Water Pollution Part 2

Question 1

What is point source pollution?

Answer 1

Pollutants from a specific source, like a storm drain

Question 2

What is a plume?

What are 3 examples of plumes?

Answer 2

Contaminants that deep from a concentrated area

• LUST
• thermal pollution
• leaking septic tank

Question 3

What is a LUST?

Answer 3

Leaking underground storage tank

Question 4

What is non-point source pollution?

Answer 4

Pollutants that don’t have a specific source, like parking lots and agricultural fields

Question 5

What is atmospheric deposition?

What is 1 example?

Answer 5

Pollutants are released into air and re-deposited elsewhere

Coal plants release mercury (Hg) into air, which settles on lakes and is ingested by fish

Question 6

What pH is needed to classify rain as acid rain?

Answer 6

7.5

Question 7

What 2 compounds combine with water to make acid rain?

Answer 7

Nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2)

Question 8

Acid rain leaches what 2 elements from rock?

What are 2 types of rock that are commonly affected?

Answer 8

Aluminum (Al) and mercury (Hg)

Marble and limestone

Question 9

In water, what are 2 pollutants that cause low pH?

Answer 9

Sulfur and industrial waste

Question 10

Do sulfur and industrial waste cause a low or high pH in water?

Answer 10

Low

Question 11

What is N, P, and K?

What are 2 large contributors?

Answer 11

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium

Detergents, fertilizer, and manure

Question 12

What is oxygen level measured in?

Answer 12

ppm (parts per million) aka mg/L

Question 13

How does air enter water?

Answer 13

Photosynthesis and waves

Question 14

What is the healthy oxygen level?

Answer 14

6-10 ppm

Question 15

What is the biological oxygen demand (BOD)?

Answer 15

The amount of oxygen needed to sustain organisms

Question 16

What are the results of decomposition?

Answer 16

It releases nutrients and the aerobic bacteria digesting it use up oxygen

Question 17

What is cultural eutrophication?

Answer 17

Nutrition is increased, hypoxia occurs, algae and phytoplankton grow. Leads to a dead zone.

Question 18

What is hypoxia?

Answer 18

Low oxygen concentration

Question 19

Why do algae and phytoplankton grow a lot during eutrophication?

Answer 19

Nitrogen and phosphorus encourage plant growth

Question 20

What is blue baby syndrome caused by?

What happens to a baby that has it?

Where does blue baby syndrome most frequently occur?

Answer 20

Nitrates from contaminated water binds to red blood cells

They slowly suffocate

The corn belt of the USA (lots of agricultural farms)

Question 21

What is thermal pollution?

What is the main consequence of thermal pollution?

What are 3 sources of thermal pollution?

Answer 21

Heat in water

Warm water holds less oxygen

Power plants, industrial coolant, asphalt

Question 22

What is turbidity?

What increases it?

What is an effect of organic turbidity?

What is an effect of inorganic turbidity?

Answer 22

Cloudiness of water

Runoff

Organic uses up oxygen during decomposition

Inorganic can interfere with photosynthesis by blocking sunlight

Question 23

What are 2 examples of waterborne viruses?

What are 2 examples of waterborne bacteria?

What is 1 example of waterborne parasites?

Answer 23

Polio and rotavirus

Cholera and coliform

Giardia

Question 24

Where does fecal coliform come from?

What does excess fecal coliform indicate?

Answer 24

Warm blooded animals

Other pathogenic bacteria are present

Question 25

What causes toxic tide or red tide? What is pfiesteria piscidia?

Answer 25

Dinoflagellates, single called organisms that digest fish alive The species of dinoflagellates that are poisonous to eat and breathe

Question 26

What are 2 main sources of radioactive materials in water? What elements does it release?

Answer 26

Coal mining and ore processing Cesium (Cs), thermium, (Th), uranium (U)

Question 27

What does it mean if a chemical is inorganic? What are 4 examples of inorganic chemicals? What are 2 sources of inorganic chemicals?

Answer 27

It has no carbon Mercury (Hg), tin (Sn), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) Household cleaners and industrial effluent

Question 28

Where is mercury stored?

Answer 28

The nervous system

Question 29

What does it mean if a chemical is organic? What are 2 examples of organic chemicals? What are 2 sources of organic chemicals?

Answer 29

It has carbon Pesticides and pharmaceuticals Farms and birth control (estrogen)

Question 30

What does POP stand for? What are POPs? What are 4 examples of POPs?

Answer 30

Persistent organic pollutants Synthetic chemicals that deteriorate slowly, are stored in fatty tissue, and are bad for health DDT, PCB, dioxin, furan

Question 31

What is DDT? What is PCB? What is dioxin and furan?

Answer 31

Pesticide used for mosquitoes and cotton crop pests Heat exchange fluid in electrical transformers By product of municipal and medical trash incineration

Question 32

What happened at the Stockholm convention?

Answer 32

"Dirty dozen" POPs were banned

Question 33

What are 3 ways to reduce pollution?

Answer 33

Fertilize less Establish buffer strips Keep livestock and feedlots away from streams

Question 34

What are buffer strips? What do the do?

Answer 34

Strips of land between developed areas and bodies of water Absorb runoff and excess rain

Question 35

What is contour plowing?

Answer 35

When crops are oriented against the flow of rain to absorb water and prevent erosion

Question 36

What are cover crops? What do they do?

Answer 36

Crops planted in the off season Anchor soil to prevent erosion

Question 37

What is gray water?

Answer 37

Water from showers, dishwashers, and washing machines

Question 38

What percent of our domestic water use is for flushing toilets? For bathing?

Answer 38

40% 37%

Question 39

What percent of industrial water use is for cooling equipment? What does this cause?

Answer 39

50% Wasted heat and thermal pollution

Question 40

Globally, what is the #1 use of water?

Answer 40

Agriculture

Question 41

What inspired the clean water act? What does the act require? What did the act set?

Answer 41

The cuyahoga river fire (1968) Pollutant discharge permits for effluents Water quality standards (MCLs)

Question 42

What are injection wells?

Answer 42

Wells that inject waste, oil, or solution into the ground

Question 43

What is an aquatard?

Answer 43

A semi permeable layer that limits water flow

Question 44

What is cloud seed? What are 3 chemicals used in cloud seeding? What are effects of cloud seeding?

Answer 44

Chemicals that clump water droplets together to make it rain Dry ice, potassium iodide, silver iodide Loss of rain elsewhere and possible water contamination

Question 45

What is desalination? What are 2 examples of desalination? What are 2 consequences of desalination? Where are most desalination plants?

Answer 45

Removing salt from ocean water to make it drinkable Distillation: boil, steam, cool Reverse osmosis: water pushes through semi permeable membrane 3-4 times more expensive Uses a lot of energy 85% are in the Middle East

Question 46

What are 4 consequences of dams?

Answer 46

Disrupts terrestrial ecosystems, loss of habitat (farming), siltation of penstocks, evaporation and runoff increase salinity

Question 47

Why is the Colorado river salty and dry?

Answer 47

Irrigation leaches salt into river, causing salt poisoned fields, the Colorado is diverted into CA, NV, AZ, and Mexico

Question 48

What are 3 consequences of the glen canyon dam?

Answer 48

Blocks fish passages, traps nutrient rich soil, raises water temp

Question 49

Why is the Aral Sea salty and dry?

Answer 49

In the 60s water was diverted for agriculture, it's now saltier than the ocean