Problem 1-What is environmental engineering? (20 pts) Below you will see a list of four different scenarios which to field of environmental engineering. For each one of ihena may involve the area you need (1) Write out if th have defined it in our course e scenario involves environmental engineering as wo for (1) by explaining what area of environmental engineering the scenario fits into and why decide YES, the scenario does involve the field of specific an environmental engineering, then describe something environmental engineer might do as part o scenario. If you decide scendor of environmental engineering. you do not have to do anything t f their job in thot e NQ, the scenario does not involve the field this step. northern Scenario 1: Unsustainable deforestation in an old growth Canadian forest the Congo. Scenario 3: Assessment of the level of exposure of indoor air pollutants in a school building for children that go to the school. Scenario 4: Assisting a Native American tribe in legal arguments to justity to a state court that their water rights are being violated. Scenario 2: Right handling of acid mine water drainage for a gold mine in Solution 1. 1.At 0.02% of its forested area, deforestation in Canada is among the world’s lowest, yet many myths exist about the state of our forests. The reality is that Canada is a world leader in sustainable forest management. Canadian forests are healthy, productive and thriving. Deforestation is an important issue, since shrinking forest cover reduces biodiversity, affects soil and water quality, impacts wildlife habitat and influences climate change. The Canadian government carefully monitors and regularly publishes reports on deforestation. Our scientists combine satellite and aerial images with information about regional development, forest ecosystems, natural processes and local conditions to help monitor and manage the health of Canadian forests. Here are some key facts about Canada’s low levels of deforestation. The annual deforestation rate in Canada in 2010 was less than 0.02% of our forests and the rate has been declining for over 25 years. In 1990, 63,100 hectares were lost to deforestation and in 2014 this figure dropped to 34,200 hectares. Today, Canada’s 348 million hectares of forest lands represent about 9% of the world’s forest cover, but account for only 0.3% of global deforestation. Deforestation only occurs when forests are permanently removed so the land can be used for something else. Harvesting, forest fires and insect infestations do not constitute deforestation, since the affected areas will grow back. According to laws, regulations and policies in place across Canada, all areas harvested on public land must be reforested, either by replanting or through natural regeneration. About 94% of Canada’s forests are on public land. The conversion of forest to agricultural land is decreasing but it remains the largest contributor to deforestation in Canada. The small contribution the.

1. Problem 1-What is environmental engineering? (20 pts) Below you will see a list of four
different scenarios which to field of environmental engineering. For each one of ihena may
involve the area you need (1) Write out if th have defined it in our course e scenario involves
environmental engineering as wo for (1) by explaining what area of environmental engineering
the scenario fits into and why decide YES, the scenario does involve the field of specific an
environmental engineering, then describe something environmental engineer might do as part o
scenario. If you decide scendor of environmental engineering. you do not have to do anything t f
their job in thot e NQ, the scenario does not involve the field this step. northern Scenario 1:
Unsustainable deforestation in an old growth Canadian forest the Congo. Scenario 3: Assessment
of the level of exposure of indoor air pollutants in a school building for children that go to the
school. Scenario 4: Assisting a Native American tribe in legal arguments to justity to a state
court that their water rights are being violated. Scenario 2: Right handling of acid mine water
drainage for a gold mine in
Solution
1.
1.At 0.02% of its forested area, deforestation in Canada is among the world’s lowest, yet many
myths exist about the state of our forests. The reality is that Canada is a world leader in
sustainable forest management. Canadian forests are healthy, productive and thriving.
Deforestation is an important issue, since shrinking forest cover reduces biodiversity, affects soil
and water quality, impacts wildlife habitat and influences climate change. The Canadian
government carefully monitors and regularly publishes reports on deforestation. Our scientists
combine satellite and aerial images with information about regional development, forest
ecosystems, natural processes and local conditions to help monitor and manage the health of
Canadian forests.
Here are some key facts about Canada’s low levels of deforestation.
The annual deforestation rate in Canada in 2010 was less than 0.02% of our forests and the rate
has been declining for over 25 years. In 1990, 63,100 hectares were lost to deforestation and in
2014 this figure dropped to 34,200 hectares.
Today, Canada’s 348 million hectares of forest lands represent about 9% of the world’s forest
cover, but account for only 0.3% of global deforestation.
Deforestation only occurs when forests are permanently removed so the land can be used for
something else. Harvesting, forest fires and insect infestations do not constitute deforestation,
since the affected areas will grow back. According to laws, regulations and policies in place

2. across Canada, all areas harvested on public land must be reforested, either by replanting or
through natural regeneration. About 94% of Canada’s forests are on public land.
The conversion of forest to agricultural land is decreasing but it remains the largest contributor to
deforestation in Canada. The small contribution the forest sector makes to deforestation is from
building permanent logging access roads. Forest harvesting practices in Canada are tightly
regulated to ensure long-term sustainability of this important natural resource.
Almost three-quarters of Canada’s forests lie in the boreal zone. The 2.5 million Canadians who
live in this region, including many Aboriginal peoples, rely heavily on the forests for economic
stability. Recognizing the many values of the boreal forests, Canada works to balance
conservation objectives with economic drivers such as agriculture and resource development.
Deforestation in Canada’s boreal zone is low – just 0.3% in total between 1990 and 2008.
A forest is a living community of organisms that naturally experiences constant change. Over
time, forests experience many disturbances (including fire, insects, disease, drought, wind throw,
floods and timber harvesting), yet trees continue to grow back naturally. In the forest, nothing is
ever static. This is particularly true in the boreal forest, which is ecologically adapted to renew
itself through disturbances such as fire.
Although many forests are in remote areas, inaccessible to people, human activities such as
harvesting do affect other forests. However, modern methods of harvesting trees are often
intended to mimic natural disturbances and harvested areas are regrown. Canada’s managed
forests will generally grow for 60 to 100 years between harvests, so most managed forest areas
return to a natural state for considerable lengths of time.
2.
3.During recent years, concerns over the effects of poor indoor air quality (IAQ)
have been increased and wide spectrums of symptoms/illnesses are related to
indoor air pollution in many urban centers of the world. In India, it is estimated
that about half a million women and children die per year due to indoor air
pollution. Therefore, maintaining an acceptable IAQ is important in places such
as schools, corporate office buildings, hospitals and houses. It is hypothesized
that the higher indoor pollutant concentrations of the buildings located near busy
traffic roads are mostly influenced by elevated outdoor vehicular pollutant
concentrations. In this paper an attempt has been made to analyze the indoor air
quality of a naturally ventilated school building, Kendriya Vidyalaya, located in
the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai, India. This building is
located close to an urban road with heavy traffic flow, within a range of 100 m
from the busy traffic junction. The indoor pollutants, namely carbon monoxide
(CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2), along with meteorological parameters such as

3. temperature and relative humidity, have been measured inside the school
building. The vehicular pollutant CO has also been measured at the road side to
develop the indoor and outdoor CO relationship. Further, a questionnaire survey
has also been conducted to evaluate the general environmental conditions (sick
building syndrome) of the school building.
The result indicated that hourly the CO2 concentration inside the school room
is 927 ppm during morning working hours (10.00a.m). This concentration is
close to standard value of 1000 ppm specified by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), USA. The measured CO
concentrations inside the school building are well within the standard. Duringpeak hour traffic
flow on the adjacent road, a high level CO concentration has
been observed inside the school building.
The questionnaire survey at school shows that nearly 50% of students are
suffering from minor health problems.
In recent years, indoor air quality (IAQ) has received increasing concern due to
its adverse effects on human health. There is consistent evidence that indoor air
pollution increases the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute
respiratory infections in childhood, especially in children aged less than 5 years
in developing countries. In 1992, the World Bank designated indoor air pollution
in developing countries as one of the four most critical global environmental
problems [1]. According to the World Health Report 2002 [2], indoor air
pollution is responsible for 2.7% of the global burden of diseases. In India, it has
been estimated that about half a million women and children die each year from
indoor air pollution [3].
Inhalation is the main route of exposure to indoor air pollutants. Exposure
by inhalation directly affects the respiratory, nervous and cardiovascular
systems of humans, resulting in impaired pulmonary functions, sickness, and
even death. In a day people spend about 90% of their time in indoors and the
rest outdoors. Therefore, exposure to higher concentrations of indoor air
pollutants has frequently been attributed as a cause of sick building syndrome
(SBS) and chronic health diseases [4]. India has among the largest burden of
disease due to the use of dirty household fuels. Out of total deaths in developed
countries, 28% are due to indoor air pollution [3]. However, the actual human
exposures are often difficult to quantify. This is largely because the behavior
and activity patterns of each individual can strongly affect their levels of

4. exposure.
Indoor air pollutants emanate from a range of sources. They are broadly
classified into two types, namely biological and non-biological sources. The
sources of indoor air pollutants may be inside the building, or they may be
transported from outside. Several factors influence the IAQ of buildings: the rate
of indoor air exchange with the outdoor air, the indoor pollutant concentration,
the indoor source emissions rate, the rate of infiltration from soil gases and the
rate of removal in the indoor environment. The air exchange rate influences the
concentration of indoor pollutants in two ways. When the outdoor air pollutant
concentrations are much lower than the indoor concentrations, higher air
exchange rates help to lower the indoor air pollutants level. On the other hand,
when outdoor pollutant concentrations are higher than the indoor, the high air
exchange rate will bring elevated outdoor air pollutant concentration into the
building. At lower exchange rates, pollutants released from sources inside the
building can contribute to higher levels of indoor pollutants.
In the past, several studies report that people living in buildings located close
to major roads might be having chronic health effects due to the poor indoor air
quality induced from the outdoor pollutant concentrations. The WHO indicated
that the air inside the buildings is more polluted than the outdoor air in most of
the megacities
their time indoors, the health risks are higher (especially in children, women and
old people) due to exposure to indoor pollution.
In the present paper an attempt has been made to analyze the indoor air
quality of a naturally ventilated school building, Kendriya Vidyalaya, located in
the Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai, India.
4.