Lexikon

water pollution means the discharge by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the aquatic environment, the results of which are such as to cause hazards to human health, harm to living resources and to aquatic ecosystems, damage to amenities or interference with other legitimate uses of water.

from the point of view of water quality some chemical substances have priority. These are the substances identified in accordance with Article 16(2) and listed in Annex X of Water Framework Directive. Among these substances there are "priority hazardous substances" which means substances identified in accordance with Article 16(3) and (6) for which measures have to be taken in accordance with Article 16(1) and (8).

The substances on the first priority list are the following:

water scarcity and drought are different phenomena although they are liable to aggravate the impacts of each other. In some regions, the severity and frequency of droughts can lead to water scarcity situations, while overexploitation of available water resources can exacerbate the consequences of droughts. Therefore, attention needs to be paid to the synergies between these two phenomena, especially in river basins affected by water scarcity.

Water scarcity occurs where there are insufficient water resources to satisfy long-term average requirements. It refers to long-term water imbalances, combining low water availability with a level of water demand exceeding the supply capacity of the natural system.

Water availability problems frequently appear in areas with low rainfall but also in areas with high population density, intensive irrigation and/or industrial activity. Large spatial and temporal differences in the amount of water available are observed across Europe.

Beyond water quantity, a situation of water scarcity can also emerge from acute water quality issues (e.g. diffuse or point source pollutions) which lead to reduced fresh/clean water availability.

Currently the main way of assessing Water Scarcity is by means of the Water Exploitation Index (WEI) applied on different scales (i.e. national, river basin). The WEI is the average demand for freshwater divided by the long-term average freshwater resources. It illustrates to which extent the total water demand puts pressure on the available water resource in a given territory and points out the territories that have high water demand compared to their resources.

The maps attached as links show the WEI for the European river basins in 2000 and for a forecasted scenario in 2030.

all services which provide, for households, public institutions or any economic activity: (a) abstraction, impoundment, storage, treatment and distribution of surface water or groundwater, (b) waste-water collection and treatment facilities which subsequently discharge into surface water.

specified by the saturation mass concentration of the substance in water at a given temperature, expressed in kg/m³ or g/l. A physico-chemical parameter required by REACH. This property is not a Classification and Labelling (C&L) (classification and labelling of chemicals) criterion as such. It applies to substances unless there is existing additional scientific evidence concerning degradation and/or toxicity, sufficient to provide an adequate assurance that neither the substance nor its degradation products will constitute a potential long-term and/or delayed danger to the aquatic community. (http://www.prc.cnrs-gif.fr/reach/en/physicochemical_data.html) The study does not need to be conducted if the substance is hydrolytically unstable at pH 4, 7 and 9 (half-life less than 12 hours); or the substance is readily oxidisable in water. If the substance appears "insoluble" in water, a limit test up to the detection limit of the analytical method shall be performed.

the whole system which provides water, including its source in surface water and/or groundwater, its treatment to get drinking water, its storage and its transport for industrial, agricultural or domestic uses. (Source: EUGRIS)

water services together with any other activity identified under Article 5 and Annex II of WFD having a significant impact on the status of water.

wave technology is a special electricity generating wind technology: winds passing over water create surface waves. The faster the wind speed, the longer the wind is sustained, the greater the distance the wind travels, the greater the wave height, and the greater the wave energy produced. Wave power devices capture energy from ocean surface waves to produce electricity. One type of device is a buoy that rises and falls with a wave. Another type is a surface-following device, whose up-and-down motion increases the pressure on oil to drive a hydraulic motor.

waxes of petroleum origin consist primarily of normal paraffins. Waxes of plant origin consist of esters of unsaturated fatty acids.

weathering is the breakdown of rocks at the Earth’s surface, by the action of rainwater, extremes of temperature, and biological activity. It does not involve the removal of rock material.

There are three types of weathering, physical weathering, chemical weathering and biological weathering.

The result of weathering is soil formation.

see weathering

weight of eidence in general is a measure of evidence on one side of an issue as compared with the evidence on the other side of the issue, or to measure the evidence on multiple issues.

In the law: measure of credible proof on one side of a dispute as compared with the credible proof on the other, particularly the probative evidence considered by a judge or jury during a trial.

Medical diagnosis: weights of evidence is a quantitative method for combining evidence in support of a hypothesis. The method was originally developed for a nonspatial application in medical diagnosis, in which the evidence consisted of a set of symptoms and the hypothesis was of the type "this patient has disease x". For each symptom, a pair of weights was calculated, one for presence of the symptom, one for absence of the symptom. The magnitude of the weights depended on the measured association between the symptom and the pattern of disease in a large group of patients. The weights could ten be used to estimate the probability that a new patient would get the disease, based on the presence or absence of symptoms.

Environmental sciences: weights of evidence was adapted in the late 1980s for mineral potential mapping with GIS. In this situation, the evidence consists of a set of exploration datasets (maps), and the hypothesis is "this location is favourable for occurrence of deposit type x". Weights are estimated from the measured association between known mineral occurrences and the values on the maps to be used as predictors. The hypothesis is then repeatedly evaluated for all possible locations on the map using the calculated weights, producing a mineral potential map in which the evidence from several map layers is combined. The method belongs to a group of methods suitable for multi-criteria decision making.

Sources:

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/weight+of+evidence

http://www.ige.unicamp.br/wofe/documentation/wofeintr.htm

white spirit is a mixture of saturated aliphatic and alicyclic C7 to C12 hydrocarbons with a maximum content of 25% of C7 to C12 alkyl aromatic hydrocarbons.

It is used as an extraction solvent, as a cleaning solvent, as a degreasing solvent and as a solvent in aerosols, paints, wood preservatives, lacquers, varnishes, and asphalt products. It is the most widely used solvent in the paint industry. In households, white spirit is commonly used to clean paint brushes after decorating.

Three different types and three different grades of white spirit exist. The type refers to whether the solvent has been subjected to hydrodesulfurization (removal of sulfur) alone (type 1), solvent extraction (type 2) or hydrogenation (type 3). Each type comprises three different grades: low flash grade, regular grade, and high flash grade. The grade is determined by the crude oil used as the starting material and the conditions of distillation.

Aromatic substance content in white spirit is responsible for most of the adverse effects. It is an irritant, has low acute toxicity by inhalation of the vapour, dermal (touching the skin) and oral routes (ingestion). Exposure to very high concentrations in enclosed spaces can lead to general narcotic effects (drowsiness, dizziness, nausea etc...) and can eventually lead to unconsciousness.

Exposure to an average white spirit concentration of 240 mg/m³ (40 ppm) for more than 13 years could lead to chronic central nervous system effects.

It is moderately toxic to aquatic organisms, is unlikely to present significant hazards to the environment. It should not however, be purposely poured down the sink or freshwater drain if avoidable. It should be disposed of correctly wherever possible.

The physical properties of the three types (low, medium and high flash-point) of white spirit are summarized in the table.
(Source: Wikipedia)

electricity-generating wind technologies belong to the WWS (Wind, Water and Sun) group of the renewable energy sources.
Wind turbines convert the energy of the wind into electricity. Generally, a gearbox turns the slow-moving turbine rotor into faster-rotating gears, which convert mechanical energy to electricity in a generator. Some modern turbines are gearless. Although less efficient, small turbines can be used in homes or buildings. Wind farms today appear on land and offshore, with individual turbines ranging in size up to 7 MW.

Wireless Local Area Network

see weight of evidence

physical surroundings and social environment at a workplace.

Mechanical hazards include:

By type of agent:

• Impact force: collisions, falls from height
• Struck by objects
• Confined space
• Slips and trips
• Falling on a pointed object
• Compressed air/high pressure fluids (such as cutting fluid)
• Entanglement
• Equipment-related injury

By type of damage:

• Crushing
• Cutting
• Friction and abrasion
• Shearing
• Stabbing and puncture

Other physical hazards:

• Noise
• Vibration
• Lighting
• Barotrauma (hypobaric/hyperbaric pressure)
• Ionizing radiation
• Electricity
• Asphyxiation
• Cold stress (hypothermia)
• Heat stress (hyperthermia)
• Dehydration (due to sweating)

Biological hazards include:

• Bacteria
• Virus
• Fungi
• Mold
• Blood-borne pathogens
• Tuberculosis

Chemical hazards include:

• Acids
• Bases
• Heavy metals
• Lead
• Solvents
• Petroleum
• Particulates
• Asbestos and other fine dust/fibrous materials
• Silica
• Fumes (noxious gases/vapors)
• Highly-reactive chemicals
• Fire, conflagration and explosion hazards:
• Explosion
• Deflagration
• Detonation
• Conflagration

Psychosocial issues include:

• Work-related stress, whose causal factors include excessive working time and overwork
• Violence from outside the organisation
• Bullying, which may include emotional and verbal abuse
• Sexual harassment
• Mobbing
• Burnout
• Exposure to unhealthy elements during meetings with business associates, e.g. tobacco, uncontrolled alcohol

Musculoskeletal disorders, avoided by the employment of good ergonomic design

the World Reference Base for soil resources is a two-level system of soil classification with 30 Soil Reference Groups and a series of uniquely defined qualifiers for specific soil characteristics.

For describing and defining soils the WRB exploits the following nomenclature:

• soil characteristics comprise single observable or measured parameters;
• soil properties are a combination of characteristics indicating soil-forming processes;
• soil horizons represent three-dimensional bodies containing one or more soil properties

Waste Water Treatment Plant

World Wide Web