Gardiner V., Matthews H. The changing geography of the United Kingdom

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respond to the global threat of O

depletion. The 1986 Montreal Protocol referred to in the

previous section has successfully resulted in reductions in the production and consumption

of CFCs. In 1992, the sixty-five signatory countries agreed more stringent measures to stop

global emissions of CFCs, carbon tetrachloride and methyl chloroform before 1996.

Production of halons was phased out in 1994. However, because of the long lifetimes of all

these chemicals, consequent O

depletion will continue well into the next millennium. Of

particular concern will be ensuring that the commitments are complied with, controlling

any black market in the chemicals and providing aid for poorer countries to help them

discontinue use of the chemicals. In the UK, the supply of CFCs fell by 97 per cent between

1986 and 1995. However, the supply of HCFCs, which are being used as transitional

replacements for CFCs but which do have some O

depleting potential of their own, increased

by 285 per cent (DETR 1997).

Terrestrial pollution

Perhaps the most serious terrestrial pollution problems faced by the UK and many other

countries relate to waste disposal. The Dobris Assessment specifically identified ‘waste

production and management’ as one of the twelve ‘prominent European environmental

problems’, so this topic will be used as the focus for discussion in this section. Existing

waste processing and disposal capacity is unlikely to be adequate for much longer. Many

areas of the UK, notably south-east England and other large urban areas, have already run

out of land for controlled tipping and have to transport their waste considerable distances

for disposal. For example, much of London’s waste is disposed of in either the Bedfordshire

TABLE 18.5 Effects of increased exposure to ultraviolet light

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brickworks or in reclaiming land from the sea in Essex. Landfill creates a number of

environmental problems, particularly on poorly managed sites, as listed in Table 18.6.

About 400 million tonnes of waste are generated annually in the UK. Much of this

waste is relatively innocuous, including waste from mining, quarrying and agriculture,

which mainly remains on site. Demolition and construction waste is mainly inert and

much waste from industry is recycled (Figure 18.5). Of major environmental concern is

Special Wastes, defined in the Special Wastes Regulations 1996, which consist of

substances dangerous to life (such as toxic chemicals). Each household in England and

Wales has been estimated to generate 21 kilograms of waste per week. Only about 7 per

cent of UK household waste is currently recycled, by far the majority (about 83 per cent)

still being landfilled (DETR 1997). However, a growing amount of such waste is being

recycled, and the UK government has set a target of increasing recycling to 40 per cent by

the year 2005.

As pointed out by the Dobris Assessment:

there are few environmental problems in Europe that cannot be traced back to some

sort of excessive loading by chemicals.

Estimates suggest that the current annual world production of chemicals is about 400 million

tonnes, with 10,000 different chemicals being commercially produced (Lonngren 1992).

These may be routinely released into air or water, or onto land, or may be discharged in

accidents. Exposure to chemicals may adversely affect ecosystems, and in humans there

may be harmful effects on health. There has been increasing concern about health hazards

posed by hazardous chemicals from waste disposal and other industrial activities. Attempts

to identify potentially contaminated sites have been made in some European countries, but

in the UK measures to require local authorities to make registers of potentially contaminated

land were postponed in 1992. The most common toxic soil pollutants include heavy metals,

organic chemicals, oils, tars, pesticides, radioactive materials and asbestos. The Environment

Act 1995 made the Environment Agency responsible for producing a national report on

contaminated land and for advising local authorities on the problems. The UK distribution

of derelict land, which is often contaminated, and its reclamation is considered further in

Chapter 17.

TABLE 18.6 Environmental impacts of landfill waste disposal

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Old landfill sites in the UK are a potential ‘time bomb’. Leaching of toxic chemicals,

such as heavy metals from old batteries or organochlorine compounds from old pesticide

containers, may contaminate drinking-water supplies and pose a health risk where housing

has been developed on or near old disposal sites. Leachate may also contain high

concentrations of nitrates and phosphates leading to eutrophication of surface waters in

surrounding areas. There have been a number of UK incidents in which houses built on old

landfill sites have been damaged or destroyed by explosions. The threat of explosions has

led to large property price reductions and the blighting of some areas in terms of house

sales. Methane and carbon dioxide emitted also contribute to the greenhouse effect considered

in the previous section, and landfill emissions have been estimated to account for a quarter

of total methane emissions (Hewett 1995).

FIGURE 18.5 Estimated UK waste production by sector for 1995

Source: DETR (1997).

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About 9 per cent of waste generated in England and Wales in 1995/6 was incinerated

(DETR 1997). Incineration creates the problem of disposing of ash, which includes

contaminants such as heavy metals. If the process is not properly controlled toxic gases

are emitted into the atmosphere, one notable group being dioxins which are produced if

the temperature drops too low. Municipal waste incinerators were required by EC

legislation to comply with stricter emission standards by 1 December 1996. Thirteen UK

incinerators were unable to comply with the new standards and had to be closed, leaving

just five upgraded plants in operation. Therefore, the incineration disposal option has

recently decreased in significance in the UK. Proposals to construct new plants such as

incinerators, which have major potential environmental impacts, invariably encounter

considerable local opposition (the so called NIMBY—Not In My Back Yard—syndrome).

This is true for any development proposals involving any form of waste handling,

processing or disposal.

The UK generates about 2–2.5 million tonnes of Special Waste each year (DoE 1996).

Of particular concern is the international trade in such wastes. This is worrying and unethical

when the recipient is a poorer country, lacking adequate treatment or disposal facilities,

which has been tempted by financial incentives. International co-operation is needed to

achieve full control of such transfrontier waste movement. However, the UK has already

acted, under the 1996 Management Plan for Export and Import of Waste, to ban the export

or import of waste for disposal.

The disposal of radioactive waste (considered in more detail in Chapter 3) and fall-

out of radioactive isotopes from nuclear installations have long been a cause for concern in

the UK. Most accidents which have occurred at nuclear power plants have resulted from

human errors, the most serious being the April 1986 Chernobyl accident in the Ukraine (see

Chapter 17). Radioactive caesium-137 was deposited over wide areas of Europe and led to

restrictions on livestock sales from some parts of the UK. For the average UK individual,

less than 0.1 per cent of their radiation dose comes from routine operation of nuclear

installations. Of more immediate concern is the hazard posed by naturally occurring radon

gas referred to in the introductory section of this chapter and discussed in greater detail in

Chapter 17.

Aquatic pollution

Two of the Dobris Assessment’s ‘prominent European environmental problems’ specifically

involve aquatic pollution, namely the ‘management of freshwater’ and ‘coastal zone threats

and management’. Others, notably ‘major accidents’, ‘acidification’, and ‘chemical risks’

can all affect aquatic ecosystems.

Major pollutants of UK freshwaters include sewage, leachates from fertilisers and

manures, silage effluent, pesticides, industrial chemicals and mine drainage. Most UK rivers

are classed as of good or fair quality (chemically, 91 per cent in England and Wales, 99 per

cent in Scotland and 88 per cent in Northern Ireland; biologically, 93 per cent in England

and Wales, 98 per cent in Scotland and 100 per cent in Northern Ireland in 1995). Differences

between regions largely reflect differences in industrialisation (referred to in Chapter 7)

and population distribution (referred to in Chapters 9 and 10). Quality is generally improving,

mainly owing to improved sewerage and sewage treatment (see Chapter 2) and industrial

pollution controls. There was a net upgrading in biological and chemical quality of rivers

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and canals in England and Wales of 26 per cent and 28 per cent respectively between 1990

and 1995. However, there were still significant stretches classified as poor to bad (DETR

1997). For example, 9 per cent of rivers and canals in England and Wales, and 12 per cent

in Northern Ireland, were described as poor or bad for chemical quality in the period 1993–

5. The number of reported water pollution incidents in England and Wales rose steadily

between 1988 and 1995 (Figure 18.6). However, in 1996 the number of reported incidents

fell for the first time in eight years. Drinking water quality appears to have improved in

recent years, as discussed in Chapter 2.

The most important pollutants of marine waters include sewage in coastal bathing

areas, oil, synthetic organic compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

and pesticide residues, litter, heavy metals and radionuclides. Routine operation of

ships and oil rigs, as well as accidents involving them, regularly create oil pollution

incidents. The Irish Sea is renowned for its high levels of radioisotopes, routinely

discharged from the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, and for various

chemicals such as PCBs discharged from industries in north-west England which

have been implicated in the deaths of seabirds. In the 1970s, Sellafield was easily the

most significant site in Western Europe routinely discharging radioisotopes into the

sea. However, stricter discharge authorisation limits have resulted in a 91 per cent

reduction in discharges to water from UK nuclear plants between 1983 and 1993,

despite an increase in nuclear power generation of 84 per cent (DoE 1996). Reductions

have resulted from improved working practices and technology and increased emphasis

on storing radioactive wastes rather than discharging them into the environment.

However, there is concern that the UK does not have a fully developed strategy for

disposing of radioactive wastes.

Since 1988 there has been an underlying trend for the quality of UK bathing waters

to improve (Figure 18.6). Work is continuing to improve the remaining 10 per cent of

substandard waters through a £10 billion investment programme centred on sewage

treatment (Environment Agency 1997). Compliance varies on a geographical basis, ranging

from 100 per cent compliance for Northern Ireland bathing waters to only 61 per cent for

bathing waters in north-west England. This largely reflects the population densities of the

regions involved, with more-populated areas producing more sewage and hence tending

to have poorer-quality waters. For example, major sewage discharges into Swansea Bay

have led to bathing-water quality test failures and nuisance complaints from the public. A

new £82 million sewage treatment works looks set to improve the area from 1998

(Environment Agency 1997). British rivers contribute about 20 per cent of pollutants

entering the North Sea. About 9.3 million tonnes of sewage sludge and 5.1 million tonnes

of industrial waste from the UK were dumped at sea in 1990, but sea dumping is being

phased out (Hewett 1995).

Oil pollution incidents, such as those caused by the Braer and Sea Empress referred

to in the opening section of this chapter, are a regular occurrence around the UK coasts. For

every major incident such as these there are many smaller incidents, some of which involve

the deliberate discharge of oil into water. Coastwatch Europe Surveys, which began in 1987,

have shown that coastal litter pollution is a major problem. Some forms of litter—for example

sanitary waste, medical waste and glass—pose a direct hazard to human health. Other forms—

for example fishing gear and plastic bags—float in the sea and may entangle and kill sea

birds and marine mammals (Coastwatch 1994).

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The future

The foregoing account supports the contention of the opening quotes that significant

improvements in UK pollution control have been made in the 1990s. The account also

demonstrates that improvements are not universal and that levels of some pollutants in

FIGURE 18.6 Reported water pollution incidents in England and Wales, and UK compliance with EC

Bathing Water Directive 76/160/EEC, for the period 1988–96

Source: DETR (1997).

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certain areas have been increasing in recent years. In particular, it is becoming apparent

that emissions from motor vehicles are playing an increasingly significant role in

atmospheric pollution in the UK and that urgent controls are required. Improvements in

control for individual vehicles have tended to be outweighed by the ever-increasing

number of vehicles on our roads. There was a 58 per cent increase in motor vehicle

traffic on UK roads between 1980 and 1995, most of which was attributable to motor

cars (DETR 1997). The changing pattern of transport in the UK has been considered in

more detail in Chapter 6. As has been demonstrated in the present chapter, motor vehicles

are now the major culprits in terms of UK emissions of black smoke, nitrogen oxides

and carbon monoxide. They are also a serious problem for many people living near

roads as regards noise nuisance. Complaints received by Environmental Health Officers

about road-related traffic noise (including roadworks and road construction) increased

more than threefold between 1983/4 and 1994/5 (DETR 1997), reflecting the general

trend for increasing noise complaints from all sources. Further action is needed to reduce

increasing photochemical oxidant formation to which motor vehicles are major

contributors. Efforts are needed to reduce our dependence on motor vehicles and to

increase the efficiency of individual vehicles. The need for comprehensive transport

planning emphasising public transport systems is paramount. Electric trams, which have

been recently introduced in Sheffield and which will soon appear in Croydon, and

navigable urban waterways may both have a part to play, being relatively minor pollution

sources when compared with motor vehicles. Planning policies, considered in more

detail in Chapters 10 and 11, should aim to reduce the need for long-distance journeys

and promote cycling and walking as environmentally and socially acceptable forms of

transport. For example, the trend for increasing numbers of ‘out-of-town’ shopping

centres (e.g. Meadowhall, Sheffield—see Chapter 1), which generates additional car

journeys and associated pollution, not to mention adding to the demise of local town

and village centre shops, really needs to be reversed.

In August 1997, the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, made a government

commitment to developing an integrated transport policy. It is to be hoped that Local

Agenda 21, which was initiated at the 1992 Earth Summit, will facilitate more sustainable

use of resources which will help to reduce pollution. For example, energy conservation

measures in offices, shops, industry and homes would help to reduce the trend for

increasing fuel use reported in Chapter 3. Insulation of buildings and the use of low-

energy lighting are two simple ways of reducing fuel use, and hence emissions of CO

and other pollutant gases. In 1997 at ‘Earth Summit II’, the Prime Minister, Tony Blair,

reiterated the UK’s commitment to reduce CO

emissions by 20 per cent, compared

with 1990 levels, by 2010.

Increasing shortages of land, particularly in south-east England and other urban areas,

for the landfilling of waste as well as for housing development, is clearly a major issue as

regards terrestrial pollution, which needs to be tackled as the next millennium approaches.

More incentives need to be provided to promote housing developments in derelict urban

areas. Developers will need to pay particular attention to remediating any soil contamination

which might exist in such areas and more assistance could be provided for clean-up

operations. As regards waste disposal, the UK needs to develop and optimise programmes

to encourage a reduction in waste generation, the reuse of packaging and the recycling of

waste. Further action to minimise packaging and to provide more recycling facilities is

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needed. Two simple examples will now be provided to demonstrate the sort of things which

could be done. First, doorstep milk deliveries, which use returnable bottles and typically

involve transport by electric vehicles, could be encouraged by incentives for such deliveries

or by a form of tax on ‘non-doorstep’ milk. This would reduce the huge number of disposable

plastic and paper milk cartons generated, as well as reducing air pollution associated with

car journeys made to purchase milk. Second, individual household composting of organic

waste could be encouraged by distribution of free composters, as has been attempted by a

few local authorities, combined with an education campaign on this subject. As well as

reducing pollution from the transport and disposal of household waste, this would also

reduce pollution generated by the manufacture, packaging and transport of horticultural

fertilisers.

The EC Council Directive 67/548/EEC on labelling, packaging and classification of

dangerous substances looks set to form the basis of legislation for controlling chemical use

and reducing packaging in the UK and other EC nations. For products to qualify for an EU

logo they must have a reduced environmental impact when compared with usual products

and must comply with specific ecological criteria. These take into account environmental

impacts at all stages of a product’s life cycle—from raw materials, through manufacture,

distribution, use and final disposal. The UK, along with four other EC member states, has

started product life-cycle analysis of paper, detergents, paints, hair sprays, refrigerators and

washing machines.

There are signs that the quality of many UK rivers and coastal waters is slowly

improving after many years of a general trend for decline. Recent years have seen the

widely publicised re-emergence of otters and salmon in the River Thames, from which

both species were virtually eliminated, mainly by pollution. A lesser-known species, the

smelt, is also making a comeback in the Thames. In the eighteenth century, the smelt

formed the basis of a major industry in Chiswick from which up to one hundred boats

fished.

Four guiding principles for the prevention and safe management of waste are listed in

the Dobris Assessment and could be usefully applied more generally to any process in

which pollutants are generated. First, the ‘prevention principle’ states that waste production

should be avoided at source. Second, the ‘polluter pays principle’ states that the polluter

should stand the costs of waste disposal and pollution. Third, the ‘precautionary principle’

suggests that disposal options should consider all potential environmental impacts and ensure

that no serious environmental harm is done. Fourth, the ‘proximity principle’ recommends

that waste should be managed as near as possible to the source. These four principles should

be considered when dealing with any form of pollutant in the UK as we enter the next

millennium. It is to be hoped that the new Environment Agency successfully fulfils its

statutory responsibilities for protecting and improving the environment, which would be

demonstrated by continually decreasing levels of atmospheric, terrestrial and aquatic pollution

in the UK as the next millennium progresses.

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Adrian Redfern (DETR) for providing permission to use data from The

Environment in Your Pocket, and to Mary Mackenzie (Roehampton Institute, London) for

drawing the figures.

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404

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