Environmental pollutants: fate, impact and remediation.
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| BIOS3049 | Biosciences | 3 | 20 | Full Year UK |
- Code
- BIOS3049
- School
- Biosciences
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Full Year UK
Summary
This module is concerned with the behaviour and effects of pollutants in terrestrial, aquatic and atmospheric environments and how their impacts can be ameliorated and managed. The focus is on both the scientific understanding of environmental pollutants and on intervention strategies currently available. Topics covered include common water, soil, and air pollutants: heavy metals, radionuclides, persistent organic contaminants, microplastics and pesticides; nitrate pollution of groundwater; pollution of surface waters by agriculture; eutrophication of lakes; acidification of soils and freshwaters; biological monitoring of rivers; ecotoxicology and environmental epidemiology; quantitative risk assessment; land reclamation, including landfill sites.
Target Students
Only available for BSc/MSci Environmental Science OR Natural Science students on the Environment Pathway OR BSc/MSci Environmental Biology students.
Classes
- One 2-hour workshop each week for
Two-hour workshop each week throughout the year
Assessment
- 70% ExamSys 1 (2-hour): ExamSys in person
- 30% ExamSys 2 (1-hour): In class exam, open book assessment
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
The aims of the module are to present:A. Current scientific understanding of the fate, impact and remediation of environmental pollutants.B. Techniques employed in their study.C. Methods currently available to manage and mitigate their impact.At the end of the module the students will be able to(i) Understand and explain the underlying mechanisms involved in the major problems of terrestrial, aquatic and air pollution.(ii) Make rational decisions regarding remediation of polluted environments.(iii) Give relevant advice to managers, planners, and other decision makers.Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
- Outline the nature and origins of the major environmental pollutants and place these in the context of past and present human activities.
- Discuss and distinguish between the specific behaviour of a range of organic and inorganic contaminants in the terrestrial, aquatic and atmospheric environments.
- Discuss current knowledge gaps in pollutant transformations and dynamics in the environment.
- Make a quantitative risk assessment of environmental contamination and critically appraise current approaches to modelling risk.
- Demonstrate understanding of current waste disposal and management issues.
- Critically compare current and past approaches to pollution management and abatement.
Conveners
- Prof Elizabeth Helen Bailey