Waste - Chapter 19

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, what percentage of the approved or proposed Superfund sites have been cleaned up

341 out of 1620

What problems are associated with methane buildup?

It is highly flammable and can build up to explosive concentrations. It can also seep into nearby buildings.

How might motor oil end up in the water supply?

It might seep into the groundwater or it might be dumped down a sink or gutter which would end up in a stream or river.

Some requirements for a landfill built today are...

It must be lined with clay and plastic, it must have systems for collecting and treating leachate and vert pipes must be installed for removing methane

According to the text, what is the most helpful thing that a consumer can do to make sure that more materials are recycled?

Make an effort to buy products made from recycled materials whenever possible

What can landfills burn to generate electricity?

Methane

A disadvantage of building a new landfill near a city would be...

Residents of the city would not want to live near it and property values would drop.

Three reasons why we cannot dispose of all our waste by simple burning it in incinerators are...

Some waste does not burn. Incinerators give off a certain amount of toxic particles and gases. The ash that remains after the waste is burned must still be disposed of.

Superfund Act

The common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA); a 1980 U.S. federal act that imposes a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries, funds the cleanup of abandoned and nonoperating hazardous waste sites, and authorizes the federal government to respond directly to the release or threatened release of substances that may pose a threat to human health or the environment.

Why do non-biodegradable wastes cause waste-management problems?

There are no natural microorganisms capable of decomposing non-biodegradable wastes. The wastes do not break down easily in the environment and as a result they persist as waste.

How do plastic liners and layers of clay help protect the environment around a landfill?

They prevent hazardous liquids from seeping from the landfill and keep such liquids from contaminating the environment.

A disadvantage of building a new landfill far from the city would be...

Trucks would have to drive the garbage long distances causing an increase in taxes to pay for the gas and maintenance. It would also cause more air pollution.

An example of something that is biodegradable is...

a leaf in a compost pile

Materials that are formed naturally are called

biodegradable

A major problem associated with modern landfills is...

explosive gases can be produced by landfills and may build up in the basements of nearby buildings

From 1970 to the present, the percentage of waste that is recycled has...

increased from 6.6 percent to 28 percent

A material is biodegradable if...

it can be broken down by biological processes

An advantage of a solid waste incinerator is...

it reduces the amount of trash destined for landfills

The methane found in landfills is a gas that

may be captured and used to produce energy

Synthetic materials are...

non-biodegradable

Which items make up the largest percentage of waste produced by households and businesses?

paper products

Problems not associated with landfills are...

source reduction, composting, surface impoundment and leachate

A problem with biodegradable plastics is...

they never completely decompose

The total amount of solid waste generated in the US since the 70's has...

tripled

Some hazardous wastes are...

dead batteries and metals such as lead and mercury