Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
that. is,. air,. water,. and. soil.. Environmental. pollution. drew. public. concern.
in. industrialized. countries. in. early. years,. for. example,. the. great. smog. in.
London.in.1952.that.killed.at.least.4000.people.(Bell.et.al..2004);.the.Superfund.
established.by.USEPA.in.1978.due.to.long-term.contamination.of.Love.Canal.
(notably.contamination.by.dioxins).since.1947.(USEPA.1996);.the.radioactive.
contamination. associated. with. disposal. of. nuclear. waste. throughout. the.
1950s.and.1960s.in.Lake.Karachay,.the.accidents.that.occurred.in.the.nuclear.
power.plant.at.Chelyabinsk,.USSR,.in.1957,.and.also.the.nuclear.accident.at.
the. Chernobyl. nuclear. plant. in. Ukraine,. 1986. (Williams. 2002);. the. overuse.
and.abuse.of.organochlorine.pesticides.in.the.1950s.and.1960s,.leading.to.the.
signiicant.loss.of.biodiversity,.notably.carnivorous.birds.(Carson.1962);.mer-
cury.poisoning.of.residents.and.their.offspring.in.Minamata.Bay.(a.ishing.
village).in.Japan,.due.to.consumption.of.seafood.containing.very.high.con-
centrations.of.methyl.mercury.during.the.mid-.to.late.1950s.(Walker.2010);.
and.PCB.dumping.(from.discharges.of.paper.mills).in.Hudson.Bay.during.
1954-1971. led. to. the. ban.of. consumption. of. ish. caught. in.the. area. in.1980.
(NYSDEC.2011).
With. the. recent. socioeconomic. development,. both. in. speed. and. scale,. in.
some.developing.countries,.such.as.China,.with.less.stringent.environmental.
regulations,.it.is.evident.that.different.industrial.activities.have.given.rise.to.
tremendous.environmental.degradation.(affecting.air,.water,.and.land).and.
severe. health. problems.. China. contributed. 22%. of. the. global. emissions. of.
greenhouse. gases. (Nersesian. 2010).. Environmental. pollution. has. rendered.
cancer.the.major.cause.of.death.in.30.cities.and.78.counties.in.China,.accord-
ing.to.the.Ministry.of.Health.(China.Daily.2007)..Furthermore,.lead.poison-
ing.is.prevalent.in.China,.with.one-third.of.children.suffering.from.elevated.
blood.lead.levels.(New.York.Times.2011)..This.is.related.to.different.indus-
trial.emissions.containing.lead,.for.example,.manufacturing.of.lead-acid.bat-
teries.for.cars.and.electric.bikes,.and.mining.and.smelting.of.lead.
DeteriorationofEnvironmentalQualityduetoRapid
SocioeconomicDevelopmentinthePearlRiverDelta
Increasing.amounts.of.toxic.chemicals.are.discharged.into.our.environment.
via. different. anthropogenic. activities,. which. impose. adverse. impacts. on.
biota.and.human.beings..This.is.especially.true.in.regions.such.as.the.PRD.in.
South.China,.one.of.the.regions.in.China.that.has.undergone.rapid.industri-
alization.and.urbanization.without.due.regard.for.environmental.protection,.
in.the.past.two.decades..As.a.consequence,.serious.environmental.problems.
have. arisen. including,. (1). Air:. power. plants,. cement. plants,. factories,. and.
vehicles.are.the.major.sources.of.air.pollutants..The.high.demand.for.electric.
power. due. to. export. activities. has. given. rise. to. the. increased. use. of. coal,.
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