Transcript Pollution and Prevention

CHAPTER 22
Hazardous Chemicals:
Pollution and
Prevention
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An introduction to hazardous
chemicals
• Fish in Lake LeBarge, Canada, have become
hazardous to eat because of high DDT levels
• Arctic fish, birds, and mammals have high amounts
of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in their
bodies
• DDT, toxaphene, chlordane, PCPs, dioxins
• The Inuit people have very high loads of POPs
• How do these toxic chemicals reach remote areas?
• There are no pesticides or industries
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Chemicals in remote areas
• POPs are persistent, bioaccumulate, and biomagnify
• They are carried to the Arctic in the air
• They condense on the snowpack and enter water
during the spring thaw
• Plankton pick up the chemicals and pass them up the
food chain
• Highest amounts are in Arctic ponds near seabird
nests
• Feeding birds concentrate the chemicals, which are
deposited to the land and water in guano
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Human exposure to chemicals
• Three-fourths of Inuit women have PCB levels 5
times above safe levels
• Caribou pick up dioxins in lichens and mosses
• The Inuit eat the caribou
• Some POPs are declining in the Arctic
• Others are increasing and accumulating in polar
bears, seals, and foxes
• E.g., polybrominated diphenyl ethers—PBDEs
• Effects include immune-system disorders, hormone
disruptions, cancer, imbalances in births
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Dangers of chemicals
• Significant dangers are associated with
manufacture, use, disposal of many chemicals
• Few people want to give up their products
• The best solution?
• Handle and dispose of chemicals in ways that
minimize risks
• Over the past 30 years, regulations on chemical
production, transport, use, and disposal have
mushroomed
• The chemical industry is now heavily regulated
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Toxicology and chemical hazards
• Toxicology: the study of the harmful effects of
chemicals on human and environmental health
• Toxicologists study acute toxicity effects, chronic
effects, and carcinogenic potential
• Data on toxic chemicals comes from
• The National Toxicology Program (NTC)
• The Chemical Repository
• The National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS)
• The EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
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Dose response and threshold
• The dose (level of exposure multiplied by the length
of time of exposure) is linked with the response
(effects)
• If a chemical has a low toxicity, concern centers on
chronic or carcinogenic effects
• Human exposure to a hazard is a vital part of risk
characterization
• Exposure comes from the workplace, food, water, and
environment
• It is hard to get an accurate determination of exposure
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Threshold level
• There is usually a threshold level in the doseresponse relationship
• Organisms can usually deal with some level of a
substance without suffering ill effects
• Threshold level: the level below which there are no ill
effects
• Effects above this level depend on concentration and
duration of exposure
• It is high for short exposures, and lower as time
increases
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The threshold level
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Threshold levels for carcinogens
• The EPA takes a zero-dose, zero-response
approach for carcinogens
• There is no evidence of a threshold level for them
• But lower doses are less likely to produce cancers
• The field of toxicology is well established
• It is the most important source of sound science for
supporting regulations from the EPA and FDA
• The NTP was established in 1978
• The world’s leader in assessing chemical toxicity and
carcinogenicity
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Chemical hazards: HAZMATS
• Hazardous material (HAZMAT): a chemical that
presents a certain hazard or risk (excluding
radioactive materials)
• Ignitability: substances that catch fire readily
(gasoline)
• Corrosivity: substances that corrode tanks and
equipment (acids)
• Reactivity: chemically unstable substances
• May explode or create toxic fumes if mixed with water
(explosives, sulfuric acid)
• Toxicity: substances that are injurious when eaten or
inhaled (chlorine, pesticides, etc.)
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HAZMAT placards
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Sources of chemicals
• Total product life cycle: encompasses all steps in a
material’s life from raw materials to disposal
• Chemical wastes and by-products are inevitable
• Over 80,000 chemicals are registered in the U.S.
• They enter the environment at every stage
• Chemicals enter the environment directly (e.g.,
fertilizers)
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Parts are left behind (e.g., evaporation of solvents)
Through use (e.g., lubricants, solvents)
Through energy use (gasoline, coal, etc.)
Through accidents or spills
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Total product life cycle
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Federal legislation
• Industry, small shops, and homes release chemicals
• Toxic Release Inventory (TRI): provides an annual
record of releases of 650 chemicals by 22,000
facilities
• Total releases have declined by 61% since 1990
• The Emergency Planning and Community Right to
Know Act (EPCRA—1986)
• Industries must report releases of toxic chemicals to
the environment
• The Pollution Prevention Act (1990): mandates
collection of data of chemicals treated on-site
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Toxic Release Inventory
• Does not cover small businesses that release < 500
lbs/year
• Also excludes gas stations and households
• Over 3.2 billion lbs/year are released but not included
• In 2007, the TRI released the following information:
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Total production of toxic wastes: 24.2 billion lbs
Releases to the air: 1,311 million lbs
Releases to water: 237 million lbs
Releases to land disposal sites and underground
injection: 2,538 million lbs
• Total environmental releases: 4.086 billion lbs
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Toxic release inventory, 1988–2007
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The threat from toxic chemicals
• All toxic chemicals are hazards that threaten
humans
• Many are broken down and assimilated
• Two classes do not readily break down:
• Heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, tin,
chromium, zinc, and copper) and their compounds
• Synthetic organics
• If diluted enough in air or water, they may not pose a
hazard
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Heavy metals
• Are used in industry (metalwork, metal plating),
batteries, and electronics
• Were once used in paint, glazes, inks, dyes
• Lead paint poisoned U.S. children; it was banned in
1978
• Heavy metals are extremely toxic
• They can be soluble in water
• If absorbed in the body, they interfere with enzyme
functioning
• Small amounts can cause severe consequences
• Mental retardation, insanity, birth defects
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Organic compounds
• Petroleum-derived and synthetic organics are the
basis for plastics, fibers, synthetic rubber, paintlike
coatings, solvents, pesticides, preservatives, etc.
• Resistance to degradation makes them useful and
dangerous
• Are readily absorbed and interact with enzymes
• But they cannot be broken down or processed
• Acute effects: poisoning, death
• Extended exposure leads to mutagenic, carcinogenic,
teratogenic (causing birth defects) effects
• Liver and kidney dysfunction, sterility, etc.
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Dirty dozen
• Halogenated hydrocarbons: synthetic organics that
contain halogens: chlorine, bromine, fluorine, iodine
• Chlorinated hydrocarbons (organic chlorides): the
most common halogenated hydrocarbons
• Plastics, pesticides (DDT), solvents (carbon
tetrachloride), insulation (polychlorinated biphenyls)
• Most “dirty dozen” POPs are halogenated
hydrocarbons
• All are toxic and cause cancer in animals
• Many are endocrine disrupters at low levels
• Banned or restricted by the 2004 Stockholm
Convention
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PERC
• Perchloroethylene (PERC): a halogenated
hydrocarbon
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Colorless, nonflammable
Used in dry cleaning, as a solvent, in home products
Is carcinogenic to rats and mice
It easily enters groundwater from soil
• Human exposure occurs in the workplace and from
using home products
• Dizziness, fatigue, headaches, unconsciousness,
cancer
• It is listed in NTP’s 2009 Report on Carcinogens as
“reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen”
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Phasing out PERC
• Dry-cleaning employees have higher rates of cancer
and neurological impairment
• EPA issued rules to phase it out by 2020
• Why is it taking so long?
• The Obama administration will review these rules
• The U.S. uses 370 million lbs/year
• 10% from dry cleaners
• The rest is used in making hydrofluorocarbons (which
replace ozone-depleting CFCs)
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Halogenated hydrocarbons
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Issues with other organics
• Phthalates: soften plastic (e.g., teethers, rubber
duckies)
• A possible reproductive hormone disrupter
• It was banned in 2008 from children’s toys
• Bisphenol A (BPA): used in plastics (e.g., baby
bottles)
• In animals: obesity, diabetes, infertility, cancer
• 2008: the FDA declared it did not pose a health
hazard
• An FDA scientific advisory panel said the ruling was
flawed
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Another organic
• Perchlorate: in rocket fuel and other flammable
products
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Now in drinking water and food
Found in every brand of powdered infant formula tested
Interferes with thyroid gland function
The EPA refused to set a drinking water standard in
2008
• 20 million Americans are exposed to unsafe levels
• Bush administration regulatory agencies chose lax or
no rules for regulating controversial chemicals
• The EPA also weakened TRI reporting rules
• Obama favors stricter rules and regulations
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Involvement with food chains
• Heavy metals and nonbiodegradable synthetic
organics are hazardous because they bioaccumulate
• Minamata disease occurred in Japan in the 1970s
• A chemical company near the village discharged
mercury into a river, which entered the bay
• Mercury bioaccumulated and biomagnified
• Cats fed fish suffered acute mercury poisoning:
spastic movements, paralysis, coma, and death
• Humans eating fish suffered the same symptoms,
plus mental retardation, insanity, and birth defects; 50
died
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Hazardous-waste disposal
• The Clean Air and Clean Water Acts ended disposal
of hazardous wastes into the air and water
• So companies turned to unregulated land disposal
• Three land disposal methods were used in the
1970s
• Without regulations or enforcement, groundwater
contamination was inevitable
• Deep-well injection: boreholes are drilled thousands
of feet below groundwater into porous formations
• A well contains pipes and casings that isolate wastes
• The well is sealed at the bottom to prevent backup
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Deep-well injection
• Wastes in wells react with natural material, leaving
them less hazardous
• Used for volatile organics, pesticides, fuels,
explosives
• 121 wells operate in the U.S.
• Mostly in the Gulf Coast region
• The EPA’s Underground Injection Control Program
• Wells must be limited to geologically stable areas
• 203 million lbs in 2007, but amounts have decreased
• Wells can keep toxic wastes from contaminating
water
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Deep-well injection
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Surface impoundments
• Ponds: excavated depressions into which liquid
wastes are drained and held
• The least expensive, most widely used way to
dispose of large amounts of water carrying small
amounts of waste
• Solid wastes settle; water evaporates
• Impoundments can receive wastes indefinitely if:
• The bottom is well sealed
• Evaporation equals input of wastes
• But storms can cause overflow, and evaporated
materials can add air pollution
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Surface impoundment
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RCRA
• The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(1996) prompted the EPA to study surface
impoundments
• The 2007 TRI reported 781 million lbs of toxics
released to on-site (disposal by producers on their
own facilities) surface impoundments
• 18,000 surface impoundments exist at 7,500 facilities
• Two-thirds of impoundments contain materials with
carcinogenic and other human health concerns
• Most impoundments are only a few meters above
groundwater, and more than half lack liners
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People live near impoundments
• Over 20 million live within 1.2 miles of an industrial
impoundment
• 10% are within 500 feet of a drinking-water well
• 2%–5% of sites pose possible risks to human health
• 24% pose a risk of release to the environment
• Existing state and federal regulations should be
enough to cover most impoundment-related
problems
• Gaps in regulatory coverage exist
• Future regulations may be needed
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Landfills
• RCRA sets standards for disposal of wastes in
landfills
• Concentrated liquids or solids are put into drums
• Best-demonstrated available technologies (BDATs)
• Treatment standards for wastes are set by the EPA
• Reduce chemical toxicity and mobility
• Technologies include stabilization and incineration,
chemical oxidation, and other specific techniques
• Only 23 landfills in North America receive off-site
hazardous wastes
• Received 403 million lbs in 2007
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Secure landfills
• Secure landfill: a reasonably safe landfill that is lined
• It also has a leachate-removal system
• It is monitored and properly capped
• But the barriers are subject to damage and
deterioration
• Surveillance and monitoring systems are needed to
prevent leakage
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Secure landfill
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Mismanagement of hazardous waste
• Early land disposal was not regulated
• Deep wells injected wastes into groundwater
• Abandoned quarries were used as landfills
• Surface impoundments had no liners
• A new enterprise was created: waste disposal
• Many reputable businesses were formed
• Midnight dumping: disreputable businesses
pocketed fees, then illegally dumped wastes in
abandoned warehouses, vacant lots, or landfills
• The individuals responsible could not be found
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Midnight dumping
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Orphan sites
• Orphan sites: some companies or individuals stored
wastes on their own property, then went out of
business, abandoning the property and wastes
• Leaking drums could cause explosions and fires
• Valley of the Drums (VOD): in Kentucky
• One of the most famous abandoned sites
• Love Canal, New York: brought the problem of
unregulated dumping to the public’s attention
• The absence of public policy made the situation
worse
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Valley of the Drums
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Love Canal
• A school and houses were built on top of a chemical
waste dump
• The surface collapsed, exposing barrels of chemical
wastes
• Fumes and chemicals seeped into cellars
• People suffered birth defects and miscarriages
• People demanded that the state do something
• President Carter signed an emergency declaration in
1978 to relocate hundreds of residents
• The school closed and homes were demolished
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Love Canal
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Occidental
• Hooker Chemical and Plastics Company purchased
an abandoned canal near Niagara Falls in 1942
• It filled the canal with 21,000 tons of hazardous waste
• Hooker covered the canal with a clay cap and sold it
to the school board after warning the board about
the buried chemicals
• Construction penetrated the cap, and rain leached
chemicals
• Occidental Petroleum (the parent company) paid
$233 million on the cleanup and lawsuits
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Bad disposal practices were rampant
• In the 1980s, the U.S. had 75,000 active industrial
landfill sites, 180,000 surface impoundments, and
200 facilities that could contaminate groundwater
• Most were small, but the total problem was immense
• Thousands of contaminated water wells were closed
• The problem was found only when people got sick
• Problems of toxic chemical wastes occur in three
areas:
• Cleaning up the messes already created
• Regulating disposal of wastes being produced
• Reducing the quantity of hazardous waste produced
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Cleaning up the mess
• Contaminated drinking water: a major public health
threat
• The first priority: ensure that people have safe water
• Second: clean up or isolate the pollution’s source to
prevent further contamination
• The Safe Drinking Water Act (1974): the EPA set
national standards to protect public health
• Including allowable levels of specific contaminants
• Maximum contaminant levels (MCLs): if
contaminants exceed this level, the water source is
closed
• The EPA has jurisdiction over groundwater, too
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Groundwater remediation
• Groundwater remediation: a developing technology
used if toxic materials have contaminated
groundwater
• Techniques involve drilling wells, pumping out
contaminated water, purifying it, and reinjecting it
• Cleaning up the source of the water is mandatory
• If contamination is severe, remediation may not be
possible
• Groundwater is considered unfit for drinking
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LUST remediation
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Superfund for toxic sites
• The most monumental task we face is cleaning up
tens of thousands of toxic sites
• Mangers of operating sites were pressured to clean
up
• Many operators simply declared bankruptcy and
abandoned their sites
• The Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA; 1980)
• Known as Superfund
• A trust fund that uses money from taxes on chemical
raw materials
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CERCLA
• The trust pays for identification of sites, protection and
remediation of groundwater, and cleanup of sites
• Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act
(SARA; 1986): greatly expands the Superfund
program
• All sites cannot be cleaned up, so priorities must be
set
• All sites are identified, and threats to groundwater are
determined
• If no immediate threat exists, nothing else is done
• If a threat exists, measures are taken to protect the
public by isolating the wastes
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National Priorities List
• If a site is contaminated and groundwater will reach
wells, remediation is begun immediately
• National Priorities List (NPL): contains the worst
sites
• These sites are scheduled for total cleanup
• The site is evaluated to determine the most costeffective way to clean it up
• Efforts are made to identify potential responsible
parties (PRPs)
• Industries are “invited” to help pay or participate in
cleanup activities
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Cleanup technology
• Drums of chemical wastes can be picked up and
treated
• 4,200 drums were removed from the VOD site
• Contaminated soil is run through an incinerator or
kiln, which burns off the chemicals
• Water is injected into a ring of injection wells and
drawn into a central suction well to cleanse soil
• The water is treated and reused for injection
• Remediation of the VOD site cost $2.3 million
• The site was deleted from the NPL in 1996
• The site is undeveloped and groundwater isn’t used
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Mobile incinerator for toxic waste
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Bioremediation
• Soil contaminated with toxic organic compounds
does not degrade
• The soil lacks organisms and/or oxygen
• Bioremediation: another cleanup technology
• Oxygen and organisms are injected into the site
• The organisms feed on and eliminate the pollutants
• Then they die
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Plant food?
• Phytoremediation: using plants to decontaminate
heavy metal-contaminated soil
• Plants stabilize the soil and reduce movement of
contaminants by erosion
• They also extract the contaminants by direct uptake
• The plants are removed and treated as toxic waste
• The process can be slow and is only used where
contamination is not toxic to plants
• Sunflowers capture uranium, poplar trees soak up
dry-cleaning solvents, ferns thrive on arsenic
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Evaluating superfund
• Over 47,000 sites are serious enough to be given
Superfund status
• 33,000 sites do not pose a significant threat
• Assigned “no further removal action planned”
(NFRAP)
• Over 11,300 sites remain on the active list
• Some of the worst sites are on military bases
• A totally heedless and unconscionable discarding of
toxic materials
• 13% of NPL sites are federal facilities
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Progress
• In 2009, 1,264 sites were still on the NPL
• Since 1980, 1,063 sites have received cleanuprelated construction
• 332 sites have been deleted from the list
• It takes about 12 years and $20 million to clean a
site up
• Groundwater remediation is slow
• Other NPL sites are in various stages of analysis,
remediation, and construction
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Who pays?
• CERCLA is based on the “polluter pays principle”
• Liability is hard to track down
• Users mount legal defenses to disclaim responsibility
• If the party can’t be found, or if they can’t pay, the
Superfund trust fund kicks in
• Over 70% of cleanup costs have been paid by
polluters
• The EPA has gained experience with Superfund
sites
• Americans still rate toxic waste third in environmental
concerns
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Critics
• Industries claim they are unfairly blamed for pollution
that was legal before CERCLA
• They feel overly stringent standards of cleanup cost
too much without providing additional benefits
• Congress did not renew the tax on industry in 1995
• The $4 billion balance is gone
• PRPs and the public pay (through taxes) to clean
sites
• Congress appropriated $600 million to Superfund as
part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (2009) to create jobs and clean up NPL sites
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Brownfields
• Brownfields: a highly successful Superfund
development
• Abandoned, idled, or underused industrial or
commercial facilities
• Expansion or development is hampered by real or
perceived environmental contamination
• Hazards not serious enough to be on Superfund
NPL still impair $2 trillion worth of real estate
• The Brownfield Act (2002) gives grants for site
assessment and remediation work
• Limits liability for owners of contaminated land
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Rehabilitation of brownfields
• Many brownfields are in economically disadvantaged
communities
• Rehabilitation of brownfield sites provides centrally
located, prime lands for facilities
• Protects suburban or greenfield lands (natural
ecosystems)
• It also puts the new development back on tax rolls
• It turns a liability into a community asset
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LUSTs
• Leaking underground storage tanks (LUSTS):
underground fuel storage tanks
• At service stations and other facilities
• Putting tanks underground reduces explosions and
fires
• But hides leaks
• After 20 years, steel tanks leak and contaminate
groundwater
• The most common source of groundwater
contamination
• Small leaks can go undetected until people smell fuel
in their tap waters
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Underground storage tank (UST)
• Regulations are part of RCRA and require strict
monitoring for fuel supplies, tanks, and pipes
• Remediation of leaks must begin within 72 hours
• All USTs must have lining and retard corrosion
• Fiberglass tanks do not corrode
• A LUST trust fund gets money from a 0.1 cent/gallon
tax on motor fuel
• Pays for federal activities of oversight and cleanup
• States must have UST programs
• They implement federal regulations
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Managing current toxic chemicals and
wastes
• Production of chemicals will continue
• U.S. regulations cover production of hazardous wastes
• The Clean Air and Clean Water Acts
• Legislation limiting discharges into the air and water
• Discharge permit: must be held by any facility
(including sewage) that discharges a certain volume
into waterways
• A way to monitor who is discharging what
• Establishments must report all discharges covered by
the TRI
• Renewal depends on meeting standards
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Permits do not stop discharges
• Standards are continually being made stricter
• Technologies for pollution control improve
• Tougher restrictions do not end all water pollution
• Certain amounts of wastes are still legally discharged
under permits
• Many small amounts add up to large numbers
• Small businesses, homes, and farms are exempt
from regulations
• They contribute an unknown amount of toxics to the
air and water, mainly from nonpoint sources
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RCRA
• The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976)
• Cornerstone legislation designed to prevent unsafe or
illegal disposal of all solid wastes on land
• All disposal facilities (e.g., landfills) must have permits
• Facilities must have safety features
• Old facilities are shut down and become Superfund
sites
• Toxic wastes destined for landfills must be converted
to forms that will not leach
• Requires “cradle-to-grave” tracking of hazardous
wastes
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Cement kiln to destroy hazardous
wastes
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Cradle-to-grave tracking
• The generator of the wastes fills out a form detailing
the kinds and amounts of waste generated
• Transporters of the wastes are required to be
permitted
• Transporters and the disposal site must sign a form,
vouching that the amounts transferred are accurate
• Copies of the forms go to the EPA
• All phases are subject to unannounced EPA
inspection
• The generator is responsible for any waste “lost”
• Ensures that generators deal only with responsible
parties and curtails midnight dumping
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Reduction of accidents and accidental
exposures
• Laws reduce the probability of accidents and
minimize exposures of workers and the public
• Department of Transportation Regulations (DOT
Regs)
• Specify the kinds of containers and packing used in
transporting hazardous materials
• Intended to reduce the risks of spills, fires, and
poisonous fumes if an accident occurs
• DOT Regs: trucks and containers must carry
placards identifying hazards they transport
• Police and firefighters know what they are dealing
with
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Worker protection: OSHA
• Industries used to force workers to do jobs that
exposed them to hazardous materials without
informing them of the dangers involved
• Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
• Its amendments make up the hazard communication
standard (worker’s right to know)
• Worker’s right to know: businesses, industries, and
labs must make information on hazardous materials
available
• Along with providing suitable protective equipment
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MSDS
• Material safety data sheets (MSDSs): give
information on over 600 chemicals when they are
shipped, stored, and handled
• Contain information on reactivity and toxicity
• Tell what precautions to follow when using the
chemical
• It is the worker’s responsibility to read the
information and exercise precautions
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Community protection and emergency
preparedness
• A 1984 accident at Union Carbide in India spilled
30–40 tons of methyl isocyanate
• An extremely toxic gas
• 600,000 people were exposed; 10,500 (and more)
died
• 50,000 people had visual impairment, respiratory
problems, and other injuries
• Union Carbide scaled back safety and alarm
systems
• The people and doctors had no idea of how to protect
or treat themselves
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SARA
• Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of
1986 (SARA)
• The Emergency Planning and Community Right-toKnow Act (EPCRA): Title III of SARA
• EPCRA: companies handling over 5 tons of any
hazardous material must account for storage sites,
feed hoppers, etc.
• A local emergency planning committee gets the
information
• Gives it to fire and police departments, hospitals, etc.
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Toxic chemical disaster, Bhopal
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The local planning committee
• Draws up scenarios for accidents involving
chemicals
• Make a contingency plan for every case
• There must be an immediate and appropriate
response to any kind of accident
• Firefighters must be trained, hospitals stocked with
medicines
• Together with the TRI, communities can draw up a
chemical profile of their local area
• Initiate pollution-prevention and risk-reduction
activities
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The Toxic Substances Control Act
• In the past, substances were introduced without
testing for side effects
• The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA; 1976):
before a chemical can be bulk produced,
manufacturers must submit a “pre-manufacturing
notice” to the EPA
• It details potential environmental and health risks
• The EPA may restrict or prohibit the product
• The EPA must use the “least burdensome” approach
• Compare the costs and benefits of regulation
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Concerns about TSCA
• There is serious concern about the effectiveness of
TSCA
• The EPA required testing for only 200 chemicals
• It has developed regulations for only five
• The Government Accountability Office (the
investigative arm of Congress) has said that TSCE is
a failed program due to the stringent requirements
put on the EPA’s ability to act
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Registration, evaluation, and
authorization of chemicals
• REACH: 30,000 chemicals in the European Union
must be registered
• Each chemical has a chemical safety report (CSR)
• Detailing human and environmental hazards; how the
chemical is used
• Chemicals not tested in the U.S. are included
• Based on the precautionary principle: industry has
the responsibility for managing risks and ensuring
safety
• The U.S. is concerned that testing costs are too high
• But the EU chemical industry faces the same tests
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Major hazardous-waste laws
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Environmental justice
• The largest commercial hazardous-waste landfill in
the U.S. is in Emelle, Alabama
• African Americans make up 90% of the population
• A Choctaw reservation was going to get a 446-acre
hazardous-waste landfill
• The population is entirely Native American
• 870,000 federally subsidized housing units are within
a mile of factories that emit toxic emissions
• Most occupants are minorities
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Environmental justice defined
• It is the fair treatment and involvement of all people
• Equal enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations, and policies regardless of race, color, etc.
• No group of people should bear a disproportionate
share of negative environmental consequences
• Hazardous facilities are more likely to be located in
areas where most residents are non-Caucasian and
poor
• The rich generate wastes but don’t want them close
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Federal response
• President Clinton issued an executive order in 1994
focusing agency attention on environmental justice
(EJ)
• The EPA’s EJ program has awarded millions to
organizations and local governments addressing EJ
issues
• International EJ: some developing countries import
hazardous wastes from developed countries for
money
• The Basel Convention: an international agreement
banning most international toxic-waste trade
• The Basel Action Network publicizes and coordinates
legal challenges to waste shipments
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Pollution prevention
• Pollution control: uses technology to prevent
pollutants from entering the environment
• “End of the pipe” solutions
• Pollutants still need to be disposed of
• Involves regulations and control
• Pollution prevention: involves changing production,
materials, or both so pollutants won’t be released at
all
• For example, using a catalytic converter vs.
redesigning an engine
• Better products with less waste
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Green chemistry
• Substitution: another way to avoid pollution
• Finding non-hazardous substitutes for hazardous
substances
• Wet cleaning: water-based cleaning compounds
instead of dry-cleaning chemicals
• Products can be biodegradable
• Reuse: cleaning up and recycling chemicals
• Prevention, substitution, and reuse have reduced
hazardous-waste releases
• Public disclosure of TRI data plays a crucial role
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You, the consumer
• Pollution avoidance can be applied to the individual
• Reducing or avoiding products containing harmful
chemical
• Also reducing chemical by-products
• The average American home contains 100 lbs of
household hazardous waste (HHW)
• Paints, stains, pesticides, motor oil, etc.
• They must be safely stored, used responsibly, and
disposed of properly
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Green products
• Products that are more benign than their traditional
counterparts
• How fast and to what degree will these products
replace traditional products?
• It depends on how we behave as consumers
• Buying power can be an extremely potent force
• In conclusion, there are four ways to address
chemical pollution
• Prevention, recycling, treatment, safe disposal
• The first free promote a minimum of waste
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CHAPTER 22
Hazardous Chemicals:
Pollution and
Prevention
Active Lecture Questions
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Review Question-1
______ is the study of the harmful effects of
chemicals on human and environmental health.
a. Carcinocology
b. Acute science
c. Chronicology
d. Toxicology
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Review Question-1 Answer
______ is the study of the harmful effects of
chemicals on human and environmental health.
a. Carcinocology
b. Acute science
c. Chronicology
d. Toxicology
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Review Question-2
The Environmental Protection Agency
categorizes substances on the basis of which
of the following properties?
a. ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and
toxicity
b. poison, explosiveness, ignitability, and
flammability
c. ignitability, reactivity, chronic, acute
d. carcinogenic, chronic, acute, toxicity
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Review Question-2 Answer
The Environmental Protection Agency
categorizes substances on the basis of which
of the following properties?
a. ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and
toxicity
b. poison, explosiveness, ignitability, and
flammability
c. ignitability, reactivity, chronic, acute
d. carcinogenic, chronic, acute, toxicity
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Review Question-3
Exposure of animals to ______, found in many
reusable beverage containers, contributes to
many problems, including obesity, diabetes,
infertility, and cancer.
a. BSA
b. BPA
c. PCBs
d. CFCs
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Review Question-3 Answer
Exposure of animals to ______, found in many
reusable beverage containers, contributes to
many problems, including obesity, diabetes,
infertility, and cancer.
a. BSA
b. BPA
c. PCBs
d. CFCs
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Review Question-4
Midnight dumping of hazardous wastes and
abandoning properties where wastes are stored
has led to locations called
a. landfills.
b. orphan sites.
c. accidental sites.
d. deep well injection sites.
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Review Question-4 Answer
Midnight dumping of hazardous wastes and
abandoning properties where wastes are stored
has led to locations called
a. landfills.
b. orphan sites.
c. accidental sites.
d. deep well injection sites.
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Review Question-5
______ are “abandoned, idled, or underused
industrial and commercial facilities where
expansion or redevelopment is complicated by
real or perceived environmental contamination.”
a. Red zones
b. Underground brown sites
c. Brownfields
d. Yellowfields
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Review Question-5 Answer
______ are “abandoned, idled, or underused
industrial and commercial facilities where
expansion or redevelopment is complicated by
real or perceived environmental contamination.”
a. Red zones
b. Underground brown sites
c. Brownfields
d. Yellowfields
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Interpreting Graphs and Data-1
True or False: According to Fig. 22-1, harmful
effects as a result of the exposure to toxic
pollutants are slight when the concentration of the
pollutant is high and the time of exposure is low.
a. True
b. False
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Interpreting Graphs and Data-1 Answer
True or False: According to Fig. 22-1, harmful
effects as a result of the exposure to toxic
pollutants are slight when the concentration of the
pollutant is high and the time of exposure is low.
a. True
b. False
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Interpreting Graphs and Data-2
According to Fig. 22-4, regarding the general trend of toxics
release,
a. on-site disposal has increased steadily from 1988 to 2007.
b. off-site disposal has increased steadily from 1988 to 2007.
c. on-site disposal has decreased steadily from 1988 to
2007.
d. all of the
above.
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Interpreting Graphs and Data-2 Answer
According to Fig. 22-4, regarding the general trend of toxics
release,
a. on-site disposal has increased steadily from 1988 to 2007.
b. off-site disposal has increased steadily from 1988 to 2007.
c. on-site disposal has decreased steadily from 1988 to
2007.
d. all of the
above.
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Thinking Environmentally-1
True or False: Most of the “dirty dozen”
persistent organic pollutants are halogenated
hydrocarbons.
a. True
b. False
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Thinking Environmentally-1 Answer
True or False: Most of the “dirty dozen”
persistent organic pollutants are halogenated
hydrocarbons.
a. True
b. False
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Thinking Environmentally-2
Which of the following requires manufacturers
to submit a “pre-manufacturing notice” to the
EPA before manufacturing a new chemical in
bulk?
a. the Toxic Substances Control Act
b. the Right-to-Know Act
c. the Underground Storage Tank Act
d. Superfund
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Thinking Environmentally-2 Answer
Which of the following requires manufacturers
to submit a “pre-manufacturing notice” to the
EPA before manufacturing a new chemical in
bulk?
a. the Toxic Substances Control Act
b. the Right-to-Know Act
c. the Underground Storage Tank Act
d. Superfund
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.