Environmental pollution extent assessment, chemical

Accurate and precise identifications and measurements of specific chemical substances are fundamental to environmental studies and protection programs. Determinations are required to understand natural background concentrations of chemicals in the environment, the nature and extent of environmental pollution by anthropogenic chemicals, trends in concentrations of these substances, the transport and fate of chemical substances, and the causes of variations of concentrations intime and space. Accurate and precise determinations are also required to assess human health and ecological risks caused by exposure to natural and anthropogenic substances, establish air and water quality standards, develop pollution control strategies, evaluate the effectiveness of pollution prevention and treatment technologies, and monitor compliance with and the effectiveness... 

Chemical Monitoring in Assessing the Extent of Environmental Pollution. 190... 

CHEMICAL MONITORING IN ASSESSING THE EXTENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION... 

The impact of chemical pollution on the reproductive success and population sizes of wildlife species is often difficult to assess. In many cases, environmental factors such as habitat restriction, stress due to human intrusion and changes in natural food supplies owing to hunting, fishing and restocking policies may have a significant, even predominant, effect on population size. This makes it difficult to determine to what extent, if any, environmental endocrine disrupters may be contributing to observed effects on reproduction or population size in wildlife species. 

The more difficult thing is to develop models that can, with reasonable confidence, be used to predict ecological effects. A detailed discussion of ecological approaches to risk assessment lies outside the scope of the present text. For further information, readers are referred to Suter (1993) Landis, Moore, and Norton (1998) and Peakall and Fairbrother (1998). One important question, already touched upon in this account, is to what extent biomarker assays can contribute to the risk assessment of environmental chemicals. The possible use of biomarkers for the assessment of chronic pollution and in regulatory toxicology is discussed by Handy, Galloway, and Depledge (2003). 

The report examines the extent of environmental damage in the Community and in certain other European countries that may be attributable to acid pollutant emissions within Member States. The study assesses the evidence for possible causal effects and considers the physical chemical and biological processes which have been suggested as damage mechanisms. 

These considerations of the general behaviour of metals in aquatic and soil systems should be used to assess and control accumulation and mobilisation processes of trace metal ions. To evaluate the environmental impact of mining activities with regard to chemical contaminants, the following main steps of geochemical activities are recommended (1) estimate the extent of the local and regional contamination, (2) quantify the sources of heavy metals, chlorides, sulphates and thus the total acidity and salinity, as well as other contaminants and (3) define and control major sources, i.e. waste rock heaps, tailings, waste dumps and air pollution, etc. 

---