Environmental Biology
BS 105 Sections 01 & 03
Spring 2015
Study Guide for Second Examination -- First Draft
HAZARDOUS WASTES
1.
Briefly describe the history of Love Canal. Why are events at Love Canal sometimes referred to as "the awakening
of America" to problems of old chemical dump sites?
2.
What adverse personal and environmental consequences resulted from our past history of disposal of toxic
chemicals?
3.
Describe the provisions of the 1975 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) with regard to testing of chemicals for
toxic effects. What was the purpose of TSCA legislation? What are the four areas of toxicity testing mandated by
TSCA? Does TSCA testing assure complete safety of chemical products? How effective has TSCA been at
screening of new chemical products? How effective has TSCA been at banning dangerous chemicals that were
“grandfathered” in 1975?
4.
Describe the provisions of the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) with regard to management
of toxic chemical wastes. What was the purpose of RCRA legislation? What is meant by the phrase, "a cradle-tograve paper trail"? What are "de minimis" generators?
5.
What was the purpose of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA
or Superfund) of 1980? How effective was Superfund in its early years under CERCLA? How effective has
Superfund been more recently under SARA (Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act)?
6.
Describe the “polluter pays” concept? What is the PRP? Describe limitations of the polluter pays concept. What is
the National Priority List (NPL)? How are sites placed on the NPL? What are drawbacks in the way the Superfund
law was written? How big is the problem of old chemical waste sites?
7.
Describe current methods to reduce or manage the problem of chemical wastes including: process manipulation,
in-plant reuse, resale and industrial "swaps", biodegradation, incineration, deep well injection, vitrification, and super
secure landfills.
8.
Describe the concept of “environmental justice”. Explain how the locations of toxic waste incinerators have been
frequently criticized based on environmental justice.
SOLID WASTES
1.
What is the approximate quantity of solid wastes generated by each American per day and per year?
2.
What is the single largest category of material in our municipal solid wastes? What are other major categories of
municipal solid wastes?
3.
Approximately what proportion of municipal solid wastes is land filled, incinerated, or recycled?
4.
What is leachate? What threat does it pose to the environment and human health?
5.
Describe the design of a modern landfill including: liner, leachate collection and treatment systems, methane
monitoring, and ground monitoring wells.
6.
What are the advantages or pros of landfill disposal of solid wastes?
7.
What are the disadvantages or cons of landfill disposal of solid wastes?
8.
What is a waste-to-energy incinerator? By approximately what proportions does incineration reduce the volume and
weight of solid wastes? What remains after incineration? How are these remains disposed of?
9.
What happens to toxic inorganic chemicals, especially metals, in solid wastes that are incinerated? What can
happen to some of the organic chemicals in solid wastes that are incinerated?
10.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the composition of the ash from waste-to-energy incinerators. What was their
ruling? How has the Supreme Court ruling affected the waste-to-energy industry?
11.
What are the advantages or pros of incineration of solid wastes?
12.
What are the disadvantages or cons of incineration of solid wastes?
13.
See number 2 above. Which of the various categories of materials in our solid wastes can be recycled?
Approximately what proportion of our solid wastes could be recycled with relatively little effort? Approximately what
proportion of our solid wastes could be recycled with maximum effort?
14.
What are the advantages or pros of recycling as a way to manage solid wastes?
15.
What the disadvantages or cons of recycling as a way to manage solid wastes?
16.
What is composting? Explain how composting is a natural form of recycling. What categories of solid wastes can
and should be composted?
17.
Describe a compost pile as a small ecosystem. What types of organisms are at the base of the compost food web?
What types of organisms are the higher trophic levels in the compost pile food web?
18.
What are the three critical needs of organisms in a compost pile?
19.
In the lingo of composting, what are "browns" and "greens"? How are carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) used by
organisms of the compost pile? What is the optimal C:N ratio for rapid composting? What are some good carbon
sources for the pile and what are some good nitrogen sources for the pile?
20.
Approximately how big should a compost pile be to get rapid decomposition? Approximately how moist or wet
should compost be to get rapid decomposition? Why should the compost pile be turned periodically to get rapid
decomposition? Why does well-working compost pile heat up?
21.
Give some examples of common waste items that should be in a compost pile. Give some examples of common
waste items that should not be in a compost pile.
22.
How do you know when compost is done? Describe the appearance of finished compost. Describe uses for finished
compost.
23.
If you do everything right and work hard at it, approximately how quickly can you get finished compost? If you do
everything wrong and don't work at it, approximately how long will it take to get finished compost? Explain the
phrase, "compost happens".
WASTEWATER TREATMENT
This section will be revised and added in a final draft.