Comprising 12 chapters, this book focuses on volatile methylsiloxanes (VMSs), the shorter-chained organosiloxanes, and reviews the main areas and environmental compartments where they have been found and studied. It opens with a detailed description of the structural and functional properties, toxic risks and possible transformations of VMSs in the environment and their main uses in various activities and products, as well as the identification of the main sources of emission. Further chapters examine the analytical strategies and protocols that have been used to address the quantification of VMSs, including the issue of possible cross-contaminations. The book also discusses the presence of VMSs in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and in water bodies, their atmospheric fate and levels in biota, as well as occurrences of VMSs in remote areas of the world. It closes with a comprehensive conclusion and discussion on future directions for upcoming studies. This book is not intended as a finishing line, but rather as an important step towards improving our understanding of VMSs, to fuel new collaborations between research groups and/or with industry and lastly to convince more researchers to explore the mysteries of these ubiquitous, yet understudied, chemicals.

This book provides an overview to researchers, graduate, and undergraduate students, as well as academicians who are interested in arsenic. It covers human health risks and established cases of human ailments and sheds light on prospective control measures, both biological and physico-chemical. Arsenic (As) is a widely distributed element in the environment having no known useful physiological function in plants or animals. Historically, this metalloid has been known to be used widely as a poison. Effects of arsenic have come to light in the past few decades due to its increasing contamination in several parts of world, with the worst situation being in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. The worrying issue is the ingestion of arsenic through water and food and associated health risks due to its carcinogenic and neurotoxic nature. The impact of the problem is widespread, and it has led to extensive research on finding both the causes and solutions. These attempts have allowed us to understand the various probable causes of arsenic contamination in the environment, and at the same time, have provided a number of possible solutions. It is reported that more than 200 mineral species contain As. Generally, As binds with iron and sulfur to form arsenopyrite. According to one estimate from the World Health Organization (WHO), contextual levels of As in soil ranges from 1 to 40 mg kg-1. Arsenic toxicity is related to its oxidation state which is present in the medium. As is a protoplastic toxin, due to its consequence on sulphydryl group it interferes in cell enzymes, cell respiration and in mitosis. Exposure of As may occur to humans via several industries, such as refining or smelting of metal ores, microelectronics, wood preservation, battery manufacturing, and also to those who work in power plants that burn arsenic-rich coal.

Is the environment purely a resource for meeting human needs, or does it have value in itself? Should it be protected only to the extent that such protection benefits mankind? This text examines issues such as these in order to illuminate a range of environmental and ethical perspectives which are present in everyday life.

This is the first book to summarize all aspects of allergenic pollen: production, atmospheric distribution, and health impacts, as well as the means of monitoring and forecasting these phenomena. Based on a four-year effort by a large group of leading European scientists, this book highlights the new developments in research on allergenic pollen, including the modelling prospects and effects of climate change. The multidisciplinary team of authors offers insights into the latest technology of detection of pollen and its allergenic properties, forecasting methods, and the influence of allergenic pollen on the population. The comprehensive coverage in this book makes it an indispensible volume for anyone dealing with allergenic pollen worldwide. Readers involved in environmental health, aerobiology, medicine, and plant science will find this book of interest.

This compilation of techniques, methodologies and scientific data arises from a four-year Italian research project, which took place at university research stations in Turin, Piacenza, Naples and Potenza. Soil Organic Matter (SOM) represents an active and essential pool of the total organic carbon on the planet. Consequently, even small changes in this SOM carbon pool may have a significant impact on the concentration of atmospheric CO2. Recent new understanding of the chemical nature of SOM indicates that innovative and sustainable technologies may be applied to sequester carbon in agricultural soils. Overall results of the project have been applied to develop an innovative model for the prediction and description, both quantitatively and qualitatively, of carbon sequestration in agricultural soils. This book provides experts in different areas of soil science with a complete picture of the effects of new soil management methods and their potentials for practical application in farm management.

This thorough review is based on observational satellite, airborne and in-situ data, scientific literature and technical reports, as well as the substantial experience of the authors, who hail from several Baltic Sea countries. They pay special attention to national practices, HELCOM and EMSA CleanSeaNet activities in oil pollution monitoring, and show different applications of the Seatrack Web model for oil spill drift prediction and the identification of illegal polluters, as well as for environmental risk assessment. Furthermore, some of the results on satellite monitoring of the Nord Stream gas pipeline construction in the Gulf of Finland are presented. This volume addresses the needs of specialists working in different fields of marine, environmental, and remote sensing sciences. It is a useful handbook on oil pollution for international and governmental agencies, as well as for policy makers who plan and manage oil and gas projects, the construction of ports and terminals, shipping, fishery, recreation, and tourist activities in the Baltic Sea. It also offers graduate and undergraduate students in marine and environmental sciences a valuable resource and reference work on the subject."

This book introduces a new technology for environmental protection, namely plasma cleaning. It brings together technological advances and research on plasma generators and their application in environmental science and engineering, including contaminated soil remediation, waste water degradation, metal recovery from waste solution, sterilization and polluted air remediation. It provides a balanced and comprehensive discussion of the core principles, novel plasma reactors and diagnostics, and state-of-the-art environmental applications of plasma. As such, it represents a valuable reference guide for scientists, engineers and graduate students in the fields of environmental science and plasma physics.

This book examines how the news media in general, and investigative journalism in particular, interprets environmental problems and how those interpretations contribute to the shaping of a discourse of risk that can compete against the omnipresent and hegemonic discourse of modernisation in Chinese society.

Written by internationally recognized experts in atmospheric research, this book focuses on the state of the art in topical environmental issues such as global change, forest decline, ozone depletion and acid rain. Our present knowledge of forest damage is summarized as an example of atmospheric impact on nature. Paul Crutzen, winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, tackles the question of how the changing chemical composition of the atmosphere influences global chemistry and climate. The future environmental impact of traffic is described from the point of view of the motor industry. These and other contributions illustrate the interaction which exists between atmosphere, technology and nature.

This volume discusses the sustainability of Egypt's agriculture and the challenges involved. It provides a comprehensive review and the latest research findings, and covers a variety of topics under the following themes: * Applicability of sustainable agriculture in Egypt * Sustainable agriculture under water scarcity and polluted soil environments * Improved crop productivity using a variety of tried and tested procedures * Biotechnology application for agricultural sustainability and food security * Potentiality of soil-sensing for a more sustainable agricultural environment The volume closes with a summary of the key conclusions and recommendations from all chapters. Together with the companion volume Sustainability of Agricultural Environment in Egypt: Part II, it offers an essential source of information for postgraduate students, researchers, and stakeholders alike.

This book presents major hydrological, physicochemical and biological processes determining the formation of hydro-physical properties and chemical composition of terrestrial surface water. Generalized hydro-physical, hydro-chemical and hydro-biological parameters affecting surface water quality, in particular in the Ukraine, are provided. Furthermore, a general description of the anthropogenic factors affecting the process of forming natural water's properties is presented. This volume is of interest to ecologists, and scientists, lecturers and students in higher educational institutions investigating patterns of formation of water properties and working on the development of methodologies to model and assess surface water quality, and water quality classifications.

This book examines the way that lead enters the biosphere and the subsequent environmental impact. The contributing authors include international experts who provide methods for assessing and characterizing the ecological risk of lead contamination of soil and plants. Information is provided on the consequences for human health as a result of lead pollution. This book reveals that approximately 98% of stable lead in the atmosphere originates from human activities. Lead in Plants and the Environment reports on methods for detecting, measuring, and assessing the concentration of lead in plants. The authors provide a method for the measurement of 210Pb isotopes in plants. This method can be applied extensively in different environmental settings, not only as a way of revealing sources of lead, but also as a way to monitor lead transport in plants and animals that ingest them. The chapters include coverage on the following topics: * Lead bioavailability in the environment and its exposure and effects * Radioanalytical methods for detecting and identifying trace concentrations of lead in the environment * Lead contamination and its dynamics in soil plant systems * Lead pollution monitoring and remediation through terrestrial plants in mesocosm constructed wetlands * A review of phytoremediation of lead This book is a valuable resource to students, academics, researchers, and environmental professionals doing field work on lead contamination throughout the world.

This book reviews the sources of the air pollutants responsible for building damage and the mechanisms involved. Studies investigating the relationships between pollution concentration (dose) and the resulting damage (response) are described and the latest research findings for dose-response functions are presented.

Trends in pollutant emissions, ambient concentrations and building damage over time are described and future predictions are presented. Methodologies for assessing the extent of the potential problem in a region the stock at risk are presented. Procedures for estimating the economic implications are described and the consequences are discussed in detail, because economic factors are important for reaching policy and management decisions at local, national and international scales.

Damage to cultural heritage buildings is an important additional effect which needs to be considered as the standards are revised and the factors which will need to be brought into the assessment are presented.

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.

The book provides a review of experimental methods and presents the worldwide newest literature regarding chemical substances fluxes via submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). Thus, the book characterizes both the distribution of chemicals in groundwater impacted areas in the Baltic Sea and their fluxes via SGD to the Baltic Sea. This book presents the state of art regarding the SGD and detailed studies on SGD characterization in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is an example of a region highly influenced by a variety of human activities that affect the ecosystem. It is shown that SGD has been proven to be one of the important sources introducing dissolved substances into the Baltic Sea. The loads of chemical substances delivered to the Baltic sea with SGD have not been quantified so far.

This booksummarises - amongst other things - what happened to the people and environment around Chernobyl (and other nuclear sites) and what measures need to be taken in future in the event of nuclear accidents etcplus it has a very important and currently topical use in detailing what to do in the event of a terrorist dirty bomb attack on a city.
* Remediation, including characterization of contaminated sites; safety requirements; remediation planning; effectiveness of individual measures in different environments; social, ethical and economic considerations; application of modern decision aiding technologies
* Applicable to different categories of contaminated environments and contaminants, comprising areas contaminated by radiation accidents and incidents, nuclear weapon tests, natural radionuclides associated with nuclear fuel cycle, fossil material mining and gas and oil production
* Associated side effects (environmental and social) and human based remediation measures, comprising perception of this activity by the population;with particular regard to stakeholders and population involvementin making decisions on environmental safety and remediation of contaminated sites"

In the U.S., approximately two-thirds of the coastal rivers and bays are moderately to severely degraded from nutrient pollution. The contributors to this book use long-term data sets to discuss the interactions among biological, ecological, chemical, and physical processes, and discuss what is known about nutrient inputs to the bay ecosystem, the impacts related to nutrient inputs, and how the ecosystem might respond to a sudden reduction in these inputs.

Wind erosion occurs in many arid, semiarid and agricultural areas of the world. It is an environmental process in?uenced by geological and climatic variations as well as human activities. In general, wind erosion leads to land degradation in agricultural areas and has a negative impact on air quality. Dustemissiongeneratedbywinderosionisthelargestsourceofaerosolswhich directly or indirectly in?uence the atmospheric radiation balance and hence global climatic variations. Strong wind-erosion events, such as severe dust storms, may threaten human lives and cause substantial economic damage. The physics of wind erosion is complex, as it involves atmospheric, soil and land-surface processes. The research on wind erosion is multidisciplinary, covering meteorology, ?uid dynamics, soil physics, colloidal science, surface soil hydrology, ecology, etc. Several excellent books have already been written about the topic, for instance, by Bagnold (1941, The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes), Greeley and Iversen (1985, Wind as a Geological P- cess on Earth, Mars, Venus and Titan), Pye (1987, Aeolian Dust and Dust Deposits), Pye and Tsoar (1990, Aeolian Sand and Sand Dunes). However, considerable progress has been made in wind-erosion research in recent years and there is a need to systematically document this progress in a new book.

Featuring the theme, From Sources to Solution, this book is based on the research papers presented during the International Conference on Environmental Forensics 2013. It covers multi-disciplinary areas of environmental forensics featuring major themes: characterization, assessment, and monitoring; new approach, rapid assessment, and analytical techniques; pollution control technology; environmental health risk assessment; and policy, governance and management. It present information for researchers from the science and social sciences disciplines and contribute to the advancement of Environmental Forensics. It also aims at evaluating the environmental damages as the result of indiscriminating discharge of toxic environmental pollutants.

Human exposure to toxic substances that cause cancer, reproductive abnormalities, and other adverse health effects is a topic of increasing interest to scientists, journalists, workers, business executives, advocacy groups, and the public at large. Citizen concern has prompted the government to establish an elaborate regulatory system designed to protect people from chemical exposures. Harnessing Science examines the role of science in toxic chemical regulation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The book postulates that scientific knowledge and advice from experts outside of government is critical to the competence and credibility of regulations designed to protect public health.

This unique volume takes a close look at the contributions of three specific organizations that were designed to improve regulatory science: the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology (CIIT), the Science Advisory Board of the EPA, and the Health Effects Institute. Early chapters trace the origins and histories of each of these three organizations. Then regulatory case studies of selected chemical substances (unleaded gasoline, perchloroethylene, formaldehyde, nitrates, and carbon monoxide) are used to assess the contributions of CIIT, SAB, and HEI. The final chapter makes specific recommendations designed to strengthen these organizations. Harnessing Science for Environmental Regulation is essential reading for anyone who is interested in how science influences regulatory decisions about human exposure to toxic chemicals. It will be of special interest to federal and state policy makers, practicing scientists, environmental advocates, risk assessors, corporate managers, and environmental journalists.

This book describes green photocatalysts and their diverse applications in the fields of environmental sciences and energy. It especially takes a closer look at the removal of air and water pollutants, the generation of hydrogen, photo fuel cells, electrophotocatalysts, solar energy conversions, and green biophotocatalysts. Furthermore it also discusses on the role of catalysts along with their chemical reactions, challenges, past developments and directions for further research on photocatalysts. It includes recent developments of quantum dots (QDs) and photocatalytic applications of QDs such as carbon materials like carbon and graphene based QDs, metal, metal sulfide and metal oxide based QDs as well as a detailed review on various types of templates used for the preparation of porous g-C3N4 and its applications in detail. This is done with special reference to dye degradation, reduction of hexavalent Cr, and reduction of CO2 and for the evolution of H2 photocatalytically. This book offers an intriguing and useful guide for a broad readership in various fields of catalysis, material sciences, environment and energy.

This text is a comprehensive, in-depth review and summary of the UN FCCC AIJ pilot. Over 30 prominent players in the UN FCCC AIJ pilot, drawn from 12 countries, prepared the 16 peer-reviewed chapters in this book. Most chapters are extensively illustrated and the book contains a glossary of acronyms and a list of points of contact in the UN FCCC AIJ pilot. To help meet the technical and policy needs associated with the UN FCCC and complementary treaty negotiations, this book has three broad objectives: review, interpret and compile experiences of AIJ pilot participants and observers; based on empirical data and skilled observations, identify and document lessons learned from the AIJ pilot; and interpret, summarize and translate lessons learned for future consideration by FCCC parties. Specific topics covered include: an introduction to the AIJ pilot and the FCCC guidelines/criteria; AIJ project development and finance; the project development community; an overview of energy and land-use and forestry sector projects; sustainable development technology transfer; human and institutional capacity building; legal issues; and project monitoring, verification and reporting.

This book focuses on innovative treatment technologies for the elimination of emerging contaminants in wastewater and drinking water treatment processes. The book also discusses sources and occurrence of emerging contaminants in municipal and industrial waste, giving an overview of state-of-the-art analytical methods for their identification. Further important aspects covered include the acute and chronic effects and overall impact of emerging contaminants on the environment.

This book provides a comprehensive overview on mechanochemistry including its history, high-energy ball milling process, equipment used and fundamentals behind the observed scientific phenomena. It also shows that mechanochemistry is highly applicable in the field of waste treatment. The text reviews 1017 studies utilizing mostly high-energy ball milling for the treatment of various types of consumer, technogenic and agricultural waste. The text is divided into chapters based on individual waste types. The book presents an Appendix compiling all studies arranged according to the application that the recycled waste is meant for. In this way, readers from both academia and companies interested either in the treatment of a particular waste, or particular application might easily locate sections of interest.

This book examines air pollution of a big city using multi-year and multi-season data from ground-based air monitoring stations and satellite sounding data, which provides more clear and detailed information on the main sources of air pollution, the long-term trend of pollution, the influence of meteorological parameters on pollution levels, and trajectories of polluted air masses. For example, the book shows that particulate matter from local sources is transported from deserts to create air quality challenges. It also analyzes the effects of desert and semi-desert landscapes on high concentrations of pollutants.