Chemical environmental impact

The chemical environmental impacts used here are based on the work of Young (18, 19). The (Score) measures of chemical environmental impacts used in eq 10... 

Garimpo activity causes strong physical and chemical environmental impacts. The physical impacts are more readily apparent (the most common are deforestation, silting-up, degradation of river banks, etc.), while the chemical impacts are often not perceived immediately, endangering the ecosystem and human beings as seriously or even more so. 

Exploration activities are potentially damaging to the environment. The cutting down of trees in preparation for an onshore seismic survey may result in severe soil erosion in years to come. Offshore, fragile ecological systems such as reefs can be permanently damaged by spills of crude or mud chemicals. Responsible companies will therefore carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to activity planning and draw up contingency plans should an accident occur. In Section 4.0 a more detailed description of health, safety and environmental considerations will be provided. 

Uses. Tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol is of interest in chemical and related industries where low toxicity and minimal environmental impact are important (134). For many years tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol has been used as a specialty organic solvent. The fastest growing appHcations are in formulations for cleaners (135) and paint strippers (136), often as a replacement for chlorinated solvents (137). Other major appHcations include formulations for crop sprays, water-based paints, and the dyeing and finishing of textiles and leathers. Tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol also finds appHcation as an intermediate in pharmaceutical appHcations. 

Higher olefins are versatile chemical intermediates for a number of important industrial and consumer products, providing a better standard of living with low environmental impact (qv) in many commercial uses. These uses can be characterized by carbon number and by chemical stmcture. 

Many factors affect the mechanisms and kinetics of sorption and transport processes. For instance, differences in the chemical stmcture and properties, ie, ionizahility, solubiUty in water, vapor pressure, and polarity, between pesticides affect their behavior in the environment through effects on sorption and transport processes. Differences in soil properties, ie, pH and percentage of organic carbon and clay contents, and soil conditions, ie, moisture content and landscape position climatic conditions, ie, temperature, precipitation, and radiation and cultural practices, ie, crop and tillage, can all modify the behavior of the pesticide in soils. Persistence of a pesticide in soil is a consequence of a complex interaction of processes. Because the persistence of a pesticide can govern its availabiUty and efficacy for pest control, as weU as its potential for adverse environmental impacts, knowledge of the basic processes is necessary if the benefits of the pesticide ate to be maximized. 

In earlier editions of the Eniyclopedia there have been articles covering the properties, manufacture, capacities, etc, of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chlorinated naphthalenes, benzene hexachloride, and chlorinated derivatives of cyclopentadiene. These materials are no longer in commercial use because of their toxicity. However, they stiU impact on the chemical industry because of residual environmental problems. Their toxicity and environmental impact are discussed (see Cm.OROCARBONSANDCm.OROHYDROCARBONS, TOXIC aromatics). 

Environmental Impact of Citrates, Information Sheet No. 2030, Pfizer Chemicals Division, New York, 1974. 

QRA can be used to investigate many types of risks associated with chemical process facilities, such as the risk of economic losses or the risk of environmental impact. But, in health and safety applications, the use of QRA can be classified into two categories ... 

Quint, M. et al. (ed.) (1995) Environmental Impact of Chemicals Assessment and Control, Royal Society of Chemistry, London. 

The Chemical Process Industry (CPI) uses various quantitative and qualitative techniques to assess the reliability and risk of process equipment, process systems, and chemical manufacturing operations. These techniques identify the interactions of equipment, systems, and persons that have potentially undesirable consequences. In the case of reliability analyses, the undesirable consequences (e.g., plant shutdown, excessive downtime, or production of off-specification product) are those incidents which reduce system profitability through loss of production and increased maintenance costs. In the case of risk analyses, the primary concerns are human injuries, environmental impacts, and system damage caused by occurrence of fires, explosions, toxic material releases, and related hazards. Quantification of risk in terms of the severity of the consequences and the likelihood of occurrence provides the manager of the system with an important decisionmaking tool. By using the results of a quantitative risk analysis, we are better able to answer such questions as, Which of several candidate systems poses the least risk Are risk reduction modifications necessary and What modifications would be most effective in reducing risk ... 

Over the past decades, advances have been made that reduce environmental impacts of coal burning in large plants. Some arc standard and others experimental. Limestone (mainly calcium carbonate) scrubber smokestacks react with the emitted sulfates from the combustion and contain the chemical products, thereby reducing the release of SO., into the atmosphere by a large factor (of ten or more). Pulverization of coal can also allow for the mechanical separation of some sulfur impurities, notably those in the form of pyrites, prior to combustion. Currently deployed—with more advanced versions in the development stage—are various t yies of fluidized bed reactors, which use coal fuel in a pulverized form, mixed with pulverized limestone or dolomite in a high temperature furnace. This technique reduces sulfate release considerably. There are... 

In this chapter, the agricultural, economic, and environmental impacts of pesticide use in world and U.S. food production are analyzed. In addition, an assessment is made of the potential that substituting nonchemical controls for some pesticide use would have in reducing chemicals and providing adequate pest controls. 

Of major concern are the health and environmental impacts of the abundant chlorinated and brominated hydrocarbons (ref. 2). These materials have numerous industrial applications as pesticides, solvents, propellants, refrigerants, plastics, fire retardants and extinguishers, disinfectants for drinking water, pharmaceuticals and electronic chemicals. Many chemical manufacturers utilize chlorinated and brominated organics as intermediates. It is estimated, for instance, that almost 85 % of the pharmaceuticals produced in the world require chlorine at some stage of synthesis. 

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