Pollution Prevention Exam 1 ACTUAL UPDATED QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
What was the NEPA Act? The National Environmental Policy Act, enacted in the Nixon era, founded the EPA
and began to lay out framework for protecting the environment from a
governmental standpoint.
What was the CAA? The clean air act introduced regulations on air quality to reduce the impacts of air
pollution
What was the Safe Drinking Water Act? Enacted originally to protect private drinking wells from contamination by
leaching, contamination, dumping, etc into waterways.
What is RECRA? The Research Conservation and Recovery Act was enacted to address cleanup of
the worst pollutants such as toxins, carcinogens, and mutagens, etc. and
introduce legislation on virtually all waste treatment and disposal in the US
, What is CERCLA? Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act,
addendum to RECRA to assign responsibility on waste cleanup and establish a
superfund to fund cleanups of sites that couldn't be covered by identified parties
(for example a site with harzardous landfill waste from a company that no longer
existed).
Name 3 environmental disasters and discuss their BP Gulf Oil Spill, Gulf War and Chernobyl; these incidents have devastating short
importance in policy and long term consequences that remind people why environmental health and
safety regulations are necessary, both nation and world wide.
Why is prevention important? Because control (the typical approach) is a backend remedy, while prevention can
remove the need to even deal with the waste (or at least the amount of waste) in
the first place. This is still difficult to implement, as sites are still being cleaned up
from past issues, and it requires a shift in thinking instead of doing things the way
they have always been done.
What is air pollution and why is it important? The spread of particulates through air both indoors and outdoors. Control of this
is easiest at the source before being dispersed into the atmosphere, but models
can be used to predict dispersal. Examples: acid rain and legionnaire's disease
What is water pollution and why is it important? The spread of contaminants through waterways (surface water, ground water, rain
etc.)-some of which are easier to treat and model than others. Example:
eutrophication
What is solid waste and why is it important? Mostly handled by landfills, but waste is divided and placed in specific landfills
based on waste type. Most important are hazardous landfills, which are lined with
insoluble liners to keep waste from leaching into groundwater, and radioactive
waste, which is taken to the Savannah River Site (SRS). It also poses a significant
security risk. Incineration may also be used in some instances.
What was the Pollution Prevention Act? Released in 1990, it aimed to make pollution prevention (instead of
control/disposal) the priority.
What is the pollution prevention act waste management source reduction (produce less waste) -> recycling and reuse (find another use for
hierarchy? waste) -> treatment (treat waste to get rid of harmful stuff) -> ultimate disposal
(landfarming, deep well injection, landfills, ocean disposal and atmospheric
dispersion)
What is Section 2 of the PPA? introduced concept of waste management hierarchy, and requires industries to do
do everything to achieve current step before proceeding to the next step.
ANSWERS
What was the NEPA Act? The National Environmental Policy Act, enacted in the Nixon era, founded the EPA
and began to lay out framework for protecting the environment from a
governmental standpoint.
What was the CAA? The clean air act introduced regulations on air quality to reduce the impacts of air
pollution
What was the Safe Drinking Water Act? Enacted originally to protect private drinking wells from contamination by
leaching, contamination, dumping, etc into waterways.
What is RECRA? The Research Conservation and Recovery Act was enacted to address cleanup of
the worst pollutants such as toxins, carcinogens, and mutagens, etc. and
introduce legislation on virtually all waste treatment and disposal in the US
, What is CERCLA? Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act,
addendum to RECRA to assign responsibility on waste cleanup and establish a
superfund to fund cleanups of sites that couldn't be covered by identified parties
(for example a site with harzardous landfill waste from a company that no longer
existed).
Name 3 environmental disasters and discuss their BP Gulf Oil Spill, Gulf War and Chernobyl; these incidents have devastating short
importance in policy and long term consequences that remind people why environmental health and
safety regulations are necessary, both nation and world wide.
Why is prevention important? Because control (the typical approach) is a backend remedy, while prevention can
remove the need to even deal with the waste (or at least the amount of waste) in
the first place. This is still difficult to implement, as sites are still being cleaned up
from past issues, and it requires a shift in thinking instead of doing things the way
they have always been done.
What is air pollution and why is it important? The spread of particulates through air both indoors and outdoors. Control of this
is easiest at the source before being dispersed into the atmosphere, but models
can be used to predict dispersal. Examples: acid rain and legionnaire's disease
What is water pollution and why is it important? The spread of contaminants through waterways (surface water, ground water, rain
etc.)-some of which are easier to treat and model than others. Example:
eutrophication
What is solid waste and why is it important? Mostly handled by landfills, but waste is divided and placed in specific landfills
based on waste type. Most important are hazardous landfills, which are lined with
insoluble liners to keep waste from leaching into groundwater, and radioactive
waste, which is taken to the Savannah River Site (SRS). It also poses a significant
security risk. Incineration may also be used in some instances.
What was the Pollution Prevention Act? Released in 1990, it aimed to make pollution prevention (instead of
control/disposal) the priority.
What is the pollution prevention act waste management source reduction (produce less waste) -> recycling and reuse (find another use for
hierarchy? waste) -> treatment (treat waste to get rid of harmful stuff) -> ultimate disposal
(landfarming, deep well injection, landfills, ocean disposal and atmospheric
dispersion)
What is Section 2 of the PPA? introduced concept of waste management hierarchy, and requires industries to do
do everything to achieve current step before proceeding to the next step.
