chapter 5.2 water pollution. types of water pollution when you think of water pollution, what comes...
Post on 16-Dec-2015
225 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 5.2 Water Pollution
Types of Water Pollution When you think of water pollution,
what comes to mind?
Water Pollution Water pollution- the introduction of
chemical, physical, or biological agents into water that degrades the quality of the water and affects the organisms that depend on it.
Point sources- distinct locations that pump waste into a waterway.
Nonpoint sources- diffuse areas such as an entire farming region that pollutes a waterway.
Which of these is Non-Point?
Human Wastewater Water produced by human activities such as
human sewage from toilets and gray water from bathing and washing clothes or dishes.
Three reasons scientists are concerned about human wastewater:
Oxygen-demanding wastes like bacteria that put a large demand for oxygen in the water
Nutrients that are released from wastewater decomposition can make the water more fertile causing eutrophication (on next slide)
Wastewater can carry a wide variety of disease-causing organisms.
Eutrophication Eutrophication is an abundance of fertility to
a body of water - caused by an increase in nutrients, such as fertilizers.
Eutrophication can cause a rapid growth of algae which eventually dies, causing the microbes to increase the BOD.
Common Diseases from Human Wastewater
Cholera
Typhoid fever
Stomach flu
Diarrhea
Hepatitis
The vast majority of surface water on the planet is neither potable (fit for drinking) nor toxic. Approximately 25% of the world’s population has no access to potable water.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R_vpNQ0fJc
Pathogens: disease-causing organisms such as bacteria, viruses and parasitic worms often found in untreated waste water or animal feces.
Resulting Illnesses:
Biological Magnification The accumulation of pollutants at
successive levels of the food chain.
Treatments for Human and Animal Wastewater
Septic systems- a large container that receives wastewater from the house.
(transfer steps into personal diagrams)
Treatments for Human and Animal Wastewater Sewage Treatment Plants- centralized plants in areas with large populations
that receive wastewater via a network of underground pipes.
Heavy Metals and Other Substances that can threaten human Health and the
Environment
Lead
Arsenic
Mercury
Acids
Synthetic compounds (pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and hormones)
Oil Pollution
How do these compare to the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico (on Earth Day 2010)?
4.9 million barrels (over 200 million gallons) – many times more than any previous human-caused environmental disaster in history!
Ways to Remediate Oil Pollution Containment using
booms to keep the floating oil from spreading.
Chemicals that help break up the oil, making it disperse before it hits the shoreline (like Dawn dish soap).
Bacteria that are genetically engineered to consume oil
Other Water Pollutants
Solid waste pollution (garbage)
Sedim
en
t p
ollu
tion
(sa
nd,
silt
and
cl
ay)
Other Water Pollutants
Thermal pollution
INDUSTRIAL COMPOUNDS
A river on fire. In 1952, the polluted Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire after a spark ignited the film of industrial pollution that was floating on the surface of the water. (p.393)
Love Canal• NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y.--
Twenty five years after the Hooker Chemical Company stopped using the Love Canal here as an industrial dump (around 1950), 82 different compounds, 11 of them suspected carcinogens, have been percolating upward through the soil, their drum containers rotting and leaching their contents into the backyards and basements of 100 homes and a public school built on the banks of the canal.
Water Laws
Clean Water Act- (1972) supports the “protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water”. Issued water quality standards that defined acceptable limits of various pollutants in U.S. waterways.
Water Laws
Safe Drinking Water Act- (1974, 1986, 1996) sets the national standards for safe drinking water. It is responsible for establishing maximum contaminant levels (MCL) for 77 different elements or substances in both surface water and groundwater.
top related