Environmental Technology Handbook

2nd Edition

James G Speight

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000723830
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Law Theory & Practice
• Index: Law

Historically, the development of civilization has upset much of the earth's ecosystem leading to air, land, and water pollution. The author defines pollution as the introduction of a foreign substance into an ecosystem via air, land or water. This book delves into issues that effect the everyday lives of people who come in contact with these hazards. By examining these issues, this body of work aims to stimulate debate and offer solutions to the ever-growing threat to the environment and humanity. Includes problems with each chapter, Explores issues such as control of gaseous emissions, waste recycling and waste disposal, Explains physical and thermal methods of waste management, Provides definitions and resources for future reference, Discusses the history of environmental technology.

PART ONE

DEFINITIONS AND RESOURCES

CHAPTER 1

History, Definitions, and Terminology

1.1.0 INTRODUCTION

The history of any subject is the means by which the subject is studied, hopefully so that the errors of the past will not be repeated. In the context of this text, environmental management is not new, having been practiced in pre-Christian times (James and Thorpe, 1994). What appears to have been available became lost and/or forgotten during the so called Dark Ages and remained virtually lost until recent times.

Terminology is the means by which various subjects are named so that reference can be made in conversations and in writings and so that the meaning is passed on.

Definitions are the means by which scientists and engineers communicate the nature of a material to each other and to the world, either through the spoken word or through the written word. Thus, the definition of a material can be extremely important and have a profound influence on the technical and public (as well as political) perception of that material.

For example, water is essential to life, except in the unfortunate instance of drowning. However, a simple and constructive (perhaps destructive, although technically correct) change in the name (C&E News, 1994) has the potential to bring about a marked change in the perception of this substance. A change in the name of water to dihydrogen monoxide conjures thoughts of dihydrogen peroxide and carbon monoxide, both dangerous chemicals, and the ramifications of the release of these chemicals to the environment. Even use of the name oxygen dihydride does not conjure up thoughts of the familiar life-supporting liquid.

Thus, precise definitions are an important aspect of any technology, especially environmental technology. It is in the environmental technology area where many decisions are (and continue to be) made on the basis of emotion rather than on the basis of scientific and engineering principles (Fumento, 1993). Many activities associated with the use of chemicals have a high degree of perceived risk (Wedin, 1994; O’Riordan, 1995). Therefore, precise definitions should be the norms!

As another example, the release of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming has been the cause of much debate. The main question appears to have been related to the ecological issue of releasing wolves that (supposedly) would feed off the herds of cattle in the area. There has been a general failure to recognize that the area has been in an ecological imbalance since the wolves were exterminated in the early decades of this century. Wolves have (by animal standards) a fairly complex hierarchy (Mowat, 1963, Lopez, 1978) and they are not the sadistic killers that certain novelists and film makers would have the general public believe.

However, the interdictions of the media and a host of politicians, not to forget a mass of uninformed wolves-rights activists and anti-wolves-rights activists created a verbal and printed circus. Very few of the significantly uninformed masses even bothered seeking information from the people most qualified to make comment and judgment, the wildlife biologists!

A story that can evoke considerable response from both sides of the environmental issue is the story of the medieval peasant. This worthy soul (whoever he may have been), while visiting the City of London, happened to pass by the street where perfumes were sold from a variety of shops. It is said that he (the peasant) passed out from the unfamiliar odor but was revived when a shovel of the excrement was held under his nose!

An interesting story but it is known that the odors of the human body that were attractive to others (certainly in medieval times and as recent as the early days of this century) are now hidden by perfumes and deodorants. Or, it might be surmised that it was the ammonia generated by certain types of excrement that revived the peasant.

On this basis, it might be deduced that the perfume was the pollutant, being non-indigenous to that part of the city and the animal excrement was a non-pollutant (being indigenous to that part of the city). And the converse can be argued just as (if not more) convincingly.

Environmental issues permeate everyday life, especially the lives of workers in various occupations where hazards can result from exposure to many external influences (Lipton and Lynch, 1994). In order to combat any threat to the environment, it is necessary to understand the nature and magnitude of the problems involved (Ray and Guzzo, 1990). It is in such situations that environmental technology has a major role to play. Environmental issues even arise when old, outdated laws are taken to task (US News & World Report, 1995). Thus, the concept of what seemed to be a good idea at the time the action occurred no longer holds when the law influences the environment.

It is not the intent to subscribe to the notion that the state of the environment is acceptable, and that it always will be acceptable. Or those shovels of the excrement will correct all that is wrong. But there is the need to strike a balance between cessation of pollutant releases, defining the nature of a pollutant, and the definition of a clean environment.

1.2.0 HISTORICAL ASPECTS

Historically, the development of civilization has caused perturbation of much of the earth’s ecosystem, resulting in pollution of the air, land, and water. In this case, pollution is defined as the introduction into the land water and air systems of a chemical (or chemicals) that were not indigenous to these systems.

There is the general belief that environmental science and engineering are relatively new technical disciplines. But the influence of environmental effects on human (and animal) populations have been realized for centuries.

In a combination of historical and geological perspectives, man’s aggressive appearance on the earth, whether it is through creation or by evolution from some primordial soup (Britannica, 1969; Miller, 1987; Krauss, 1992; Christian Bible, 1995), has also paralleled the demand for the use of the earth’s resources which have been intimately related to the onset of environmental pollution.

The environment can be endangered by any one or several, of a range of human activities (Mooney, 1988, Pickering and Owen, 1994).

Indeed, from the first use of wood for fire as a source of warmth leading to the overwhelming modern day use of other resources, the use of coal as a domestic and industrial fuel and the demand for energy has led to the use of fossil fuels as energy sources which has increased in logarithmic proportions (Tester et al., 1991).

In order to put this development into the perspective of the geological time scale of the earth, which spans some 4.5 billion (4.5 × 10⁹) years (Figure 1.1), it is necessary to remember that the earth was virtually uninhabited for eons. For example, the Pre-Cambrian period spans approximately 3.8 billion (3.8 × 10⁹) years or 85% of this period on the time scale. This geological period is very distinct insofar as Pre-Cambrian rocks, in general, do not have fossil fuels occurring in them. In short, there were few, if any, or only simplified forms of life for much of the earth’s history. Man is a comparative newcomer to the earth, the Johnny-come-lately of the earth’s fauna.

The land-borne and water-borne diseases of the pre-Christian and post-Christian eras are common knowledge and are cited in many of the old texts. But the relationship of the disease to pollution is not often recognized, nor could it be expected to be recognized in those times.

Roman armies on the march recognized the need for clean, untainted drinking water. Hence the use of gall.

Each Roman soldier carried a sponge soaked in gall (water that has a small amount, ca. 10%, vinegar added) in his pouch. The vinegar killed the sources of disease that came from drinking tainted water. And there are records t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface to the Second Edition
• Preface to the First Edition
• Part One Definitions and Resources
• Part II Ecosystems
• Part III Chemical Waste and Waste Management
• Part IV Regulations and the Future
• Epilogue
• Glossary
• Index