Pollution attitudes

Ancient Silver Smelters Polluted the Hemisphere", The Record, Sept. 23, 1994, p. A-23 and P. Brimblecombe, "Attitudes and Responses Towards Air Pollution in Medieval England," H/rPo// Contr. Assoc. (Oct. 1976). 

Make no mistake about it - air pollution abatement, especially based upon end-of-pipe treatment technologies is expensive. Not too long ago the prevailing attitude among industry stakeholders was that air pollution control was simply a part of the cost of doing business, and that add-on costs associated with compliance simply had to be passed on to the consumer s purchase price for products. With the intensity of international competition in the chemical and allied industries, this philosophy simply does not cut it anymore. 

Biodegradable polymers are likely to be increasingly important materials in the future, finding use in applications as diverse as medicine, agriculture, and pharmacy. For applications such as packaging, they remain expensive. However, with changing public attitudes towards enviromnental pollution, it is likely that objections based purely on cost will dimiiush, and that such applications will also grow in the years ahead. 

The attitude of alternative agriculture movements to irrigation ranges from outright refusal not to alter natural conditions , to prohibition of using plastic pipes, maybe in the belief that metal or asbestos-cement pipes are less polluting, to reject of re-using treated domestic wastewaters, to acceptance, in a more realistic mood. 

The decade of the 1970 s has seen mushrooming growth in concern for environmental health and the broader issues of the natural environment. This attitude is reflected in much legislation. Following incidents involving chemical pollutants, and recognition of chemical hazards and potential impacts of toxic substances, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was added to prior law. Objectives of TSCA and its impacts on the chemical industry are addressed elsewhere within this symposium. The present paper addresses education to meet the mandates of TSCA. 

At the beginning of the twenty-first century new threats to human well being have emerged, which stem from terrorist activities. Potential use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare (CBRN) in terrorist events is considered to be very likely, and on a small scale it has already been used in the past. CBRN threat however is not limited to malicious intentions and can be caused by a careless attitude towards the use of technology and equipment, breach of safety rules, or triggered by natural disasters or environmental pollution. 

Gore s attitudes toward biotechnology are consistent with his views of science generally, which he presents in Earth in the Balance,3 Throughout the book, he employs the damning comparison that those who believe in technological advances are as sinister, and polluters are as evil, as the perpetrators of the World 5... 

Pathway 2 actions recognize that, with current technology and societal attitudes coupled with economic factors, a considerable amount of pollution must be accepted. Actions along this pathway, however, can reduce the amount of wastes produced and hence resulting pollution. 

Generally, the analysis of environmental pollutants is considered as a necessary expense that is performed solely if stated by law. With less expensive screening methods and automated modern equipment to analyze suspect samples, the cost of analysis will become much lower. Hence, the attitude towards QA would most probably be more positive and the analytical work much more reliable for the customers. This also strengthens the international competitiveness of European producers. The credibility of the entire monitoring chain (screening methods, reference and standardized methods, as well as CRMs for the quality control of these methods) lies in the adequacy and integration of all three levels of the system. The adequate development and validation of methods is a prerequisite for a harmonized measurement system [80]. 

Our denial of the truth of what is issuing from the pharmaceutical and chemical companies will perhaps bury our race for not only are they sucking the health out of people but they are polluting the environment to the point where the ice will melt and the temperatures will sore. Denial is the principle weapon of evil and is essentially the attitude that takes us away from life. On all levels denial works powerfully in our minds and the cost is usually high in personal terms but in social terms it spells disaster. There have already been many revelations and scandals about the darker side of medical science that should have seriously damaged our trust in scientists and government institutions. It is my hope that the information provided herein will destroy all trust and... 

Techniques that may be used in making decisions lelated to pollution control aie briefly discussed. A hierarchy of objectives is a convenient way to structure the problem. The decision analysis includes valuation of effects which will depend on social values and attitudes in the society. The uncertainties in several steps of the analysis will normally be considerable the mryor uncertainty is often in the dose-response relationships. The use of expert panels to obtain such relationships is discussed. Finally an ongoing study of costs and benefits of control options for ait pollution in Oslo is used as an illustration. 

Recent polls in the United Kingdom show that only 22 percent of the UK public has a favorable attitude to the chemical industry. The main reason is concern over environmental pollution. However, issues of social accountability are also growing in importance, specifically perceived secrecy, profit orientation, and bad publicity (Worcester, 1999). 

As a rule, point-source pollution sites are easily identified (large chemical plants, sewage treatment, military bases, etc.) and can be dealt with more or less satisfactorily by means of regulation and/or public pressure. In contrast, non-point-source pollution (homes, restaurants, dry cleaning establishments, etc.) are far more numerous, widely distributed, and therefore more difficult to identify and regulate. It is particularly important that these smaller sources of pollution adopt the desired pollution prevention attitude. Small colleges are one example of an intermediate source of pollution in which several departments and offices on campus may use, store, and dispose of pollutants quite independently of one another. 

The most stringent air pollution control standards have been set for Japan and West Germany. Their standards are much more stringent than in the U.S. Many persons questioned the health justification for the standards. Other European Federal environmental agencies have carefully viewed the standards and have either accepted the particulate but rejected the tight gaseous (HC1, HF) control or have adopted a wait and see attitude. 

Attitude of the government to control industrial pollution through legislations, incentives, and penalties... 

The presence of the pressure groups has made some companies nervous about issuing CERs, which depending on the attitude of the company could require it to reveal all. In this respect, FOE UK has established a name-and-shame website where it amasses all the information it can find on emissions, incidents and non-compliance on a company-by-company basis. It is claimed that the FOE website receives many more visits than the Environment Agency, responsible for policing pollution. On the other hand, some proactive companies have seen fit to cooperate with the pressure groups rather than face confrontation. 

Present evaluation of the public health aspects of air pollution should give consideration to a change in the attitude of the public in this regard. The repercussions of the Gauley Tunnel episode on silicosis probably will be dwarfed by the effects of Donora on air pollution. 

The next step in the pesticide debate—and a turning point in public attitudes toward chemical pollution—came in 1962 with the publication of... 

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