This book presents WHO guidelines for the protection of public health from risks due to a number of chemicals commonly present in indoor air. The substances considered in this review, i.e. benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, naphthalene, nitrogen dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (especially benzo[a]pyrene), radon, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene, have indoor sources, are known in respect of their hazardousness to health and are often found indoors in concentrations of health concern. The guidelines are targeted at public health professionals involved in preventing health risks of environmental exposures, as well as specialists and authorities involved in the design and use of buildings, indoor materials and products. They provide a scientific basis for legally enforceable standards.
People are increasingly concerned about potential environmental health hazards and often ask their physicians questions such as: "Is the tap water safe to drink?" "Is it safe to live near power lines?" Unfortunately, physicians often lack the information and training related to environmental health risks needed to answer such questions. This book discusses six competency based learning objectives for all medical school students, discusses the relevance of environmental health to specific courses and clerkships, and demonstrates how to integrate environmental health into the curriculum through published case studies, some of which are included in one of the book's three appendices. Also included is a guide on where to obtain additional information for treatment, referral, and follow-up for diseases with possible environmental and/or occupational origins.
At hundreds of thousands of commercial, industrial, and military sites across the country, subsurface materials including groundwater are contaminated with chemical waste. The last decade has seen growing interest in using aggressive source remediation technologies to remove contaminants from the subsurface, but there is limited understanding of (1) the effectiveness of these technologies and (2) the overall effect of mass removal on groundwater quality. This report reviews the suite of technologies available for source remediation and their ability to reach a variety of cleanup goals, from meeting regulatory standards for groundwater to reducing costs. The report proposes elements of a protocol for accomplishing source remediation that should enable project managers to decide whether and how to pursue source remediation at their sites.
Across the United States, thousands of hazardous waste sites are contaminated with chemicals that prevent the underlying groundwater from meeting drinking water standards. These include Superfund sites and other facilities that handle and dispose of hazardous waste, active and inactive dry cleaners, and leaking underground storage tanks; many are at federal facilities such as military installations. While many sites have been closed over the past 30 years through cleanup programs run by the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. EPA, and other state and federal agencies, the remaining caseload is much more difficult to address because the nature of the contamination and subsurface conditions make it difficult to achieve drinking water standards in the affected groundwater. Alternatives for Managing the Nation's Complex Contaminated Groundwater Sites estimates that at least 126,000 sites across the U.S. still have contaminated groundwater, and their closure is expected to cost at least $110 billion to $127 billion. About 10 percent of these sites are considered "complex," meaning restoration is unlikely to be achieved in the next 50 to 100 years due to technological limitations. At sites where contaminant concentrations have plateaued at levels above cleanup goals despite active efforts, the report recommends evaluating whether the sites should transition to long-term management, where risks would be monitored and harmful exposures prevented, but at reduced costs.
Environmental Organic Chemistry focuses on environmental factors that govern the processes that determine the fate of organic chemicals in natural and engineered systems. The information discovered is then applied to quantitatively assessing the environmental behaviour of organic chemicals. Now in its 2nd edition this book takes a more holistic view on physical-chemical properties of organic compounds. It includes new topics that address aspects of gas/solid partitioning, bioaccumulation, and transformations in the atmosphere. Structures chapters into basic and sophisticated sections Contains illustrative examples, problems and case studies Examines the fundamental aspects of organic, physical and inorganic chemistry - applied to environmentally relevant problems Addresses problems and case studies in one volume
Hazardous pollutants are a growing concern in treatment engineering. In the past, biological treatment was mainly used for the removal of bulk organic matter and the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorous. However, relatively recently the issue of hazardous pollutants, which are present at very low concentrations in wastewaters and waters but are very harmful to both ecosystems and humans, is becoming increasingly important. Today, treatment of hazardous pollutants in the water environment becomes a challenge as the water quality standards become stricter. Hazardous Pollutants in Biological Treatment Systems focuses entirely on hazardous pollutants in biological treatment and gives an elaborate insight into their fate and effects during biological treatment of wastewater and water. Currently, in commercial and industrial products and processes, thousands of chemicals are used that reach water. Many of those chemicals are carcinogens, mutagens, endocrine disruptors and toxicants. Therefore, water containing hazardous pollutants should be treated before discharged to the environment or consumed by humans. This book first addresses the characteristics, occurrence and origin of hazardous organic and inorganic pollutants. Then, it concentrates on the fate and effects of these pollutants in biological wastewater and drinking water treatment units. It also provides details about analysis of hazardous pollutants, experimental methodologies, computational tools used to assist experiments, evaluation of experimental data and examination of microbial ecology by molecular microbiology and genetic tools. Hazardous Pollutants in Biological Treatment Systems is an essential resource to the researcher or the practitioner who is already involved with hazardous pollutants and biological processes or intending to do so. The text will also be useful for professionals working in the field of water and wastewater treatment.
The focus of Handbook for Cleaning/Decontamination of Surfaces lies on cleaning and decontamination of surfaces and solid matter, hard as well as soft. Bringing together in a 2-volume reference source: - current knowledge of the physico-chemical fundamentals underlying the cleaning process; - the different needs for cleaning and how these needs are met by various types of cleaning processes and cleaning agents, including novel approaches; - how to test that cleaning has taken place and to what extent; - the effects of cleaning on the environment; - future trends in cleaning and decontamination, for example the idea of changing surfaces, to hinder the absorbance of dirt and thus make cleaning easier.A brief introduction is given to the legal demands concerning the environment and a historical background, in terms of development of detergents, from soaps to the modern sophisticated formulations. Bactericides, their use and the environmental demands on them are covered. Thorough discussions of mechanisms for cleaning are given in several chapters, both general basic concepts and special cases like particle cleaning and cleaning using microemulsion concepts.* General understanding of how cleaning works, function of ingredients and formulations * Overview of environmental issues and demands from the society in the area * Gives basic formulas for cleaning preparations in most areas
