Chapter 15 – Reading Questions
1. Complete the following chart regarding the major air pollutants:
Pollutant
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
What do you think are the 3 most important facts about this air pollutant?
Nitrogen Oxides (NOX)
Carbon Oxides (COX)
Particulate Matter (PM)
Ground-level Ozone
Lead & Mercury
Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOC)
2. Which of the above pollutants can be harmful to human respiratory systems (list all that apply)?
3. Which of the above pollutants result from fossil fuel combustion (list all that apply)?
4. Which of the above pollutants are associated with the formation of smog (list all that apply)?
5.
What are the 2 sizes of Particulate Matter that the EPA classifies? Which is more dangerous,
and why?
6.
What are some natural sources of NOX emissions?
7.
What negative effects on human health does Ozone have?
8. What is the main threat that high levels of VOC pose, even if many are not directly harmful?
9. What are the main air pollutants generated as a result of industrial agriculture?
10. Which air pollutants are key ingredients in forming photochemical smog? Include chemical
reactions.
11. What are the 6 “criteria pollutants” monitored by the EPA?
12. Which two gases are largely responsible for acid rain, and what are its main negative effects?
13. What technology is used to reduce NOX emissions from cars?
14. What is one specific technology that can reduce Sulfur emissions from coal-fired power plants?
15. What is one specific technology that can reduce PM emissions from coal-fired power plants?
16. What is the primary cause for the thinning of the ozone layer (and creation of the ozone hole)?
17. What are the main risks of indoor air pollution in developing countries?
18. What are the main dangers of indoor air pollution in developed countries?
Chapter 15 Vocabulary List
Sulfur dioxide
Nitrogen oxides
Carbon oxides
Particulate matter
Solid or liquid particles suspended in air; also known
Tropospheric ozone
A layer of the atmosphere closest to the surface of Earth, extending up
asparticles and particulates.
to approximately 16 km (10 miles) and containing most of the
atmosphere’s nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor.
Haze
Reduced visibility.
Photochemical smog
Gray smog
Volatile Organic Compounds
Primary air pollutant
Secondary air pollutant
An organic compound that evaporates at typical atmospheric
temperatures.
A polluting compound that comes directly out of the smokestack,
exhaust pipe, or natural emission source.
A primary pollutant that has undergone transformation in the presence
of sunlight, water, oxygen, or other compounds.
NAAQS
Clean Air Act
Thermal inversion
A situation in which a relatively warm layer of air at mid-altitude covers
Acid deposition
Acids deposited on Earth as rain and snow or as gases and particles
a layer of cold, dense air below.
that attach to the surfaces of plants, soil, and water.
Fluidized bed combustion
Catalytic converter
Smokestack scrubber
Electrostatic precipitator
Pollution permits
Chlorofluorocarbons
A family of organic compounds whose properties make them ideal for
use in refrigeration and air-conditioning.
Ozone layer hole
Asbestos
A long, thin, fibrous silicate mineral with insulating properties, which
can cause cancer when inhaled.
Radon
Sick building syndrome
A buildup of toxic compounds and pollutants in an airtight space; seen
in newer buildings with good insulation and tight seals against air leaks.
Chapter 16 – Reading Questions
1. What is municipal solid waste, and why has human society produced increasing amounts of it
over time?
2. What does the term “Throwaway Society” mean? Why is relevant to waste
generation/management?
3. What are the main sources of waste generation in developed countries such as the United
States?
4. When broken down by composition, what type of product makes up the largest fraction of
MSW?
5. What types of waste can be composted? What do these products have in common that allows
this?
6. What are the major challenges that E-Waste poses, and how has it been dealt with so far?
7. Why is waste reduction generally considered to be the most important & effective of the “3
R’s”?
8. Which is preferable: reuse or recycling? Explain your reasoning.
9. How does the amount of MSW recycled in the US today compare with the amount recycled in
1980?
10. Describe how composting works (you may draw a diagram):
11. Complete the following charts regarding landfills and incinerators:
LANDFILLS
Draw a diagram or explain how
a landfill handles solid waste.
What are the advantages of
using landfills to handle local
waste?
12. Why is leachate from landfills of concern?
What are the disadvantages of
using landfills to handle waste?
13. What types of waste should not be handled by landfills?
INCINERATORS
Draw a diagram or explain how
an incinerator works
What are the advantages of
using incinerators to handle local
waste?
What are the disadvantages of
using incinerators to handle
waste?
14. What are bottom ash and fly ash, and why are they problematic?
15. In addition to ash, what other problematic emissions can come from incinerators?
16.What are the major sources for hazardous waste production?
17.What was the main goal of the RCRA, and how does it attempt to
accomplish it?
18.What is the Superfund?
19.How are abandoned non-operating sites of hazardous pollution handled
when it is not possible to identify or locate a responsible party?
20.What are brownfields, and how are they typically addressed?
21.What are the principles of life-cycle analysis, and how does it help address
the problem of waste generation?
22.Describe the principals of Integrated Waste Management, and how it might
be applied to improve waste management in a city.
Chapter 16 Vocabulary List
Waste
Material outputs from a system that are not useful or consumed.
Throw-away society
MSW
Waste stream
The flow of solid waste that is recycled, incinerated, placed in a solid waste
landfill, or disposed of in another way.
E-Waste
Reduce
Reuse
Using a product or material that was intended to be discarded.
Recycle
The process by which materials destined to become municipal solid waste
(MSW) are collected and converted into raw material that is then used to
produce new objects.
Closed-loop recycling
Recycling a product into the same product.
Open-loop recycling
Recycling one product into a different product.
Composting
Leachate
Sanitary landfills
Liquid that contains elevated levels of pollutants as a result of having
passed through municipal solid waste (MSW) or contaminated soil.
An engineered ground facility designed to hold municipal solid waste
(MSW) with as little contamination of the surrounding environment as
possible.
Tipping fee
A fee charged for disposing of material in a landfill or incinerator.
Landfill siting
Incineration
The process of burning waste materials to reduce volume and mass,
Bottom ash
Residue collected at the bottom of the combustion chamber in a furnace.
Fly ash
The residue collected from the chimney or exhaust pipe of a furnace.
Waste-to-energy system
A system in which heat generated by incineration is used as an energy
Hazardous waste
Waste material that is dangerous or potentially harmful to humans or
sometimes to generate electricity or heat.
source rather than released into the atmosphere.
ecosystems.
RCRA
CERCLA
National Priorities List
Brownfield
Life-cycle analysis
A systems tool that looks at the materials used and released throughout
the manufacturing, use, and disposal of a product; also known as life-cycle
analysis.