This
special contains five reports on hazardous substances
issues:
A Sniff in Time - Sweden,
Managing Methane - China, A Bee Movie - Belgium, Metal
Attraction - Greece, and Safe Saris - Bangladesh
A
Sniff in Time - Sweden
Mercury is one of the world's most hazardous substances.
It is environmentally unfriendly and highly toxic
- the human body absorbs about 80% of the metal that
is inhaled. Since mercury is an element, it can never
be broken down or destroyed through chemical reactions
and therefore, it poses a threat to the environment
far into the future. Micro-organisms in the soil and
in the water can change the poisonous metal into an
even more dangerous combination of methyl mercury
which can accumulate through the food chain.
Mercury is a liquid, heavy metal that has been used
in many different industrial and manufacturing processes
over the years and is still used in many every day
items, such as being used to lead electricity and
by dentists. It can be found in light bulbs, machinery,
sinks, drains and sewage systems throughout industry
and in laboratories, chemical store cupboards, hospitals
and doctors' surgeries or as a residue in pipes and
sewers.
Managing
Methane - China
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is between twenty
to sixty times more reactive than carbon dioxide.
Due to human activities, atmospheric concentrations
of methane are rising, creating adverse impacts on
the ozone and contributing to increased smog formation
and global warming. Fortunately, methane can also
be a useful energy source if it is captured and used
effectively.
A principal source of methane is from its release
during coal mining operations. As plant material is
converted into coal, large quantities of methane rich
gas are generated and stored within the coal. The
presence of this gas can cause explosions during underground
coal mining. Coal deposits store large quantities
of methane through the physical process of absorption
and it is the absorbed methane that is liberated as
coal is mined. The escaping gas must either be captured
in methane recovery systems, or ventilated to the
atmosphere in order to prevent hazardous explosions.
A
Bee Movie - Belgium
In Belgium, Professor Frans Jacobs has been investigating
methods of training bees as bio-indicators. Once the
bees have learnt to sense a substance they can detect
it anywhere. This means that they can be used to find
dangerous polluting chemicals, landmines or any other
material, providing they have been trained properly
to do so.
The bees can be trained by using a bee flight room.
A bee flight room is independent of the seasons and
there is no time or space. It is relatively easy to
create. A minimum space of two metres high, by two
metres wide and two metres in depth is required for
each beehive. The room should be lit by "blue light".
It should be maintained at a constant temperature
of 25°C and the humidity needs to be carefully controlled
as it is critical in relation to the bees breeding.
Metal
Attraction - Greece
The annual amount of oil leaked into the seas is
on average estimated to be between 1.2 and 1.5 million
tons. Waterborne oil spills are considered to be a
major environmental and financial problem. Oil spills
caused by minor or major naval accidents contribute
to the pollution of the sea environment causing ecological
catastrophes and destroying shore based economical
activities. Birds and marine life are poisoned and
beaches are severely damaged. For countries with extensive
coastlines, the cost of the clean up operation is
enormous.
Safe
Saris - Bangladesh
Waterborne diseases are spread primarily via water,
but secondary infection is caused by organisms excreted
in faeces which are subsequently ingested by a new
host through cross-contamination. They are also spread
by food, especially raw or inadequately cooked food.
The poor suffer high risk from waterborne infections
as they tend to be undernourished, lack proper sanitation
facilities and have little access to medicine. Children
and the elderly are especially vulnerable because
their immune systems are either undeveloped or heavily
challenged.
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