Assessment of the Polluted Area

Soil is a very complex mixture of components of geogenic or anthropogenic origin. The geogenic heavy metal content is determined by the material from which the soil is formed, the process of soil formation, and subsequent transport processes. Heavy metals are also contributed by human activities. 

The extent of anthropogenic pollution can be assessed by means of index and limit values which are often fixed officially. A comparison between the index values of the KLOKE or Dutch lists (Tab. 9-11) and the pollutant values estimated by kriging enables the following conclusions to be drawn  

An assessment of the polluted area was performed on the basis of the kriging estimates. The results are presented in Tab. 9-10 and illustrated as isolines with the B value according to the Dutch list for the element Cd and both the B and the C values for the element Pb (Fig. 9-22 b and c).  

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The univariate treatment of the results from investigation of the surroundings of a large metallurgical factory enables first conclusions to be drawn on the heavy metal pollution. But the high environmentally derived variability of the spatial distribution of pollutants strongly limits quantitative assessment of the polluted area. 

A first assessment of the polluted area is possible on the basis of a relatively small number of samples. The pollution maxima can be resolved in more detail by means of a second sampling process if it is required or necessary. 

The following references will help you develop techniques for applying pollution prevention audits. Use the examples in Chapter 2 as a basis to tailor audit questions and to focus on areas of opportunities. Finally, Chapter 8 will help you in developing the tools needed to assess the financial attractiveness of the pollution prevention opportunities you identify. 

In densely populated areas, traffic is responsible for massive exhausts of nitrous oxides, soot, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide. Traffic emissions also markedly contribute to the formation of ozone in the lower parts of the atmosphere. In large cities, fine particle exposure causes excess mortality which varies between one and five percent in the general population. Contamination of the ground water reservoirs with organic solvents has caused concern in many countries due to the persistent nature of the pollution. A total exposure assessment that takes into consideration all exposures via all routes is a relatively new concept, the significance of which is rapidly increasing. 

The concept of OH reactivity has been applied to give a first-cut assessment of the contribution of various individual organics and sources to photochemical oxidant formation in a number of situations. For example, Chameides et al. (1992) scaled the contribution of various VOC concentrations in a variety of atmospheres from remote to polluted urban areas using OH reactivity. They concluded that while NOx concentrations decreased from polluted urban areas to rural to remote regions, the total VOC reactivity assessed in this manner was comparable at all continental areas from remote to polluted. 

Estimation of loaded areas and contamination map-making Application of geostatis-tical methods (see Sections 4.4 and 9.4) for the assessment of the area and the degree of pollution. 

This result shows that application of MVDA gives a good possibility of objective assessment and differentiation of differently polluted areas. The characterization of load-... 

The number of samples which must be taken in an area which is to be investigated to record the properties of interest without loss of information is still an interesting question. In other words how many samples are necessary for representative assessment of the state of pollution A method for the determination of the minimum number of samples is suggested below. For that purpose the advantages of the kriging method are used. 

The above-described procedure was performed for the element iron. The results are demonstrated in Fig. 9-23. The investigated area can be representatively described by 45 sampling points. This means the number of samples taken was sufficient for representative assessment of iron pollution. Frequent measurements in the future, for instance to investigate temporal changes of the soil pollution, can be performed on the basis of this minimum number of samples. 

Fluman impact assessments of the effects of chemical exposures through food, personal care products, drinking water, or air have traditionally focused on single substances. Yet, detrimental human health effects due to individual environmental pollutants have normally not been demonstrated at exposure levels encountered in industrialized societies. While it may be artificial to reduce human impact assessments to single chemicals, there are indications that combinations of chemicals may play a cumulative role. Recent findings from the area of endocrine disruptors may illustrate the point. 

As the available space does not permit to show all the analyzed components and parameters of the nine cores in figures, the vertical patterns of selected heavy metals and organic pollutants are demonstrated by one example (core No. 257 350 from the Gotland Basin). Later on, we will compare the selected parameters in the different cores (areas) and finally come to an inventory estimation and assessment of the results. 

IChemE metrics of sustainability consist of 49 indicators classified into three main categories economic, environmental and social. The environmental indicators within the IChemE metrics are similar to those in the CWRT metrics. However, there are some differences. The IChemE metrics include the area of land as an environmental indicator. The actual indicators are (i) the sum of directly occupied and affected land per value added and (ii) the rate of land restoration. Other differences relate to the assessment of the relative impacts of pollutants on the environment and human health. The IChemE indicators do not take into account the life-time of chemicals in various media of the environment. The human health indicator is limited to carcinogenic effects and is normalized to benzene. 

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