Invisible Borders: Transboundary Pollution in Europe – Flashcards
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Geoterms 1. Acid Rain
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Rain that can damage the environment because acid from factory smoke and car exhaust.
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Geoterms 2. Nuclear Radiation
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A form of energy that comes from nuclear reactions.
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Geoterms 3. River system
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A river and all the streams that flow into it.
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Geoterms 4. Transboundary pollution
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Pollution that starts in one country and crosses boundaries into other countries.
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16.1 & 16.2 Industrial Revolution
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1700s, more goods by machine instead of hand tools, work moved from homes to factories.
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16.1 & 16.2 Benefits and Cost
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Benefits: Cheaper goods, Goods made faster. Cost: Pollution to air, water, & soil.
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Ways of Pollution
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1) Natural - Occurs in nature (e.g. Volcano) 2) Accidental - Result of an accident (e.g. Oil tanker spilling oil in water) 3) General - Caused by everyday activities (e.g. Burning coal to make electricity)
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Pollution is created by
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Most air pollution is caused by the burning of fossil fuels (e.g. coal, oil, natural gas, etc.) for energy.
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16.3 Where was the accident
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Kiev, Ukraine (Former Soviet Union - Now 15 countries)
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16.3 What was it
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It was a Nuclear Power Plant
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16.3 What they used?
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Uranium (which is mined from the ground) for fuel.
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16.3 What does a reactor do?
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In a Nuclear Reactor, Uranium gives off energy in form of heat which boils water, which creates steam, which powers a turbine, which creates electricity.
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16.3 What went wrong?
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Humans failed to follow safety rules, a reactor got too hot, an explosion, then a fire started, then, radioactive dust filled the air.
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16.3 How did it Travel?
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Winds sent cloud all over. Belarus was hit the hardest (70% of the dust fell on it). Soil and Water were contaminated.
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16.3 What did the Government do?
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At First, the Soviet Government denied the accident, then they built a concrete box around the reactor (has to stay there for 100's of years). They moved 135,000 people, destroyed contaminated crops, food, & animals.
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16.3 What happened to the people who were affected.
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8,000 people died from the health problems caused by the radiation.
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16.3 What claims did it earn?
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It was claimed to be the World's Worst Nuclear Accident.
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16.3 What changes were made in the reactors today?
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Changes made - 1. The Reactors were changed to make them less likely to overheat. 2. They were made easier to shutdown in emergency like events.
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16.3 How do people know where radiation lingers today?
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Scientist use a device called a Geiger Counter which measures the radiation.
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16.4 Acid rain
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Pollution in the air usually from burning things.
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16.4 "Black Triangle"
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Countries in this are Poland, Germany, & The Czech Republic. lots of factories which burn lignite (Soft Coal). It creates alot of soot. Sulfur Dioxide & Nitrogen Oxides will mix with Water in the air, then it rains. It makes lakes acidic. It kills fish, trees, harms buildings, cars, and monuments.
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16.4 1950's
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In the 1950's, Buildings had higher chimneys which creates cleaner urban areas, but it spreads air pollution to much greater distances.
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16.4 Ways to reduce Acid Rain.
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1. Companies with less pollution pay fewer taxes. 2. New Technologies (e.g. Smokestack Scrubbers). 3. Use less Coal and Switch to greener energy like Wind turbines, Hydroelectricity, and Solar (Sun) Panels.
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16.5 The Tisza-Danube Cyanide Spill
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1. In 2000, a Mining Operation in Romania, 1 of 13 countries in the Danube river system, used cyanide to separate gold from other rock. Heavy rains caused a pond of cyanide to rise so much that the dam holding the chemicals burst and released it all into the river, which ran through many countries and finally ended up in the black sea.
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16.5 What happened in the sea?
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It killed alot of fish and otters.
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16.5 What happened to the public?
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Water systems were shut down, Tourist stayed away from the accident.
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16.5 What group was formed afterwords?
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In 1998, the International Commision for the Protection of the Danube River was established.
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16.5 The day of the Danube Clean up.
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On 6/29/2004The first Danube clean up day, "Everybody lives downstream."
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16.6 & 16.7 Global Connections
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1. The highest level of Acid Rain are in Europe & North America are the leaders of the Industrial Revolution. 2. China, India & other places Asia are developing rapidly (More Factories and Cars = More Pollution) 3. Global issue - Wind & Water carry the pollution around the world. They must work together to solve the problem.
