Question 1

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 D

Question 2

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. B

Question 3

This process involves using plants to absorb and accumulate toxic material. Once contaminants are absorbed into plants, the plants themselves are usually toxic and must be landfilled. The cost of this process can be less than half the cost of landfilling or treating toxic soil.

Accepted Answer

A)   Detoxification
B)   Phytoremediation
C)   Composting
D)   Bioremediation
E)   Fertilizing B

Question 4

Secure landfills are those that

Accepted Answer

A)   have no groundwater below them.
B)   accept no toxic substances.
C)   are built like a bathtub with a lid.
D)   are sealed entirely with durable plastic.
E)   are sealed entirely with concrete.

Question 5

Toxic landfills are frequently located in ________ areas.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 6

Using bacteria to 'eat' the oil from an oil spill would be an example of

Accepted Answer

A)   energy recovery.
B)   bioremediation.
C)   phytoremediation.
D)   brownfield recovery.

Question 7

The National Priority List is a list of sites that

Accepted Answer

A)   we currently have money to deal with.
B)   deserve research for possible cleanup.
C)   will probably never be cleaned up.
D)   seriously require cleanup to prevent further environmental and health damage.
E)   are especially vulnerable to hazardous wastes and are not available for future building permits.

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

A)   reusing
B)   recycling
C)   reducing
D)   redefining

Question 9

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 10

According to the EPA, the US produces _____ tons of solid waste per year.

Accepted Answer

A)   9 million
B)   70 million
C)   800 million
D)   11 billion
E)   123 billion

Question 11

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 12

Recycling aluminum is most important for

Accepted Answer

A)   saving raw materials (the ore) .
B)   saving energy.
C)   saving landfill space.
D)   reducing pollutants in the air and water.
E)   All of these are correct.

Question 13

Chemical processing is a way of __________ hazardous waste for safe disposal.

Accepted Answer

A)   reducing the volume of
B)   neutralizing
C)   incinerating
D)   filtering and precipitating
E)   acidifying

Question 14

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.

Question 15

Which of the following actions would probably not 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)   charging a surcharge on materials when purchased that is redeemable when the consumer recycles the product.
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 16

All of the following are examples of how to process or permanently store the hazardous waste we generate, except

Accepted Answer

A)   Incineration
B)   Brownfield Sites
C)   Chemical Processing
D)   Permanent Retrievable Storage
E)   Secure Landfills

Question 17

Up to one-third of all commercial and industrial sites in the urban core of many big cities fall in this category.

Accepted Answer

A)   E-waste
B)   Open Dumps
C)   Landfills
D)   Brownfields
E)   Redfields

Question 18

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.

Question 19

In terms of cost and safety, one of the best ways to manage hazardous waste is to produce less hazardous waste.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Using the heat from a trash incinerator to power nearby facilities is a process known as

Accepted Answer

A)   energy recovery.
B)   recycling.
C)   massburn.
D)   composting.

Exam 14: Solid and Hazardous Waste