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Groundwater pollution also was by METE or methyl tertiary butyl ether which was a gasoline additive since 1979. There were about kick leaking contaminants into aquifers by the 1 9905. Groundwater can also be contaminated by nitrate ions and it can cause cancer. Plume A volume of contaminated groundwater that extends downward and outward from a specific source; the shape and movement of the mass of the contaminated water is affected by the local geology, materials present in the plume, and the flow characteristics of the area groundwater.
Why does ground water take longer to cleanse itself of pollutants? Once a pollutant from a leaking underground storage tank or other source contaminates groundwater, it fills the aquifers porous layers of sand, gravel, or bedrock like water saturates a sponge. This makes removal of the contaminant difficult and costly. Once it reaches an aquifer, the slowly flowing groundwater disperses the pollutant in a widening plume of contaminated water. If the plume reaches a well used to extract groundwater, the toxic pollutants can get into drinking water and into water used to irrigate crops.
When groundwater becomes contaminated, it cannot cleanse itself or degradable sates as flowing surface water does. Groundwater flows so slowly, usually less than 0. 3 meter per day, that contaminants are not diluted and dispersed effectively. In addition, groundwater usually has much lower concentrations of dissolved oxygen (which helps decompose many contaminants) and smaller populations of decomposing bacteria. Also, the usually cold temperatures of groundwater slow down chemical reactions that decompose wastes.
Thus, it can take hundreds to thousands of years for contaminated groundwater to cleanse itself of degradable wastes. On a human time scale, on degradable wastes (such as toxic lead, arsenic, and fluoride) are there permanently. And slowly degradable wastes (such as EDT) are there for decades. Pollutants in groundwater (peg. 503) ; Voss ; Gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, toxic solvents ; MET BE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) ; Nitrate ions How is hydraulic fracturing affecting groundwater? Hydraulic fracturing, or franking, is infiltrating the groundwater and contaminating it with methane.
People who live around areas that franking has occurred, have contaminated drinking water. The chemicals used and the methane seep into the supplies of groundwater. Ocean Pollution (peg 504): 40% of world’s population lives on coast Explain significance of: ; Red tide/harmful algal blooms : excess nitrogen causes explosive growth of toxic microscopic algae, poisoning fish and marine mammals; runoffs of sewage and agricultural Wastes into coastal Waters introduce large quantities of nitrate and phosphate plant nutrients, which can cause explosive growth of harmful algae.
They can release waterborne and airborne toxins that damage fisheries, Jill some fish-eating birds, reduce tourism, and poison seafood ; oxygen-depleted zones(Guff Coast hypoxia zone)/ dead zones : form mostly n the world’s temperate coastal waters and in landlocked seas such as the Baltic Sea and the Black sea. They are incorrectly called dead zones. Because of low oxygen levels (hypoxia), the zones contain a few oxygen-consuming fish and bottom- dwelling organisms, but they abound with decomposing bacteria.
The low oxygen levels are caused by the rapid growth Of algae in nutrient- rich waters followed by their eventual decomposition by growing colonies of oxygen-consuming decomposing bacteria. ; Estuary (Chesapeake Bay): The largest estuary in the United States has been in serious trouble from eater pollution, mostly because of human activities. The estuary receives wastes from point and nonprofit scattered throughout its huge drainage basin.
The bay has become a huge pollution sink because only 1% of the waste entering it is flushed into the Atlantic Ocean. Phosphate and nitrate levels have increased due to sewage treatment plants and industrial plants(point source). Non-point sources include runoff from fertilizer and animal wastes from urban,suburban, and agricultural land. Oil pollution of ocean Exxon Valued Oil Spill: Occurred in prince William Sound, Alaska; the Exxon Valued tanker struck
Prince William Sound’s Blight Reef and spilled between 11,000,000 and 38,000,000 gallons of crude oil; This was so difficult to clean up because the area is in a remote portion of Alaska, only accessible through helicopter, plane, and boat; The oil covered 1,300 miles of coastline and 11,00 square miles of the ocean BP Departed Horizon Spill: considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. After the Departed Horizon rig exploded, the sea floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days.
The well was attempted to be capped several times, but suffered many failures. Immediately after the explosion, workers from BP and Transoceanic, and many government agencies tried to control the spread of the oil to beaches and other coastal ecosystems using floating booms to contain surface oil and chemical oil dispersant to break it down underwater. Additionally, numerous scientists and researchers descended upon the Gulf region to gather data. Researchers are still trying to understand the spill and its impact on marine life, the Gulf coast, and human communities.
Even today, the Gulf is still not oil free. Runoff: Studies show that the largest source of ocean oil pollution is urban and industrial runoff from the land. According to a 2004 study, every 8 months an amount of oil equal to that spilled by the Exxon Valued tanker drains from the land into the oceans. At least 37%, and perhaps even half, the oil reaching the oceans is oil dumped, spilled, or leaked onto the land or into sewers by cities, industries, and people changing their own motor oil.
Effect of volatile organic hydrocarbons: Volatile organic hydrocarbons in oil immediately kill a number of aquatic organisms, especially in their vulnerable larval forms. Other chemicals in oil form tar like globs that float on the surface and coat he feathers of birds, especially diving birds, and the fur on marine animals. This oil coating destroys their natural insulation and buoyancy, causing many of them to drown or die of exposure from loss of body heat.
Heavy oil components: He;o,’ oil components that sink to the ocean floor or wash into estuaries can smother bottom-dwelling organisms such as crabs, oysters, mussels, and clams or make them unfit for human consumption. Some oil spills have killed reef corals. Recovery time from crude vs.. Refined oil spills: Research shows that populations of many forms of urine life recover from exposure to large amounts of crude oil within about 3 years. But recovery from exposure to refines oil, especially in estuaries and salt marshes, can take 10-20 years.
Oil slicks that washed onto beaches can have a serious economic impact on coastal residents, who lose income normally gained form fishing and tourist activities. Cleanup/ premeditation/ double hull ships: If they are not too large, Oil spills can be partially cleaned up by mechanical means including floating booms, skimmer boats, and absorbent devices such as large pillows filled with feathers or hair. Chemical, fire, and natural methods such as using cocktails of bacteria to speed up oil decomposition are also used.
But scientists estimate that current methods can recover no more than of the oil form a major spill. Thus, preventing oil pollution is the most effective and the least expensive in the long run. One of the best ways to reduce oil pollution is to use oil tankers with double hulls that help prevent the release of oil from collisions. After the 1 989 Exxon Valued accident, oil companies promised that their oil tankers would have double hulls. But they have been slow to fulfill this promise.
By 2005, 16 years after the spill, about half the world’s ask oil tankers still had the older and more vulnerable single hulls. Laws for Reducing Water Pollution (peg 509): Outline 1972 Clean water Act: sets standards for allowed levels of key water pollutants and requires polluters to get permits limiting how much of various pollutants they can discharge into aquatic systems EPA Discharge Trading Policy: uses market forces to reduce water pollution (as has been done with sulfur dioxide for air pollution control) in the US. Ender this program a water pollution source is allowed to pollute at levels higher than allowed in its remit if it buys credit from permit holders with pollution levels below what they are allowed. 1974, 1 996 Safe Drinking Water Act: requires the EPA to establish national drinking water standards, called maximum contaminant levels, for any pollutants that may have adverse effects on human health 1 972 Ocean Dumping Act: regulates the dumping of materials into US territorial ocean waters and the transportation of materials for the purpose of dumping.
The purpose of the statute is to strictly limit ocean disposal of any material that would negatively affect, human health, the marine environment, ecological systems, and attention economic endeavors Sewage Treatment: Draw and Describe how a Septic Tank works ; How it works: In this system, household sewage and wastewater is pumped into a settling tank, where grease and oil rise to the top and solids fall to the bottom and are decomposed by bacteria.
The resulting partially treated wastewater is discharged in a large drainage (absorption) field through small holes in perforated pipes embedded in porous gravel or crushed stone just below the soil’s surface. As these wastes drain from the pipes and percolate downward, the soil filters out some potential pollutants and soil bacteria compose biodegradable materials. ; Advantages: Septic tanks in the long run are more cost effective, running about 3,000 dollars. There are no water bills, and costs about 100 dollars to pump it.
It needs to be pumped every three years, depending on the person. It needs little maintenance. The bacteria are aerobic, so the speed of the bacteria breaking down the waste increases immensely. An aerobic system will break down solids faster so less solids will reach the draining field and groundwater. For cement septic tanks, they last much longer and will not rise out of the ground as time passes. ; Disadvantages: The cost of having a septic can be very expensive to install and maintain.
Electricity must be used to run a septic system, which adds the extra cost of paying electricity. The maintenance of a septic must be checked frequently, if it is not there is a bigger chance that things could go wrong. The contents of the septic tank should be cleaned every two or three years or when the total depth of sludge and scum exceeds 1/3 of the liquid depth of tank. Fifth tank does not get cleaned it can cause rapid clogging in absorption field, which causes premature failure.
The cost of pumping your tank is less expensive Han replacing absorption field. The effectiveness of a septic system can decrease due to excessive chemicals pouring down the lines or neglect of the system. Draw the flow of Wastewater Treatment Plant Label and describe the following: primary Sewage Treatment: a physical process that uses screens and a grit tank to remove large floating objects and allow solids such as sand and rock to settle out. THen the waste stream flows into a primary settling tank where suspended organic solids settle out as a sludge.
By itself, primary treatment removes about 60% of the suspended solids and 30-40% of the oxygen- emending organic wastes from sewage. It removes no pathogens, phosphates, nitrates, salts, radioisotopes, or pesticides. Secondary Sewage Treatment: a biological process in which aerobic bacteria remove as much as 90% of dissolved and biodegradable, oxygen-demanding organic wastes Advanced or Tertiary Treatment: uses a series of specialized chemical and physical processes to remove specific pollutants left in the water after primary and secondary treatment.
Its most widespread use involves using special filters to remove phosphates and nitrates from wastewater before it is discharged into reface waters to help reduce nutrient overload from nitrates and phosphates Describe innovative practices to protect water resources: Using Sewage Sludge: Sewage treatment produces a gooey sludge containing a slimy mixture of bacteria-laden solids and often toxic chemicals and minerals when sewer systems mix industrial and household waste. According to the National Sludge Alliance, LIST sewage sludge typically contains as many as 60,000 toxic chemicals.
In the United States, about 9% by weight of the sludge is placed in large circular digester and converted to compost for use as soil conditioner. Bossily: About 36% of the sludge, also known as bossily, is used to fertilize farmland, forests, golf courses, cemeteries, parkland, highway medians, and degraded land. The remaining 55% is dumped in conventional landfills where it can contaminate groundwater, or is incinerated, which can pollute the air with toxic chemicals.
Incineration also produces a toxic ash, which is usually buried in landfills, many of which the EPA says will eventually leak. Toxic: Sewage sludge regularly tests positive for a host of heavy metals, flame retardants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals, phthalate, eosins, and is a lot of the time not safe for use in fertilizers and other items. Composting Toilets: another suggestion is to have more households apartment buildings and offices eliminate sewage outputs by switching to waterless composting toilet systems that are installed, maintained, managed by professionals.
Such systems would be cheaper to install and maintain than current sewage systems because they do not require vast systems Of underground pipes connected to centralized sewage treatment plants. They also save large amounts of water. They work great. Gray Water: lightly dirtied water from tubs, showers, sinks, and clothes washers in a typical house could be stored in a holding tank when reused as gray water to irrigate lawns and non edible plants, to flush toilets, and to wash cars.