Environmental issues Terms Links

It is probably true to say that the term environmental chemistry has no precise definition. It means different things to different people. We are not about to offer a new definition. It is clear that environmental chemists are playing their part in the big environmental issues—stratospheric ozone (C) () depletion, global warming and the like. Similarly, the role of environmental chemistry in regional-scale and local problems—for example, the effects of acid rain or contamination of water resources—is well established. This brief discussion illustrates the clear link in our minds between environmental chemistry and human beings. For many people, environmental chemistry is implicitly linked to pollution . We hope this book demonstrates that such a view is limited and shows that environmental chemistry has a much wider scope. 

LCI, where the system is quantified in a strict format of linked processes. Each process is described in terms of the physical inputs and outputs, both economic (raw materials, materials, products) and environmental (extractions from and emissions to the environment). Out of the total, an ecological profile is compiled listing and adding up all extractions and emissions of the system. An important methodological issue is allocation how to deal with multi-output processes This issue is especially important when dealing with waste management processes and will be dealt with below. 

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