AP Environmental Science › Types of Pollution
This form of smog tends to be sulfur-based (also known as grey-smog):
industrial smog
photochemical smog
urban smog
organic smog
none of the other answers are correct
There are only two forms of smog: industrial, which tends to be sulfur-based, and photochemical, which tends to be nitrogen-based.
One of the negative effects of air pollution is that it can cause problems in the ozone layer. Which class of chemicals are known to deplete ozone?
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Methane
Carbon dioxide
Sulfur dioxide
The correct response is chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These chemical compounds are known to deplete ozone from the atmosphere. During the 1960s and 1970s, refrigerators were manufactured with CFCs. This is what created the whole in the ozone which we have all heard about. The Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of CFCs and this is greatly improved the quality of ozone in the atmosphere.
Which of the following is least likely to be a dangerous consequence of leachate from a sanitary landfill?
The leachate can be at a high temperature
The leachate can leak into nearby soils
The leachate can be classified as toxic waste and have to be treated accordingly
The leachate can contain toxic metal compounds
The leachate can leak into groundwater
A leachate is a liquid that, in the course of passing through matter, extracts component of the material through which it has passed. In the case of sanitary landfills – where waste is isolated from the environment until it is deemed safe – the main concern is the safety of the leachate in terms of composition and permeability. The leachate could potential carry and spread the very compounds in the landfill waste that have deemed it unsafe, such as toxic wastes and metals. However the temperature of the leachate is very rarely a concern.
Tim is the Director of U.S. Operations atop a multinational oil and petroleum company, Company X. The United States refining facility is producing a liquid byproduct and Tim has made the executive decision to dispose of the waste product in the river that runs alongside the facility. To abide by federal law, Company X will need to apply for a discharge permit through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Which specific federal law imposes the permitting system for point-source discharge of pollutants into "navigable waters"?
CWA (Clean Water Act)
ESA (Endangered Species Act)
RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act)
CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act)
NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act)
ESA (Endangered Species Act) bans the sale and transport of endangered species and protects critical habitat but does not specifically focus on water pollution or permitting. RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) addresses the permitting of waste storage and transport, while CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act) establishes a superfund for polluted sites and holds polluting parties accountable. Regardless, neither of those two laws directly address the issue of point-source discharging into waterways. NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) requires federal agencies to prepare Environmental Assessments and Impact Statements for federally-funded projects, but does not address the private sector.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) allows the EPA to regulate point-source discharge of pollutants into U.S. waterways and all "navigable waters." This piece of legislation also introduced the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (BPDES), which is responsible for point-source discharge permits. Any company operating in the United States that commits point-source discharge is held by these regulations outlined by the Clean Water Act.
During prolonged periods of __________, air pollutants build up and are trapped in a dense, cool layer of air beneath a layer of less dense, warm air.
Temperature inversion
Photochemical smog
Front collision
Upwelling
This situation is known as temperature inversion. Temperature inversion occurs in two primary ways: radiation temperature inversion and subsidence temperature inversion.
All of the following may be natural sources of pollution except __________.
acid mine drainage
volcanic eruptions
forest fires
oil seeps
cows expelling methane
Acid mine drainage occurs when water seeps through a mine or a mine’s waste pile and results in a solution of sulfuric acid. Water is used to process ore and it can become contaminated with sulfuric acid, mercury and arsenic. The contaminated water can damage ecosystems and is particularly harmful to aquatic life. Some acid drainage can occur naturally when water interacts with rock but the degree of contamination is significantly different.
Which of the following is not a type of water pollution?
All of these are types of water pollution
Toxic chemical pollution
Sediment pollution
Nutrient pollution
Diseases and pathogen pollution
Water can be polluted and unusable due to the presence of toxic chemicals, sediments, nutrient pollution, diseases and/or pathogens, as well as thermal pollution.
Water pollutants originate from both natural and human-made causes and they are classified into two general types.
Name the two types of sources of water pollution?
Point source pollution and nonpoint source pollution
Agriculture and municipal
Anthropogenic and ecological
Industrial and nonindustrial
Chemical and biological
Point source pollution can be traced to a specific source. Factory waste is a good example. Nonpoint source pollution cannot be traced to a single source. Agricultural runoff and storm sewers are good examples.
Many times eutrophication creates dead zones or hypoxic zones in bodies of water. The most famous dead zone in North America occurs where the Mississippi River outflows into the Gulf of Mexico. What important resource do dead zones not have?
Oxygen
Carbon dioxide
Nitrogen
Potassium
The correct response is oxygen. Deadzone are completely depleted of oxygen. This can be due to algal blooms - which consume all the available oxygen in the system. Once all the oxygen is depleted, the algae die and fall to the bottom of the lake or ocean. Deadzones can be harmful for many aquatic organisms, especially fish and bottom feeders.
Which infamous locale garnered public attention by bringing to light the dangerous effects of disposing of toxic chemicals underground?
Love Canal, New York
Chernobyl, Ukraine
Bhopal, India
Minamata, Japan
Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania
Three Mile Island and Chernobyl were sites of devastating nuclear disasters caused by reactor meltdowns. Bhopal was the site of a terrible gas leak when water entered an industrial tank of methyl isocyanate (MIC). Minamata was plagued by severe mercury poisoning caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the a chemical factory. However Love Canal was a site used to bury 22,000 tons of toxic waste. The site was later sold to the a school board, and even long after purchasing, attempts at construction allowed previously trapped chemicals to seep out. The resulting breaches combined with particularly heavy rainstorms released and spread the chemical waste, leading to a public health emergency and serious evaluation of urban planning procedures.