بحث
حول التلوث بالانجليزية pollution
بحث حول التلوث بالانجليزية pollution
Know and
control the risks related to the environment
What risks
can threaten my territory?
Health and
Environment
Soil
pollution
1.
Definition:
It is said
that a soil is polluted when it contains an abnormal concentration of chemical
compounds potentially harmful to health, plants or animals. The contamination
is then either digestive (consumption of polluted water for example), or by air
(dust polluted soils in the atmosphere).
2. Possible
causes:
It is mostly
human activities that cause soil pollution:
- Industrial
installations may, in the case of a leak, an accident, or in the abandonment of
a factory, cause pollution of the site.
- The
spreading of plant protection products and the rejections of livestock
buildings and farms are also at the origin of numerous soil pollution (in
particular by nitrogen and phosphates), which in turn will lead to the
contamination of runoff, and subsequently watercourses.
- The
actions of local authorities can also be at the origin of soil pollution:
management of landfills and treatment plants, use of phytosanitary products by
the services of green spaces, management of shared gardens, etc.
Geographically
distant events can also produce soil pollution, be it natural events (the
fallout from the ashes of a volcano following a strong eruption for example),
or technological (fallout after a nuclear test) or a disaster, as in the
Chernobyl accident).
3. The
possible consequences for health:
The
evaluation of pollutants in the soil can be carried out by physical or chemical
measurements (calculation of the concentration of pollutants such as mercury,
copper, lead, etc.), or by observation of biological indicators: plant
biodiversity and animal, etc.
In fact,
these pollutants can be found in the air (dust) and in the water, where they
become dangerous because they are potentially absorbed by living beings and
thus have an impact on their health:
- Some heavy
metals and metalloids are known to be neurotoxic or carcinogenic by ingestion
and / or inhalation.
- Certain
hydrocarbons, in particular benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs), are known for their CMR effect (carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic).
In 2003, PAHs were added to products covered by the Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants: they were classified as products of very high
concern for health.
Many
halogenated solvents or their degradation products are recognized as very
toxic, toxic and harmful substances, sometimes carcinogenic (for example
trichlorethylene or vinyl chloride). They can cause various disorders,
including acute and chronic neurological, cutaneo mucous, hepatorenal,
cardio-respiratory and digestive.
4. Some
examples of actions that can be taken within local authorities:
- Preventive
actions
- To deepen
the state of the knowledge of the circles
-
Application of control and monitoring plans for pesticide residues
-
Consolidate the system for monitoring the health status of the population, and
deepen the knowledge of the effects on health
- Continue
reducing the exposure of populations, ensure the quality of local food
production and support the professionals impacted
- Manage
contaminated environments and ensure good information of the population
- ICPEs are
held before their start-up or before a change or diversification of their
activity to present a file in prefecture listing all the nuisances and
pollution they are likely to cause or emit, and the means they intend to put to
prevent and repair them if necessary.
- ICPEs
which cease their activities must rehabilitate the site of the installation in
a state such that it does not manifest any of the dangers or disadvantages
mentioned in the article L 511-1 of the Code of the environment, this includes
"aesthetic" nuisances and allows for future use determined jointly
with the planning authority and the site owner.
- Repressive
actions
- In the
case of soil pollution, the basic principle is polluter pays.
The
polluter-pays principle is to assume the financial burden of preventing,
reducing and combating pollution to the polluter. In this perspective,
polluting equipment and products are taxed more than ecological products.
