Industrial activities/impacts

The Ebro catchment is the largest river basin in Spain. It covers an area of 85,362 km2 (http //www.chebro.es) and receives the potential influence of three million people. It suffers a considerable ecological impact from different industrial activities located predominantly in the last third of its course. These activities result on the release to the Ebro River and to some of its tributaries of Tm quantities of chlorinated organic compounds, PBDE and other brominated flame retardants, mercury, and other metals. In addition, intensive agricultural practices, mainly concentrated in the last 30 km of the river course and in its Delta, imply the use of large quantity of pesticides and fertilizers. In this paper, we review physiological effects of these pollutants in resident fish and shellfish populations and provide a general picture of the health status of the low course of the Ebro River. 

Definition of Research and Development. The major purpose of this research project was to access the impact of environmental protection regulations on R D in the industrial chemical industry. Therefore, it was necessary to identify the industrial chemical industry and to determine what constitutes a "chemical firm." To resolve this problem, the researchers used those firms classified in SIC Codes 2800 to 2899. Further, the industrial chemical industry is oligopolistic in nature consequently, a select group of large companies constitute the bulk of all industry activity. 

The costs of compliance with pollution abatement regulations have been documented in many company, industry, and Government studies. These costs obviously impact on company growth, investment decisions, and allocation of resources among competing company priorities. Such increased costs of company activities impact on technological innovation in several ways. Upgrading of production processes may be postponed. Investments in facilities... 

In the last 23 years remote sensing of atmospheric constituents has established itself as an important research field. Global remote sensing observations are essential to understand the natural processes which determine the global behaviour of the atmosphere and to assess the impact of human activity on the atmosphere. In addition, remote sensing of the atmosphere provides data needed to assess die impact of international agreements designed to limit the environmental impact of industrial activity. 

Tasneem, M.A. (1999) Impact of agricultural and industrial activities on groundwater quality in Kasur area. The Nucleus, Quarterly Journal of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, 36. 

Published data on PCDD/Fs in the environment of the PRD is still limited. A short-term sampling scheme was conducted to determine the levels of particle-bound polychlorinated dibenzo- -dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in Guangzhou atmosphere and evaluate the impact of PCDD/ Fs to inhabitants. Samples were collected from four different districts of Guangzhou. The results showed that industrial activities had more influences on levels of PCDD/Fs in the sampled districts. The mean PCDD/Fs concentrations (i.e., mean I-TEQ values) of Huadu district, Liwan district, Tianhe district and Huangpu district were 3815-26,530 fg m-3 (104.6-769.3 fgl-TEQ m-3). Emission source analysis indicated that small diffuse sources were relatively important (Yu et al., 2006). 

From these inventories and data, it is clear that society is facing an enormous problem of contamination. Many of the polluting compounds that are continuously dispersed are products of industrial activities such as phenols and halogenated phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH s), endocrine disruptive chemicals (EDC), pesticides, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB s), industrial dyes, and other xenobiotics. In this chapter, we critically review the literature information on the enzymatic transformation of these polluting xenobiotics. This work is focused on peroxidases as enzymes able to transform a variety of pollutant compounds with the aim to reduce their toxicity and their environmental impact. 

In Europe, the notion that it may be possible to determine a natural background concentration of a metal at most sites may be unrealistic. Many hundreds of years of industrial activity, urbanization, and widespread aerial deposition mean that it is best to consider background concentrations as those determined at sites of relatively low anthropogenic impact. These concentrations will still vary considerably from site to site due to geological influences. 

In Section 6.2.4, Societal Costs , we learn that societal costs constitute an important element of the costs of environmental impacts from industrial activities, although they often fall outside the private calculation of costs and benefits to a company. This entry gives a perspective on the importance to a company of considering these externalities as a sustainability indicator in both management decision-making and facility design and optimization. 

Various metrics and methods in engineering design are used to evaluate and measure the different aspects of the environmental impact of industrial activities and services. These metrics differ in terms of approach to manage this complex... 

Thermodynamic metrics indicate the resource requirements of industrial activities or services, but usually do not include the specific environmental impacts associated with resource consumption and the export of exogenous material into the environment. Only a few, such as the concept of exergy (available work), attempt to indicate whether the resources consumed were used wisely and efficiently. 

There are both local and regional impacts from acid rain in Asia. For example, damage ofthe historic Taj Mahal in Agra, India, is the result of the atmospheric pollution from local acid rain formed due to local industrial activity. Similarly, in China, acid rain... 

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