A Poison Like No Other : How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies by
"Informed, utterly blindsiding account." - Booklist, starred review It's falling from the sky and in the air we breathe. It's in our food, our clothes, and our homes. It's microplastic and it's everywhere--including our own bodies. Scientists are just beginning to discover how these tiny particles threaten health, but the studies are alarming. In A Poison Like No Other, Matt Simon reveals a whole new dimension to the plastic crisis, one even more disturbing than plastic bottles washing up on shores and grocery bags dumped in landfills. Dealing with discarded plastic is bad enough, but when it starts to break down, the real trouble begins. The very thing that makes plastic so useful and ubiquitous - its toughness - means it never really goes away. It just gets smaller and smaller: eventually small enough to enter your lungs or be absorbed by crops or penetrate a fish's muscle tissue before it becomes dinner. Unlike other pollutants that are single elements or simple chemical compounds, microplastics represent a cocktail of toxicity: plastics contain at least 10,000 different chemicals. Those chemicals are linked to diseases from diabetes to hormone disruption to cancers. A Poison Like No Other is the first book to fully explore this new dimension of the plastic crisis, following the intrepid scientists who travel to the ends of the earth and the bottom of the ocean to understand the consequences of our dependence on plastic. As Simon learns from these researchers, there is no easy fix. But we will never curb our plastic addiction until we begin to recognize the invisible particles all around us.
Land Use and Water Quality: the Impacts of Diffuse Pollution by
The influence of landscapes - topography, soil, vegetation, geology - on water quality is an inherent part of the global water cycle. Land use has adverse impacts for example when soils are exposed, significant quantities of pollutants are released (including anthropogenic materials added to those naturally present), or pollutants are added directly to the water environment. Those impacts range from industrial development to farming and urbanisation. Whilst inefficient polluting industrial effluents are still tolerated in some countries, and poorly treated sewage globally remains a huge challenge for sanitation and public health, as well as the water environment, diffuse pollution is relatively poorly recognised or understood. The operator of a sewage or trade effluent treatment plant is consciously discharging effluent to the local river. But a farmer is simply growing crops or farming livestock, a city commuter driving to work is unlikely to be thinking how brake pad wear has released copper to the water (and air) environment and hydrocarbons and particulates too; no one is intending to cause pollution of the water environment. The same applies to industrial chemists creating fire-proofing chemicals, solvents, fertilisers, pesticides, cosmetics and many more substances which contaminate the environment. Understanding and ultimately minimising diffuse pollution is in that sense the science of unintended consequences. And the consequences can be severe, for water resources and ecosystems. It's a global problem.This book comprises 18 papers from experts around the globe, presenting evidence from tropical as well as temperate regions, and rural as well as urban land use challenges. The book explores the nature of diffuse pollution and exemplifies the issues at various scales, from high-level national overviews to particular catchment and pollutant issues.By contrast, natural or semi-natural forest cover has long been recognised as safeguarding water quality in reservoirs (examples from Australia to Thailand and UK). The final chapter looks at how landscapes generally, can be designed to minimise pollution risks from particular land-uses, arguing for a more widespread catchment approach to water-aware landscape design, allied with flood risk resilience, place-making for people, and biodiversity opportunities too.
Running Dry : The Global Water Crisis by
As the planet's human population explodes, so does the demand for water. About one out of every nine people in the world does not have access to safe drinking water, while one out of every five--almost 1.5 billion humans--lives in a region where water demand is outstripping supply. But as demand grows, supplies do not. Climate change has led to severe drought, flooding, and massive storms in key agricultural areas of the world. Industrial and agricultural water pollution threatens public health around the world. Environmental protection measures are not keeping up with energy-production technologies such as fracking and the corn-for-fuel market, all of which affect water usage rates and safety. Both developed and undeveloped areas of the world face challenges with water-delivery infrastructure. For example, undeveloped nations lack even the most basic water-delivery systems. Millions of global citizens are without sanitation altogether, polluting waterways with raw sewage. In the developed world, water-delivery infrastructures are aging and wasteful. Domestic and industrial overconsumption of water resources draws down supply capacity, depleting Earth's freshwater resources at an alarming rate. And, in the last few decades, private corporations have begun to take over municipal water delivery, buying the rights to freshwater supplies and selling bottled water, all for large profits. As the cost of clean water rises, many people can't afford the water they need for everyday use. Competition for clean water is increasing, and the stakes couldn't be higher. Running Dry investigates some tough questions. In a crowded world with limited water supplies, will we be able to deliver safe, clean water to an increasingly thirsty world? Can governments, businesses, and individuals work together to clean up and protect Earth's water resources? Are water conservation strategies enough to ensure a water-rich future? Or will we run dry?
Where Is the Value in the Chain? : Pathways Out of Plastic Pollution by
Where Is the Value in the Chain? Pathways out of Plastic Pollution aims to support policy makers in their efforts to address plastic pollution. By examining the economic and financial implications of plastic management, the report provides key recommendations on how to create a comprehensive approach to addressing plastic pollution and to help policy makers make informed decisions for plastic pollution management.The report brings together new evidence from three analytical undertakings:* Tackling Plastic Pollution: Toward Experience-Based Policy Guidance--A review of existing literature and a summary of findings from the ex post analysis of the effectiveness of plastics policies in 10 countries and states and an evidence-based policy guidance aimed at policy makers and stakeholders involved in design, implementation, and evaluation of policies to manage plastic pollution.* The Plastic Substitution Tradeoff Estimator (the Estimator)--An innovative model that estimates the external costs of 10 plastic products and their alternatives along their entire life cycle, developed and piloted in five countries. The Estimator can be applied in any country to identify what substitution materials, or what combination of them, would perform best in a given scenario and to examine tradeoffs between plastics and alternatives to help establish targets for reduction and substitution.* The Plastic Policy Simulator (PPS)--A country-level, data-driven model for policy analysis to better describe the impacts of different policy instruments and policy packages on individual economic agents and on the plastic value chain at large. The PPS has been developed as a universal model and piloted in Indonesia. Its objective is to support policy makers and others in government, industry, and civil society in search of policy solutions to stem the flow of plastics by bringing an evidence-based approach to policy
Thicker Than Water : The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis by
Much of what you've heard about plastic pollution may be wrong. Instead of a great island of trash, the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of manmade debris spread over hundreds of miles of sea--more like a soup than a floating garbage dump. Recycling is more complicated than we were taught: less than nine percent of the plastic we create is reused, and the majority ends up in the ocean. And plastic pollution isn't confined to the open ocean: it's in much of the air we breathe and the food we eat. In Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis, journalist Erica Cirino brings readers on a globe-hopping journey to meet the scientists and activists telling the real story of the plastic crisis. From the deck of a plastic-hunting sailboat with a disabled engine, to the labs doing cutting-edge research on microplastics and the chemicals we ingest, Cirino paints a full picture of how plastic pollution is threatening wildlife and human health. Thicker Than Water reveals that the plastic crisis is also a tale of environmental injustice, as poorer nations take in a larger share of the world's trash, and manufacturing chemicals threaten predominantly Black and low-income communities. There is some hope on the horizon, with new laws banning single-use items and technological innovations to replace plastic in our lives. But Cirino shows that we can only fix the problem if we face its full scope and begin to repair our throwaway culture. Thicker Than Water is an eloquent call to reexamine the systems churning out waves of plastic waste.
Fukushima Nuclear Accident : Global Implications, Long-Term Health Effects and Ecological Consequences by
Radiological environmental impact assessment models are important tools to ensure protection of the public and the environment. The IAEA has an ongoing programme to improve capabilities in this area by model testing and comparison, reaching consensus on modelling philosophies, approaches and parameter values. This publication describes and summarizes the findings of Working Group 9 carried out during the IAEA EMRAS II (Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety) programme. The results presented draw on international model validation exercises conducted to test and improve the predictive ability of models used for the assessment of radioactive contamination in urban settings, including dispersion and deposition events, short and long term contaminant redistribution following deposition events, and the effectiveness of potential countermeasures (protective actions, including remedial actions) for reducing human exposures.
Oil Pollution and Marine Ecology by
Oil Pollution and Marine Ecology evaluates various aspects ofmarine ecology and oil pollution related to it impacting thisecology in an adverse manner. It includes the extensive descriptionon marine oil pollution, marine ecology diversity andvarious institutional framework of oil pollution on marine ecology.Provide the reader with the insights into the developmentof various pollutants polluting the marine ecosystem, so as tounderstand that how environment is getting impacted due tosuch processes and what frameworks should be adopted to get rid of all such activities.
Plastic Legacies : Pollution, Persistence, and Politics by
There is virtually nowhere on Earth today that remains untouched by plastic and ecosystems are evolving to adapt to this new context. While plastics have revolutionized our modern world, new and often unforeseen effects of plastic and its production are continually being discovered. Plastics are entangled in multiple ecological and social crises, from the plasticization of the oceans to the embeddedness of plastics in political hierarchies The complexities surrounding the global plastic crisis require an interdisciplinary approach and the materialities of plastic demand new temporalities of thought and action. Plastic Legacies brings together scholars from the fields of marine biology, psychology, anthropology, environmental studies, Indigenous studies, and media studies to investigate and address the urgent socio-ecological challenges brought about by plastics. Contributors consider the unpredictable nature of plastics and weigh actionable solutions and mitigation processes against the ever-changing situation. Moving beyond policy changes, this volume offers a critique of neoliberal approaches to tackling the plastics crisis and explores how politics and communicative action are key to implementing social, cultural, and economic change.
Noise Pollution in Urban and Industrial Environments by
Urban and industrial noise pollution is present in virtually every country in the world. Noise pollution studies are therefore needed to find solutions to improve the quality of life in cities. This book contains eighteen chapters that address the problem of noise in urban and industrial environments. One of the chapters evaluates how noise is perceived by the residents of three cities with different population densities, and a methodology is presented for the assessment of road traffic noise in one of these cities, using noise maps. Noise pollution is also evaluated on a university campus and at leisure locations such as public parks. Industrial noise is discussed in two chapters, and solutions are proposed to reduce the noise levels that reach communities located in the proximities of a metal working plant and a paper mill. One of the chapters focuses on technical standards and noise assessment regulations. Another proposes a methodology aided by three-dimensional acoustic mapping to design the sound insulation of building facades. The problems caused by rail traffic noise and aircraft noise levels are discussed in two other chapters, based on measured sound pressure levels, interviews and noise maps. A prediction matrix for the assessment of traffic-related noise pollution is presented in another chapter. This matrix, which is based on noise prediction maps, allows for the qualification and quantification of the global impact of environmental noise resulting from the implementation of a road construction project and its operation. The last chapter in this book focuses on a unique problem that most people are rarely aware of; this problem is the effects of traffic noise on the acoustic signals emitted by birds in an urban environment. The analyses discussed in this book are based on field measurements of sound pressure levels and computer calculations of noise maps. Noise mapping is a highly effective technique to visualise the problem of noise in large urban centers and noise generated by manufacturing plants. This technique facilitates the search for answers to the problem of noise pollution and is helpful for comparing solutions, enabling one to select the most effective and economically feasible solution. Several case studies are described throughout the book. These are examples of real cases, which were used to assess the quality of urban and industrial environments. Based on measurements, noise maps are calculated to show the current status of noise pollution. Subsequent analyses based on noise mapping simulations indicate the urban and industrial noise abatement measures recommended for the cases in question. The target audience of this book includes undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professionals working in the areas of environmental management of cities, of factories, in architecture, urban design, in environmental, mechanical and civil engineering, urban planning, and health care professional planning.
Air Pollution: Effects and Dangers by
Air pollution from anthropogenic sources has been and continues to be considered a serious environmental problem affecting public health. Its seriousness lies in the fact that it raises the level of pollutants in places where their impact on human health is most likely. Therefore, air pollution is a major threat to public health worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) over two million premature deaths per year are attributable to the effects of outdoor and indoor air pollution. More than half of this burden of disease is borne by populations in developing countries. Epidemiological studies in several countries have shown that chronic exposure to traffic-related pollutants and chemicals and petrochemicals, such as particulate matter (PM), metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with PM, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and inorganic gases (SO2, NOx, O3) produce adverse effects on development and affect lung function; along with an increase in respiratory diseases, often expressed in terms of diagnosed asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cardiovascular effects and increased mortality. For all this, it is important to characterise and quantify air pollution and to recognize and assess the associated health effects, and different tools can be used individually or together. These tools are presented in this book, initially in introductory form (Chapters 1 to 3) and then in applied form in different case studies (Chapters 4 to 10) for the assessment of air pollution and associated risk.
Soil Pollution: Sources, Management Strategies and Health Effects by
Soil pollution receives less attention when compared to air pollution and water pollution. However, soil pollution is grabbing more attention nowadays. Undoubtedly, soil is an indispensable environmental matrix for the growth of any terrestrial plants. Nevertheless, the rapid growth rate of population expansion and urbanization exceeds the sustainability and recovery capability of the ecosystem. This has virtually resulted in soil pollution. The sources of soil pollution can come from various point and non-point sources. Of the obvious and commonest ones are domestic wastes, untreated or insufficient treatment of industrial discharges, husbandry wastes and agricultural uses of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. The purpose of this book is to provide the latest, if not the complete, updated information regarding the soil pollution from three main perspectives, namely, sources, health effects and management strategies in the agricultural and urban areas. The intended readers of this book include academicians, policy-makers, university students, teachers and researchers. This book contains eleven chapters. All chapters in this book consist of sources of pollutants (heavy metal monitoring) (Chapters One, Three, Six, Seven, Eight, Ten and Eleven), the application of the monitoring data for the human health risk assessment (Chapters One, Four, Five and Nine), and lastly, management strategies for the polluted soils (Chapters Two, Ten and Eleven). This book presents a thorough compilation of existing information on soil heavy metal pollution in the form of critical review papers (Chapters One, Two, Ten and Eleven) as well as original research papers (Chapters Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight and Nine). The invitation of prominent scientists from Japan such as Prof. Hideo Okamura (Kobe University, Japan), Prof. Hiroya Harino (Kobe College, Japan), Dr. Ye Feng and Dr. Muzembo Basilua Andre (both from the National Institute of Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba, Japan), Prof. Alireza Riyahi Bakhtiari (Tarbiat Modares University, Iran), and Dr. Salman Abdo Al-Shami (University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia), who co-authored some of the chapters have helped to improve the quality of the chapters in this book. Additionally, chapters from Prof. Chen-Feng You from the National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan), Prof. Monica Butnariu from Banats University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (Romania) and Dr. Nadi Awad Al-Harbi from Tabuk University (Saudi Arabia) are also important elements in the construction of international readership for this book.
Wastewater and Water Contamination : Sources, Assessment and Remediation by
In this compilation, the authors open with an address of alternative advanced technologies that effectively meet the desired level of removal of recalcitrant contaminants from water. They discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different state of the art technologies, assess the need for further development, as well as estimate the potential for large scale applications based on technological advancement and availability. Next, the book delves into the origin of chitin, which can be traced back to 1811 when it was first discovered in mushrooms by Henri Braconnot while he was Professor of Natural History and Director of the Botanical Gardens at the Academy of Science in France. Twenty years later, chitin was isolated in insects. In 1878, Ledderhose determined that chitin was constructed of glucosamine and acetic acid. The subsequent chapter presents results of an experiment analyzing the concentration of dissolved substances as a major factor that determines the efficiency of membrane separation for wastewater treatment. The results show that selectivity of different types of semi-permeable membranes in a wide range of concentrations can be predicted with sufficient accuracy. Another paper deals with aerobic treatment, i.e. the activated sludge method and the anaerobic process. Activated sludge is the most widely used method to bring about stabilization in wastewater having organic matter constituents. The possibilities of function are analysed in this sludge system, and a short outline is given about the humans plans in the future with connection of the biological waste water treatment. The closing paper discusses the treatment of wastewater from surfactants, as its application has increased markedly both in everyday life and in many industrial branches. Water containing surfactants is fatal for the environment and has a toxic impact on the human body, causing cancerogenic, mutagenic and allergenic effects. Thus, there is a great need for reliable water treatment in chemically developed countries.