Municipal and Hazardous Waste DIsposal
The waste stream is a term that refers to the flow of solid waste from agriculture, mining, industry, and individuals. There are a limited number of ways that we as a society deal with this waste, each of which can be economically and environmentall costly.
Waste and Water Treatment Lecture Powerpoint
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Purpose: This presentation explores the idea of the waste stream, taking students through different types of waste produced by our society. The different methods of municipal waste disposal, from open dumps to sanitary landfills to incinerators are compared. The Love Canal tragedy is used as a segue into the treatment of hazardous waste, RCRA, and the CERCLA (Superfund) laws. Finally, students are shown how sewage is treated and eventually released back into the environment. A student notes outline is also available for this lecture.
Essential Concepts: Sanitary landfills, garbage, waste stream, open dumps, incineration, mass burn, waste derived fuel, hazardous waste, CERCLA, RCRA, superfund, recycling, sewage treatment, primary treatment, secondary treatment, tertiary treatment.
Waste and Water Treatment Notes Outline
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Purpose: Taking efficient notes can be a big challenge for many students, especially when working from a Powerpoint lecture. This outline gives students a means to take notes that guides them toward important concepts and avoids the pitfalls of writing word-for-word or simply not taking notes at all. The outline is written as a series of questions, fill-in-the-blanks, or diagrams. This outline is based on the Powerpoint lecture written specifically for this unit.
Essential Concepts: Sanitary landfills, garbage, waste stream, open dumps, incineration, mass burn, waste derived fuel, hazardous waste, CERCLA, RCRA, superfund, recycling, sewage treatment, primary treatment, secondary treatment, tertiary treatment.
Wastewater and Dissolved Oxygen Data Model Assignment
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Purpose: This is a simple Google Sheets based data model for students to simulate the impacts of temperature, precipitation, and other variables on the dissolved oxygen levels of a fictitious river and lake. The first part of the model simulates a river that runs near a large cattle ranch. Manure runoff from the river impacts dissolved oxygen levels of the river, at rates that very with the seasons. Students can implement primary and secondary treatment to alleviate the problem. The second part of the model simulates a lake near a growing city. As the population of the city grows, so does the amount of sewage that enters the lake
Essential Concepts: CERCLA, Superfund, hazardous waste, toxic chemicals, toxicology, health effects, EPA, carcinogens, teratogens, endocrine disruptors.
Superfund Research Assignment
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Purpose: This Superfund assignment has students discover sites within their state or county that have made this National Priority List (NPL). They will read about the former identity of the hazardous waste site, the toxic chemicals that have been discovered there, and the steps taken by the EPA through the Superfund law to clean up and remediate the site. Finally, they will access a hazardous chemical database to determine the health risks associated with the specific contaminants found at these Superfund sites.
Essential Concepts: CERCLA, Superfund, hazardous waste, toxic chemicals, toxicology, health effects, EPA, carcinogens, teratogens, endocrine disruptors.
Waste and Water Treatment Study Guide
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Purpose: Once the instruction for the unit is completed, students can complete this study guide to aid in their preparation for a written test. The study guide is divided into two sections: vocabulary and short answer questions. The vocabulary is taken directly form the lecture, sequentially. The short answer questions are meant to model the type they may see on the exam. This study guide is sequentually based on the Powerpoint lecture from this unit.
Essential Concepts: Sanitary landfills, garbage, waste stream, open dumps, incineration, mass burn, waste derived fuel, hazardous waste, CERCLA, RCRA, superfund, recycling, sewage treatment, primary treatment, secondary treatment, tertiary treatment.
