Wastes, Disposal and Strategies for Control

Type of Waste	Disposal	Strategy for control
Heavy Metals	Landfills. If not properly confined the leachate may pollute soil/ground water.	Mixed with cement and additive that encloses the sludge.
Nuclear Wastes	Depends on the type of waste: -For low levels, material is compressed and buried in landfills -For inter, level it may be solidified in concrete and buried -For high level, it is placed in a container Reuse (weapons, not cost-effective; hybrid reactors)	Very difficult. Confinement is needed wastes take thousands of years to decay. An option is to deplete highly radioactive materials
Organic Wastes	Pumping wastes into deep wells. The mulch is used as fertilizer. Land —> provides biogas.	Biotech processes open / closed composting use microorganisms or worms. Aerobic / anaerobic bacteria break down organic matter. Incinerators /pyrolysis
Plastic Wastes	Landfills Incinerators. Reuse/recycling	Efficient incineration provides useful thermal energy and control of the gases released. Treatment Conversion into fuels (Polymer Energy System)
Oils and Solvents	Small amount placed in containers and put in trash, landfills Larger amounts, containers for recycling; oil –> biofuels. Incinerators	Bioprocesses –> microorganisms break down molecules into simpler compounds.

 

 

Method	Description
Landfills	Confinement of wastes into an area, covered by soil
Incineration	Wastes are burned
Recycling	Materials are changed and used in other products
Reuse	A new use is find for materials or they are reused for the same purpose.

 

 

Pollution management: A three level model

Pollution cannot be eliminated by just deciding that we won't use electric power, nor if we just stop developing industries. Pollution cannot be erased, but we can do something about it. The course of action must be treated from three different basis. The generation of the pollutants, the release of them and the impact that they have on the environment at the long-run. This is describe as a three level model:
Human activity producing pollutant
Improve human attitude towards taking consideration of the environment equilibrium towards
education: people would know the real sources of pollution and the effects they have over the environment. The point is that they actively engage in the pollution management and take a part of creating alternative processes.
incentives and penalties: the behavior of the people is difficult to change. Sometimes even if we understand the awful conditions, caused mainly by human action, of the environment, we don’t want to take part of improving them. Incentives and penalties might be the answer to push people and motivate them to take part of the change.

• Development of alternative tech
  
• Adoption of alternative lifestyles
  
• Reducing, reusing, recycling. Recycling campaigning are nowadays supported all around the world, but even if they are helpful and have positive effects, it should be the last R to implement. First we must try to reduce the resources that we use and trying to reuse this resources in every possible way.

Polluting Disposable Container.

Release of pollutant into the environment
Regulating and reducing at points of emission. A lot of businesses are working without caring about the impact that they have over the environment. They want to reduce costs and increase profit. What to do?

• Standards. I mean, if we know that something is doing harm why not to stop it. Regulation could be the solution. If applied, businesses will be forced to care. Maybe at the end they will find their own real ecological consciousness.
  
• Measures to extract pollutants on ecosystem

Long term impact of pollutant and reducing ecosystem
Clearing up pollutant and restoring ecosystem:

• Extracting and removing pollutant from ecosystem
  
• Replanting and restoring animal populations

Indicator Species

Aquatic ecosystems
Oyster: They fed on organic material and pollutants in the water. They filter the water, removing the particles.
Vertebrate and invertebrate species: Found in rivers and streams. Can determine the grange pollution to kept in check.
Lilies: rivers, lakes, ponds and swamps. They absorb oxygen and sunlight. Indicate abundance of nutrients, which leads to eutrophication.

Mayfly larvae: Native specie that are adapted to live in certain biome. When its number decreases it is a very clear sign that the pollution levels are increasing. They reappear downstream as the effects of the discharge are diluted. This help to indicate the level of pollution in water.
Sludge Worm. Common in lakes and rivers. All fresh water ecosystems. They fed on the sediments and bacteria, hence a great population on them might indicate great pollution in the body water and oxygen-poor water. They indicate stagnant water unfit to drink.
Soil Indicator species
The plants that are found in certain soil might indicate the presence or absence of a specific substance.
Besides plants, there are many other indicators.
Birds eggs can be analyze to find out pesticide sin the soil.
Invertebrates:. Indicator species to identify the use of foreign soils, insecticides, pesticides, and other pollutants.
In Canada there are plans to use soil-living arthropods in order to quantify the pollution in the forests.
A good way to measure the healthiness of an ecosystem and to determine the presence of pollution is biodiversity. High biodiversity indicates a strong and healthy environment.

  .

Direct and Indirect Measurements

Direct sampling

• In situ. Actually, in the studied place.

Reliable and the best option because of the exact results gases
It is difficult to carry all of the instruments

• Ex situ. Off from the place where sample is established

Use of more methods and instruments, flexible
You cannot experiment instantly and so the sample could suffer some changes.
Shipping and handling is necessary.
When measuring pollution, direct measurements could be use to measure the concentration of:

• gases
• particulate matter
• pH
• dissolved oxygen
• biomass content
• salts
• conductivity
• turbidly

Most of the measurements are giving in units per area, or per
Indirect sample
These measurements are the ones where we measure one factor in order to study or get conclusions for other factor. They don’t really tell you the concentration, you need to interpret them.
Examples of it are

• Indicator species,  They define an specific area or a specific biome
• Biodiversity indexes
• Chromatography
• Spectroscopy

Pollution management: Measuring Pollution

We need to measure pollution in order to control the measured levels. With the exact number, people could regulate their activities to maintain or reach a certain level to maintain balance in an specific zone or area.

The monitoring of pollution can be done directly or indirectly:

• Direct: Measuring the concentration of pollutants. 
• Acidity of rain
• Amount of gases (atmosphere or by emissions)
• pH of soil
• Presence/concentration of nitrates/phosphates/sulfates in soil and water,
• Amount of organic matter, amount of bacteria, concentration of metals
• BOD: Biochemical Oxygen Demand amount of oxygen to determine the pollution of water
• Indirect:
• Indicator species (absence or presence)

In Mexico, the IMECA’s were created to measure the pollution found in the air. It takes into account PM, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and ground level ozone. Specific marks are established to define the air quality.

Each mark counts with an specific color and recommendations to follow at each level in order to reduce risks. In general, the indices advise you to stay at home or go out.

If you want to check the IMECA’s per zone in the Mexico city, check out the following

link http://www.sma.df.gob.mx/simat/

A effect of extremely high air pollution is acid rain. It is generated in cities due to the combustion of cars and combine with oxygen and sulfur and nitrogen and water: forming sulfuric and nitric acid. This substances fall down with rain. The effects of this acid rain harms the cultural patrimony of the affected areas and damage the equilibrium of the environment by acting upon the flora and fauna.

Main Pollutants

The next table presents some of the main pollutants presented in air, water, or soil. Some of them naturally occur, while other are released by industrial and other human actives.

Click in the image to open it in another page with a bigger size.

 

 

 

Air pollution in the area of Monterrey, Mexico, is mainly due to Particulate Matter (PM). The specifications of this pollutant are presented in the previous table, but the next diagram presents the percentage of PM’s emission from Human Activity.

 

 

Wait for new entries about pollution and check out the previous posts of this month:

• Pollution Management
• Atmospheric layers, air pollution, and its effects

References

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/bcairquality/101/common-pollutants.html

http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com/Air-Pollutants-Summary.html

http://www.springerlink.com/content/978-3-540-70775-2/#section=229365&page=3&locus=12

http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/09-06/water-pollution-causes-article.htm

http://ezinearticles.com/?Main-Causes-of-Water-Pollution&id=527329

http://www.excelwater.com/eng/b2c/about_3.php

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/environ/lead-plomb-eng.php

http://www.epa.gov/glo/health.html

http://biology.about.com/od/molecularbiology/a/carbon_monoxide.htm

Atmospheric layers, Air Pollution and its effects over environment

Behavior of the atmospheric layers.

As we can appreciate in the diagram above, the conditions of pressure and temperature at each level.

The ozone layer, which shields the earth from the direct radiation of Sun’s UV rays, is located in the stratosphere. Ozone is vital for life in Earth, but at ground level, ozone could be very harmful due to its high oxidation levels.

In the troposphere we find the harm of the green house gases. Carbon dioxide and methane directly contribute to global warming and its effect over climatic conditions.

Primary pollutants are the ones that come directly from sources like volcanic eruptions and dust storms. Methane (SO2) and CO2 are generated by natural and anthropogenic (human activity) sources. Human activity generates pollution mainly by combustion and industrial activity (SO2).

Secondary pollutants are the ones that have already changed in composition from the primary ones due to chemical reactions in body waters, soil or even by the effect of Sun’s radiation (sunlight).

Pollution Management

Introduction of contaminants into the environment that harm the ecosystem.

Remember when we talk about pollution last semester. Now, it is time to go deeper on this topic. We must understand how pollution is generated by human activity and how we can reduce pollution.

Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, Earth have had to endure a variety of new and increased amount of pollutants.

Fossil fuels + big factories around the world + increased of population and production = Poll

Nowadays, governments of all around the world and the global society have started to be aware about the harm that human activity is causing to the world and are trying to reducing it working towards a sustainable development.

Pollution Management

The following concepts have been already established in a previous post

Point source: The origin of the pollution can be tracked down easily to an specific agents

Non-point source: There are many damaging agents that might cause the pollution

We could classify the sources of pollutants according from where they are found: air, soil, water.

Water pollution generated by the oil spills by the British Petroleum Company in the Gulf of Mexico is an example of point source pollution.

Another point source pollution: The wastes left by  the activity of “the mining and metals company Molymex’s plant in the city of Cumpas in northern Mexico’s Sonora state, is severely contaminated with baked trioxide molybdenum, according to a University of Arizona study release last week. (Business News Americas).

http://www.bnamericas.com/news/metals/Study_Detects_Molymex_Soil_Pollution

Air pollution in Mexico city due to mostly due to vehicle exhausts. Pollutants include carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, benzenes and aldehydes.

http://www.sbg.ac.at/ipk/avstudio/pierofun/mexico/air.htm

Water pollution in Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province, a factory directly discharges wastewater into Poyang Lake.

http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/photosvideos/slideshows/china-water-pollution-slidesho

Lightning is a major natural source of nitrogen oxides pollution.

Natural sulphur dioxide pollution come from different sources. They include release from volcanoes, biological decay and forest fires. Actual amounts released from natural sources in the world are difficult to quantify.

http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/acid_rain/older/Natural_Sources.html