COMMON TOXIC POLLUTANTS

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COMMON TOXICPOLLUTANTS
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I. BIOCIDES

• SOURCES
• Pesticides
• Insecticides
• Herbicides
• EFFECTS
• Carcinogenic meaning??
• Nerve damage
• Liver damage

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I. BIOCIDES

• EXAMPLES
• Dioxins ingredient in insecticides
• Used by paper mills in bleaching process
• Used in PVC plastics
• An ingredient in agent orange
• Agent Orange herbicide
• Widely used in Vietnam as a defoliant
• Caused cancer, birth defects, sterility

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I. BIOCIDES

• EXAMPLES
• 24D common herbicide
• Causes lymphoma (cancer) in dogs
• DDT insecticide
• Caused egg shell thinning
• Blamed for the near extinction of eagles, falcons
  and pelicans

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DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichlorethane)

• Insecticide used very effectively against
  mosquitoes, which cause malaria
• Builds up in plants and fatty tissue in fish,
  birds and other animals
• Banned in the US in 1972
• Still used in other countries

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BIOMAGNIFICATION

• A chemical becomes concentrated as it passes
  through a food chain

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DDT

• The concentration effect occurs because DDT is
  metabolized and excreted much more slowly than
  the nutrients that are passed from one trophic
  level to the next. So DDT accumulates in the body
  (especially in fat).

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DDT

• This is why the hazard of DDT to nontarget
  animals is particularly acute for those species
  living at the top of food chains.

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DDT A Threat to Americas Bald Eagles
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II. FOSSIL FUELS (coal, oil gas)

• SOURCES
• NO2 H2O ? HNO3
• (process occurs when burning gas)
• SO2 H2O ? H2SO4
• (process occurs when burning coal)

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II. FOSSIL FUELS (coal, oil gas)

• EFFECTS
• Respiratory problems
• Sterile lakes
• Kills forests
• Damage to monuments, cars, buildings
• Global warming
• Acid rain

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II. FOSSIL FUELS (coal, oil gas)

• SOLUTIONS
• Burn higher grade fuels
• Scrubbers
• Others??

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III. Hg (mercury)

• SOURCES
• Paper mills to treat logs
• Agriculture to treat seeds
• Occurs naturally in mines
• Acid rain releases it naturally from sedimentary
  rock
• Latex paint

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III. Hg (mercury)

• EFFECTS
• Mercury exposure at high levels can harm the
  brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system
  of people of all ages.
• high levels of mercury in the bloodstream of
  unborn babies and young children may harm the
  developing nervous system, making the child less
  able to think and learn

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III. Hg (mercury)

• Our inland fish are unsafe to eat due to high
  levels of Hg
• Hg cannot be eliminated from the body in any way
• Found in muscle tissue

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IV. Pb (lead)

• SOURCES
• Water pipes
• Gasoline
• Paints
• Batteries
• Ceramic pottery
• Soldering

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IV. Pb (lead)

• EFFECTS
• Hyperactivity
• Paralysis
• Brain damage
• Birth defects
• High BP

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IV. Pb (lead)

• 4 of preschool children have below normal IQ
• 20 of Americans drink too much H2O containing Pb
• 2 million waterfowl each year die of lead
  poisoning

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V. PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyls)

• SOURCES
• Insulators for electrical transformers
• Sealants for wood and cement
• Hydraulic fluids
• Paper mills for carbon paper
• pigments, dyes
• as plasticizers in paints, plastics and rubber
  products

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V. PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyls)

• EFFECTS
• Carcinogen
• including effects on the immune system,
  reproductive system, endocrine system and nervous
  system

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V. PCBContaminating the Hudson River
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V. PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyls)

• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a family of
  209 chemical compounds for which there are no
  known natural sources.
• Even though PCBs are no longer commercially
  produced in the United States, high levels of the
  chemicals remain in various parts of the country,
  in poultry, and in fish.

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V. PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyls)

• The very characteristic of the PCBs that made
  them wonderful for use in manufacturing makes
  them problematic in the environment. PCBs are
  very persistent they are generally unalterable
  by microorganisms or by chemical reaction, so
  they do not readily degrade.
• The stable nature of PCBs also lends to
  accumulation in the fatty tissues of animals once
  the PCBs are released into the environment. These
  accumulations increase as the tissue from
  contaminated animals moves through the food web.
  Because of _________, the concentration of PCBs
  found in fish tissues is expected to be
  considerably higher that the average
  concentration of PCBs in the water from which the
  fish were taken.

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VI. CFC (chlorofluorocarbon)

• SOURCES
• aerosol-spray propellants
• refrigerants
• Solvents
• Styrofoam (pre, CFC-free styrofoam)
• foam-blowing agents
• They are well-suited for these applications
  because they are nontoxic and nonflammable and
  can be readily converted from a liquid to a gas
  and vice versa.

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VI. CFC (chlorofluorocarbon)

• EFFECTS
• Destruction of the ozone layer which protects us
  from ???
• UV rays from the sun
• How does this happen?

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VI. CFC (chlorofluorocarbon)
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VII. PBB (Polybrominated Biphenyls)

• SOURCES
• PBBs are manufactured chemicals
• They are added to the plastics used to make
  products like computer monitors, televisions,
  textiles, plastic foams, etc. to make them
  difficult to burn. PBBs can leave these plastics
  and find their way into the environment.
• EFFECTS
• Carcinogen
• More will be observed in the movie
• Bitter Harvest

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VII. PBB (Polybrominated Biphenyls)

• Exposure to PBBs is most likely to occur by
  ingesting contaminated foods and drinks.
• People living in the lower peninsula of Michigan,
  where animal feed was accidentally contaminated
  with PBBs in 1973, may still be exposed by eating
  contaminated fish, dairy products, and meat.
• If you don't live in Michigan, exposure to PBBs
  is likely to be very low.
• You can be exposed to PBBs in the air if you live
  near a waste site that contains PBBs.

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• The movie Bitter Harvest
• PBB contamination resulted in the most
  devastating disaster in agricultural history
• In 1973 in St. Louis, MI
• The government did not eliminate PBB from the
  food chain until 1977
• Farmers sold cows to an area baby food company
• Firemaster (flamestar) vs. Nutrimaster (MgO)
• All livestock had to be killed
• 30,000 cattle 1,470 sheep
• 5,900 pigs 1.5 million chickens

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VIII. NO3 and PO4 (nitrates
phosphates)

• SOURCES
• Soil background concentrations
• Fertilizers agricultural residential
• Sewage wastewater treatment plants
• remove 90-95 of P N in
• solids, and the sludge is then
• land applied as fertilizer

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VIII. NO3 and PO4 (nitrates
phosphates)

• EFFECTS
• Eutrophication
• Algae blooms
• Decreasing light and O2 levels
• Currently in the news
• Allegan, Ottawa, and Muskegon Counties all have
  baned the use of fertilizers containing phosphorus