Essay on Contamination in the Yangtze

Submitted By mskehall
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Contamination in the Yangtze

Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the annual environmental science and chemistry conference. This year we are focusing on air/ water quality and recycling efforts in developing countries such as China. The goal of this conference is to create a harmonious society with clean air and water. As an environmental and chemical consultant for Kung and Associates, I wish to discuss with you today the issue of water pollution along the Yangtze through out the process of the Three Gorges dam construction.
The issue is that the Yangtze River has changed significantly from before the construction of the Three Gorges to after. The dam was not completely thought through; therefore hidden dangers began to arise throughout and after the construction. Transforming the clear drinkable water, into a murky polluted disaster. The sudden increase pressure on the shorelines has created landslides, and other geological disasters. The river is also being intoxicated by sewage and other harmful debris. This not only mutilates the environment but also my human lives have been effected.
The Yangtze River is the 4th largest sediment carrier in the world. Due to the massive size of the Dam, land within the grasp of the river is being eroded. Eighty percent of land around the river has already experienced erosion, depositing all the sediment into the Yangtze. The Three Gorges Dam intensifies water pollution by reducing waters, trapping sediment and increasing eutrophication. Since above the dam the water is moving slower, the sediment gets deposited instead of traveling downstream this can cause flooding in areas that are unprepared due to the previous nonexistent flooding in that area.
Not only is erosion a problem, but so is the pollution. Industrial and agricultural work involves the use of many different chemicals that can run-off into water and pollute it. The chemicals are soluble in the water and travel down stream. Solubility is defined ar a measure of a particular substance in a particular solvent, equal to the quantity of substance dissolving in a fixed quantity of solvent to form a saturated solution under specified temperature and pressure. This means that the water will create a solution with at much substance the water can hold and keep moving down the stream. Wastewater is also released annually into the river, over one billion tons, leaving the water looking murky, polluted, and unpleasant.
The Three Gorges Dam is the largest dam in the world therefore, no other country has had the issues china is having in such a large scale. There has been dams that have had their issues but the Three Gorges Dam seems to have it all. The construction set 10 world records, including most efficiently flood-resistant hydropower-complex structure; largest power plant; biggest consumer of earth, stone, and concrete; highest monthly amount of concrete used; largest water discharge in history; largest capacity for flood discharge; and the largest number of people (1.13 million) who have ever been displaced for hydropower complex construction. Every world record came with a down side.
We bring forth a recommendation that might make future dam constructions less devastating, revise. Revise until every situation is mapped out and along with it all the consequences. All Countries should learn
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