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Sustainability Issues in the Engineering and Construction Industry
Published in J.K. Yates, Daniel Castro-Lacouture, Sustainability in Engineering Design and Construction, 2018
J.K. Yates, Daniel Castro-Lacouture
In addition to minimizing waste, another concern is soil contamination caused by a variety of activities, including the following (Munier 2005, p. 126): Chemical residues from herbicides used onContamination at the bottom of heavily polluted rivers, where it forms a thick sludge.Contamination produced by dumping mainly organic waste.Deposition on soil of dust removed from filters in smokestacks or petrochemical operations.Manure or urine from farm animalsOil or chemical spills.Phosphates, nitrogen, and potassium from fertilizers.Salt left by water extraction from an aquifer and evaporated by the sun.Serious contamination in car scrapyards: after vehicles are crushed and flattened, large amounts of fluids—such as gasoline, oils, grease, brake and transmission fluid, windshield washer fluid etc.—can end up in the soil without adequate safeguards.
SWM and urban water: Smart management for an absurd system?
Published in Water International, 2020
As more land is taken up for urban developments, the consequences for aquatic ecosystems continue to mount. Contaminants from roadways, such as windshield washer fluid, brake fluid, metals from brake linings, salt from winter road operations and more, are washed directly into receiving creeks, rivers and lakes. Rudimentary treatment systems for stormwater only started to be installed in earnest in the 1980s, and these are typically passive systems that rely on contaminants settling out when the water slows down. Regular maintenance is required to clean out the settled material to prevent it from washing out of the stormwater facilities during the next high-flow rain event.