Module 2
Information from Course Outline
Module 2, Closes Monday, January 28
Introduction; some basic concepts and definitions; a little toxicology.
Introduction
We'll start with an overview of some laws about environmental contamination
both because they are common in pollution issues and because risk assessments
are often required as the result of these laws. Then we'll give a broad overview
of chemicals in the environment, including some potential pathways and important
terms. Then we'll review some on-line searching.
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| Sub-module 2A | Overview of laws and reg.'s, uses of risk assessment. |
| Sub-module 2B | Begin fate and persistence, Pathways - qualitative - conceptual site models (CSMs). Environmental media. |
| Sub-module 2C | On-line searching (In ENVE 649 2D) |
| Sub-module 2D | Spring 2015 Closure Spring 2013 Closure Spring 2011 Closure Old Closure |
Homework.
There are 25 points for this module's homework. a.) 10 points for the auto-quiz
you access through Blackboard, b.) 8 points for the email to the instructor,
c.) 5 points for the discussion, and d.) 3 points for the message to the instructor.
All are explained more below.
a.) Do the Module 02 homework quiz in Blackboard. Here is the text copy of the quiz. Paper Quiz.
b.) With reference to the TRI site in Sub-module 2A, pick one chemical that is a liquid. Preferably a liquid that is not common, or at least one that is new to you. You'd be better off with a chemical that is released in smaller quantities, rather than larger. Then use the search engine of your choice (I recommend some in Sub-module 2C, if you don't have a favorite already.) to find a brief description of your chemical. You will likely have to "refine" your search to get a readable number of sites. That will tell you if your chemical is a liquid. If you guessed wrong, go back to TRI and try again. Start a Word document. Put your name on the top, the name of the search engine you used, the URL of the search engine, and the URL of the document you found. Copy the pertinent text of the description of your chemical. Email the file to the instructor. Label the SUBJECT of the Email ENVE 651 HW2. See the Module 01 homework for instructions on how to name the file. Also in that document, add the material from item d.) below.
c.) On Blackboard will be posted information about which of the discussion groups you have been assigned to. Go to the discussion group and the first thread will be the discussion for this module. From the story about Chesapeake Bay, consider this scenario. Long John is the owner of a small boat harbor in the region near the mouth of the James River. His harbor was silting up and he dredged the material to keep the harbor open. He piled the sediment he dredged, about 20 cubic yards, in a lot near the back of the parking lot, near a neighborhood schoolyard. The EPA and the Corps of Engineers find out about his dredging and take samples of the dredged material. The material has high levels of PCB, a heavy chemical that does not evaporate from soil and is tightly adsorbed to organic soil components and tributyl tin, a lighter chemical that also does not evaporate but is not tightly bound to the soil and is somewhat water soluble. All the members of the discussion group are parents of children who go to the school and/or residents of the neighborhood near the boat harbor. The first person in each of the groups posts a message to the group's site stating the situation above and that you are concerned, but that Long John has told you the dredged material is harmless and "the pile won't go anywhere." Thereafter, each member of the group read the comments of the earlier group members and add something about the pathways that the tributyl tin and PCB might travel to a human receptor. Use the material from the SCEM help site if you are stuck for ideas.
d.) Write a document in Word (or just append it to the document above, i.e., put it in a separate section of the same document.) and ask at least one question about the Module 02 material. Also post at least one criticism or glitch noted about the material in this module.