ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN EUROPE Acid Rain Air Pollution

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN EUROPE Acid Rain Air Pollution Chernobyl

Acid Rain In Germany Sulfur and nitrogen which are found in acid rain eat holes in the surfaces of statues and buildings

Sandstone figure over the portal of a castle in Westphalia, Germany, photographed in 1908 (left) and again in 1968 (right). Acid rain produced by air pollution generated in the heavily industrialized Ruhr region of Germany probably accounts for the severe damage. The castle was built in 1702. (Photos courtesy of Herr Schmidt-Thomsen. )

Acid Rain In Germany In the past 30 years acid rain has killed more than half of the Black Forest in Germany

Forest trees damaged by acid rain in Germany.

Which branch has been exposed to acid rain?

Acid Rain in Germany Pollutes the rivers and kills the wildlife

Acid Rain Causes Main cause is smoke from factories and power plants Air current bring chemical-filled air from other countries to Germany

Acid Rain Causes Emissions from cars and buses add to the problem

Europe's Worst Pollution Pocket Found Above Western Germany Home to Germany's steel and coal industries, the area between Amsterdam and Frankfurt is the most polluted in Europe, scientists said.

Use the map on page 281 to finish these notes. Northwestern Germany, and northern Italy have such high levels of pollution because. . . London, Paris, Moscow, and Madrid have high levels of pollution because. . .

Air Pollution In Great Britain London is notorious for air pollution called smog which is caused by sunlight acting on the gases from cars and factory exhausts.

Air Pollution In Great Britain

Air Pollution In Great Britain The Great Smog of 1952 lasted for 4 days and killed thousands of people. This event made people around the world realize they needed to work on the problem of air pollution.

Air Pollution In Great Britain Today the British government has regulations for industries and regularly checks air quality. The use of cleaner forms of energy and cars with less harmful emissions has helped the air quality

CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER PLANT DISASTER

Disaster at Chernobyl

Location of the Nuclear Power Plant

Chernobyl, Ukraine April 26, 1986 - Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in then Soviet Union (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic), now Ukraine Worst nuclear power plant disaster in history A reactor exploded that caused other reactors to explode, fires, and a plume of highly radioactive fallout 400 times more than the fallout of the Hiroshima atomic bomb

Chernobyl nuclear reactor after the disaster. Reactor 4 (image centre). Turbine building (image lower left). Reactor 3 (centre right)

Lumps of graphite moderator ejected from the core. The largest lump shows an intact control rod channel.

Chernobyl, Ukraine The plume drifted over extensive parts of the western Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Northern Europe Light nuclear rain falling as far as Ireland Large areas in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated, resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of over 336, 000 people

Chernobyl effects Land was poisoned with radiation Drinking water was unsafe for months Animals died Forests turned brown and died 30 mile radius of the power station was abandoned and became a ghost town

Evacuation of Pripyat

The abandoned city of Pripyat with Chernobyl in the distance.

Lava flows formed by fuel-containing mass in the basement of the plant. Lava flow (1). Concrete (2). Steam pipe (3). Electrical equipment (4)

Radio-operated bulldozers being tested prior to use

The Sarcophagus, the concrete block surrounding reactor #4

Map of radiation levels in 1996 around Chernobyl.