Skip to main content
Skip header
VSB-TUO ›ECTS Information Package ›Faculty of Mining and Geology

Faculty of Mining and Geology

Polutants in the Environment

* Exchange students do not have to consider this information when selecting suitable courses for an exchange stay.

Course Unit Code9360-0002/01
Number of ECTS Credits Allocated5 ECTS credits
Type of Course Unit *Compulsory
Level of Course Unit *Second Cycle
Year of Study *First Year
Semester when the Course Unit is deliveredSummer Semester
Mode of DeliveryFace-to-face
Language of InstructionCzech
Prerequisites and Co-Requisites Course succeeds to compulsory courses of previous semester
Name of Lecturer(s)Personal IDName
PLA88prof. Ing. Daniela Plachá, Ph.D.
Summary
Lectures "Pollutants in the Environment" are aimed to improve student knowlegde in the sphere of the environmental chemistry and occurence of compounds contaminating all compartements of the Environment. Students will introduce not only to the issue of chemical events in the Environment but also they will study the environmental legislation and possibilities of the environmental protection.
Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit
Lectures "Pollutants in the Environment" are aimed to improve student knowlegde in the sphere of the environmental chemistry and occurence of compounds contaminating all compartements of the Environment. Students will introduce not only to the issue of chemical events in the Environment but also they will study the environmental legislation and possibilities of the environmental protection.
Course Contents
1. Basic definitions. Entry, fate, pollutant influence on living organisms, processes influencing distribution and fate of pollutants, transport.
2. Chemical reactions of pollutants in the all environmental compartements. Phase equilibrium and interfacial processes. Kinetics of chemical reactions, thermodynamics.
3. Basic groups of pollutants in the air: SOx, NOx, PMx, greenhouse gases - CO2, N2O, CH4
4. Ozone in troposphere and stratosphere. Toxic metals As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Pb, Hg, Ni, Zn, V, Sn. Organic pollutants. Classifications. Properties, sources, entries, transport, reactions, fate in the Environment, effects on the living organisms.Volatile organic compounds, VOC. Persistent organic pollutants, POPs. Characteristics of individual groupes POPs – PCBs, OCPs, PAHs, PCDDs/Fs, PCNs, PBDEs, PFCs, SCCPs atd.
5. Endocrinne disruptors. Pharmaceutical products and products for personal care. Pesticides and their residua
6. Other pollutant groups. Oil hydrocarbons, detergents, nutrients, organometal compounds, radioactive compounds. Properties, sources, occurence, reactions, effects on the Environment.
7. Atmospheric pollution. Basic properties of the Atmosphere, composition and structure of the Atmosphere, emission, aerosols, acidification, smog, atmospheric dispersion of pollutants, reactions in the atmosphere.
8. Hydrosphere. Water, properties, functions, classification of water. Pollution of hydrosphere, sediments, eutrophization, self-cleaning ability.
9. Pedosphere, composition and soil properties, pedogenic factors and processes. Pedosphere pollution, soil contamination, food chain contamination. Waste.
10. Legislation in the sphere of the environmental pollution, limit values of selected pollutants in the individual compartements of the Environment - air, hydrosphere, soil, waste.
Recommended or Required Reading
Required Reading:
Loon, G.W., Duffy, S. J. Environmental chemistry. A global perspective. 2nd ed.Oxford University Press. 514s. ISBN-10: 0-19-927499-1. 2005.
Rana, S.V.S. Environmental Pollution: Health and Toxicology. Alpha Science International Limited, 2011. 320s. ISBN 1842654845.
Bencko, V.,Cikrt, M., Lener, J. Toxické kovy v životním a pracovním prostředí člověka. Avicenum Praha, 282 s. ISBN 80-7169-150-X. 1995.
Loon, G.W., Duffy, S. J. Environmental chemistry. A global perspective. 2nd ed.Oxford University Press. 514s. ISBN-10: 0-19-927499-1. 2005.
Pitter, P. Hydrochemie. 4. vydání, 568 s. ISBN 978-80-7080-701-9. 2009.
Raclavský, K., Raclavská, H., Matýsek, D. Ochrana půd. FRVŠ 408 F1. VŠB-TU Ostrava, Institut geologického inženýrství. 2002.
[Vídeň, I. Chemie ovzduší. Praha. Nakl. VŠCHT. 98 s., ISBN 80-7080-571-4. 2005.
Recommended Reading:
Des Connell: Basic Concepts of Environmental Chemistry. 2nd.ed Boca Raton:Francis Group, 462s. ISBN 978-1-5667-0676-6. 2005.
Des Connell: Basic Concepts of Environmental Chemistry. 2nd.ed Boca Raton:Francis Group, 462s. ISBN 978-1-5667-0676-6. 2005.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Lectures, Tutorials
Assesment methods and criteria
Task TitleTask TypeMaximum Number of Points
(Act. for Subtasks)		Minimum Number of Points for Task Passing
Exercises evaluation and ExaminationCredit and Examination100 (100)51
        Exercises evaluationCredit40 20
        ExaminationExamination60 31