610-280 Environmental Chemistry

Note

Credit cannot be gained for both 610-280 and 610-246.

Credit Points

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Chemistry 610-141+ 610-142 or, if an average mark of greater than 60% is obtained, 610-161 + 610-162 (or Pre 1998: 610-121 + 610-122).

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

On completion of 610-280 students should comprehend:

• the relationship between chemistry and the environment;
• the sources, reactions, transport, effects and fates of chemical species in the water, soil and air environments;
• the consequences of changes in the chemical composition of the environment for humankind;
• the integration of a chemically-centred study of the environment with other approaches to the treatment of environmental data.

Students should have developed:

• skills in recognising chemical-based environmental problems;
• an awareness of the possible effects and processes of chemicals on the environment;
• techniques to manipulate and interpret environmental data.

Students should appreciate

• the need for high quality environmental analysis;
• the links between the misuse of chemicals and pollution events.

The subject covers the topics: emissions to troposphere; behaviour of pollutants in troposphere; SMOG chemistry; air pollution potential (chemistry and meteorology); one of Greenhouse effect, ozone layer, acid rain; freshwater chemistry: structure and composition of water bodies; chemistry of nutrients; dissolved oxygen, Henry's Law, oxygen demand; selected examples of metal and organic priority pollutants; water quality and health; chemistry of soil (formation, constituents, properties); sources and characteristics of land contaminants; absorption of contaminants in soils; chemical assessment of contaminated land; reclamation of contaminated land.

Assessment

One 2 hour written examination at the end of Semester 2. Practical work will be continuously assessed and involve 4 reports, each of no more than five pages. Satisfactory performance in both the theory and practical work is required before credit can be granted for this subject.