Pollution Prevention Audit Activity

Pollution prevention is a way that businesses and manufacturing facilities can reduce wastes by maximizing raw material use and minimizing the leftovers. You may not think of schools as producing much pollution, but they certainly have room for improvement in waste reduction and energy conservation. Think of all the paper that is used in a school, not to mention the materials and energy students and teachers use in their everyday lives.
Here are some suggestions for schools to conserve energy and prevent pollution:

• Use energy efficient lights and heat, and turn them off when not needed.
• Install high-pressure/low-volume water faucets and showerheads.
• Use hot-air hand dryers instead of paper towels.
• Install low-volume toilets.
• Replace cleaners with less toxic alternatives.
• Provide recycling bins for aluminum, glass, plastic, and paper.
• Save paper by using 2-sided copying, and reuse mistakes as scrap or draft paper.

Schools can start preventing pollution by taking an inventory of the places and activities which may be creating waste. Here are some suggestions of where to look:

Procedure
1. Choose the place or activity which you think is producing waste or is difficult or expensive to clean up. Then ask yourself: u How much and what types of waste are produced and why?

• What types of raw materials are used and how?
• How much does it cost to dispose of the wastes or purchase the raw materials?
• Are any P2 measures already being used?
• What are some P2 ideas?

2. Have your students fill out the following chart. It will help make the connection between the raw materials schools are using and the waste they are generating.

Grade Levels: K-6

Science SOLs: K.10, 1.8,
2.8, 3.11, 4.8, 6.11

Materials Needed:

• Copy of "Waste Generation" chart

Objectives:
To predict types of waste produced and analyze ways to decrease it.

Vocabulary Words:
pollution prevention (P2)
raw materials
waste

POLLUTION PREVENTION ASSESSMENT FOR SCHOOLS

PLACE or ACTIVITY: _________________________________________________________________

• Types of Waste: _______________________________________________________________
  
  
• Quantity: _____________________________________________________________________

Why are wastes produced? ____________________________________________________________

• Types of Raw Materials Used: ____________________________________________________
  
• Quantity: ____________________________________________________________________
  
• Disposal Costs/Raw Materials:
  • Solid Waste: $____________
  • Hazardous Waste: $____________
  • Cost of Wasted Raw Materials: $____________
  
  
• Types of Energy Efficient Fixtures and Appliances:
  
  
• Are any P2 measures already being used?
  
  
• P2 ideas?

Sum of the Parts
From the James River to the Chesapeake Bay
(A Virginia Adaptation of Project WET's Sum of the Parts Activity)

Summary
Students will map and collate different land uses in a simulation "puzzle" exercise that shows the cumulative effects of each land use on water quality.

Background
The water that flows into the Chesapeake Bay is collected from 150 rivers, streams, and creeks located in a 64,000-square-mile drainage basin, or "watershed," and includes not only Virginia, but parts of New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. The Bay's water quality is affected both by the individual actions of people living in this watershed as well as by the way land located in the watershed is used.

The environmental conditions of the Bay have deteriorated dramatically over the past 50 years. One example of this deterioration is a decline in living resources due to pollution.

There are two main sources of pollution: point-source pollution (contaminants that can be traced to a stationary source, such as the pollutants discharged from a pipe), and nonpoint source pollution (NPS), or pollution that has no one identifiable source (such as the contaminants that result from a large land area that includes mining, agriculture or construction). One of the most important differences between point source and NPS pollution is that while there are federal and state laws that regulate point source polluters, there are no such regulations for NPS pollution.

The increasing pollution resulting from sedimentation, or sediment runoff, is an example of nonpoint source pollution. Sediment deteriorates water quality because it blocks the sunlight needed by submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) resulting in low dissolved oxygen levels, and clogs the gills of fish and insects, causing a corresponding decline in fish and shellfish.

Excess nutrient enrichment is a form of NPS. While a "healthy" Bay needs nutrients to sustain life, an excess of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediments found in the nutrient runoff from farms and lawn fertilizers activates a chain effect. First, the excessive nutrient enrichment, called eutrophication, causes blooms of algae that block the sunlight normally used by underwater plants to survive. As these plants and algae die and decompose, they deplete the water of oxygen that the fish and small macroinvertebrates who live in the water depend upon to survive.

Without the macroinvertebrates, the food chain is compromised and the stream can no longer support a balanced ecosystem. In addition to depleted oxygen levels, high levels of nutrients have been associated with recent outbreaks in Virginia of Pfiesteria piscicida, a microbe that causes large fish kills and illness in people.

Grade Level: 6

Science SOLs: 6.1, 6.11

Time: 1-2 class periods

Materials Needed:

• Paper to draw 6-acre lots
• Markers and pencils
• Items designating pollutants such as "packaging peanuts" and
• (Optional) Small toys designating land use

Objectives:
Using an ecosystem perspective, students will understand the effect of different land uses and the impact on water quality as it enters the James River (or any other tributary river) and flows into the Chesapeake Bay. They will also understand the concepts of watershed and Best Management Practices (BMPs) and learn how their actions can affect water quality both positively and adversely.

Vocabulary Words:
BMPs
Chesapeake Bay tributary
erosion
nonpoint source pollution
nutrients
point source pollution
sediments
watershed

Residential -

• Dispose of household hazardous wastes, such as used motor oil at approved disposal sites.
• Plant buffers near water and create wildlife habitat areas.
• Use nonchemical fertilizers and compost.
• Use nonchemical de-icers (sand, ash, clay litter) on driveways and sidewalks.

Agricultural -

• Read and follow labels & ask for application directions before using chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides (can be used in residential as well).
• Leave filter/buffer strips and field boarders along wetlands and streams.
• Plant shelter belts and windbreaks.
• Fence waterways to reduce riparian zone impact by livestock.

Commercial -

• Construct a sediment catch basin to collect storm water runoff.
• Reduce road construction runoff by building terraces and catch basins and planting cover crops.
• Dispose of paints, oil and solvents and petroleum at approved disposal sites, not in storm drains or street gutters.
• Use nonchemical deicers (sand, ash and clay litter) on roads, sidewalks and other paved areas.

Industrial -

• Dispose of solvents and other hazardous wastes at approved disposal site.
• Construct a sediment catch basin to collect storm water runoff.
• Reduce erosion by building terraces and catch basins and planting cover crops.
• Catch and treat/clean contaminated water.

Recreation based -

• Read labels prior to using pesticides and fertilizers and apply sparingly.
• Terrace areas prone to erosion. Leave or plant buffer strips of plants along stream banks to improve water quality and prevent erosion.
• Use nonchemical deicers (sand, ash and clay litter) on roads, sidewalks and other paved areas.

Municipal Services - Waste Treatment/Utilities -

• Construct a sediment catch basin to collect storm water runoff from paved areas.
• Terrace and plant areas prone to erosion.
• Catch and treat/clean contaminated water.
  Intercept and reroute clean/uncontaminated water away from contaminated areas.