cells are destroyed, leading to anemia, fever, chills, and malaise 3.5 billion people suffer from parasitic worms Hookworms and schistosomes

Natural disasters include hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions The result of hydrological, meteorological, or geological forces Unimaginably dreadful events occurred in 2004-2005 The Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Pakistans earthquake Some hazards cant be anticipated (tornadoes, earthquakes) Others occur because of where people decide to live Many chemicals are hazardous even at very low levels Heavy metals, organic solvents, pesticides Acute poisoning episodes are understandable and preventable But it is hard to determine effects of long-term exposure to low levels of substances Carcinogens: cancer-causing agents Cancer develops over decades, so it is hard to connect cause with the effect There are 51 known and 188 suspected carcinogens Developing nations have rising exposure to chemicals Carcinogenesis: the development of a cancer It is a process with many steps spread over a long time Five or more mutations must occur to initiate a cancer Environmental carcinogens bind to, or disrupt, DNA This prevents DNA from functioning

With a mutation, it may take 40 years to lead to a malignancy Cells grow out of control and form tumors Which may metastasize (spread) The best strategy is prevention

The tropics have ideal climates for insect-borne diseases Mosquitoes are vectors for yellow fever, dengue fever, elephantiasis, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile, malaria Malaria is the most serious Control of malaria focuses on vector control: using pesticides on the Anopheles mosquito Or treatment strategies: curing infected people Malaria has been eradicated in the U.S. DDT is a successful, yet controversial, control for mosquitoes in developing countries Giving children insecticide-treated nets over their beds reduces mortality from all causes Bed nets, indoor DDT spraying, and effective drugs reduce malaria deaths A cost-effective, large-scale intervention in Africa The Plasmodium protozoan is becoming resistant to drugs Chloroquine is now ineffective against malaria ACT (artemisinin combination therapy) is effective But resistance is appearing

Airborne pollutants are hard-to-control hazards Hard to measure and avoid Three categories of impacts Chronic: pollutants cause gradual deterioration of physiological functioning over years Acute: pollutants cause life-threatening reactions within hours or days Carcinogenic: pollutants cause cellular changes leading to uncontrolled growth and division (cancer) Indoor air pollution can pose an even greater health risk than outdoor

air pollution Inside air can contain much higher levels of pollutants Indoor air pollution in developed countries is problematic More numbers and types of pollutants are being used Insulated buildings trap pollutants inside People spend more time indoors than out (e.g., children, pregnant women, the elderly or sick) There are many sources of indoor air pollution The least excusable is from smoking Toxicology: the science that studies the impacts of toxic substances on human health It investigates the relationships between substances and environmental or health problems

Water Pollution and Its Prevention 20:40:00

28/04/2012

Abundant nitrogen promotes growth of phytoplankton (photosynthetic microorganisms)

Zooplankton (microscopic animals) eat phytoplankton These dead organisms are eaten by bacteria, which also consume oxygen Dead zones last from May to September Until cold weather mixes the water The gulfs $2.8 billion fishery was affected Congress passed the 1998 Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act

Early in the Industrial Revolution chemicals and sewage were dumped directly into U.S. waterways Contaminating drinking water and causing disease In the late 1800s, Pasteur and others showed that sewage-borne bacteria caused infectious diseases Cities implemented sewers and toilets Receiving waters became cesspools Water became unfit for any recreational use Health problems were not seen as being caused by pollution but as the price of progress The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 The first federal action regarding water pollution Provided technical assistance but nothing else Waterways became open chemical and waste sewers In 1969, Ohios Cuyahoga River actually caught fire

The Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA) Passed by Congress in response to public outrage about polluted water Charged the EPA with restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of waters One of the most effective environmental laws enacted Point-source pollution: easy to identify, monitor, and regulate Factories, sewage systems, power plants, underground coal mines, oil wells Nonpoint-source pollution: poorly defined and scattered Agricultural runoff, storm-water runoff (streets, parking lots, lawns), atmospheric deposition Strategies to control water pollution Reduce/remove the source: best for nonpoint sources Treat the water before release: best for point sources

Pathogens: disease-carrying bacteria, viruses, parasites Found in human and animal excrement Even after symptoms disappear the organism can still carry the disease Public-health measures prevent diseases Purification and disinfection of public water supplies Sanitary collection and treatment of wastes Sanitary standards where food is prepared for the public Personal and domestic hygiene practices

Public-health departments set and enforce standards Sanitation = good medicine Organic matter: human and animal wastes Leaves, grass, trash, etc. Most (except plastic and some synthetic chemicals) is biodegradable Bacteria and detritus feeders consume organic matter and oxygen Water holds much less dissolved oxygen (DO) than air Cold water holds more DO (10 ppm) Even a little organic matter can deplete waters DO Bacteria consuming organic matter keep the DO low

(Biochemical oxygen demand) BOD: a measure of the amount of organic material in water How much oxygen is needed to break matter down The higher the BOD, the greater the likelihood DO will be depleted A high BOD limits or precludes animal life A DO < 2 or 3 ppm kills fish and shellfish Only bacteria can live in anaerobic (no oxygen) conditions A BOD value for raw sewage = 220 ppm Even 10 ppm can deplete water of DO

Inorganic chemicals: heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, nickel), acids from mine drainage or precipitation Road salts used to melt ice and snow Organic chemicals: petroleum, pesticides Industrial chemicals: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), cleaning solvents, detergents Many chemicals are toxic at very low levels Biomagnification: chemicals become concentrated when going up the food chain Higher concentrations change water chemistry Land weathering and storms wash sediments into water Erosion from farms, deforestation, overgrazing, construction, mining, roads increases sedimentation Clear water supports complex food webs Organisms attach to rocks or hide behind them to prevent washing downstream Clay and humus make water muddy Reducing light penetration and photosynthesis Settled material coats everything, reducing photosynthesis Smothering gills, feeding structures, and eggs

Bed load: destructive sand and silt that is not suspended, but is washed along the bottom Rolling particles scour organisms from rocks Smothering bottom life

Filling in hiding places Plants cant become established on the shifting sand Storm-water management reduces bed load with drains Some housing developments have ponds to trap runoff Water infiltrates the soil, creating wetlands

Nutrients: inorganic materials that are essential for plants Phosphorus and nitrogen: the two most important nutrients Limiting factors if they are in short supply Nutrients become pollutants when they stimulate undesirable plant growth in water Point sources: untreated or poorly treated sewage outfalls Particularly in developing countries Nonpoint sources: agriculture (fertilizers, manure, crops, irrigation water), lawns/gardens, golf courses, drains Many pollutants are in water only because of humans Pesticides, solvents, detergents Others occur naturally and become a problem under certain conditions Nutrients, sediments Pollution: any quantity that is harmful to human health or the environment It prevents full use of the environment The concentration, not presence, of a substance is the concern

National Recommended Water Quality Criteria Provides standards for assessing pollution Criteria pollutants: the EPAs list of 167 substances Toxins, nutrients, hardness, pH Identifies and recommends concentrations for all water Criteria maximum concentration (CMC): the highest single concentration beyond which impacts occur Criterion continuous concentration (CCC): highest sustained concentration beyond which impacts occur States used these criteria to uphold pollution laws Drinking Water Standards and Health Advisories: the EPAs table of standards for 94 contaminants Enforceable under the Safe Drinking Act (SDWA) Presented as maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) Arsenic: a known human carcinogen occurring naturally in groundwater Drinking waters MCL was 50 g/L (1 g/L = 1 ppb) Scientists warned this was much too high After political delays, the EPA lowered it to 10 g/L National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES): addresses point-source pollution Permits for regulating wastewater and industrial discharges Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program: evaluates all sources (mainly nonpoint) of water pollutants

Accounts for the waters ability to assimilate the pollutant 92% of U.S. peoples drinking water meets drinking water standards 42,000 rivers, lakes do not meet water quality standards Over 60% of U.S. waters have not been assessed at all Primary treatment: removes debris and grit Bar screen: mechanically rakes debris for removal and incineration Grit chamber: grit is allowed to settle and is removed Primary clarifiers: tanks where particulate matter settles to the bottom and fatty/oily materials float Raw sludge: particulates and oily materials that must be treated

separately Organisms feed on colloidal and dissolved organic matter Decomposers and detritus feeders Oxygen is added to enhance respiration and growth Trickling filter system: primary treated water is sprinkled onto a bed of rocks 68 feet deep Bacteria, protozoans, rotifers, worms, etc. Activated sludge system: the most common treatment Primary treated water enters a tank with an air bubbling system or paddles Activated sludge: a mixture of detritus-feeding organisms Added to water as it enters the tank

Organisms reduce the biomass (including pathogens) Floc: clumps of organisms that settle in still water Secondary clarifier tank: organisms settle out 90% of organic material has been removed Settled organisms (activated sludge) are pumped back into the aeration tank Excess activated sludge is added to the raw sludge Organisms oxidize material to CO2, H2O, nutrients BNR (Biological nutrient removal): a secondary activated-sludge system Removes nutrients and oxidizes detritus Nitrogen removal: bacteria convert ammonia and nitrate to nonnutritive nitrogen gas (denitrification) The activated sludge system is partitioned into zones that promote the denitrifying process Phosphorus: is taken up and stored by bacteria Bacteria are then added to the raw sludge Alternatives to BNR: chemical treatments use lime, ferric chloride, or a polymer to remove phosphorus Wastewater is disinfected by: Chlorine gas: effective, cheap, but dangerous to work with and harms aquatic life Sodium hypochloride (Chlorox): a safer way to add Cl Ozone gas: kills microorganisms but must be generated (costly and energetically expensive) Ultraviolet light: kills microorganisms but little else

Discharged wastewater has low BOD and may improve water quality Many areas still use only primary, or no, treatments

Raw sludge: particulate matter that settles out or floats to the surface during primary treatment Includes excesses from activated-sludge and BNR A gray, foul-smelling, syrupy liquid, 97% water May contain pathogens Sludge may be used as organic material If it contains no pathogens and no toxic contaminants Sludge is converted to organic fertilizer through anaerobic digestion, composting, and pasteurization It does not remove heavy metals or toxins Composting: mixing raw sludge with water-absorbing material to reduce the water content Windrows: long, narrow piles of compost that allow air to circulate Bacteria and other decomposers break down material into rich humuslike material for treating poor soil Pasteurization: dewatered raw sludge is dried in ovens Kills pathogens The dry, odorless pellets are sold as organic fertilizer The septic tank and leaching field: the most common and traditional system Wastewater flows into tanks where particulates settle and are digested by bacteria

Accumulations are periodically pumped out Water, organic material, and dissolved nutrients flow into a leaching field and percolate into the soil Soil bacteria decompose the matter Gardens can be planted over leaching fields Nutrient-rich water from secondary treatment is beneficial for growing plants Keep it out of waterways, but use it on fields Effluents must not contain toxic materials Cities irrigate open space, lawns, golf courses with effluent Money from selling the water offsets operating costs Developing countries use untreated sewage to irrigate crops Growing crops but spreading disease Only treated effluents should be used In lakes and ponds less than 68 feet deep, SAV can reach the surface, totally covering the water body with a thick mat of vegetation Boating, fishing, swimming are impossible Dead mats sink and create a BOD that depletes the dissolved oxygen Killing all organisms, except for bacteria Natural eutrophication: part of the process of natural succession Cultural eutrophication: accelerated eutrophication caused by humans

Poor farming, urban runoff, sewage

All of these methods are temporary They have to be repeated often and at significant cost Applying herbicides: to control phytoplankton and SAV Herbicides also kill fish and aquatic animals Rotting vegetation depletes oxygen, killing more fish Vegetation rapidly regrows Aerating: plastic tubes with tiny holes dissolve bubbles in the water A costly way to break down detritus

Harvesting: bottom-rooted plants in shallow lakes or ponds reach and sprawl over the surface Plants are removed mechanically or by hand The plants make good fertilizer and mulch Since roots are left, vegetation soon grows back Drawing water down: kills most rooted plants But they grow back Long-term strategies to reduce nutrients and sediments Identify the source Develop and implement strategies for correction

Each watershed must be separately analyzed The concept of limiting factors: the lack of one nutrient can suppress growth Phosphorus (phosphate): in freshwaters Nitrogen (nitrate, ammonium ion): in marine systems The EPA has the responsibility of overseeing U.S. waters But it can develop regulations only if Congress gives it the authority The Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA): gives the EPA jurisdiction over (and requires permits for) all point sources of pollution $78 billion helps cities and towns build treatment plants The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF): provides direct grants to build treatment facilities Money paid back goes as loans to others Congress is debating: Whether the act should be strengthened or weakened If regulations intrude on private property rights How regulatory relief should be given to industries, cities, and people How to deal with the TMDL program For the past 20 years, Congress has reauthorized the CWAs provisions and kept the status quo

Hazardous Chemicals: Pollution and Prevention 28/04/2012 20:40:00

Toxicology: the study of the harmful effects of chemicals on human and environmental health Toxicologists study acute toxicity effects, chronic effects, and carcinogenic potential Data on toxic chemicals comes from The National Toxicology Program (NTC) The Chemical Repository The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) The EPAs Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) The dose (level of exposure multiplied by the length of time of exposure) is linked with the response (effects) If a chemical has a low toxicity, concern centers on chronic or carcinogenic effects Human exposure to a hazard is a vital part of risk characterization Exposure comes from the workplace, food, water, and environment It is hard to get an accurate determination of exposure There is usually a threshold level in the dose-response relationship Organisms can usually deal with some level of a substance without suffering ill effects Threshold level: the level below which there are no ill effects Effects above this level depend on concentration and duration of exposure It is high for short exposures, and lower as time increases

The EPA takes a zero-dose, zero-response approach for carcinogens There is no evidence of a threshold level for them But lower doses are less likely to produce cancers The field of toxicology is well established It is the most important source of sound science for supporting regulations from the EPA and FDA The NTP was established in 1978 The worlds leader in assessing chemical toxicity and carcinogenicity

Hazardous material (HAZMAT): a chemical that presents a certain hazard or risk (excluding radioactive materials) Ignitability: substances that catch fire readily (gasoline) Corrosivity: substances that corrode tanks and equipment (acids)

Reactivity: chemically unstable substances May explode or create toxic fumes if mixed with water (explosives, sulfuric acid) Toxicity: substances that are injurious when eaten or inhaled (chlorine, pesticides, etc.) Total product life cycle: encompasses all steps in a materials life from raw materials to disposal Chemical wastes and by-products are inevitable Over 80,000 chemicals are registered in the U.S. They enter the environment at every stage Chemicals enter the environment directly (e.g., fertilizers) Parts are left behind (e.g., evaporation of solvents) Through use (e.g., lubricants, solvents) Through energy use (gasoline, coal, etc.) Through accidents or spills Industry, small shops, and homes release chemicals Toxic Release Inventory (TRI): provides an annual record of releases of 650 chemicals by 22,000 facilities Total releases have declined by 61% since 1990 The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA 1986) Industries must report releases of toxic chemicals to the environment The Pollution Prevention Act (1990): mandates collection of data of chemicals treated on-site Halogenated hydrocarbons: synthetic organics that contain halogens: chlorine, bromine, fluorine, iodine Chlorinated hydrocarbons (organic chlorides): the most common halogenated hydrocarbons Plastics, pesticides (DDT), solvents (carbon tetrachloride), insulation (polychlorinated biphenyls) Most dirty dozen POPs are halogenated hydrocarbons All are toxic and cause cancer in animals

Many are endocrine disrupters at low levels Banned or restricted by the 2004 Stockholm Convention

The Clean Air and Clean Water Acts ended disposal of hazardous wastes into the air and water So companies turned to unregulated land disposal Three land disposal methods were used in the 1970s Without regulations or enforcement, groundwater contamination was inevitable Deep-well injection: boreholes are drilled thousands of feet below groundwater into porous formations A well contains pipes and casings that isolate wastes The well is sealed at the bottom to prevent backup The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1996) prompted the EPA to study surface impoundments The 2007 TRI reported 781 million lbs of toxics released to on-site (disposal by producers on their own facilities) surface impoundments 18,000 surface impoundments exist at 7,500 facilities Two-thirds of impoundments contain materials with carcinogenic and other human health concerns Most impoundments are only a few meters above groundwater, and more than half lack liners ` RCRA sets standards for disposal of wastes in landfills Concentrated liquids or solids are put into drums Best-demonstrated available technologies (BDATs) Treatment standards for wastes are set by the EPA Reduce chemical toxicity and mobility Technologies include stabilization and incineration, chemical oxidation, and other specific techniques Only 23 landfills in North America receive off-site hazardous wastes Received 403 million lbs in 2007

Orphan sites: some companies or individuals stored wastes on their own property, then went out of business, abandoning the property and wastes Leaking drums could cause explosions and fires Valley of the Drums (VOD): in Kentucky One of the most famous abandoned sites Love Canal, New York: brought the problem of unregulated dumping to the publics attention The absence of public policy made the situation worse Contaminated drinking water: a major public health threat The first priority: ensure that people have safe water Second: clean up or isolate the pollutions source to prevent further contamination The Safe Drinking Water Act (1974): the EPA set national standards to protect public health Including allowable levels of specific contaminants Maximum contaminant levels (MCLs): if contaminants exceed this level, the water source is closed The EPA has jurisdiction over groundwater, too Groundwater remediation: a developing technology used if toxic materials have contaminated groundwater Techniques involve drilling wells, pumping out contaminated water, purifying it, and reinjecting it Cleaning up the source of the water is mandatory If contamination is severe, remediation may not be possible Groundwater is considered unfit for drinking

The trust pays for identification of sites, protection and remediation of groundwater, and cleanup of sites Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA; 1986): greatly expands the Superfund program All sites cannot be cleaned up, so priorities must be set All sites are identified, and threats to groundwater are determined If no immediate threat exists, nothing else is done If a threat exists, measures are taken to protect the public by isolating the wastes National Priorities List (NPL): contains the worst sites These sites are scheduled for total cleanup The site is evaluated to determine the most cost-effective way to clean it up Efforts are made to identify potential responsible parties (PRPs) Industries are invited to help pay or participate in cleanup activities

Soil contaminated with toxic organic compounds does not degrade The soil lacks organisms and/or oxygen Bioremediation: another cleanup technology Oxygen and organisms are injected into the site The organisms feed on and eliminate the pollutants Then they die

Phytoremediation: using plants to decontaminate heavy metalcontaminated soil Plants stabilize the soil and reduce movement of contaminants by erosion They also extract the contaminants by direct uptake The plants are removed and treated as toxic waste The process can be slow and is only used where contamination is not toxic to plants Sunflowers capture uranium, poplar trees soak up dry-cleaning solvents, ferns thrive on arsenic Brownfields: a highly successful Superfund development Abandoned, idled, or underused industrial or commercial facilities Expansion or development is hampered by real or perceived environmental contamination Hazards not serious enough to be on Superfund NPL still impair $2 trillion worth of real estate The Brownfield Act (2002) gives grants for site assessment and remediation work Limits liability for owners of contaminated land The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976) Cornerstone legislation designed to prevent unsafe or illegal disposal of all solid wastes on land All disposal facilities (e.g., landfills) must have permits Facilities must have safety features Old facilities are shut down and become Superfund sites Toxic wastes destined for landfills must be converted to forms that will leach Requires cradle-to-grave tracking of hazardous wastes

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Industries used to force workers to do jobs that exposed them to hazardous materials without informing them of the dangers involved Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 Its amendments make up the hazard communication standard (workers right to know) Workers right to know: businesses, industries, and labs must make information on hazardous materials available Along with providing suitable protective equipment Material safety data sheets (MSDSs): give information on over 600 chemicals when they are shipped, stored, and handled Contain information on reactivity and toxicity Tell what precautions to follow when using the chemical It is the workers responsibility to read the information and exercise precautions In the past, substances were introduced without testing for side effects The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA; 1976): before a chemical can be bulk produced, manufacturers must submit a pre-manufacturing notice to the EPA It details potential environmental and health risks The EPA may restrict or prohibit the product The EPA must use the least burdensome approach Compare the costs and benefits of regulation It is the fair treatment and involvement of all people Equal enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies regardless of race, color, etc.

No group of people should bear a disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences Hazardous facilities are more likely to be located in areas where most residents are non-Caucasian and poor The rich generate wastes but dont want them close President Clinton issued an executive order in 1994 focusing agency attention on environmental justice (EJ) The EPAs EJ program has awarded millions to organizations and local governments addressing EJ issues International EJ: some developing countries import hazardous wastes from developed countries for money The Basel Convention: an international agreement banning most international toxic-waste trade The Basel Action Network publicizes and coordinates legal challenges to waste shipments