Table Of ContentPreface
This volume is the third edition of the book entitled "Principles of Environmental
Science and Technology". The revised title reflects the enormous changes in the
abatement of pollution which have taken place from 1988 to 2000. Environmental
technology was the dominant tool in pollution abatement in the seventies and most
of the eighties. Environmental science and environmental technology worked hand
in hand to determine a concentration, translate it into an effect, discuss the
acceptable effect level and find a suitable environmental technology which could
provide this lower level by treatment of the point sources of the pollutant.
Three major developments have changed this strategy. Firstly, non-point
sources were shown about 20 years ago to be as important as point sources.
Another technology, ecotechnology, is therefore needed to cope with this problem,
as the end-of-the-pipeline technology obviously cannot solve a problem associated
with diffuse pollution. Secondly, it has been acknowledged that it is often less costly
to change the production system to reduce emissions than to solve the problem by
environmental technology, after the emissions have taken place. This development
has been caused by the introduction of green tax and the growing importance of
green products and production methods also for subcontractors. Thirdly, the
procedure for a stepwise clear quantification of the pollution problem has found a
concrete form as "environmental risk assessment" (ERA) along the same lines as
environmental impact assessment which was introduced more than 02 years ago.
Due to our increased knowledge about the environmentally important properties of
more and more chemical compounds, and to a very clear ERA procedure, it is -
although with some uncertainty - possible today to classify most compounds in a
black (high risk), grey (maybe there is a risk) or white (no risk) zone.
These new tools, ecotechnology, cleaner technology, life cycle analysis and
environmental risk assessment have changed environmental management strategy
radically. Obviously, it is much more difficult to find a proper solution as the
spectrum of possibilities is much wider. A more careful and detailed analysis is
therefore required before a decision can be taken. Environmental management is
getting even more multidisciplinary, as reflected in this volume, which touches on
the above mentioned 4-5 different technologies, in addition to the use of basic
scientific principles, ecology, ecotoxicology and environmental chemistry.
The second edition has more than 600 pages. It has therefore not been
possible just to add the number of pages covering the new approaches. The
environmental technology chapters have been reduced in size to give room for the
new topics. Environmental technology has not changed radically during the last two
decades - no new basic methods have been developed, but as a growing tree
environmental technology has got new branches, i.e., many more modifications of
the same basic methods. These new variants should not be forgotten as they
sometimes offer new and promising solutions to several pollution problems. It has
been attempted, to a certain extent, to mention some of these new variants of
environmental technology, but it is recommended to examine all possible variants of
environmental technology carefully in case these methods should be included in
the overall environmental management solution. This is particularly the case when
solutions to industrial waste water are discussed. Industrial waste water varies from
case to case which makes it almost impossible to indicate a general solution.
This volume attempts to give an overview of all tools available today to abate
thepollution problems and to give the basic considerations to be applied in selection
of the most appropriate environmental management strategy. It is a very ambitious
goal due to the high complexity of the problem and the wide spectrum of
possibilities. It is my hope that I have been able to meet these objectives or at least
give the readers an idea about the complexity of the problem and the number of
possible solution models.
Ib Johnsen, Claus Lindegaard and Lars Kamp Nielsen have all given very
useful inputs to the volume, as they have provided me with text coveting important
topics in air pollution and limnology.
The present work reflects the input of many colleagues, Bent Halling
Sorensen, Soren Nors Nielsen, John Kryger and Hans Schroder, to whom I express
my most sincere thanks. Students from the Danish Agriculture University in
Copenhagen contributed to the book by raising interesting questions and pointing
out weaknesses in the first preliminary version of this text. The assistance of my son,
Morten Vejlgaard Jorgensen, was of great value in producing many of the drawings
in computer format.
Sven Erik Jorgensen
Copenhagen .13 January 2000
iv
1. Introduction
1.1 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
When the first green wave appeared in the mid and late sixties, it was considered a feasible
task to solve the pollution problems. The visible problems were mostly limited to point
sources and a comprehensive "end of the pipe technology" (= environmental technology)
was available. It was even seriously discussed in the U.S. that what was called "zero
discharge" could be attained by 1985.
It became clear in the early seventies that zero discharge would be too expensive, and
that we should also rely on the self purification ability of ecosystems. That called for the
development of environmental and ecological models to assess the self purification capacity
of ecosystems and to set up emission standards considering the relationship between impacts
and effects in the ecosystems. This idea is illustrated in Figure 1.1. A model is used to relate
an emission to its effect on the ecosystem and its components. The relationship is applied to
select a good solution to the environmental problems by application of environmental
technology.
Meanwhile, it has been disclosed that what we could call the environmental crisis si
much more complex than we initially thought. We could for instance remove heavy metals
from waste water, but where should we dispose the sludge containing the heavy metals?
Resource management pointed towards recycling to replace removal. Non-point sources of
toxic substances and nutrients, chiefly originating from agriculture, emerged as new
threatening environmental problems in the late seventies. The focus on global
environmental problems such as the greenhouse effect and the decomposition of the ozone
layer added to the complexity. It was revealed that we use as much as about 100,000
chemicals which may threaten the environment due to their more or less toxic effects on
plants, animals, humans and entire ecosystems. In most industrialised countries
comprehensive environmental legislation was introduced to regulate the wide spectrum of
different pollution sources. Trillions of dollars have been invested in pollution abatement on
a global scale, but it seems that two or more new problems emerge for each problem that
we solve. Our society seems not geared to environmental problems or is there perhaps
another explanation?
Recently, standards for environmental management in industries and green
accounting have been introduced. The most widely applied standards today for industrial
environmental management are the ISO 14000-series. These initiatives attempt to analyse
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2 Principles of Pollution Abatement
our production systems to find new ways and methods to make our production more
environmentally friendly. More than 001 countries have backed up the international
standards for effective management of environmental impacts.
Figure 1.1. The strategy applied in environmental management in the early seventies is
illustrated. An ecological model is used to relate an emission to its effect on the ecosystem
and its components. The relationship is applied to select a good solution to the
environmental problems by application of environmental technology.
The goal of ISO 14000 is to evolve a series of generic standards that provide
management with a structured mechanism to measure and manage environmental risks and
impacts. Standards have been or are being developed for:
.1 Environmental management systems (ISO 14001-14004)
.2 Environmental auditing (ISO )31041-01041
.3 Internal reviews (ISO 14014)
.4 Environmental site assessments (ISO 14015)
.5 Evaluation of environmental performance (ISO 14031)
.6 Product-oriented standards such as environmental labelling, terms and
definitions for self-declaration environmental claims (ISO 14020-14024).
.7 Life-cycle assessment, LCA (ISO )34041-04041
In Chapter 9 we will touch on all 7 items. The basic idea is that if we know the flows of
matter and energy, we can also identify where we could recycle and where we could reduce
loss of matter and energy. Point 7 will also be discussed briefly. LCA maps the total
pollution originating from a product in its life time in order to develop products that to a
greater extent can be recycled, have a longer life time or cause less pollution during their
entire life time.
In many cases our production methods have not been charged the actual costs in
relation to impacts on the environment and the depletion of our resources. A new tax,
named green tax, attempts to charge the real environmental cost to our production. Due to
these additional production costs which are often significant, the industries are forced to find
new and moreenvironmentally friendly production methods.
