Pollution

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Pollution

• Water Pollution Waste Disposal

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Water Pollution

• For many years many people believe that our
  lakes, rivers and oceans were cleaning agents
  capable of absorbing and in some way purifying
  all kinds of waste

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Rivers

• Some of the largest rivers in the world are the
  most pollution
• St. Lawrence River More than 30 hazardous
  chemicals
• Malaysia - forty rivers are so polluted that they
  are considered biologically dead.

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Ganges River

• More than 600 km of the river are dangerously
  polluted by human and animal waste and toxic waste

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Lakes and Oceans

• Lakes are susceptible to pollution because they
  lack outflows and currents to dilute or remove
  pollutants.
• Almost half of the total pollution in the worlds
  oceans comes to them via rivers

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Oil Spills Across the World
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Exxon Valdez oil spill

• In the pristine waters in Prince William Sound,
  the tanker hit Bligh Reef, splitting its side
  open and releasing oil
• 11 million gallons of crude oil and contaminated
  over 2200 km of coastline

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• Around 250,000 seabirds, nearly 3,000 sea otters,
  300 harbour seals, 250 bald eagles and up to 22
  killer whales died as a result of the spill.
• Federal judge in Alaska, ordered Exxon to play
  4.5 billion dollars in damages

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South Korea Oil Spill

• December 7, 2007
• Oil washed up on an 11-mile stretch and was
  carried by strong winds along the coast
• Fishing communities along the coast are expected
  to be impacted from this skill
• Size of the leak about ¼ that of the Exxon spill

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Waste Disposal

• Pollution exists largely because human beings
  create waste and must dispose of it.
• Waste sites are filling upwhere will we store
  our waste in the future?

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3 Categories of Waste

• Domestic Sewage
• Solid Waste
• Toxic and Hazardous materials

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• Domestic Sewage
• produced from homes and commercial buildings
• toilets, sinks, showers
• or bathtubs drains
• Passed into the extensive
• sewer system that
• exist in most urban areas

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Halifax Harbour
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Solid Waste

• Huge amounts of solid waste that clog the
  landfills in MDCs can be blamed to a large extent
  on the packaging revolution
• Paper, plastic, metal, glass, Styrofoam

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Disposal of solid waste

• Landfills
• Incineration
• Recycling

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Hazardous and Toxic Waste

• Huge spread of chemicals since World War II
• Hazardous versus Toxic materials
• More than 350 million tones of hazardous waste
  are produced each year, about 90 in MDCs

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The facts

• Have had an effect on our health
• Pesticides and herbicides that were suppose to
  decompose in the soil, show up in our drinking
  water!
• Chemical spills into rivers and lakes kill
  thousands of fish

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• Canada almost 50 of our hazardous waste is
  created in Ontario.

• People living near dump sites, suffer higher
  rates of cancer, congenital and other
  disabilities and die at a younger age.

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Managing Hazardous Waste

• Difficulty with disposal
• MCDs using LDCs in 1980s
• Some areas store liquid wastes in surface pits,
  ponds or lagoons
• Other ways?