Education
PDC 003
QEP Preparation: Environmental Science, Management, Policy and Environmental Review
introductory | 2.67 CM Points/16 Contact Hours/2.0 CEU/COC Points | Friday & Saturday | 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. | Limit: 45
Topics:
Engineering, Environmental Issues, Management
Description:
This PDC provides an overview of basic science and engineering, basic concepts, management tools and policy information. It is designed to be a thorough review of the topics included in the Body of Knowledge for IPEP’s General Environmental Science (Part 1) and Environmental, Science, Management and Policy (Practice Area D) portions of the QEP exam.
The PDC is appropriate for scientists, engineers, and anyone with a technical background (equivalent to college level chemistry and physics, and statistics courses). It also reflects the revised IPEP Body of Knowledge.
Value Added:
An essential prep course for achieving your certificate in Environmental Science, Management & Policy QEP.
Prerequisites:
A Bachelor’s degree with a basic understanding of technical aspects associated with the environmental, health and safety profession. Note a minimum of five (5) years of experience in the environmental profession is required to qualify for applying to take a QEP specialty area exam.
Learning Aids:
Participants must bring an IPEP approved calculator (see www.ipep.org/cred-exam).
Outcomes:
Upon completion, the participant will be:
- Better prepared to take the QEP General and Environmental Science, Management & Policy Examinations
- Have a broad understanding of the disciplines involved with the environmental, health and safety profession.
- Have a broad understanding of the concepts involved with environmental, science, management and policy.
Outline/ Agenda:
- Friday
- Chemistry
- Atoms, molecules, elements & compounds
- Reactions & equilibria
- Gas laws
- Dissolution/precipitation
- Degradation/breakdown (hydrolysis, substitution, biological/chemical)
- Organic pollutant categories — VOCs, SVOCs, pesticides, PCBs, dioxins
- Inorganic pollutant categories — metals, CN, anions, cations
- Properties of materials — solubility, boiling point, melting point, vapor pressure
- pH, acidity/alkalinity, oxidation-reduction (redox) potential (Eh)
- Physics
- Fluid flow — viscosity & turbulence
- Material characteristics — density, viscosity, flash point, volatility, partition coefficient, particle size distribution
- Thermodynamics — 3 laws & their meaning
- Diffusion — in air & solutions
- Particle size distribution/separation
- Radioactivity — natural & man-made
- Earth Science/Geology
- Permeability of materials
- Aquifers & aquitards
- Ground water flow pathways & rates
- Migration of contaminants in soils, sediments & ground water
- Ecology
- Ecosystem sensitivities; flora, fauna & people
- Bioaccumulation & biomagnification
- Major ecosystem characteristics; estuaries, wetlands, streams, forests, mountains, prairies, open oceans & lakes
- Species diversity
- Endangered species
- Toxicology and Risk Assessment
- Dose-response relations
- Physiologic endpoints — neurotoxicity, cancer (carcinogens), mutation (mutagen), etc.
- Acute vs. chronic effects
- Extrapolation issues for toxicity
- Exposure/pathway concepts
- Methods of evaluating site risk characteristics
- Mathematics/Statistics
- Use of “powers of 10″
- Means & measures of variation (mean, medium, mode, variance, & standard deviation)
- Probability/statistical distributions
- Unit of measurements — metric (S.I.) versus English (lb., ft., etc)
- Statistical confidence limits/decision making
- Representative sampling requirements & methods
- Data Management
- Omission & error identification
- Graphical representation of data
- Trend analysis
- Modeling
- Quality assurance & quality control — outlier identification
- Environmental Economics (Risk & Cost Benefit Analysis)
- Management system capital cost, interest rate, discount rate
- Operations, maintenance & monitoring costs
- Beneficial reuse of waste materials
- Environmental liability implications
- Environmental Quality Standards
- Ambient air quality standards — ozone, particulates, CO, NOx, SOx
- Surface water quality — DO, BOD, TOC, pH, TDS, TSS, TPH, VOCs, metals
- Drinking water standards — bacteria, metals, pH, turbidity, VOCs, THA
- Ground water quality — pH, VOCs, metals, bacteria, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
- Soil standards — VOCs, metals, pesticides, POPs, others.
- Basic Principles of Environmental Systems
- C,N, O, H2O, S, cycles (nutrient cycles)
- Ecosystem development & climax
- Population dynamics
- Primary productivity
- Sustainable development
- Saturday
- Environmental Science Fundamentals
- Types and origins of environmental contaminants
- Fate and transport of pollutants in the environment (air, water, land)
- Health and ecological effects of pollutants
- Data collection, analysis and interpretation
- numerical calculations
- statistics
- modeling and uncertainty analysis
- Pollution control technologies (physical, chemical, and biological processes and their applications)
- Characterization of contaminated sites
- Remediation and restoration technologies
- Environmental Impact, Site Assessment, and Risk Assessment Processes
- EA, EIA, and EIS processes
- Site assessment process
- Risk assessment process
- Global and Multi-Media Environmental Issues
- Atmospheric ozone depletion
- Acid deposition (sources, dispersion, deposition, and effects)
- Global climate change
- Indoor air quality
- Nutrient enrichment of waters
- Habitat degradation/destruction, biodiversity, endangered species
- Bioaccumulative substances
- Unconventional pollutants (e.g., endocrine disruptors, pharmaceuticals)
- Environmental Management Systems
- Organizational environmental policy
- Identification of environmental aspects
- Establishing goals and objectives
- Environmental performance indicators (i.e., metrics)
- Reporting environmental performance
- Operational controls (e.g., processes, procedures)
- Emergency response planning and implementation
- Incident investigation and corrective/preventive action
- Environmental auditing and corrective action
- Environmental due diligence related acquisitions and divestitures
- Total quality environmental management (TQEM)
- Financial aspects of environmental management (e.g., environmental cost accounting, cost-benefit analysis)
- Pollution Prevention, Design for Environment & Sustainability
- Elements of pollution prevention (e.g., source control, recycle/reuse, green chemistry)
- Life-cycle assessment Industrial ecology
- Elements of sustainable development
- Land use and watershed issues
- Product and environmental stewardship
- Development & Implementation of Environmental Public Policy
- Role of the public and other stakeholders in policy development
- Geopolitical considerations (regional, state/provincial, international)
- Role of science in public policy
- Command-and-control regulatory mechanisms
- Market-based regulatory mechanisms
Transfer of Knowledge:
Instructors will evaluate participants understanding of the materials presented based on:
- In-class discussions
- Practice problems
- Sample QEP General Exam Type questions
Disclosure:
The following instructors have disclosed significant financial interests or other relationships including grants, research support, employment, consulting, major stockholder, speakers bureau member, etc. with manufacturers/ providers of commercial products and services.
James Donnelly, QEP – Currently provides consulting services to clients in the remediation sector and teaches Environmental Review courses for the Air & Waste Management Association.
Important PDC dates:
- May 18 — E-handout download instructions are e-mailed.
- June 1 — Contact the AIHA if you have not received your e-handout e-mail.
- June 1 — AIHce 2012 online communities for collaborative learning open.
- June 15–17 — AIHce 2012 PDCs are presented. Participants must bring a printed or electronic copy of their PDC handout.
- August 31 — AIHce 2012 online communities for collaborative learning close.
- August 27 – Educational transcripts updated and available for download
Instructors:
- James R. Donnelly, QEP, J.R. Donnelly Consulting, Danville, CA
