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Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Waste management > General
The study of the relationship between environmental pollution and human health is in its infancy. The number of substances and mixtures that have been identified in uncontrolled hazardous waste sites or that have been in advertently released into the environment is large and data on how thes~ substances are modified as they interact with one another as they migrate through soil, air, and water are limited. There are also limits on our un derstanding of how these substances may be ingested, inhaled, or absorbed by people. The complexity of possible interactions between biological, chemical, and physical components in a given environment makes it virtually impossible to evaluate the potential for adverse biological effects ade quately in the laboratory. Other, more comprehensive methods which provide realistic and interpretable results must be used. Many scientists believe that humans represent the ultimate sentinel species of a toxic exposure re sUlting from environmental pollution, however such exposures may also se verely impact environmental health. There exists a wide variety of organ isms in the natural environment that could be used to provide an early warning for potential human health effects as well as to indicate adverse ecological effects. The issue of effective utilization of sentinel species for environment al monitoring is a rapidly developing area of research which has grown in importance during the last decade.
The pilot study on estuarine management was initiated by the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modem Society (CCMS). The objective of this project was to make a comparison of several estuarine management strategies and to formulate a set of recommen dations and planning guidelines to restore polluted estuaries, to prevent further estuarine deterioration, and to manage conflicting demands stemming from human activities. The first results of this NATO-CCMS project were reported in 1982, describing six estuaries and their management approaches. In 1985 CCMS decided a subsequent research project should be performed to achieve the original objectives. This second research project was basically done by way of a comprehensive questionnaire that was sent to authorities of estuarine areas all over the world. Eleven questionnaires have been received. In some instances, the questionnaires were not fully completed for several reasons. Especially, data on water quality was lacking. As a result, less attention will be paid to related aspects as originally intended. This study shows that knowledge of the number of functions and conflicts of estuaries may provide relevant information concerning the severity of the problems as well as the propensity towards planning of water systems."
***e FACHGEBIET*** Mathematical Geology, Computer Applications, Artificial Intelligence, Urban Economics and Regional Economics ***INTERESSENTENGRUPPE*** Of interest to Urban and Regional planners, civil engineers, geographers; computer scientists; operations researchers; landscape architects; and advanced students in the above disciplines.- Level: Technical Book, Monograph ***URHEBER*** T.J. Kim, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL; L.L. Wiggins, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA; J.R. Wright, Purdue University, Lafayette, IN (Eds.) ***TITEL*** Expert Systems: Applications to Urban Planning ***BIBLIOGRAPHISCHE-ANGABEN*** 1990. XIV, 268 pp. 48 figs. Hardcover DM 78, - ISBN 3-540-97171-8 ***LANGTEXT*** While expert systems have become a popular topic in the computing, medical and engineering fields, the expert system is still a new technology in urban planning. This book introduces expert systems for problem solving in urban planning and describes the way in which heuristic knowledge and rules of thumb of expert planners can be represented through computer programs. The book presents practical applications of expert systems for solving many important urban planning problems, particularly those issues that many practicing planners face in their daily operations. Problems and issues discussed are grouped in the following categories: - Land Use Planning - Transportation Planning - Site Selection and Analysis - Environmental Planning - Conflict Mediation and Legal Disputes - Future Developments and Directions Expert Systems: Applications to Urban Planning will benefit both urban planners who wish to learn how this new technology might be applied to their daily work as well as researchers in expert systems seeking new ideas for systems design.
Biotechnology for Waste Management and Site Restoration covers: waste management - solid, gaseous, liquid; site restoration - radioactivity, organics, toxic metals; educational, economic, social and business aspects; and international collaboration. International collaboration is growing apace and many concrete projects have been started. The body of knowledge is growing. Over the long term, it is envisaged that this international collaboration will result in a long-term scientific and technological strategy, new technologies and alternative solutions, and practical implementations of biotechnology for the nuclear and industrial sectors of the economy.
Although present day politics seems to be preoccupied with questions of economic growth and full employment, the basic environmental problems stemming from the interactions of the economic sphere with global, regional and local environments persist and will have an even greater impact in the future. If economy and ecology are not reconciled in the years to come, mankind will not have a sustainable future on Earth. The typical negation of environmental problems in times of economic crisis is partially due to the fact that environmental and health damages of economic activities are neither priced nor included in our market price system. This allows politicians to focus their attention on insufficient economic indicators which do not reflect the actual development of the welfare of society. If economic lead indicators like GDP or balance of trade figures were better integrated with information on the environmental and health costs caused by the seemingly beneficial economic development, politicians might have better guidance as to what policy choices would benefit society most.
During the past few years the worlds has reverberated of names like Seveso, Love Canal, Lekkerkerk, Times Beach, just to name the most publicized ones. All these names are connected with hazardous or toxic waste, waste from business and industry, especially the chemical industry. The list is endless because there are, all over the world, many thousands of "points noirs" not yet discovered or identified old lagoons and landfills, polluted rivers, estuaries, and harbors needing remedial action, which undoubtedly will reveal more unpleasant secrets of the chemical industry's past. It is not an exaggerated statement that chemists of the past have paid too much attention to the composition of new products while neglecting the disposition of byproducts, i.e., chemical waste. Admittedly, during the last decade this attitude has changed dramatically. Although we cannot yet properly speak of a new science of peri ontology (the theory of residues), we seem to be headed towards substantiated rules, analyses, disposal protocols, definitions and remedial practices in handling the problems of chemical waste. Especially during the last two years comprehensive treatises of the whole complex subject as well as monographs dealing with assorted aspects of waste tech nology have appeared."
The problem of pollution of the environment arose for the first time with the beginning of Industrialization. At that time there was no need to think about disposal of waste. There was no reason to do so because the space available to man and other living creatures appeared quite adequate. The life expectancy of man has risen as a result of the enormous advances In technology and medicine. In 1650 It was 30 years throughout the world whi Ie In 1970 It had risen to 53 years, and this has consequently been accompanied by a population exp los I on. Whl Ie the world population in 1650 was some 500,000,000, in 1970 It was about 3,600,000,000. Assuming that mortality does not rise sharply, the population potential 1 for the year 2000 is expected to be some 7,000,000,000 * Industrial production has grown to an even greater degree than the world population. The growth of noxious substances has developed with the growth of the population on the one hand and with industrial growth on the other. The growth of slaughterhouse waste is directly related to population growth, because as the population -increases so does the demand for meat and meat products. Consumption habits have also changed with Increasing prosperity so that there has been an increase in the proportion of slaughterhouse by-products which are difficult to market.
The past few years have seen the emergence of a growing, widespread desire in this country, and indeed everywhere, that positive actions be taken to restore the quality of our environment, and to protect it from the degrading effects of all forms of pollution-air, noise, solid waste, and water. Since pollution is a direct or" indirect consequence of waste, if there is no waste, there can be no pollution, and the seemingly idealistic demand for" zero discharge" can be construed as a demand for zero waste. However, as long as there is waste, we can only attempt to abate the consequent pollution by converting it to a less noxious form. In those instances in which a particular type of pollution has been recognized, three major questions usually arise: 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? The principal intention of this series of books is to help the reader to formulate answers to the last two of the above three questions. The traditional approach of applying tried-and-true solutions to specific pollution problems has been a major factor contributing to the success of environmental engineering, and in large measure has accounted for the establishing ofa "methodology of pollution control.
The zone where land and sea meet is composed of a variety of complex environments. The coastal areas of the world contain a large percentage of its population and are therefore of extreme economic importance. Industrial, residential, and recreational developments, as well as large urban complexes, occupy much of the coastal margin of most highly developed countries. Undoubtedly future expansion in many undeveloped maritime countries will also be concentrated on coastal areas. Accompanying our occupation of coasts in this age of technology is a dependence on coastal environments for transportation, food, water, defense, and recreation. In order to utilize the coastal zone to its capacity, and yet not plunder its resources, we must have extensive knowledge of the complex environments contained along the coasts. The many environments within the coastal zone include bays, estuaries, deltas, marshes, dunes, and beaches. A tremendously broad range of conditions is represented by these environments. Salinity may range from essentially fresh water in estuaries, such as along the east coast of the United States, to extreme hypersaline lagoons, such as Laguna Madre in Texas. Coastal environments may be in excess of a hundred meters deep (fjords) or may extend several meters above sea level in the form of dunes. Some coastal environments are well protected and are not subjected to high physical energy except for occasional storms, whereas beaches and tidal inlets are continuously modified by waves and currents.
In view of the great demand for information regarding landfills, a series of international reference books on landfilling of waste has been established. This book, the second volume, deals with lining and leachate collection. It consists of edited, selected contributions to the International Symposia on Sanitary Landfills held in Sardinia every second year.
Landfilling of waste has increased dramatically over recent years and there have been many examples of landfills which are unacceptable on environmental and health grounds. This is one of a group of international reference books which address this problem, specifically in this case covering the strongly contaminated wastewater developed from landfills.
Proceedings of the Eighth Annual Conference of the Air Resources Information Clearinghouse held in Washington, D.C., December 5-6, 1991
The first Symposium on Recent Advances in Problems of Flow and Transport in Porous Media was held in Marrakech in June '96 and has provided a focus for the utilization of computer methods for solving the many complex problems encountered in the field of solute transport in porous media. This symposium has been successful in bringing together scientists, physicists, hydrogeologists, researchers in soil and fluid mechanics and engineers involved in this multidisciplinary subject. It is clear that the utilization of computer-based models in this domain is still rapidly expanding and that new and novel solutions are being developed. The contributed papers which form this book reflect the recent advances, in particular with respect to new methods, inverse problems, reactive transport, unsaturated media and upscaling. These have been subdivided into the following sections: I. Numerical methods II. Mass transport and heat transfer III. Comparison with experimentation and simulation of real cases This book contains reviewed articles of the top presentations held during the International Symposium on Computer Methods in Porous Media Engineering which took place in Giens (France) in October 1998. All of the presentations and the optimism shown during the meeting provided further evidence that computer modeling is making remarkable progress and is indeed becoming an essential toolkit in the field of porous media and solute transport. I believe that the content of this book provides evidence of this and furthermore gives a comprehensive review of the theoretical developments and applications.
The diverse nature of environmental problems mankind has encountered within the last decade has developed a new understanding of the nature of environmental processes. Currently, the environment is considered as a continuum of air, soil and water as the vital components for sustaining life on earth. The interactive nature of these components requires that the environment is managed and protected as a cohesive whole. This can only be accomplished through an integrated approach to environmental management. Besides the concept of environmental continuum, prospects for sustainable development of natural resources and the recent recognition of global climate change impacts have also necessitated such an integrated approach to environmental management. Two basic tools for integrated management of the environment are modeling and environmental data. Both tools were available and valid in the past; however, the recent requirements for integrated environmental management have also led to a significant evolution of both modeling procedures and data management systems.
It is generally acknowledged today that the most effective strategy for toxic and hazardous waste management is: reduction, reuse and recycle. However, to date most of the activity has been in treatment technologies. This book focuses on recent technological issues commercially available or in various stages of implementation. Developments in the U.S. and Europe in the area of waste management policy and regulation are also examined since management and remediation have usually been conducted in response to regulatory requirements. This book serves as a state of the art resource on technologies and methodologies for the environmental protection manager involved in decisions concerning the management of toxic and hazardous waste.
Response to Marine Oil Pollution - Review and Assessment is the essential source book, now updated, for all involved in marine oil pollution consequences and response. It covers policy, planning and operations, and provides technical assessment of the true nature of the problem, of the means to maximise the performance of current techniques and equipment, and of the bases for future improvements. This book provides a fundamental understanding of the oil properties and processes which determine the persistence and impacts of oils in the marine environment. It establishes parameters against which to evaluate performance of all current techniques and equipment, and the environmental impacts of their use. It identifies design parameters, and makes proposals for the creation and development of more effective equipment and techniques. The book also shows how a fresh approach to cargo transfer, and the scaling of spillage response provision to oil releases on immediate impact, will be more effective overall, and will ensure that approved waste handling and disposal facilities are not overwhelmed. The recent Sea Empress incident is reviewed to illustrate the points made and conclusions reached, and to emphasise the need for thorough salvage planning for all future incidents.
Both the beauty and interest of fractures and fracture networks are easy to grasp, since they are abundant in nature. An example is the road from Digne to Nice in the south of France, with an impressive number and variety of such structures: the road for the most part, goes through narrow valleys with fast running streams penetrating the rock faces; erosion is favored by the Mediterranean climate, so that rocks are barely covered by meager vegetation. In this inhospitable and sterile landscape, the visitor can im mediately discover innumerable fractures in great masses which have been distorted by slow, yet powerful movements. This phenomenon can be seen for about 100 kilometers; all kinds of shapes and combinations are repre sented and can be observed either in the mountain itself or in the man-made cliffs and excavations, resulting from improvements made to the road. In the same region, close to the Turini Pass, a real large scale hydrody namic experiment is taking place -a source which is situated on the flank on the mountain, has been equiped with a tap; if the tap is open, water flows through the tap only, but when it is closed, then the side of the mountain releases water in a matter of seconds. Other outlets are also influenced by this tap, such as a water basin situated a few hundred meters away."
Foreword Over the past decades, Piero Risoluti has built up an intimate knowl edge of the nuclear industry - in particular of nuclear waste man agement. In this book, his scientific understanding is apparent - for example in his comprehensive but readily understandable descrip tions of waste conditioning and disposal. Moreover, he has also been directly involved in the wider societal and political debates in the nuclear area - especially in his Italian homeland. What shines through in these pages is.his frustration at the lack of progress in im plementing disposal concepts that are judged by many to be very safe and his unfaltering drive to improve this situation. To provoke debate, the book is very deliberately written in a po larising, black and white style that can easily be labelled as "politi cally incorrect" - a characterisation that Piero will probably agree with and be amused by. Criticism is directed equally at "loud mouthed and incompetent anti-nuclear environmentalists," the "nu clear Byzantium" of the international nuclear establishment, the "in tellectual narcissism" of those nuclear experts that dare to admit the importance of societal issues, and the tendency of politicians to "in definite procrastination." These are not words chosen to avoid open confrontation of opposing views."
In the field of biosensors the previous focus has been almost entirely on medical diagnostics. Here it is discussed in relation to bioremediation. The application of new biosensing techniques to environmental monitoring promises to be a more economical approach to monitoring both soil consortia and levels of pollutants. Significantly, functional biosensors can determine such parameters asHow clean is clean?' This new edition is targeted specifically at graduate students and environmental professionals.
Newly developed and innovative methods are mentioned and outlined so that the book can be used as a source of information for scientists and professionals specialised in the treatment of soils as well as for students in courses of environmental studies. The book offers a short, compressed overview of the important features of this subject and can be used as a reference book of the state of the art. The appendix offers the interested reader a detailed survey of materials, test methods and apparatuses as well as a description of analytical directions and processes.
Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.
Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.
This book is about the legal, economical, and practical assessment and management of risky activities arising from routine, catastrophic environmental and occupational exposures to hazardous agents. It includes a discussion of aspects of US and European Union law concerning risky activities, and then develops the economic analyses that are relevant to implementing choices within a supply and demand framework. The book also discusses exposure-response and time-series models used in assessing air and water pollution, as well as probabilistic cancer models, including toxicological compartmental, pharmaco-kinetic models and epidemiological relative risks and odds ratios-based models. Statistical methods to measure agreement, correlation and discordance are also developed. The methods and criteria of decision-analysis, including several measures of value of information (VOI) conclude the expositions. This book is an excellent text for students studying risk assessment and management.
Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology provides concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy, and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicologocial implications. It facilitates the task of accessing and interpreting cogent scientific data and will be of interest to researchers, resource managers, and policy administrators.
Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology provides concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications. It covers all aspects of environmental contamination and associated toxicological consequences as well as facilitates the task of accessing and interpreting cogent scientific data. |
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