 Do’s (you must have ATLEAST 4 in this column)  Do not’s (you must have ATLEAST 4 in this column)

 Steps to guide you through.  Find your team members and sit at a lab table.  ONE person from your team come get your questions and a piece of paper.  Write all your names at the top of the paper and answer the questions on the sheet of paper.  YOU HAVE 20 minutes for this assignment!  HINT: one group member can use a phone as a reference.  Chapter 19 page 304

Environmental Science Chapter 19 Pages

 Humans produce lots of solid waste.  Disposing waste has been a problem since ancient Greece.  Solid waste thrown into streets caused outbreaks of deadly diseases (cholera, typhoid).  Water was contaminated with waste (water pollution).  Land contaminated with waste (land pollution).  NYC: waste thrown into streets then dumped into the Atlantic Ocean

Landfill Problems:  Space for waste in landfill is limited.  Waste leads to populations of rats, flies, cockroaches.  Decaying waste produce incredibly bad odors and methane gas (think the Meadowlands on a really hot day).  Rain and snow carry pollutants from the landfills into the soil and water around the landfills (leaching).

 Layers of clay, thick plastic liners to prevent leaching.  Compacting waste very tightly to put more into the same space.  Planting grass and trees on top of closed landfills. (Mount Trashmore, Virginia Beach)  Pipes that allow methane gas to escape from the landfill. (Bioreactors)

 What are solid wastes?  List three different ways humans have used to dispose of solid wastes.  What effects do you think the Meadowlands landfill has on organisms in the wetlands and Newark Bay?

 What is a superfund site?  List and describe 3 types of waste. Here is 1 to get you started…  1. corrosive

 Hazardous wastes: any solid liquid or gas that even in small amounts can be harmful to humans.  Industrial wastes are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

 Reactive Wastes – can explode (metal form of sodium, gunpowder, gas, oil, propane)  Corrosive Wastes – can eat through steel (concentrated acids, lye, batteries, bleach)  Ignitable Wastes – can burst into flame at low temperatures (paint thinners, oil, cleaning fluids)  Radioactive Wastes – radiation releasing compounds (mining, medical, scientific research)  Medical Wastes – (used syringes, blood and tissue samples, old medicines)

 Love Canal, Niagara Falls, NY – Hooker Chemical Company began dumping toxic chemical wastes into the Love canal in 1940’s.  In 1953 the company sold the land to the town for a school and housing. 56% of all children had birth defects. 900 families effected.  First Superfund cleanup site.  80+ toxic chemicals found

 Cornell-Dubilier Electronics Company, South Plainfield, NJ

 Electronics company in South Plainfield, NJ from  Dumped chemicals (PCB’s, TCE, metals and volitles) into the soil around the factory.  8,700 people live within 1 mile of the site. The toxic chemicals were found in nearby homes and businesses.  Fish from the Bound Brook also showed high levels of the same chemicals.  In 1998, the EPA placed this site in the SuperFund for immediate cleanup.  The cleanup and monitoring is still going on today.

 Loss of the top layers of soil is known as erosion.  Areas where deserts meet grasslands can be lost through process called desertification.  Clearing forests, overgrazing of livestock, water loss and bad farming can all cause top soil loss.

Desertification Deforestation Drought/overgrazing Bad Farming practices

 Strip-cropping divides fields into strips that are plowed alternating with strips that are planted.  Contour farming follows the natural rise and fall of the fields leaving spaces between rows to collect water.  Terraces or platforms built into the side of a very steep hill slowing water flow and soil loss.  Shelter belt or windbreaks slow down wind erosion.

Strip-cropping Contour farming Terracing Shelter Belts

 Problem: Disposable items makeup ¼ of landfills. (paper towels, paper plates)  Solution: Substitute reuseable or recycled items (washable cloth towels, china plates) Recycling paper, metal, glass, cardboard. Biodegradable items decompose easily and enrich the soil. Compost tree, grass clippings and other plant materials.

 Waste Exchange – hazardous waste from one company is collected by a waste exchange agency to be used by other companies to make their products.  Deep-well Injection – hazardous waste from oil drilling is injected deep into the earth.  Secure chemical landfill – hazardous waste is sealed in a deep pit dug into bedrock. Pipes are used to collect collect any leaked materials.

 Controlled Incineration – hazardous wastes are burned at very high temperatures ( o C) This method was used for most of the contaminated soil in South Plainfield, NJ  Chemical/Biological treatment plants - some hazardous waste can be neutralized by treatment.  Radioactive disposal – sealed in steel drums encased in concrete then placed under water in deep vaults.

 EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) was created in 1970 to protect the environment.  Superfund Act (1980):  Cleanup hazardous waste dumps  Make the polluters responsible pay for cleanup  Develop a list of the worst sites  Emergency action in the case of spills