Description
Scitus Academics Crisis Management Of Chronic Pollution-Scitus by Dalmiro Martell
Chronic pollution is permanent pollution produced either by repeated or continuous emissions of pollutants, or the presence of determined pollutants. Today, we all acknowledge the significance of pollutants in the air or in water contributing to poor health. Measures of air quality are often reported along with our daily weather, and the impacts of a lack of access to safe drinking water, or of industry discharging pollution into rivers and lakes, are well documented. In many cases, clear links have been drawn between the types and levels of specific contaminants in the air or water, and their health effects. The impacts of pollution on human health must therefore be assessed both for indoor and the broader outdoor environment. Since the industrial revolution of the 19th century, health hazards associated to release of toxic chemicals and heavy metals from manufacturing plants has also become a more serious health issue. However, until recently, the effects of soil pollution on our health have had a much lower profile. Soil contaminants may be responsible for health effects costing millions of dollars, but studies to quantify the true cost are in their infancy. Health problems from cancers (arsenic, asbestos, dioxins), to neurological damage and lower IQ (lead, arsenic), kidney disease (lead, mercury, cadmium), and skeletal and bone diseases (lead, fluoride, cadmium) are serious issues.
Crisis Management of Chronic Pollution gathers all the works that have been carried out over the last decade or more and links them to decision makers’ actions and stakeholders’ scenarios. This text bridges a gap in the literature on chronic pollution. The intention of the text is to bring together researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to focus on development of advanced technologies is a critical component in overcoming the chronic pollution. It highlights emerging technologies and strategies that facilitate safe environment for future generations.
Soil pollution occurs when soil contains chemicals that are toxic or otherwise dangerous for humans and other living things. The chemicals may be foreign to the area, or they may be naturally occurring materials that pollute the soil by being present in dangerously high amounts. Soil pollution can have a number of harmful effects on human health. The harmful effects of soil pollution may come from direct contact with polluted soil or from contact with other resources, such as water, that have come in direct contact with the polluted soil. Heavy metals and persistent organic chemicals are of particular concern. Human activity introduces heavy metals (such as cadmium, arsenic and mercury) to our soils through mining, smelting, industry, agriculture and burning fossil fuels. Our disposal of materials containing heavy metals, such as paint, electronic waste, and sewage also contributes to the burden of heavy metal contamination.