Principles of Pollution Control, Toxicology, and Risk

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Principles of Pollution Control, Toxicology, and
Risk

• By
• Mr. Kling

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Pollution

• The addition to an environment of a substance or
  agent (such as heat) by human activity, at a rate
  greater than at which it can be rendered harmless
  by the environment, and which has an appreciable
  effect on the organisms within it.

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2 Types

• Non-point Source The release of pollutants from
  numerous, widely dispersed origins. (Ex gases
  from exhaust of automobiles, fertilizer runoff
  from lawns and fields.)
• Point Source The release of pollutants from a
  single, clearly identifiable site. (Ex factory
  chimney or waste disposal pipe of a factory into
  a river)

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Sources of Pollution

• Combustion of fossil fuels
• Domestic (municipal or household) waste
• Industrial Waste
• Manufacturing
• Agricultural systems
• Radioactive
• Heavy metals from mining in water supply
• Petroleum spills
• Thermal
• Noise
• Light

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• Pollution Population X Consumption
• (Remember also that Impact Population X
  Consumption)

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• There are no pollution-free areas, even in nature
  prior to the appearance of man.
• Pollution is a natural process.
• Humans accelerate it in 2 ways
• The quantity of waste produced is vast.
• The waste we produce is often persistent in the
  environment (difficult to break down).

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Ways to Detect and Monitor Pollution

• Direct Actually measure levels of specific air
  pollutants in the air, water, or soil. Can use
  titrations, probes, etc.
• Indirect Measure the impacts of pollution, not
  the pollutants itself. (Ex Measuring the
  diversity and abundance of organisms in an
  environment. Monitor the effects of acid rain,
  such as deterioration of stone, or the change in
  pH in a water body.)

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Eutrophication

• The natural or artificial enrichment of a body of
  water, particularly with respect to nitrates and
  phosphates, that results in the depletion of the
  oxygen content of the water.
• Eutrophication is accelerated by human activities
  that add detergents, sewage or agricultural
  fertilizers to bodies of water. We call this
  cultural eutrophication.

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Effects of Eutrophication

• Death of fish and other organisms.
• Loss of species diversity.
• Breaking down of food chains.
• Increased turbidity (cloudiness of water)
• Death of aquatic plants (A.K.A. macrophytes)

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Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)

• A measure of the amount of dissolved oxygen
  required to break down the organic material in a
  given volume of water through aerobic biological
  activity. A.K.A. Biochemical Oxygen Demand

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How Should We Manage Pollution?Life Cycle
Analysis (LCA)

• A process that follows the entire life cycle of
  a product from mining of raw materials to its
  eventual disposal.
• The producer of a good responsible for creating a
  plan to reduce/reuse/recycle/dispose.
• Sometimes called cradle to grave or cradle to
  cradle analysis.
• Practiced widely in Germany.

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Environmental Impact Assessment

• A method of detailed survey required, in many
  countries, before a major development. Ideally,
  it should be independent of, but paid for, by the
  developer. Should include a baseline study to
  measure environmental conditions before the
  development and identify habitats and species of
  critical importance. Known as an Environmental
  Impact Statement (EIS) or Environmental
  Management Review is some countries. Monitoring
  should also continue after the development for
  some time.

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