Профессионально-ориентированное чтение для магистров и аспирантов пищевых специальностей университета (сборник текстов). Михедова Л.Г. - 5 стр.

garbage incinerator was illegally mixed with the resurfacing         up each morning and assume that they can routinely go about
compound. Incinerator ash often contains numerous heavy              their normal daily activities. Already, the day has come when
metals and toxic chemicals including dioxin, possibly the most       children in many cities must be kept inside on days when air
deadly chemical known to humanity. A dose of dioxin, one             pollution levels exceed healthy limits. In Mexico City, pollution
hundredth the size of a grain of salt, causes immediate death to a   has become so acute that the daily activities of millions of
guinea pig. For months, evening thunderstorms, which brought         people are restricted on an increasingly frequent basis.
you relief from hot summer days, washed contaminants from the        Restrictions are routinely placed on automobile use, and
street into your yard. You have been exposed to toxins. Your         children are frequently prohibited from going to school on
health and that of your family and neighbors may have been           certain days. Pollution levels often exceed international
severely compromised. You probably were completely unaware           standards. It is not uncommon for ground level ozone in Mexico
of the presence of dioxin in your yard. Should you develop           City to reach 297 on the metropolitan air quality index.
cancer later in life, you may never know if exposure to dioxin       According to the World Health Organization, an ozone reading
was the primary cause.                                               of 300 poses a serious health risk. Exposure to this level of
   While the above scenario may sound improbable, many               ozone can result in memory loss and severe respiratory
similar events have occurred across the United States. In            problems.
numerous cases, thousands of residents have been forced to              Exposure to toxins which have leached into the soil or
permanently evacuate their homes because toxic contamination         groundwater is only one of many ways in which North
cannot be adequately removed. The evacuation of communities,         Americans come into contact with extraordinarily dangerous
as a result of chemical contamination, has become a relatively       substances. Transportation related accidents occur even more
commonplace event in our society. Scores of evacuations such         frequently than chemical leaks at manufacturing facilities.
as the 1990 relocation of the residents of Ponca City, Oklahoma      Nationwide, more than 4 billion pounds of hazardous materials
occur each year. (2000)                                              are shipped by rail each year. On any given day there are over
                                                                     250,000 shipments of hazardous chemicals. In 1989, there were
                               ***                                   over 200 rail accidents involving hazardous substances. In many
   7. Human exposure to toxic substances occurs more                 cases thousands of people had to be temporarily evacuated from
frequently than most people recognize or would like to admit.        their homes. A typical accident occurred in June of 1992 when
Trace levels of a variety of contaminants are routinely found in     14 rail cars fell from a bridge and spilled over 21,000 gallons of
the human body. One estimate suggests that over 90 percent of        benzene into the Nemadji river in Minnesota. Fearing that
all cancers are caused by exposure to toxic substances. Other        benzene exposure would cause central nervous system and lung
estimates speculate that globally over 30 million lives are lost     damage, National Guard and Army Reserve troops were called
annually as a direct result of human mismanagement of the            in to help evacuate over 50,000 people from Duluth and
environment.                                                         surrounding communities. This type of accident threatens
   As pollution levels increase, humans are forced to modify         virtually every American community. (2000)
their behaviors. Many of the world’s residents can no longer get