Question

Suppose someone dumped leftover motor oil on a driveway. Could this disposal

method contaminate the air, water, or soil? Explain your answer

Answer 1

Yes because there are drains the motor oil could drip down which can then lead out into the ocean or other bodies of water, driveways also aren’t really enclosed so the left over oil could seep off the sides and onto the grass or soil. Fumes given off by the motor oil can also contaminate the wait around it.

Answer 2

It could impact all three (air, water, or soil).

Step-by-step explanation:

Leftover motor oil simply poured out on a driveway could have many negative effects on the environment. For starters, the carbon left in the motor oil could be released into the air, causing an excess amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Overtime, if this incident happened on a higher scale, this could lead to negative impacts on the Earth, such a global warming. Secondly, as environmental factors, such as surface runoff, could cause the motor oil to end up in a body of water, such as a river. This could lead to the death of biological matter in the aquatic water. Finally, with the motor oil on a driveway, it could eventually make its way to dirt through means such as runoff, decomposition, and more. With it in the soil, biomatter, such as plants, would die. In summary, yes, is someone dumped leftover motor oil on a driveway, air, water, and soil could be negatively impacted both in short- and long-term ways.