Environmental Pollution and Waste: Air, Water, and Land Media

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Environmental Pollution and Waste Air, Water,
and Land Media

• Environmental Sustainability Educational
  Resources
• prepared by
• Gregory A. Keoleian
• Associate Research Scientist
• Institute for Environmental Sciences, Engineering
  and Technology
• School of Natural Resources and Environment
• Co-Director, Center for Sustainable Systems
• University of Michigan

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Contents

• Air Pollution Impacts slide 4
• Sources of Air Toxics slide 5-6
• Criteria Air Pollutants slide 7-9
• Trends in National Emissions of Criteria
  Pollutants slide 10
• Comparison of 1970 and 1999 Emissions slide
  11-12
• Comparison of Growth in Population, VMT, GNP with
  Emissions slide 13
• Percent Change in Air Quality slide 14
• Number of People Living in Nonattainment
  Areasslide 15

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• Trends in Sulfur Dioxide Emissions slides 16
• Water Pollution slides 17- 18
• Sources of Point and Nonpoint Source
  Pollution slide 19-22
• Water Quality of Assessed Rivers, Lakes and
  Estuaries slide 23
• Pollutants and Sources Causing Impairments of
  Assessed Rivers, Lakes and Estuaries slide 24
• Toxic Release Inventory slide 25-28
• TRI data slides 29-31
• Industrial Waste slides 32-33
• Municipal Solid Waste slide 34-35
• Additional Resources slide 36-37

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Air pollutant impacts

• Greenhouse effect
• Ozone depletion
• acidification
• smog formation
• eutrophication
• human health
• ecosystem health

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Criteria Air Pollutants

• EPA uses six "criteria pollutants" as indicators
  of air quality
• EPA established for each of them a maximum
  concentration above which adverse effects on
  human health may occur.

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Criteria air pollutants

• Nitrogen Dioxide NO2
• brownish gas irritates the respiratory system
  originates from combustion (N2 in air is
  oxidized) NOx sum of NO, NO2, other oxides of N
• Ozone ground level O3
• primary constituent of urban smog
• reaction of VOC NOx in presence of heat sun
  light
• Carbon monoxide CO
• reduces bloods ability to carry O2
• product of incomplete combustion

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• Lead Pb
• cause learning disabilities in children , toxic
  to liver, kidney, blood forming organs
• tetraethyl lead anti knock agent in gasoline
• leaded gasoline has been phased out
• Particulate Matter PM10 (PM 2.5)
• respiratory disorders
• Sulfur Dioxide SO2
• formed when fuel (coal, oil) containing S is
  burned and metal smelting
• precursor to acid rain along with NOx

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Comparison of 1970 and 1999 Emissions
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Number of People Living in Counties withAir
Quality Concentrations Above the Levelof the
NAAQS in 1999
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Trends in Sulfur Dioxide Emissions Following
Implementation of Phase I of the Acid Rain
Program Total State-level Utility SO2 (1980,
1990, 1999)
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Water Pollution

• Based on current water quality standards, over 70
  percent of our rivers, 68 percent of our
  estuaries and 60 percent of our lakes now meet
  legislatively mandated goals.
• Some of the risks include
• pollutant runoff from agricultural lands
• stormwater flows from cities
• About 40,000 times each year, sanitary sewers
  overflow and release raw sewage to streets and
  waterbodies.

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Water Pollution

• seepage into ground water from nonpoint sources
• the loss of habitats such as wetlands.
• we cannot always eat what we catch because fish
  flesh is contaminated by the remaining discharges
  and sources of toxic substances.
• Microbial contamination of drinking water still
  presents problems in many communities.

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Pollution Sources

• Point sources are direct discharges to a single
  point
• examples include discharges from sewage treatment
  plants, injection wells,and some industrial
  sources.

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Pollution Sources

• Non-point sources are diffused across a broad
  area and their contamination cannot be traced to
  a single discharge point.
• Examples include runoff of excess fertilizers,
  herbicides, and insecticides from agricultural
  lands and residential areas oil, grease, and
  toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy
  production and sediment from improperly managed
  construction sites, crop and forest lands, and
  eroding streambanks.

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US EPA Toxic Release Inventory

• Certain industrial facilities are mandated to
  annually report to US EPA specified toxic
  chemicals
• mandated under Emergency Planning Community
  Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) in 1986 and enacted
  under Superfund Amendments Reauthorization Act
  in 1987
• response to Bhopal (1984) and other accidents

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Who reports

• Specified SIC (Standard Industrial
  Classification) codes,
• Have 10 or more equivalent full-time employees,
  and
• Exceed established thresholds for any chemical on
  the TRI list
• 25,000 lb/yr if chemical is manufactured and/or
  processed
• 10,000 lb/yr if chemical is otherwise used

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Limitations of TRI

• 1) TRI does not cover all toxic chemicals that
  have the potential to adversely affect human
  health or the environment.
• 2) TRI does not require reporting from many
  major sources of pollution releases.
• 3) TRI does not require companies to report the
  quantities of toxic chemicals used or the amounts
  that remain in products.
• 4) TRI does not provide information about the
  exposures people may experience as a consequence
  of chemical use.

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1998 TRI Data

• On-site releases
• 6.9 billion pounds
• Off-site releases
• 0.4 billion pounds
• Transfers off-site for further waste management
• 3.0 billion pounds
• Total TRI chemicals in waste
• 30.5 billion pounds

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Industrial Waste

• industrial waste is process waste associated with
  manufacturing.
• This waste usually is not classified as either
  municipal waste or hazardous waste by federal or
  state laws.
• Regulatory programs for managing industrial waste
  vary widely among state, tribal, and some local
  governments.
• Each year, industrial facilities generate and
  manage 7.6 billion tons of nonhazardous
  industrial waste in land application units.

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Municipal Solid Waste

• EPA definition
• includes wastes such as durable goods, nondurable
  goods, containers and packaging, food scraps,
  yard trimmings, and miscellaneous inorganic
  wastes from residential, commercial,
  institutional, and industrial sources.
• Examples of waste from these categories include
  appliances, automobile tires, newspapers,
  clothing, boxes, disposable tableware, office and
  classroom paper, wood pallets, and cafeteria
  wastes.

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Additional Resources

• Air pollution
• US EPA
• http//www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/
• http//www.epa.gov/air/
• Water pollution
• US EPA
• http//www.epa.gov/water/

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• Toxics Release Inventory
• US EPA
• http//www.epa.gov/tri/
• Solid waste
• US EPA
• http//www.epa.gov/solidwaste/