27 April 2011

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Final Exam is Monday, May 9, 1:30pm

Exam Grades Exam 2 grades posted

IB 496: Introduction to Beekeeping

Summer Session II (June 13 – August 8)CRN 35584

Lecture: Monday, Wednesday 9-9:50am; Lab: Friday 10-12:50pm

Hands-on introductory course 

Will equip students with the skills to manage small apiaries for honey production.

Additional topics include bee biology, genetics, social evolution, pests & diseases

http://www.life.illinois.edu/whitfield/bees/bees.htm

Exam 2 results

Mean = 83

Exam 2 results

What are the approximate costs associated with biological invasions in the United States?

A) $36 million / yearB) $136 million / yearC) $36 billion / yearD) $136 billion / year

Exam 2 results

By the year 2020, it is expected that the United States will be using how many million barrels of oil per day?

A) between 1-10B) between 20-30C) between 50-100D) between 100-200

Exam 2 results

Insecticides can benefit human health.

A) TRUEB) FALSE

Apple is the Worst Environmental Offender in Tech, Says GreenpeaceBy Brennon Slattery,    Apr 22, 2011

The report, "How Dirty is Your Data?", compared Apple to other top tech companies such as Amazon's Web Services, Facebook, Google, HP, Microsoft, Twitter, and Yahoo. Apple scored the lowest--6.7 percent--in its overall Clean Energy Index, while Yahoo scored the highest, with 55.9 percent.

Apple was also the worst offender in terms of coal intensity, scoring 54.5 percent, with Facebook trailing closely behind with 53.2 percent.

Apple is the Worst Environmental Offender in Tech, Says GreenpeaceBy Brennon Slattery,    Apr 22, 2011

Accepting the brunt of the blame is Apple's 500,000-square-foot facility coming online in Maiden, North Carolina--a facility that, according to Greenpeace, will consume as much energy as 80,000 U.S. homes.

Google and Facebook also have facilities on that grid, which is made up of only about 5 percent clean energy, with the rest coming from either coal (62 percent) or nuclear (32 percent).

Solid/Hazardous Wastes

Lecture Objectives:

What do we do with our garbage?

What are the problems with hazardous waste?

What happened at Love Canal?

The town that wants nuclear wastePer Nyberg, CNN April 24, 2011

Like the energy source itself, it's the question that won't go away: what can be done with spent nuclear fuel? Sweden believes it has the answer.

The plan is to bury the country's expected 12,000 tons of nuclear waste in corrosion-resistant copper canisters under 500 meters of crystalline bedrock. There it will remain isolated from human contact for at least 100,000 years.

Penn. dentist dumps hazardous waste into ocean

On 22 Aug 2008, a dentist dumped waste (=biohazard) from his dental practice into an Atlantic ocean inlet.

Proper disposal would cost $200-300 annually

Waste included: hundreds of hypodermic needles, cotton swabs, and more

Waste caused beach closures as it washed ashore

Dentist plead guilty in mid-March for polluting the water

Hazardous WastesHazardous Wastes – Dangerous by-products of industrial, business, or household activities for which there is no immediate use.

Numerous types and forms: Heavy metals Organic wastes Old Computers Batteries Liquids, solids, sludge

1) Ignitable?

2) Corrosive?

3) Explosive?

4) Toxic?

Defining Hazardous Waste

U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 1976:

Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.

Many chemical compounds have not been tested adequately for adverse affects!!

Issues Involved in Setting Regulations

Identification of Hazardous &Toxic Materials

Setting Exposure Limits Nearly all substances are toxic in sufficient

quantities. Species-Specific Thresholds.

Acute vs. Chronic ToxicityEffects of massive doses (acute) and small doses over time (chronic) differ.

SynergismAssessing effects of chemical mixtures.Most toxicity studies done on a single compound.

Environmental Problems Caused By Hazardous Wastes

Because most hazardous wastes are disposed on or in land, most serious effect is contaminated groundwater.

100,000 industrial landfill sites 180,000 surface impoundments Nearly 2% of North America’s underground aquifers

could be contaminated. Once polluted, prohibitively costly to restore water to

original state; often not even physically possible

Welcome to the era of 'extreme energy’John D. Sutter, CNNApril 20, 2011

Canada's oil sands, 620 miles north of Montana. Huge amounts of energy are expended to clear boreal forests and dig up land that's about 10% bitumen, a thick form of crude that must be processed multiple times before it turns into gasoline or jet fuel.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/13/fracking.explainer/index.html

New York governor pauses 'fracking’ Sarah Hoye, CNN December 13, 2010

Using hydraulic fracturing, drillers pump large amounts of water mixed with sand and chemicals into the shale formation thousands of feet underground under high pressure. Fracturing the shale around the gas well then allows the natural gas to flow freely.

The process has raised concerns about whether those chemicals are contaminating the underground water. Some residents near hydraulic fracturing drill sites along the Delaware River Basin -- in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania -- have been able to set their water on fire.

New York governor pauses 'fracking’ Sarah Hoye, CNN December 13, 2010

The proposed moratorium in New York was described as "misguided" by Kathryn Klaber, who represents a large natural gas industry coalition in the Northeast.

"Tightly regulated, environmentally sound natural gas development in New York can and will deliver a much-needed and long-lasting economic shot in the arm ... for the entire state, just as it is in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and elsewhere," said a written statement from Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/09/13/griffin.gas.danger.cnn

Health Risks

Each year, roughly 1,000 new chemicals are produced and distributed.

70,000 already in daily use.

Main problem is often improper handling and disposal

IEPA household hazardous waste collection Mercury Thermostats/Thermometers, Antifreeze, Solvents, Metal Polishes,

Drain Cleaners, Cleaning Products, Paint Removers, Oil-Based Paints (no water-based paints), Aerosol Paints, Paint Thinners, Fluorescent Bulbs, Hobby Chemicals, Pool Chemicals, Fungicides, Furniture Strippers, Used Oils, Insecticides, Herbicides, Pesticides, Weed Killers, Lawn Chemicals, Old Gasoline, Used Motor Oil, Household/Automotive Batteries, Propane Tanks (20 & 20 lb. cylinders), and Fire Extinguishers

Household Hazardous Waste Collections

The Illinois EPA coordinates one-day household hazardous waste collections each year in the spring and fall.

http://www.call2recycle.org/

http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/hazardous-waste/household-haz-waste/

Hazardous Waste Dumps: A Legacy of Abuse

Prior to 1976, hazardous waste was essentially unregulated.

Most common disposal solution was to bury or dump the wastes without concern for environmental or health risks.

Hazardous Waste Dumps

When sites became full or unnecessary, they were simply abandoned.

In North America alone, currently over 25,000 sites containing hazardous waste.

U.S. has highest number of dumps needing immediate attention.

Federal Legislation

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).

Modified in 1984 by Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act.

Aimed at rapid containment, cleanup, or remediation of abandoned toxic waste sites.

Toxic Release Inventory - Requires 20,000 manufacturing facilities to report annually on releases of more than 300 toxic materials.

EPA Superfund Sites (Since 1980)

Sites contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human

health and/or the environment. 1,300 Superfund sites across the country

In Illinois: 46 active, 2 cleaned

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/index.htm

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/

Superfund Sites

Total costs for hazardous waste cleanup in the US are estimated between $370 billion and $1.7 trillion.

•For years, most of the funding has gone to legal fees, but this situation has improved over past several years.

Studies of Superfund sites reveal minorities tend to be over-represented in these neighborhoods.

Love Canal1892 -- William T. Love proposed a canal for navigation and hydropower

Only one mile of the canal built, used for swimming and recreation

1920 – Land sold at public auction Became a municipal and chemical disposal site.

Including:Benzene - causes leukemia

Dioxin – causes cancer

Hooker Chemical Company dumped over 20,000 tons of chemicals until 1953.

1953 - Hooker covered the site with dirt and clay and sold the land to the Niagara Falls Board of Education for $1.00

1955 - the 99th Street elementary school opened and homes were built on the 16-acre rectangular site

1960s-1970s repeated complaints to city

Aug. 7, 1978, President Jimmy Carter declared a federal emergency at Love Canal

Aug. 2, 1978 - the NY State Department of Health recommended temporary relocation of pregnant women and young children

April, 1978 – Report in newspaper about toxic chemicals

1976 -- Calspan Corporation hired as consultant

1990s – Resettlement of area begins

1980s -- Human Heath issues documented

•Of 17 pregnancies in 1979 – 2 normal, 9 birth defects, 2 stillborn, 4 miscarriages

•Broken chromosomes

•Neurological Problems

1980 – Superfund Site

Superfund Controversy - Gowanus Canal

Background:Gowanus Canal flows through Brooklyn, NY

Highly toxic - history of industrial and sewage contamination since 1860s

Found: Pesticides, metals, PCBs (carcinogens)

300 million gallons of raw waste dumped into canal annually via city sewers (currently)

Superfund Controversy - Gowanus Canal

Controversy:Bloomberg opposed Superfund designation

NYC had worked with activists and Corp to create plans to clean up Gowanus

Concerned Superfund status will slow down progress because of legal issues, lower development interest(Had halted progress when it was considered for designation)

EPA wanted Superfund designation Denies negative effect on development Believes corporations and EPA working together would be complicated Claims city plan did not have secured funding

Superfund Controversy - Gowanus Canal

Result:Gowanus Canal declared superfund site on March 2, 2010

Bloomberg administration unhappy but will work with EPA to clean up

EPA needs to determine who will pay Cost est. $300-500 million

Plan will take est. 10-12 years to complete and involves: Dredging of canal Removal of contamination sources

Sewage spillover, Groundwater flow from industrial plant locations

Managing Hazardous Wastes

EPA pollution prevention hierarchy:

1. Reduce amount of pollution at the source.2. Recycle wastes whenever possible.3. Treat wastes to reduce hazard and/or volume.4. Dispose of wastes on land or incinerate them as last

resort.

Points to Know

What are the environmental problems and health risks caused by hazardous wastes? What is the main source of these problems?

Know the general story of the Love Canal.