Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 1.4
Classification of Environmental Pollution Events
Local impact
Global impact
Short
term
Eutrophication of lakes due to
fertilizer pollution
Oil or chemical spills during
ocean transport of materials
Deterioration of indoor air
quality by VOC
a
Nuclear fallout or the release of
active or waste nuclear material
into air or sea
Strip mining for metal ore
releasing aerosols
Accidental release of genetically
modified cultivars or animal
species into the environment
Destruction of coral reefs by
fishing
Discharge of organic Hg into the
Minamata Bay (Japan) leading
to neurological disease
Long
term
Stratospheric ozone depletion
resulting in increased solar UV-B
radiation at the ground level
Overfishing resulting in the
depletion of preferred fish
stocks
Global warming and climate
change
Deforestation and loss of
biodiversity
Mercury pollution of air and water
from coal-powered plants
a
Volatile organic compounds.
Local effects as well as the effectiveness of remedial strategies implemented
are fairly easy to monitor and validate. For instance, when 700 oil wells in
Kuwait were set ablaze by the retreating Iraqi forces in 1991, it spawned
a severe local short-term environmental catastrophe. But the extent of
damage and the success of control measure used by the fire control teams
could be easily monitored. The same was not true of long-term effects of
mercurywastebeingdumpedintoMinamataBayinJapan;themoreserious
impacts occurred in the future, while there was no immediate recognition of
a threat to local community.
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Despite any classification adopted for convenience of the discussion, it is
still a single interconnected global environment that needs to be protected.
Pollution reduction that entails the removal of a pollutant from one part
