Eva Pongracz
SOME DEFINITIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Air pollution control includes preventive measures such as process automatization (e.g.
temperature control in combustion) to avoid or reduce the formation of harmful emissions;
monitoring and analyses (e.g. of in-door air quality); and end-of-pipe systems such as catalytic
oxidation, removal of dust and fine particles, to improve the quality of emissions, etc. Where?
Mainly in industry, power generation, at the use of volatile organic compounds, and everywhere
else where there is a process resulting in harmful and/or greenhouse gases (e.g. car exhaust). By
whom? By those who are responsible for generating these gases.
Cleaner Production, as promoted by the UNEP, in short means a preventative approach to
environmental management and refers to a mentality of how goods and services are produced.
Design for the Environment is about integrating environmental considerations into product and
process design. It is also known as “eco-design” or “environmental design”. DFE belongs under
the design paradigm called Design for X (DFX), which includes activities at the planning to
conceptualization stages of product/process development. It starts with defining the purpose of
the product or process and identifying and using the design tools and activities to be used in the
subsequent development stages. In product design, DFE includes e.g. Design for Recycling,
Design for Disassembly, Design for Energy Efficiency, etc. In process design, for example
design of benign chemical processes is known as Green Chemistry.
Ecology is a branch of science concerned with the interrelations of living organisms and the
surrounding (natural) environment.
Ecotoxicology is the study of the harmful effects of chemical compounds on species, population
and the natural environment.
Environmental ecology is concerned with the effects of pollution on natural environment (such
as acidification, eutrophication, loss of biodiversity, etc.)
Environmental education is about how act responsibly, to avoid damage to human health and
the environment, and promote conservation of resources.
Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) is a process of identifying and evaluating the adverse
effects of contaminants on the environment. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a
legislative procedure (85/337/EEC ) to be applied to the assessment of the environmental effects
of projects which are likely to have significant effects on the environment.
Risk Management is a systematic process of identifying and assessing potential hazards in order
to control the conditions that may generate the hazard, and developing strategies to alleviate the
damage caused by exposure. It has elements of evaluation, control and monitoring. It is more
than elimination of hazards to humans; it also has financial and regulative elements.