Hazardous Chemicals Affect Living Things: Lesson Objective: Students will identify potential risks resulting from consumer practices.

Check & Reflect  Page 352, #s 1-6  Page 359, #s 1-8

Lead in the environment…  City of Calgary- May 17, 2001; Soil in Lynnview Ridge area were above the current environmental guidelines.  Lead can damage kidneys, nervous system, and reproductive system; especially damaging to young children and unborn fetuses.

Biomagnification:  Is the increased concentration of a chemical or element as it moves up the food chain. 4

Mercury can enter water systems in two ways:  One is from the air as a result of emissions from industrial plants, another way is from industrial waste fluids.  Once in the water, it increases in concentration as it moves up the food chain.

How biomagnification happens… Mercury falls onto fresh or salt water where bacteria join it to an organic molecule that algae can absorb.  Any one algae is not very affected because it takes in very little mercury.  Algae are eaten by invertebrates such as insects. The eat A LOT of algae, so take in more mercury.

 Fish then eat A LOT of of insects, ingesting A LOT of mercury which is stored in their body tissues.  If animals (bears, humans, etc.) eat enough of those fish, they become ill. 7

Mad as a hatter?

Mercury contaminated fish have been a problem:  In parts of Canada, including the Great Lakes.  In the ocean; all over the world! 10

Case Study: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

The chemical spill had both short term and long term concequences:  Crude oil: mixture of many chemicals. Contains hundreds of different molecules in all shapes and sizes.  Nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, mercury, and lead.

The chemical spill had both short term and long term concequences:  Crude oil: can’t be used as soon as it’s pumped from the ground.  Has to be processed in an oil refinery; there it is heated and the chemical components are separated as they cool.

Crude Oil Spills:  Composition of oil changes after it’s spilled.  Lighter and smaller molecules disperse into air or water.

Crude Oil Spills:  “Tar Balls” of heavy hydrocarbons are washed ashore or sink into the sediment below the water.  Bacteria are able to degrade some of this oil for use as food.

Crude Oil Spills:  Long-term studies have increased our knowledge of the impact of oil on the environment.  Some hydrocarbons are toxic in concentrations as low as 1 ppb ; oil can persist in the environment for more than 10 years.

Impact on the Environment:  2% of the oil spilled made it to shore.  Most of it evaporated or dispersed into water.  10 years after the spill, bacteria and light had broken down much of the oil.

Impact on the Environment:  Floating algae were killed.  Invertebrates near shore could not survive the decreased oxygen, loss of food, and the toxic effect of hydrocarbons.

Impact on the Environment:  Fish eggs and young fish were especially sensitive to the toxic chemicals in the oil.  Pacific herring and pink salmon fry died or were physically deformed.  Adult fish could swim away, but lost habitat and food resources

Impact on the Environment:  Seabirds and mammals became covered with oil.  It is estimated that over birds and 5000 sea otters died; oily feathers and fur could not protect them.

Impact on people:  Commercial fishers could no longer fish.  People who relied of fish and wildlife for food had to purchase expensive food from grocery stores.  Tourist trade decreased- would you want to camp in a contaminated area?

Clean up and restoration of Prince William Sound

New oil spill clean-up procedures:  Since the large spill in Prince William Sound, government regulations have changed and new procedures have been put in place to deal more effectively with future spills.  In Alberta, companies are required to report spills greater than 2m 3  Companies and government have emergency response plans in place. Hands on training has to take place yearly.

Training sessions demonstrate effective techniques for controlling and cleaning up spills: Booms

Burns:

Dispersants: Change chemical & physical properties.

How did the changes work during the BP disaster?

Hazardous Household Chemicals include:

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Dishwasher Detergents  Poison control centres report that dishwasher are the number one cause of child poisonings.  Contain very concentrated chlorine in a dry form. 31

to 40L of hazardous products in average home. PADIS - Poison & Drug Information Service - Alberta-Wide Web and / or Telephone Access This service provides: emergency, immediate expertise and advice about poisonings medication and herbal advice on prescription and over the counter drugs drug information for health care professionals poison research, education and prevention Toll free Web 32

Government regulations  Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS); set up by federal government.  Hazardous products must be labelled as such.  Anyone who works with or must be near hazardous products must be familiar with WHMIS symbols and labelling, and with Material Safety Data Sheets. 33

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).  They are intended to provide workers and emergency personnel with procedures for handling or working with that substance in a safe manner, and includes information such as physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point, etc.), toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill-handling procedures.  All suppliers of potentially hazardous materials will provide the buyer with additional information about their product. 34

New product regulations  Certain kind of products, such as pesticides or medications, require government approval before they can be sold. 35

Companies must follow strict testing guidelines 36  intended use, physical and chemical properties, active ingredients.  instructions for use, safety precautions.  health effects, environmental effects, toxicity to humans, first aid care.

Storage of Hazardous Chemicals, page

Transportation of consumer goods  There are two times when you or your family transport hazardous goods- when they are purchased and you’re bringing them home.  And when you are taking the unused portion to a hazardous waste collection site.  Care should be taken to protect people in the vehicle from toxic fumes or spills from containers. 40

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NEEEEVVVVEEEERRRR!!!!!!!!  Mix chemicals together in one container to dispose of them (BOOOM or DEEAAD!!).  Original containers with labels intact tell people at the collection site to know how to process them.  Make sure containers don’t spill in trunk! 42

Disposal  Already talked about these- never down drain or in soil.  Occasionally, sewage treatment processes are not effective, and chemicals are released into surface waters.  What happens then? 43

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Hazardous waste collection sites:  Found in almost all Alberta communities (not the teeny tiny ones).  Wastes such as paints and fertilizers can be taken to these sites for disposal.  Materials that cannot be recycled are taken packaged into containers, labeled according to government regulations, transported in labeled trucks with trained drivers to incineration plants. 45

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