Question 1

Hazardous waste is anything that

Accepted Answer

A)   causes human health threats.
B)   severely contaminates the environment.
C)   is toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, corrosive, or explosive.
D)   has the potential of causing health problems.
E)   All of these are correct. C

Question 2

Landfills differ from open dumps in that

Accepted Answer

A)   landfills are smaller.
B)   dumps are cleaner and smell less.
C)   landfilled waste is compacted and covered.
D)   landfills are cheaper to operate.
E)   Landfills and dumps are the same thing. C

Question 3

Secure landfills are usually sealed with gravel.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 4

In the case of sanitary landfills, the cost of disposing of wastes is _____ as technology provides safer alternatives.

Accepted Answer

A)   slowly increasing
B)   slowly decreasing
C)   staying relatively stable
D)   sharply increasing
E)   sharply decreasing

Question 5

Which of the following actions would probably encourage efficiency and recycling programs?

Accepted Answer

A)   discontinue energy and water subsidies to industries when they are processing raw materials.
B)   discontinue subsidies that favor the extraction of raw materials.
C)   consumers asking for and buying products made from recycled products.
D)   All of these are correct.
E)   discontinue subsidies that favor the extraction of raw materials and consumers asking for and buying products made from recycled products are correct because industries do not receive water and energy subsidies.

Question 6

The main method for disposing of municipal wastes in the United States is ___________ while _____ is the main method in Japan.

Accepted Answer

A)   incineration; recycling
B)   recycling; landfilling
C)   landfilling; recycling
D)   landfilling; incineration
E)   recycling; incineration

Question 7

Individual efforts to reduce the volume of the waste stream

Accepted Answer

A)   have enormous cumulative effects.
B)   are fairly useful because it demonstrates to corporations that we care.
C)   have some effects, but we need to target industries to reduce their waste stream instead.
D)   have little effect but make people feel better.
E)   matter very little.

Question 8

The US stopped all dumping of municipal refuse into oceans in 1958.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Using a refillable beverage container (returnable bottles) would be an example of __________ materials.

Accepted Answer

A)   reusing
B)   recycling
C)   reducing
D)   redefining
E)   None of these are correct.

Question 10

In recent decades, unregulated open dumps have ____________ in developing countries.

Accepted Answer

A)   nearly disappeared
B)   mostly become regulated
C)   remained the primary disposal method
D)   been replaced by incineration and methane generation
E)   been replaced by sanitary landfills

Question 11

Brownfields are

Accepted Answer

A)   landfills that have been converted to farmland.
B)   contaminated areas in cities that have to be abandoned.
C)   facilities that use plants to convert hazardous wastes to less harmful substances.
D)   farmland that has been made useless because of improper disposal of toxic waste.
E)   none of these are correct.

Question 12

Recycling, in terms of solid waste management, means

Accepted Answer

A)   reusing materials.
B)   melting or shredding to make new products.
C)   keeping intact but putting to a new use.
D)   using less of the material in production of a product.
E)   All of these are correct.

Question 13

Composting is a waste disposal method that

Accepted Answer

A)   is useful only for single households.
B)   is technologically complex.
C)   vastly reduces total waste volumes.
D)   is more environmentally costly than landfilling.
E)   is not realistic for college students.

Question 14

A single PVC bottle in a truckload of PET plastic could make the PET useless for recycling.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Urban curbside recycling costs cities

Accepted Answer

A)   a great deal, but citizens approve the expense anyway.
B)   nothing at all because the materials pay for expenses.
C)   more than any other disposal method.
D)   far less than landfilling or incinerating.
E)   nothing, in fact, all cities make money with recycling.

Question 16

The major disadvantage of incinerating waste is

Accepted Answer

A)   it costs more than landfilling.
B)   it produces significant air pollution.
C)   it cannot be done without first sorting the wastes.
D)   both it costs more than landfilling and it produces significant air pollution are correct.
E)   both it costs more than landfilling and it cannot be done without first sorting the wastes are correct.

Question 17

Toxic landfills are frequently located in ________ areas.

Accepted Answer

A)   wilderness
B)   urban
C)   rural
D)   nonpopulated
E)   suburban

Question 18

The most often overlooked of the "three Rs" is

Accepted Answer

A)   recycle.
B)   reuse.
C)   release.
D)   redefine.
E)   reduce.

Question 19

CERCLA legislation

Accepted Answer

A)   established the NPL.
B)   requires the testing of the toxicity of substances.
C)   requires brownfields to be developed.
D)   requires the EPA to clean up toxic waste sites.
E)   all of the above.

Question 20

Biological treatments of hazardous waste involve ___________ hazardous substances.

Accepted Answer

A)   using plants, bacteria or fungi to absorb and detoxify
B)   the genetic alteration of species suffering from
C)   using microorganisms to disperse
D)   special organic chemical processing of
E)   None of these are correct.

Exam 13: Solid and Hazardous Waste