ABOUT POLLUTION
Facts and figures.
It is well-known that the European-North American industrial revolution in the 19th century marked a turning point on the way production of goods had been done until then: the handmade goods started to be produced with the help of machines. Industrial activities rose, as well as the petroleum use and coal burning, and chemicals were used indiscriminately.
A publication* on the historical records of atmospheric deposition of mercury in peat bog cores in Belgium estimates that during the industrial revolution the deposition of Hg exceeded pre-Industrial values by a factor of 63.
* Allan, M.; Le Roux, G.; Sonke, J. E.; Piotrowska, N.; Streel, M.; Fagel, N., Reconstructing historical atmospheric mercury deposition in Western Europe using: Misten peat bog cores, Belgium. Science of The Total Environment 2013, 442, (0), 290-301.
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The biggest supertanker accident in the history of the UK was the Torrey Canyon, in 1967.
It turned out to be one of the sparks that started public discussion (and most importantly, concern) about the environment in the beginning of the 70s.
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The other "spark" that motivated public awareness was Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring”, published in 1962.
In her book, Carson questioned the free use of chemicals and called the public’s attention for the use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (commonly known as DDT), a potent pesticide extensively used at the time and which she proved to be persistent, bioacumulative in the food chain and to cause cancer and genetic changes.
The use of such chemicals and their consequences started a debate among scientists, regulators and the general public.
Carson, R., Silent Spring. 40th ed. 2002, Boston: Mariner Books.
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