Public industrial activities

The last method is simply an appeal to reason. If a QRA indicates that the risk of a member of the public dying because of an industrial activity is very low (e.g., less than one chance in some very large number), then the risk is negligible in comparison to other imposed risks commonly tolerated by our society (e.g., having an airliner crash into your home). However, such comparisons are often misleading because the risk per year does not necessarily reflect the risk per activity or the risk per hour of exposure. 

During the forties and fifties, episodes of severe air pollution occurred In a number of urban and Industrial areas. They were responsible for 111 health and In some cases caused death among the populations concerned. As the scientific and public Information base on the adverse effects of urban air pollution Increased, so did public demand for control measures. As a result, many Industrial countries Introduced comprehensive air pollution control laws at various times from the mid-fifties onwards. Industrial response to these laws led to the application of control techniques which effectively reduced the emissions of some pollutants. However there are other sources and factors which can obscure the benefits of these control actions. For example, consider urban growth. In 1980 there were 35 cities with populations over 4 million. By the year 2000 this number will nearly double to 66, and by the 2025, this number will more than double to an estimated 135 (9). In developing countries, from 1980 to the year 2000, It Is estimated that twice as many people will live In cities of a total population of 1 million or more In Latin America (101 million to 232 million) and East Asia (132 million to 262 million). Three times as many people will live In cities of 1 million or more In South Asia (106 million to 328 million) and four times as many In Africa (36 million to 155 million) (10). Accompanying this rapid growth are Increases In Industrial activity... 

In the Canvey study (King, 1990 Health and Safety Executive, 1978) the potential hazards to the public from the industrial activities in the Canvey Island/Thurrock area of Essex was studied. The study showed that pressure vessels had ten times bigger assumed frequency of catastrophic failures than LPG-pumps. 

Except in the United States of America and New Zealand, where direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription medicines is allowed, companies are not allowed to communicate directly with patients. The Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPl) Code of Practice has been relaxed a little in this area in recent years and companies can now communicate in a very limited fashion with the general public. Clause 20.2 of the Code allows the provision of non-promotional information either in response to a direct enquiry from an individual or via press conferences, press announcements, lectures and media reports, public relations activities and the like. 

On January 25, 2000, die committee referred to in Article 19 of IPPC Directive gave a favorable opinion of a draft Commission Decision on die implementation of a European Pollutant Emission Register. The Commission Decision (2000/479/EC), to be referred to as die EPER Decision, was adopted on July 17, 2000. According to the EPER Decision, member states shall report to the Commission on emissions into ah and water from all individual facilities widi one or more activities as mentioned in Annex I to the IPPC Directive. The provided data will be made publicly accessible and disseminated on the Internet. Specifically, EPER is a publicly accessible register with emission data diat enables the Commission and national governments to monitor the trends in annual emissions of large industrial activities covered by Annex I of the IPPC Directive (Commission Decision, 2000). 

Dust (especially from industrial activities) and salt spray will also exacerbate atmospheric corrosion (Section 16.4). In enclosed industrial premises, atmospheric corrosion could be minimized by preventing noxious emissions, filtering the air to remove particulate matter, and scrubbing the air with water to remove SO2 and other objectionable gases, although the humidity should itself be kept as low as possible (e.g., steam leaks should not be tolerated). On the global scale, however, the cost to the public of atmospheric corrosion could be substantially reduced by sharply limiting SO2 and, to a lesser extent, NO. emissions from power plants, smelters, automobiles, and other industrial functions. This is an aspect of the acid rain threat (Chapter 8) that is usually overlooked. 

Container Location The location of containers at existing commercial and industrial facilities depends on both the location of available space and service-access conditions. In newer facilities, specific service areas have been included for this purpose. Often, because the containers are not owned by the commercial or industrial activity, the locations and types of containers to be used for on-site storage must be worked out jointly between the industry and the public or private collection agency. 

The publication of printed patents has been an important factor in the development of science and industry. Published patents have stimulated technological advances directly and indirectly by revealing information that might otherwise have disappeared. Classified sets of patents are often unique collections of knowledge and may be the only existing good source showing the evolution ot important fields of industrial activity. 

Brief attention is drawn to a number of monomeric compounds that have received less publicity. These are not necessarily directly related to specific industrial activity, but their presence may be revealed by careful analysis of samples from landfills and sediments. In view of their general recalcitrance, their removal during application of conventional procedures is questionable. 

An undetermined amount of secondary exposure of occupational origin is caused to the general public. Occupational exposure to these compounds can be expected in the following industrial activities the agriculture, rubber, and plastics industry the chemical industry manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and hygiene products for consumers metalwork and the assembly of instruments and equipment and dry-cleaning. 

The control of noxious emissions resulting from either the combustion of fossil fuels or from other industrial activities is one of the most immediate and compelling problems faced by nearly every country in the world. Enviromuental problems caused by two sources, automobile exhaust emissions and flue emissions from coal and oil fired power stations, have received much publicity over recent decades. 

Lichens, especially epiphytic lichens, are increasingly used to monitor air pollutants emitted by vehicles and by a wide range of industrial enterprises. Many publications showed that vehicular and industrial activities are the main source of heavy-metal air-pollution. Mosses, lichens, pine needles and tree bark and leaves are widely used to... 

Biodegradable biopolymers (BDP) are an alternative to petroleum-based polymers (traditional plastics). It will be important to find durable plastic substitutes, especially in short-term packaging and disposable applications. The continuously growing public concern concerning this problem has stimulated research interest in biodegradable polymers as alternatives to conventional non-degradable polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, etc. The economic value of renewable raw materials will increase to a significant extent [1] and induce new industrial activities [2,3]. 

Despite the increased world consumption, problems remain in ensuring the availability and affordability of medicines, including those which are essential for treating the majority of common diseases prevailing in low and middle-income countries. The reasons for this are complex. They are not only related to hnancial constraints, but also to the attitudes of key actors in the health sector - a sector which comprises a network of relationships between the government, public and private providers in the health and pharmaceutical sectors, an important volume of industrial activity and the consumer. 

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