Environmental Pollution: Tracking and Focusing on Dirty Dozen: Geophysical Monograph Series

The term dirty dozen usually relates to compounds produced intentionally or unintentionally by human activity. The book describes their removal techniques and management practices to reduce the harmful environmental impacts of each through different methods. Rapid industrialization pollutes resources continuously. Further the rapid industrial developments have, led to the generation of huge quantities of hazardous wastes, which have further aggravated the environmental problems and polluting natural resources. In fact, the increasing waste being generated by the industries and municipalities is posing a problem of enormous dimensions. The domestic and industrial effluents are contributing in enhancing this problem.

The book proposal is a complete guide on dirty dozen- Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) which have been banned by UNEP in May 1995. These are chemical substances that are produced intentionally or unintentionally and persist in the environment, bioaccumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. With the evidence of long-range transport of these substances to regions where they have never been used or produced and the consequent threats they pose to the environment of the whole globe, the international community has now, at several occasions called for urgent global actions to reduce and eliminate releases of these chemicals. The book will include the following dirty dozen - Aldrin, Chlordane, p, p'-Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), Dieldrin, Endrin, Heptachlor, Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), Mirex, Polychlorinated biphenyls, Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, Polychlorinated dibenzofurans and Toxaphene

It describes the latest scientific findings on POPs, the current status of the environmental contamination with them. The book highlights the sources of POPs, methodology for their identification and measurement, their health effects, emission levels in different media, toxicity and above all it describes the best practices for reducing/controlling their emission. This book majorly deals with industrial waste, modern technologies for pollution control of POPs, environmental management system (EMS), contamination of water, soil and sediments. Sincere efforts have been made to bring out this book which helps in serving as a complete guide on awareness about POPs.