EAS 1540 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Secondary Treatment, Nonpoint Source Pollution, Harmful Algal Bloom
23 Dec 2016
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Concept of point source vs. nonpoint source pollution. Point source pollution = singularly identifiable source of pollution such as a direct industrial discharge sewage outfall. Nonpoint source pollution = cumulation of lots of small, hard to define sources diffusing. Oil, grease, toxic chemicals from runoff, fertilizer, insecticides, bacteria from livestock, salt, acid rain. Oil spills - point source - impact local environment. Oil discharge - diffuse runoff from drainage from roads --> larger source of oil entering ocean. Size of gulf blowout relative to exxon valdez - 5 times bigger. Long term slow degradation of the ecosystem - happens regularly bc lots of oil extraction going on. Still lingering concerns from that area - still oil in that environment. Minamata bay, japan (1950"s-1960"s) - industrial mercury was discharged into the bay, entered the fish, consumed by people, terrible birth defects. Mercury accumulates - it is not lost through trophic transfer.
