published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Master / Master of Science

The objective of this research is to determine the degree to which the recent antipollution laws will affect the location of industrial plants.

Thesis (LLM. (Development Management Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / Water is the source of life for human beings, animals and plants also need water for them to grow. The scourge of water pollution in our country due to various reasons is of great concerns and if left unattended will have dire consequences. Uncontrolled water pollution results in health hazards to human beings, animals and other living things. In terms of our Constitution the state as a custodian of all natural resources has a duty to ensure that water as a scarce resource is preserved for the present and future generations. Legislative measures are needed in order to ensure that same prevails. Legislation imposes measure such as a permit and its condition that must be respected by the holder of such permit. Failure to observe the condition of the permit is punishable by law for both corporates and human beings. Most environmental crimes are caused not by a deliberate intention or negligence but by poor or ineffective management systems. Public education is important in ensuring that water pollution does not take place. Authorities must also be strict in ensuring compliance with permits and prevention of water pollution as prevention is better that cure. This dissertation examines water pollution legislation in South Africa, India and the United Kingdom and offers a comparative analysis and recommendations to South Africa. The three countries are developed and also allocated in three different continents. The examination and analysis of how they fight water pollution gives a chance to South Africa on how it may improve its legislation and maintain its water quality.

No description available.

The main body of the thesis is a detailed study of the practice of the legal regulation of water pollution, primarily between the period of 1 October 1983 and 31 August 1989, although reference is made to events preceding that period where necessary to provide a full assessment.

This research examined the toxicity of complex industrial effluents as measured by chemical analyses, whole effluent toxicity (WET) tests and surveys of the receiving water biota. Toxicity of final effluents from 45 diverse facilities was examined to determine whether inferred toxicity based on presence and concentration of priority substances could predict WET, calculated from a battery of bioassays on bacteria, cladocerans and algae. Following corrections of inferred toxicity for particle-bound contaminants and adjustment for free ion activity, correlation between inferred and whole effluent toxicity was highly significant. Effluents with elevated metal concentrations exhibited lower WET than predicted, likely due to negative interactions among trace metals; kraft mill effluents exhibited higher WET than predicted which is consistent with findings in the literature. / The ability of laboratory WET tests to predict thresholds of invertebrate community response to a complex industrial effluent was examined. Patterns in invertebrate community structure were detrended for environmental factors and compared to measured instream effluent concentrations. Laboratory effect thresholds, reported as Maximum Allowable Toxicant Concentrations (MATC), were calculated from a battery of toxicity tests on bacteria, algae, cladocerans and fish. Declines in taxonomic richness corresponded to calculated lab thresholds, while changes in abundance of total taxa and sensitive taxa, (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera) occurred at lower concentrations than predicted from MATCs. The tendency for invertebrate abundance to decline at lower instream effluent concentrations than richness supports findings in the literature. Lack of correspondence between lab and field thresholds may be ameliorated by the addition of behavior endpoints, (e.g. avoidance) to toxicity tests.

Thesis equivalent (M.P.H.E.)--University of Michigan, 1947.

Thesis equivalent (M.P.H.E.)--University of Michigan, 1947.

M.Sc. (Zoology) / An investigation was made into the water chemistry, bacteriology and macroinvertebrate fauna of the Elsburg Spruit and its major tributaries within the municipal boundaries of the City of Germiston. From the results obtained it is clear that the main stream and most of its tributaries are seriously affected by a combination of pollutants. Three types of pollution could largely be distinguished namely fecal bacterial contamination of parts of the stream system which may be related to the possible discharge in the stream of domestic sewage. This in turn may be a major source of organic enrichment of the water of the stream at some places. Acid pollution associated with high mineral loads and heavy metal concentrations which in the latter case could be traced to mining regions and industrial areas in the catchment area of the system. Despite the serious disturbance of stream conditions in the upper region of the Elsburg Spruit some recovery does in fact take place in the lower lying regions of the Elsburg Spruit where the stream flows for several kilometers through a natural vlei area. Certain recommendations are made concerning the location and possible elimination of the major sources of pollution.

This thesis reviews relationships between economic growth and water pollution in South Korea using the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). Both national perspective (pooled data) and regional perspective (each river) are used to reveal the EKC theory. Given that the small sample covers four rivers and the period of 1985-2009, Fixed-effects model with a robust standard error is chosen for removing econometric problems. Empirical results demonstrate that the EKC theory explains water quality change in South Korea, depending on the types of water pollutants and their generated regional characteristics. The Han River does not show inverted-U shapes for BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), but the Geum River (BOD), the Yeongsan River (BOD and COD), and the Nackdong River (COD) show inverted-U shapes. At the national perspective, BOD and COD might show inverted-U shapes; therefore, the EKC relationship cannot always be generalized between economic growth and environmental pollution.