Environmental Issues in Europe

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Environmental Issues in Europe

1. Nuclear Disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine
2. Air Pollution in the United Kingdom
3. Acid Rain in Germany

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Nuclear Disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine

• When? April 26, 1986
• Where? Chernobyl, Ukraine
• What? Nuclear Power Station Exploded the worst
  in history!

Ukraine
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Overview
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What did it look like?

• Before

• After

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Damage Done

• exposed 1/10 of land and about 1million people to
  unsafe Levels of radiation which lead to sickness
  and death
• Winds blew the radiation to bordering countries
  widespread contamination
• drinking water was unsafe for months
• Livestock (cows and chickens) were contaminated
  so the milk and meat were unsafe to drink and eat
• fish unsafe to eat for years
• pine forest turned brown and died
• many animals died or suffered thyroid damage
• 30 mile area around power station evacuated
  known as the exclusion zone

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Radiation Found In the Ground After Chernobyl
Disaster
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Clean up

• Faulty reactor quickly buried in concrete and the
  facility got a New Roof to prevent radiation
  leakage
• Decommission of plants built like Chernobyl's to
  upgrade to prevent this from happening again
• Any movable objects near the plant were buried
  cars, trucks, and even topsoil.
• Some 60,000 buildings had to be washed with
  special chemicals, and even some roofs had to be
  replaced.
• A special solution was sprayed throughout the
  danger zone on streets and walkways to prevent
  radioactive dust from blowing and further
  contaminating the area.
• Nearby trees that had absorbed the radiation were
  all cut down and buried in concrete pits.

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Impact on the Environment

• Radiation still lingers causing cancer people
  are still getting sick
• Bordering Countries Russia, Belarus, Poland
  were greatly affected (radiation poisoning)
• Millions of acres of farmland have been poisoned
  with radiation food shortage, which also hurts
  the economy

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• Chernobyl remains
• abandoned to this day

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People Today

• Still remember and hold memorials every year to
  remember the 31 who died at the instant of the
  explosion

http//www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/25/chernobyl
_n_1453473.htmlslide908065
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Acid Rain in Germany

• When? Over the past 30 years
• Where? Germany
• What? Acid Rain

Germany
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Acid Rain
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Why do you think these are areas where acid rain
is a problem?

• Industrial areas!

A factory in Georgia
Smoke rises over factories in Germany's
industry-heavy Ruhr region.
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Over time
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But Why??
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Here is what happens
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Pollution Management Trying to keep it down!

• Businesses specialize in managing the problem
• Key to managing the problem is decreasing vehicle
  and industrial emissions
• Some develop devices that remove harmful
  particles from smokestack emissions, such as
  filters, by traps that use static electricity, or
  by devices called scrubbers that wash out
  particles with chemical sprays

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Air Pollution in the UK

• When? 1952 (started way before that though ?)
• Where? London, United Kingdom
• What? Smog

United Kingdom
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London Fog
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Air Pollution in the United Kingdom

• Smog is a form of air pollution caused by
  sunlight acting on the gases from vehicles and
  factory exhausts.
• The smog from London occurs when water vapor
  mixes with smoke particles from a coal fire that
  is what happened in the Great Smog of 1952
• UKs major natural resources is oil, natural gas,
  and coal air pollution

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Marry Poppins took place here ?
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How could they decrease the amount of air
pollution?
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Environmental Effects of Smog

• Human sickness asthma and pneumonia
• Contaminates water
• Harmful to animals
• Destroys plant life
• Causes building materials to deteriorate faster
  than usual

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Great Smog, documentary

• https//www.youtube.com/watch?vVkx-2mT1-q4featur
  erelated