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Environmental Pollution
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Environmental Pollution
EXPOSURE

Industrial Sites Pollution

Industrial sites mean any type of industry from big manufacturer plants to small enterprises which produce, use, and/or store chemicals. At such sites, the pollution chemicals may be released to the environment during normal operation as well as through accidental spills and leaks. Once released, the chemicals travel in the vicinity areas by various means (including air, dust, and/or water) and may cause pollution issues.

Associated Pollutants

The most common chemicals handled at most industrial sites are a group of chemicals generically called chlorinated solvents. These are organic chemicals that do not form naturally. They consist in carbon, hydrogen and Cl (usually from 1 to 4 chlorine atoms).

There are several chlorinated solvents with most common use including:

Please follow the links above for each particular chlorinated solvent to learn more about the particular solvent, its fate and transport in the environment and how exposure to such chemical may affect your health.

Click here for the most common diseases associated with chlorinated solvents.

General Characteristics and Fate and Transport in the Environment

Chlorinated solvents are volatile compounds, which means that they volatilize (partially changes to a gaseous form and get released to air) under normal temperature and pressure conditions. Additionally, they may bind to the organic matter from soil particles (the higher the organic matter, the higher the amount of chlorinated solvents bound to it). In water, these chemicals have enough solubility to dissolve in excess of their risk-free values (recommended by various regulatory agencies). These compounds are also heavier (denser) than water and thus tend to migrate vertically to deeper depths than other pollutants (such as petroleum hydrocarbons for example) and may create pools entrapped in subsurface – which act as a continuous release source. An important characteristic of chlorinated solvents is their ability to resists biodegradation / degradation. All these characteristics, make chlorinated solvents very problematic to the environment, since they may be transported in various ways and persist for decades.