ENVICHEM

• Human impacts to the environment

  • Overpopulation
  • Pollution from burning fossil fuels
  • Deforestation
• Consequences of changes to the environment

  • Climate change
  • Soil erosion
  • Poor air quality
  • Undrinkable water
• Human needs and actions affecting the environment

  • Food
  • Air
  • Water
  • Shelter
  • Waste production
• Today, resources are often removed faster than ecosystems can replace them
• Understanding how environments influence organisms

  Requires learning and understanding a broad range of subjects: chemistry, earth science, physics, biology, mathematics
• Components of the environment

  • Anthrosphere
  • Hydrosphere
  • Biosphere
  • Lithosphere
  • Atmosphere
• Environmental Science is the study of the interaction of humans with the natural environment
• Topics in Environmental Science

  • Climate
  • Soil and landforms
  • Water sources
  • Living organisms
• Disciplines in Environmental Science

  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Engineering
  • Agriculture
  • Social Science
  • Public Health
  • Medicine
  • Biology
• Environmental Chemistry studies the interaction of chemicals in the environment and their effects on the ecosystem
• Environmental Chemistry concerns the interaction between components of the natural environment and contaminants leading to impairment
• Environmental Chemistry studies chemical and biochemical phenomena in natural places
• Environmental Chemistry studies the sources, reactions, transport, effects, and fates of chemical species in air, soil, and water environments
• Environmental Chemistry is an interdisciplinary science including atmospheric, aquatic, and soil chemistry
• Reasons for concern include disruption of natural processes, rapid population growth, depletion of Earth's resources, and environmental damage
• Pollution is the introduction of substances or energy into the environment resulting in harmful effects
• Environmental pollution is an undesirable change in the characteristics of air, water, or land that may be harmful to life forms or resources
• Types of Pollution

  • Chemical Pollution
  • Noise Pollution
  • Thermal Pollution
• Problems arise from the release of substances into the environment, either naturally present or above 'natural' levels
• Pollutants and their effects

  • CO2 - global warming - fuel combustion
  • N2O - greenhouse effect and potential ozone depletion
  • NH3 - poisonous in water to fish
  • NO2 - poisonous in water to animals
  • NO3 - contributes to eutrophication and blue-baby syndrome in infants
• NH3 is highly poisonous in water to fish, particularly in protonated form
• NO2 is highly poisonous in water to animals
• NO3 contributes to eutrophication (excessive plant growth) in watercourses and is associated with blue-baby syndrome in infants
• Pollution could be a global problem (e.g. ozone depletion) or a local issue (e.g. waste dumping)
• What does an environmental chemist do?
• People employed by the environmental industry

  • Focus on preventing environmental deterioration
  • Involved in environmental clean-up or remediation
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, known as CERCLA or "Super fund"
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA
• The Scientists in environmental chemistry do basic research
• The purpose of environmental legislation is to modify human behavior to reduce or eliminate environmental threats identified through basic research
• Stages of a complete pollution control program

  1. Recognition of a Problem

  2. Monitoring to Determine the Extent of the Problem

  3. Determination of Control Procedures

  4. Legislation to Ensure the Control Procedures are Implemented

  5. Monitoring to Ensure the Problem has been Controlled
• Some terms to remember: Pollutant, Contaminant, Receptor, Sink
• Contaminant is any substance introduced into the environment through human activities
• Pollutant can be present naturally or produced by human activities that are unfit
• Sink is the medium which reacts with pollutants
• Receptor is the medium which is affected by the pollutant
• The effects of pollutants on individual living organisms can be influenced by both the total amount discharged and its concentration in the environment
• Effects of pollutants on individual living organisms

  Can be influenced by both the total amount discharged and the concentration of the pollutant in the environment
• Total Amount Discharged


  Can have significant consequences, overwhelm natural processes for breaking down or neutralizing pollutants, lead to widespread contamination and damage to ecosystems, and cause bioaccumulation in organisms
• Concentration of Pollutant in the Environment


  Refers to the amount of pollutant present per unit volume or mass of the surrounding air, water, or soil. High concentrations in localized areas can have significant adverse effects on nearby organisms, especially for highly toxic substances