Industrial Pollution Essay, Research Paper
There are all of types of pollution. Industrial pollution is the air, water, and chemical pollution caused by industries. There has always been pollution. Industrial pollution began when our country went through the Industrial Revolution. Most all parts of the world are affected in some way by industrial pollution. Big cities with steel mills, power plants, heating plants, or railroad stations feel the direct effects of industrial pollution. The smog, smell, and contamination of food or water are some direct effects. Remote areas of the world are affected indirectly by industrial pollution. Even though the people in these communities may not live near any factories, plants, etc. they still are affected. The air pollution caused by the industries can carry for many miles (World Book 338).
In the 1700’s and early 1800’s coal powered most industries. The burning of coal fills the air with smoke and soot. Coal was a very efficient way of powering industries. It was also a big problem. The Industrial Revolution created lots of jobs for people. In fact, this period was characterized by the overcrowding of cities with factory workers. It also increases the products being made in the U.S. Steel, clothes, coal, power, heating are just a few of the luxuries gained by having these industries. Clothes industries have made the expense of clothes cheaper and the availability of clothes more widespread (World Book 338).
The disadvantages of having industries are that it creates a lot of problems. In a press release on April 26, 1999 it states in the UK, “The poorest families (defined as household incomes of less than 5,000) are twice as likely to have a polluting factory in their immediate area as families with incomes of 60,000 or more (Pollution Hits the Poor Hardest n.p.). People’s health is also at a great risk. In a press release on April 1, 2000 Mike Childs, Senior Campaign, at Friends of the Earth said, “People are suffering because the Environmental Agency is failing to deal with the problems of industrial pollution. Every year Britain’s largest factories release more than 10,000 tons of cancer-causing chemicals. People living near these plants certainly won’t be celebrating the Environmental Agency’s birthday and many of them have lost confidence in the Agency. They want an Environmental Agency that is tough in pollution not soft on industry” (Green Watchdog or Industry Poodle? n.p.). Industrial pollution can also cause cancer. The water some people drink, due to industrial pollution, contains traces of weed killer and dry-cleaning fluid. These people are being exposed to environmental carcinogens through multiple pathways and through no individual choice of their own (Industrial Pollution, Pesticides, and Cancer n.p.). All of these dangers are created by the industries not disposing of their waste properly. Dumping chemicals into rivers and not having filters on smokestacks are just a few of the ways they pollute the environment.
There are lots of ways that these dangers can be reduced. The New Ideas in Pollution Regulation (NIPR) team has written a major World Bank policy report in its six years of research on industrial pollution regulation and control issues entitiled Greening Industry: New rolls for Communities, Markets, and Governments. It shows how recent economic and regulatory policy reforms are reducing industrial pollution in developing countries, without threatening economic growth (Greening Industry n.p.). There is also The Permanent Pollution Prevention Program or P4. P4 helps facilities start their own in-house permanent pollution prevention program to reduce pollutants and generate cost savings. This workshop is a two-day seminar. The first day focuses on teaching the eight-step process of P4. The second day, which is usually 30 days after the first day, focuses on culture change, provides assistance and guidance to the facility’s P4 team and helps that team to enact facility-specific projects. This program hopes to build industry, business, and governmental cooperation. It supports technology transfer between different industries. It also helps facilities develop environmental partnerships and foster environmental leadership. By the end of this program not only will the participants have started their own pollution prevention program but already developed most of their Source Reduction and Waste Minimization Plan required by the Waste Reduction Policy Act of 1991 (P4 Workshops n.p.).
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