Study Guide Ecology Test 4

Chapter 16 - "Environmental Hazards and Human Health”

Define hazard, morbidity, mortality; Understand 4 categories of hazards; Know life expectancy; Know 4 major risk pathways; Know steps of risk assessment in order; Understand risk perception and why its not accurate;

Chapter 17 - “Pests and Pest Control”

Know difference of chemical vs. ecological pest management; Know 1st and 2nd generation pesticides; Know story of DDT and Rachel Carson; Understand resistance, resurgence, secondary pest outbreaks and pesticide treadmill; Know problems of non persistent pesticides; Know examples of 4 alternative pest control methods; Define economic threshold; Know FIFRA, FFDCA, Delaney Clause and FQPA;

Ch. 18 - “Water Pollution and Its Prevention” 

Know point and non point sources; Understand the eutrophication process; Know differences in benthic plants and phytoplankton and oligotrophic and eutrophic water; Define BOD; Know history of sewage treatment; Define wastewater; Know 4 categories of waste; Understand the main steps in wastewater treatment and what each step removes; Know 3 alternatives for disinfection; Understand how septic tanks work;

Ch. 19 -  “Municipal Solid Waste: Disposal and Recovery”

Define municipal solid waste; Know the history of how waste has been handled and how it is handled now; Understand advantages and disadvantages of landfills and incinerators; Understand the bottle bill; Define primary and secondary recycling and know what we recycle; Know best approach for handling MSW in the future; 

Ch. 20 - “Hazardous Chemicals: Pollution and Prevention”

Know 4 categories of hazardous waste; Know dangers of heavy metals and nonbiodegradable synthetic organics; Understand bioaccumulation and biomagnification; Know the history of mismanagement of chemical wastes; Know Clean Air and Water Acts and the loophole; Know the 3 land disposal methods; Define midnight dumping; Understand Love Canal; Know history of Superfund and its level of success; Define groundwater remediation and bioremediation; Know function of the Safe Drinking Water Act; Understand RCRA, LUST, TSCA and “worker’s right to know”; Know future solutions to pollution problem;

Essay Question: Remember to write in complete sentences and paragraphs or you will get zero credit! Explain the complete process of wastewater treatment. Discuss all five steps (preliminary, primary, secondary, tertiary, disinfection, and dechlorination) and tell me the equipment used and what is removed.