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Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Waste management > General
This series is dedicated to serving the growing community of scholars and practitioners concerned with the principles and applications of environmental management. Each volume is a thorough treatment of a specific topic of importance for proper management practices. A fundamental objective of these books is to help the reader discern and implement man's stewardship of our environment and the world's renewable resources. For we must strive to understand the relation ship between man and nature, act to bring harmony to it, and nurture an environment that is both stable and productive. These objectives have often eluded us because the pursuit of other individual and societal goals has diverted us from a course of living in balance with the environment. At times, therefore, the environmental manager may have to exert restrictive control, which is usually best applied to man, not nature. Attempts to alter or harness nature have often failed or backfired, as exemplified by the results of imprudent use of herbicides, fertilizers, water, and other agents. Each book in this series will shed light on the fundamental and applied aspects of environmental management. It is hoped that each will help solve a practical and serious environmental problem."
I am pleased to be able to introduce this book by Monsieur lean-Claude Gall, firstly because it is a book, secondly because its author has been a colleague for 15 years, and finally because it is a book which demonstrates the growing importance of Palaeobiology. "Because it is a book." I have already commented else where on the value which the Earth Science community places on a book. And here I am speaking, not of a thesis or a specialised memoir, which are always precious, but of a manual or text, which draws on the experts in the service of all. In the years preceding and following the Second World War, the number of "books" written by French geologists could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Today I am happy to see that the number of geological "books" is increas ing in France, taking the word "geology" in its broadest sense. This I see as a sign of the growth of the Earth Sciences."
This book analyses the treatment of uncertainties within risk management and regulation for hazardous wastes, in five national case-studies. It is shown that, although institutional uncertainties vary between national political cultures, regulatory bureaucracies everywhere understate these more fundamental uncertainties (which are often structural conflicts, of different rationalities) and define them instead as marginal technical uncertainties or imprecision in risk-definitions. Close comparative analysis shows that technical regulatory standards depend upon their local institutional setting in systematic ways, so that conventional regulatory emphasis on technical precision or standardisation should be replaced by greater social negotiation, and educated public involvement and control. Readers will find the book valuable for its novel analytical approach especially in relation to public acceptance issues, and the argument for fresh practical approaches derived from this; in addition there is new information and analysis from the descriptive materials in case studies. Its main aim is to stimulate fresh thinking and approaches to an urgent problem.
It is not long ago that scientists realized, our study and understanding of most environmental problems call for a cross-sectional, more holistic view. In fact, environmental geochemistry became one of the legs to stand on for such a required interdisciplinary approach. Geochemists do not only describe the elemental composition and pro cesses of natural systems, such as soils, ground or surface waters, but they also establish the methodology to quantify material rates and turnover. Today, geochemical expertise has become indispensable when monitoring the fate of noxious chemicals, like-metallic pollu tants released to the environment. To know how trace metals will be have and react in complex systems under changing conditions, might provide us with a more realistic estimate of what is really acceptable in terms of quality standards. This would ease the formulation of ade quate environmental objectives, strategies and criteria to handle emerging pollution situations. Moreover, to take notice of geochemi cal principles will support our endeavor to improve the way we deal with limited and nonrenewable resources. It is exactly here, i. e. at the interface between natural elemental processes and the way we use them, that geochemical approaches meet the demand of technical at tempts to minimize the impact of environmentally relevant activities, like mining, waste handling, or manufacturing. The consideration to include geochemically derived concepts into the search for technical solutions is not really new, but has a long tradition during the evolution of modern societies."
Acidification is a universal problem at all mining sites in which oxygenated water comes in contact with sulfide minerals or other reduced sulfur compounds. An International Workshop was held in September 1995 at the Department for Inland Water Research of the UFZ-Centre for Environmental Research in Magdeburg on the limnology of lakes created by open-cast lignite mining, emphasizing the often observed geogenic acidification after oxidation of pyrite. The volume has 25 chapters including a chapter with results of group discussions about the topics mentioned above and further problems that were identified during the meeting. The monograph gives a baseline of the state of science on the worldwide problem of geogenic acidification of lakes following human mining activities.
Metals in the hydrological cycle represent a very broad subject covering all parts of the geological cycle. The present version of this book, therefore, would not have been possible without the comments and suggestions for improvement on draft ver- sions of the various chapters by a large number of colleagues. We wish to express our gratitude to: P.A. Cawse (AERE, UK), J.N. Galloway (University of Virginia, USA) and S.E. Lindberg (Oak Ridge National Labo- ratory, USA) for reviewing the chapter on atmospheric trace metals. G. Batley (CSIRO, Australia) and B.T. Hart (Chisholm In- stitute of Technology, Australia) for reviewing the chapter on speciation of dissolved metals. E.K. Duursma (Delta Institute, The Netherlands), J.M. Bewers and P.H. Yeats (Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Canada) and D. Eisma (Netherlands Institute for Sea Re- search, the Netherlands) for reviewing the chapter on estuaries. P. Baccini (EAWAG, Switzerland) and W. Davison (Fresh- water Biological Association, UK) for reviewing the chapter on lakes. E.T. Degens (University of Hamburg, W-Germany) for re- viewing the chapter on the oceans, and J.P. Al (Public Works Department, The Netherlands) for reviewing most of the indi- vidual chapters. Without the collaboration of these colleagues this book would not have been possible in its present form.
Supercomputing is an important science and technology that enables the scientist or the engineer to simulate numerically very complex physical phenomena related to large-scale scientific, industrial and military applications. It has made considerable progress since the first NATO Workshop on High-Speed Computation in 1983 (Vol. 7 of the same series). This book is a collection of papers presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop held in Trondheim, Norway, in June 1989. It presents key research issues related to: - hardware systems, architecture and performance; - compilers and programming tools; - user environments and visualization; - algorithms and applications. Contributions include critical evaluations of the state-of-the-art and many original research results.
For old and new studies in decision making and risk analysis, this book should stand at tlle watershed. Studies of conflict resolution and public policy will surely now have to take account of the model investigation provided by the IIASA team, and many things will not be the same again. This is a report of inquiries into the siting of liquefied energy gas (LEG) facilities in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The risks of transporting this highly combustible stuff, and the economic benefits of being able to bring a natural energy source from one side of the globe to the other, holding it, and piping it out as needed, make LEG a model case for studying the public response to dangerous technology. The dangers of LEG are differ ent from those of nuclear power, for instance, where the response too often becomes entangled with the fear of nuclear war. The dangers of LEG include unco trollable explosions, rather than insidious contami nation. But the degree of dangerousness is very much of the same order as that of nuclear power, and is at least as difficult to assess. In four different countries the constitutional procedures involved in obtaining approval of nuclear or LEG facilities are on record. The four case histories here are a model for comparative study of conflict resolu tion. The period over which the negotiations developed is much the same."
of metal interactions with subcellular biochemical systems usually either are metabolites of the system affected (porphyrinurias) or represent some specific function of a cellular system being impaired (proteinurias). One typically finds a continuum of symptoms, from the subtle or so-called "no effect" bio chemical and physiological indicators of exposure to severe clinical disease and death. This continuum is the basis of much of the controversy since many health officials follow the traditional practice of applying the "threshold health-effect" concept in evaluating the problems of environmental exposure to metals. The past decade or so, however, has seen a vast increase in our understanding of the effects of elevated concentrations of toxic metals in local populations and ecosystems. At the same time, there is a growing awareness that the effects of the metals which occur naturally in the environment must be distinguished from those imposed by the pollutant fraction. This point was amply document ed in a recent study of cadmium intake and cadmium in a number of human tissues in Sweden, Japan, and the United States, which showed fairly conclu sively that the background exposure in Japan was about threefold higher than in the other two countries (2). One immediate implication is that any health ef fect studies of cadmium in Japan using control groups within that country are liable to underestimate the difference between the exposed and the control groups simply because of the the high "background" intake."
For the first time a state-of-the-art of present metal pollution along the coastline of Latin America is provided. This collection of papers from a conference held in August 1986 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is designed to inform readers of recent advances in an important, interdisciplinary field. Primary focus is on: - Metal Surveys, Metals in Sediments, Metals in Biota, Metal Transport and Cycles, Metal Monitoring. A final chapter combines conclusion, outlook and recommendations of how to master the critical situation of metal concentrations in coastal environments of Latin America. This book fills a long-standing gap in the literature and will be of prime interest to researchers, students and professionals in geology, biology and chemistry.
In the USA, Western and Central Europe, there are many large-scale polluted sites that are too large to be cleaned up economically with available technologies. The pollution is caused by heavy industries to soils and sediments in waterways and reservoirs. Since these areas are expected to remain polluted for many years, it is necessary to take a long-term view to insure that the capacity to retain the contaminants is not diminished and to understand the potential for large-scale contaminant mobilization at these sites triggered by changing environmental conditions. This book provides information for predicting long-term changes and making risk assessments and describes the approach of geochemical engineering to handling large-scale polluted sites.
Marine debris is a global pollution problem affecting marine life, maritime commerce and environmental quality. Scientists, policymakers and the public must be knowledgeable about the source, impact and control efforts if effective solutions are to be developed. Marine Debris addresses the origin of persistent solid waste in the ocean, from urban and rural discharges to waste from ships and the recreational use of oceans. The book identifies key issues from biological, technological, economic and legal perspectives, and gives a framework for controlling each of the main sources of marine debris.
Case Studies in Control presents a framework to facilitate the use of advanced control concepts in real systems based on two decades of research and over 150 successful applications for industrial end-users from various backgrounds. In successive parts the text approaches the problem of putting the theory to work from both ends, theoretical and practical. The first part begins with a stress on solid control theory and the shaping of that theory to solve particular instances of practical problems. It emphasizes the need to establish by experiment whether a model-derived solution will perform properly in reality. The second part focuses on real industrial applications based on the needs and requirements of end-users. Here, the engineering approach is dominant but with theoretical input of varying degree depending on the particular process involved. Following the illustrations of the progress that can be made from either extreme of the well-known theory-practice divide, the text proceeds to a third part related to the development of tools that enable simpler use of advanced methods, a need only partially met by available commercial products. Each case study represents a self-contained unit that shows an experimental application of a particular method, a practical solution to an industrial problem or a toolkit that makes control design and implementation easier or more efficient. Among the applications presented are: wastewater treatment; manufacturing of electrical motors ; temperature control of blow moulding; burn-protective garments quality assessment; and rapid prototyping. Written by contributors with a considerable record of industrially-applied research, Case Studies in Control will encourage interaction between industrial practitioners and academic researchers and be of benefit to both, helping to make theory realistic and practical implementation more thorough and efficacious. Advances in Industrial Control aims to report and encourage the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.
Organic chemicals constitute minor gaseous components of the earth's atmosphere. Despite low concentrations they play an important role in the global processes influencing the composition of our atmosphere. The author summarizes the multidisciplinary data on sources and thermo- and photochemical transformations of organic components in the atmosphere. Modern methods of atmospheric microimpurity analysis are explained. Models for their time-dimensional distribution both in the urban atmosphere and in unpolluted air are developed. The book provides a unique source of contemporary information for scientists involved in atmospheric chemistry, meteorology, ecology and geophysics.
The first summer study at IIASA brought together a cross-section of individ uals from different disciplines and nationalities. All the participants have had an interest in the role of risk analysis given the institutional arrangements which guide decision making for new technologies. This book contains edited versions of the papers presented at the meeting as well as a transcript of the discussions which took place. It provides the ingredients for a broader framework fcr studying the problems associated with technology and society where risk is representative of a much wider set of concerns than simply the probability and consequences of a hazardous accident. The Bundesministerium fuer Forschung und Technologie has an interest in promoting risk and safety research because of these new developments in society over the past ten years. In particular, there has been a diminished confidence in experts' statements on risk and a realization that many of the events which are being examined are not subject to detailed scientific analysis. There has also been an increasing recognition that distinctions must be made between analysis of the risk associated with an event and people's values and preferences. Another important development is the concern by the public that they participate more fully in the decision process on these issues. These concerns were articulated in both the papers and the open discussions at the summer study."
"Dredged Material and Mine Tailings" are two of the same thing once they are deposited on land: they must be safe-guarded, wash-out must be prevented, and they must be protected by a plantcover. This comprehensive treatise covers both important aspects of their management: "In Chemistry and " "Biology of Solid Waste" the principles and assessment are scientifically studied and discussed, while "Environmental " "Management of Solid Waste" turns to the practical applications, such as prediction, restoration and management. Previously, dredged material was a commodity, it could be sold as soil, e.g. to gardeners. In the meantime, dredged material from the North Sea (e.g. the Rotterdam or Amsterdam harbor) must be treated as toxic waste. Many environmentalists, managers and companies do not know how to solve the inherent problems. This new work deals with the chemical, physical and biological principles; the biological and geochemical assessment; the prediction of effects and treatment; and finally, with the restoration and revegetation. It is written by many leading scientists in the various fields, and will prove invaluable for scientists, managers and politicians who are concerned with the present environmental situation.
Protection of coastal waters from direct pollution by coastal cities is a vital task in preserving marine ecosystems and promoting human health. This book, edited by two leading experts on wastewater management for coastal cities, delves deeply into the ecological and oceanographic fundamentals that are essential for understanding of what happens to wastes discharged into the nearshore marine environment. It explains the requirements for rational engineering design and operation of the physical and institutional components of coastal city wastewater management, and it provides guidelines for hydraulic design, ocean outfall construction, monitoring, cost recovery, and other economic aspects. Case studies are included, drawn from the editors' worldwide field experience.
In Physical Processes in Estuaries the present day knowledge of the physics of transport phenomena in estuaries and their mathematical treatment is summarized: It is divided into following parts: - Water movements in estuaries - Estuarine fronts and river plumes - Internal waves and interface stability - Fine sediment transport, aggregation of particles, settling velocity of mud flocs - Sedimentation and erosion of fine sediments. For each topic an up-to-date review and recommendations for future research are given, followed by results of original studies. Since estuarine environments are the first to be threatened by urbanization and industrial exploitation this book is an important tool for students and researchers of environmental problems as well as for consultants and water authorities.
The past 30 years have seen the emergence of a growing desire worldwide that positive actions be taken to restore and protect the environment from the degrading effects of all forms of pollution-air, water, soil, and noise. Because pollution is a direct or indirect consequence of waste, the seemingly idealistic demand for "zero discharge" can be construed as an unrealistic demand for zero waste. However, as long as waste continues to exist, we can only attempt to abate the subsequent pollution by converting it to a less noxious form. Three major questions usually arise when a particular type of pollution has been identi?ed: (1) How serious is the pollution? (2) Is the technology to abate it available? and (3) Do the costs of abatement justify the degree of abatement achieved? This book is one of the volumes of the Handbook of Environmental Engineering series. The principal intention of this series is to help readers formulate answers to the last two questions above. The traditional approach of applying tried-and-true solutions to speci?c pollution problems has been a major contributing factor to the success of environmental en- neering, and has accounted in large measure for the establishment of a "methodology of pollution control. " However, the realization of the ever-increasing complexity and interrelated nature of current environmental problems renders it imperative that intelligent planning of pollution abatement systems be undertaken.
The purpose of this book is to investigate the suitability and applicability of available methods for analyzing the human and ecological risks involved in the release of genetically-modified microorganisms. Main topics include: - risk analysis and assessment; approach to safety assurance; - inventory of available scientific risk assessment methods for biotechnology; - identification of methodology gaps and research needs in biology, ecology or other disciplines; - development of a general framework to guide future biotechnology risk assessment efforts; - international regulatory activities.
Following the end of World War II there was a major migra tion of population in the United States and Scandinavian countries to urban areas. As a result of this migration and in part due to the public works moratoria imposed during the war, a major pro gram of sewer construction was instigated, which resulted in the collection and subsequent concentration of large volumes of waste water at single discharge points. As the assimilative capacity of these receiving waters was exceeded, it led to or aggravated existing water pollution problems in these waters. To mitigate this degradation of water quality a massive program to construct wastewater treatment facilities was instigated. In addition, large amounts of money were spent on research to improve the technology of the conventional collection and treatment concept. In contrast, the wastewater disposal problem of the rural home owner received little attention, and in most cases the septic tank soil absorption system (ST-SAS) was the interim solution. In recent years there has been a fundamental change in the population growth pattern in the US and Scandinavian countries. It appears that a great many people are moving back to rural areas where they seem to prefer the suburban or small town envi ronment, yet at the same time want all the conveniences of urban life. The provision of proper wastewater disposal facilities presents a very perplexing problem, because the capital and operating costs of conventional sewers are usually financially impractical for rural areas.
The object of sludge characterization must be to get quantitative mea- sures for sludge behaviour in treatment processes and when disposed of. Thus the incentive for characterization could be one of the following: 1. Because sludges exist in large quantities we want to know the amounts and the expenees involved in their treatment and disposal. 2. Because sludges are environmental nuicances/hazards, energy sourc:-es, fertilizers or even food sources; we want to know their potential. 3. Because the processes change the sludge propert~es, we w~nt to know their "treatability". 4. 5ecause sludges have a history, we want to know how the generation process affects the quantities and the properties of raw sludge. Parallel to the characterization of the sludges runs characterization of the sludge treatment-processes and the environment in which we dispose of the sludge. In the following discussion we will group parameters related to sludges into three cathegories: 1. Sludge Quantity. Both total ~nd per capita sludge production data from all connnon sewage and sludge treatment methods are of "interest. 2. Treatability parameters. These are characteristics of how a sludge behaves in a specific process. Typically; dewaterability and digesta- bility. 3. Sludge quality parameters. These are indicators of how the sludge could influence the environment when disposed of. Sludge quality changes through most sludge treatment processes (stabilization, ther- mal etc.) and include concentrations of chemical compounds, pathogenes etc.
Nowadays, major environmental issues are the object of large public debates de- spite the fact that scientific knowledge is often insufficient to draw unequivocal conclusions. Such is the case in the ongoing debate regarding the specific contri- butions of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and of natural climate changes to global warming. At least 10 to 20 years of additional observations will be re- quired, before we will be able to conclude, with certainty, on this subject. In the mean time, and as directed by their immediate interests, people will continue to promote contradictory opinions. The media are, in part, responsible for perpetuat- ing such debates in that they convey indiscriminately the opinion of highly credi- ble scientists as that of dogmatic researchers, the latter, unfortunately too often expressing working hypotheses as established facts. Naturally, in a similarly mis- informed manner, pressure groups tend to support the researcher whose opinions most closely represent either their particular ideological battles or their economic interests and, hence, in their own way, add further to the confusion and obscurity of the debate. Only a few years ago, mercury (Hg)contamination in hydroelectric reservoirs was the object of such media and social biases. At the time, analytical data used to support the discourse were themselves uncertain and numerous hypotheses, often times fanciful, were proposed and hastily "delivered" to the public.
This document is the result of a conference on "Biological Monitoring of Metals" held in Rochester, June 2-6, 1986, organized jointly by the Environmental Health Sciences Center of the School of Medicine and Dentistry of the University of Rochester, NY, and the Scientific Committee on the Toxicology of Metals within the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) at the Karolinska Institute and the National (Swedish) Institute of Environmental Medicine and the University of Umea, Sweden. The aim of the Conference was to define and evaluate the scientific basis for the biological monitoring of metals. The conference was co-sponsored by the World Health Organization through its International Program on Chemical Safety and received substantial encouragement and support from the Swedish Work Environmental Fund and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. This was the second conference organized jointly by the Scientific Committee on the Toxicology of Metals and The Toxicology Division of the University of Rochester. The previous joint conference was held in 1982 on the Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity of Metals. In addition, conferences have been organized by each group (see Appendices A and B). Several of these conferences are specially relevant to the topic of the current conference. These include the joint conference mentioned above and the conferences on dose-effect and dose-response relationship held in Tokyo in 1974 and on accumulation of metals held in Buenos Aires in 1972.
"Heavy Metals: Problems and Solutions" is divided into three sections dealing with basic geochemical processes, remediation and case studies. The basic geochemical processes are discussed with respect to mobility in the environment and impact as well as methods to derive guidelines for heavy metals. Remediation focuses on currently available methods to treat contaminated sediments and soils. In addition, it considers the concept of geochemical engineering for remediation of large areas contaminated by metals. A number of case studies of polluted sediments and soils and their environmental impact highlight the principles discussed in the first two sections. |
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