DOCSLIB.ORG

Industrial Society and Chemical Pollution

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Industrial Society and Chemical Pollution INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY 13 AND CHEMICAL POLLUTION Industrial mass production of chemicals in is one of the large environmental dilemmas of modern society. Pollution from the site of production was originally the largest problem. Today, pollution during consumption and waste, the 384 INDUSTRIALrest of a product’s SOCIETY life-cycle, is ANDoften much CHEMICAL more problematic. POLLUTION (Photo: Lars Rydén.) "By how much does resource efficiency have to be increased? The factor of two on the global level, if combined with the equity considerations ... (a kind of human right to resource use) translates into a factor ten improvement in resource productivity for industrialized countries. This goal, to be reached in a 30 to 50 year time span, is equivalent to an annual increase in resource productivity of 4.5 %, and considered a pragmatic, feasable and necessary policy target." F. Schmidt-Bleek on use of material resources in the Factor 10 Club, 1994. Industrial society has developed in the Baltic Sea region biomagnification. DDT is an early example of a for almost 150 years. The smoking chimneys of factories persistent organic pollutant, POP. were first seen as a sign of progress and a promise of Many technically very useful substances turned out future well-being. In the former socialist countries to be dangerous in the same way. The polychlorinated development of heavy industry was a main concern up biphenyls, PCBs, were used in large amounts in e.g. to the time of Soviet Union breakup. In the West, not electric equipment or building materials just because it only heavy industry but also production of consumer was so stable. But it accumulated in fish, was traced in items were important, and the affluent society mothers milk, and almost made the grey seals in the developed. Baltic Sea extinct. Use of PCBs has been illegal since It was not until the 1960s that industries were the 1970s or 1980s, but large amounts continue to leak generally connected with pollution and threats against from the technosphere. Similar compounds, such as the environment and man. Chemicals in emissions to flame retardants, leak from all kinds of electronic the air, effluents to water, and substances polluting soil equipment and end up not only in Baltic herring but also were shown to cause ecological damage and human in every day food such as meat and milk. health problems. Initially, the immediate surroundings In addition to these groups of chemicals are a whole of factories were a concern. Later, it was understood series of contaminants in technical products. Worst that entire regions and in fact the whole planet had been among them are the dioxins and the dibenzofurans, affected by toxic chemicals. among the most toxic substances ever made. All these In this chapter we will look closer on industrial chemicals are organic compounds containing chlorine, production and its environmental effects, and bromine, or fluorine atoms – so-called halogens. especially on the major groups of toxic chemicals. Use of the substances mentioned was made illegal Industrial production is a very complex chemical in the Baltic Sea region in the 1970s. They can, however, activity. It is man’s ability to produce an almost endless reach the Baltic Sea region from other parts of the world variety of chemicals with novel and wonderful and also from deposits in local society. properties that is the root of the chemical pollution Emissions from industry are increasingly better problem. Today, there are about 70,000 different controlled, but leakage from consumer products of all chemicals on the market in Europe. Earlier, only the kinds, from households and other sectors of society, in beneficial properties of these chemicals were particular industry itself, is still very large. In the Baltic investigated. Their behaviour in the environment was Sea region the annual use of materials, the material seldomly understood, nor examined. flows, amounts to about 50 tonnes per capita. This large Pesticides were invented to fight some of man’s flow of natural resources, a large part of it originating worst diseases such as malaria, and they were from fossil fuels, is not sustainable and has to be intentionally made to be toxic. One of the first and most reduced. Most importantly, substances not compatible successful pesticides was DDT, invented during World with life processes need to be phased out. War II. DDT was also the first substance to be connected Authorities use a systematic approach to risk to far-reaching ecological damages. DDT stays in the assessment for chemical products and risk environment for a long time, it is persistent; it management strategies have been developed for good accumulates easily in fat tissues in animals, called management of chemicals. New strategies for chemical bioaccumulation; and its concentrations in tissues industries are developing and the option of sustainable increased along food chains, a process called chemistry is slowly emerging. Authors of this chapter Lars Rydén and Pawel Migula, main authors; Alicja Andersson, consumer products; A background text on persistent organic compounds was providedINDUSTRIAL by Peter Backlund, SOCIETY Bjarne Holmbom,AND CHEMICAL and Erkki Leppäkoski. POLLUTION 385 INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND CHEMICAL POLLUTION INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS Industry as a principle of production ...............................................................................................................................387 The nature of environmental impacts of industry ............................................................................................................388 Case Box 13.1 Severely polluted regions – Southern Poland..........................................................................................390 The chemical industry ......................................................................................................................................................391 The industrial aspects of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries ...........................................................................................391 Industry and the large material flows...............................................................................................................................392 Outlook Box 13.2 The large material flows.....................................................................................................................393 CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND POLLUTION Consumer products and diffuse pollution ........................................................................................................................394 The different kinds of consumers pollution .....................................................................................................................395 How to measure the environmental impact of a product .................................................................................................395 TOXIC ORGANIC CHEMICALS The persistent organic pollutants .....................................................................................................................................396 Chlorinated organic pollutants .........................................................................................................................................397 Toxic chemicals in the environment ................................................................................................................................397 Methods Box 13.3 Analysing persistent organic pollutants.............................................................................................398 CHEMICALS FOR TECHNICAL PURPOSES Polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs ....................................................................................................................................401 Case Box 13.4 The discovery of PCBs in the environment .............................................................................................402 Pollution from the pulp and paper industry .....................................................................................................................402 Other industrial chemicals, flame retardants ...................................................................................................................403 PESTICIDES Different kinds of pesticides ............................................................................................................................................404 DDT .................................................................................................................................................................................405 The DDT substitutes – toxaphene, lindane and others ....................................................................................................406 Organophosphate and carbamate insecticides .................................................................................................................406 Herbicides ........................................................................................................................................................................406 Biocides in water ecosystems ..........................................................................................................................................407 CONTAMINATING CHEMICALS Dioxins – the most toxic compounds ever made by humans ...........................................................................................408 Emissions
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Oil Shale Ash Utilization in Industrial Processes As an Alternative Raw Material
    OIL SHALE ASH UTILIZATION IN INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES AS AN ALTERNATIVE RAW MATERIAL Hussain Azeez Mohamed Leonel Campos Master of Science Thesis Stockholm 2016 Hussain Azeez Mohamed Leonel Campos OIL SHALE ASH UTILIZATION IN INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES AS AN ALTERNATIVE RAW MATERIAL Supervisor: Monika Olsson, Industrial Ecology, KTH Graham Aid, R&D Professional, Ragn Sells AB Paul Würtzell, R&D, Ragn Sells AB Examiner: Ann-Catrine M Norrström, Land and Water Resources Engineering, KTH Monika Olsson, Industrial Ecology, KTH Master of Science Thesis STOCKHOLM 2016 PRESENTED AT INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY TRITA-IM-EX 2016:19 Industrial Ecology, Royal Institute of Technology www.ima.kth.se Abstract Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock with the potential to yield significant amounts of oil and combustible gas when retorted. Oil shale deposits have been found on almost every continent, but only Estonia, who has the 8th largest oil shale deposit in the world has continuously utilized oil shale in large scale operations. Worldwide, Estonia accounts for 80% of the overall activity involving oil shale, consuming approximately 18 million tons while producing 5–7 million tons of oil shale ash (OSA) annually. Since the amounts are quite significant, Estonia has made the choice to store OSA outdoors as ash heaps, which currently average a height of 45m and overall cover an area of approximately 20 km2. Oil shale is primarily composed of organic matter (15%–55%), low– magnesium calcite (>50%), dolomite (<10%–15%), and siliciclastic minerals (<10–15%). When oil shale is combusted in thermal power plants (TPP), temperatures as high as 1500˚C are reached; calcining CaCO3 into CaO in the process.
    [Show full text]
  • Ettekanne.-Veiderma-Siirde-2007.Pdf
    Presentation by the European Academies Science Advisory Council on the meeting of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy of the European Parliament, 12 April 2007 Oil shale industry – viewed in the light of the Estonian experience Mihkel Veiderma, Andres Siirde Oil shale (OS) is a sedimentary rock containing up to 50 % organic matter, representing a mixture of high-molecular polyfunctional organic compounds and known as kerogen. OS of different deposits differ by genesis, composition of organic and mineral matter. For example, the element composition of the Estonian OS kerogen corresponds to the formula C 10 H 15.2 O 0.93 S 0.08 Cl 0.03 N 0.03 (i.e. ratio atoms H/C is about 1.5 instead of 2 in usual crude oil), its mineral part consists mainly of carbonates and sandy-clayey minerals. In comparison with coal, kerogen is rich in hydrogen and for this reason it is directly convertible by retorting into oil. The calorific value of OS, depending on kerogen content, is at least 2-3 times lower than that of coal. The world OS resources are estimated to amount to 11 trillion tons, i.e. 12 times more of proved reserves of anthracite, coal and lignite, all of them in aggregate. Due to differences in quality it is more correct to report resources of OS in barrels of oil obtainable by retorting. By this technique of counting, resources of OS form more than 3 trillion bbl (Fig. 1). 3 500 000 3 170 000 3 000 000 2 500 000 2 100 000 2 000 000 1 500 000 1 000 000 372 000 372 000 Shale oil resources(million U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Energy Policies Beyond IEA Countries
    Estonia 2013 Please note that this PDF is subject to specific restrictions that limit its use and distribution. The terms and conditions are available online at http://www.iea.org/ termsandconditionsuseandcopyright/ 2013 Energy Policies OECD/IEA, © Beyond IEA Countries Energy Policies Beyond IEA Countries Estonia 2013 One of the fastest-growing economies in the OECD, Estonia is actively seeking to reduce the intensity of its energy system. Many of these efforts are focused on oil shale, which the country has been using for almost a century and which meets 70% of its energy demand. While it provides a large degree of energy security, oil shale is highly carbon-intensive. The government is seeking to lessen the negative environmental impact by phasing out old power plants and developing new technologies to reduce significantly CO2 emissions. The efforts on oil shale complement Estonia’s solid track record of modernising its overall energy system. Since restoring its independence in 1991, Estonia has fully liberalised its electricity and gas markets and attained most national energy policy targets and commitments for 2020. It has also started preparing its energy strategy to 2030, with an outlook to 2050. Estonia is also promoting energy market integration with neighbouring EU member states. The strengthening of the Baltic electricity market and its timely integration with the Nordic market, as well as the establishment of a regional gas market, are therefore key priorities for Estonia. Following its accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2010, Estonia applied for International Energy Agency (IEA) membership in 2011.
    [Show full text]
  • Baltic Energy Technology Scenarios 2018
    Baltic Energy Technology Scenarios 2018 Baltic Energy Technology Scenarios 2018 Tomi J. Lindroos, Antti Lehtilä and Tiina Koljonen (VTT team). Anders Kofoed-Wiuff, János Hethey, Nina Dupont and Aisma Vītiņa (Ea Energy Analyses team). TemaNord 2018:515 Baltic Energy Technology Scenarios 2018 Tomi J. Lindroos, Antti Lehtilä and Tiina Koljonen (VTT team). Anders Kofoed-Wiuff, János Hethey, Nina Dupont and Aisma Vītiņa (Ea Energy Analyses team). ISBN 978-92-893-5457-8 (PRINT) ISBN 978-92-893-5458-5 (PDF) ISBN 978-92-893-5459-2 (EPUB) http://dx.doi.org/10.6027/TN2018-515 TemaNord 2018:515 ISSN 0908-6692 Standard: PDF/UA-1 ISO 14289-1 © Nordic Council of Ministers 2018 Cover photo: Tautvydas Lapūnas Photo: p 19/MKstudio; p 30/Capitanoseye; p 48/Egert; p 82/Alex Tihonovs; p 110/A. Aleksandraviciuss Print: Rosendahls Printed in Denmark Disclaimer This publication was funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. However, the content does not necessarily reflect the Nordic Council of Ministers’ views, opinions, attitudes or recommendations. Rights and permissions This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Translations: If you translate this work, please include the following disclaimer: This translation was not pro- duced by the Nordic Council of Ministers and should not be construed as official. The Nordic Council of Ministers cannot be held responsible for the translation or any errors in it. Adaptations: If you adapt this work, please include the following disclaimer along with the attribution: This is an adaptation of an original work by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
    [Show full text]
  • Artificial Mountains in North-East Estonia: Monumental Dumps of Ash and Semi-Coke T. Pae , A. Luud , M. Sepp
    Oil Shale, 2005, Vol. 22, No. 3 ISSN 0208-189X Pp 333-343 © 2005 Estonian Academy Publishers ARTIFICIAL MOUNTAINS IN NORTH-EAST ESTONIA: MONUMENTAL DUMPS OF ASH AND SEMI-COKE T. PAE *(1), A. LUUD (1,2), M. SEPP (1) (1) Institute of Geography, Tartu University 46 Vanemuise St., Tartu 51014, Estonia (2) Institute of Ecology, Department of North-East Estonia 15 Pargi St., Jõhvi 41537, Estonia The most distinguished landforms in East-Viru County, Estonia, apart from the Baltic Klint, are the artificial landforms1 generated by mining and processing of oil shale. The data in scientific literature about the height of artificial mountains is poor and sometimes controversial. Ambiguous estimations exist regarding the highest mountain. In the present paper the height of the artificial landforms in North-East Estonia is investigated. Kohtla-Järve semi-coke mountain is found to be the highest artificial landform in the Baltic States. In addition, typology, history, and future of artificial mountains are studied. Introduction Processes of oil shale mining, combustion in power plants, and thermal processing in chemical plants generate huge amount of solid waste. After mining the oil shale layer from the mine, limestone is separated from mining mass and stored in the waste piles near separation plant. As the Estonian oil shale contains 15–70% organic matter [1] and the average ash content in the combustible mass varies between 40–50%, about half of the total mass becomes waste after combustion or chemical processing [2]. Waste piles are characteristic in places where oil shale industry exists. Such landforms remain in the landscape and give evidence of closed mines and human activities for a long time after the termination of mining.
    [Show full text]
  • OIL SHALE, NATURAL BITUMEN, HEAVY OIL and PEAT – Vol
    COAL, OIL SHALE, NATURAL BITUMEN, HEAVY OIL AND PEAT – Vol. II -Oil Shale - J.L.Qian and S.Y.Li OIL SHALE J.L.Qian and S.Y.Li School of Chemical Engineering, University of Petroleum, Beijing, China Keywords : Oil shale, Algal shale, Bituminous shale, Kukersite, Kerogen, Pyrolysis, Shale oil, Resources, Reserves, Combustion, Origin, Formation, Algae, Sapropel, Classification, Aboveground mining, Underground mining, Properties, Composition, Bitumen, Baltic, Green River, Irati, Fushun, Maoming, Stuart, Fischer Assay, Heating value, Retorting, Kiviter retort, Petrosix retort, Fushun retort, Union oil rock, pump type retort, Galoter retort, Tosco retort, Underground retorting , In-situ retorting , Shale oil upgrading, Shale oil processing, Shale ash, Cement, Soil improver, Retorted shale, Environmental problems, Waste water, Dust, Economic problem, Oil shale industry, Gasoline, Diesel, fuel, Wax, Liquid petroleum gas, Sulfur, Naphtha, Phenols, Australia, Brazil, China, Estonia, German, Israel, Russia, USA Contents 1. Introduction 2. Resources 3. Origin and Formation 3.1 Origin 3.2 Formation 3.3 Age of Formation 3.4 Environment of Formation 3.5 Classification of Kerogen 4. Mining 4.1 Aboveground Mining 4.2 Underground Mining 5. Properties and Composition 5.1 Physical Properties 5.2 Chemical Composition 5.3 Analysis and Evaluation of Oil Shale 6. Pyrolysis 6.1 Pyrolysis reaction and Mechanism 6.2 Pyrolysis Kinetics 6.3 ParticulateUNESCO and Lump Oil Shale Pyrolysis – EOLSS 7. Retorting Technology 7.1 AbovegroundSAMPLE Retorting CHAPTERS 7.2 Underground Retorting 7.3 Condensation and Recovery System 8. Shale Oil and Its Products 8.1 Shale Oil Characteristics 8.2 Shale Oil Processing and its products 9. Combustion 9.1 Pulverized Oil Shale Suspension Combustion 9.2 Particulate Oil Shale Fluidized Bed Combustion 10.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Hazard of the Waste Streams of Estonian Oil Shale Industry: an Ecotoxicological Review
    Oil Shale, 2006, Vol. 23, No. 1 ISSN 0208-189X pp. 53–93 © 2006 Estonian Academy Publishers ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD OF THE WASTE STREAMS OF ESTONIAN OIL SHALE INDUSTRY: AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL REVIEW A. KAHRU*, L. PÕLLUMAA Laboratory of Molecular Genetics National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics Akadeemia tee 23, Tallinn 12618 Estonia In Estonia there is the largest industrially-used oil-shale basin in the world. This review addresses the environmental hazard of the waste streams of oil- shale industry via solid waste- and water-path, mainly focusing on ecotoxico- logical risk due to open semicoke deposition inducing hazard to surrounding soils and groundwater. This is the first comprehensive ecotoxicological review of available data on oil shale industry pollution in Estonia as well as world-wide. Introduction Oil shale is fine-grained sedimentary rock containing relatively large amounts of organic matter. Oil shales are widely distributed all over the world; more than 600 deposits are known, and their prospective resources are estimated to be over 500 million tonnes [1]. On dry weight basis, oil shale consists of 10– 60% of organics, 20–70% of carbonate minerals and 15–60% of sandy-clay minerals [2]. Estonian oil shale basin is the largest industrially used one in the world: the mining of oil shale in Estonia started in 1916 and reached its peak in 1980 when 31 million tonnes of oil shale per year were excavated [3]. As referred by Raukas [1] during last fifty years, power production in Estonia has almost fully been based on domestic oil shale: about 90% of the excavated Estonian oil shale is used as fuel in power plants.
    [Show full text]
  • WEC Congress IA Paper Final
    Developments in Production of Synthetic Fuels out of Estonian Oil Shale Indrek Aarna Enefit Outotec Technology OÜ Abstract (100 words) Estonia is still the world leader in utilization of oil shale. Enefit has cooperated with Outotec to develop a new generation of solid heat carrier technology – Enefit280, which is more efficient, environmentally friendlier and has higher unit capacity. The breakeven price of oil produced in Enefit280 process is competitive with conventional oils. The new technology has advantages that allow easy adaptation to other oil shales around the world. Hydrotreated shale oil liquids have similar properties to crude oil cuts. Design for a shale oil hydrotreater unit can use process concepts, hardware components, and catalysts commercially proven in petroleum refining services. Keywords: oil shale, retorting, upgrading 1. Introduction The first written information about oil shale in Estonia was documented already in 1777 [1]. The occurrence of burning rock on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland is present in the travel notes of the 18th century naturalist and explorer Johann Anton Güldenstädt [1,2]. Studies of Estonian oil shale resources and mining possibilities intensified in the beginning of 20th century due to industrial development of Saint Petersburg and a shortage of fuel resources in the region. In 1918 the first mine was opened in North-Eastern Estonia. At that time, oil shale was used primarily in the cement industry and as a household fuel. Shale oil production started in Estonia in 1921, when the first experimental oil shale processing retorts were built in Kohtla-Järve [2]. These retorts used vertical retort technology, the forerunner of the current Kiviter processing technology.
    [Show full text]
  • Review on Oil Shale Data Jean Laherrere August 2005
    Review on Oil shale data Jean Laherrere August 2005 -Introduction Andre Combaz who led the GERB (Groupe d’Etudes des Roches Bitumineuses) in the 1970s gave me several boxes of documents on oil shale. This data with my own file and what I could find on the web is analyzed in this review. Three annexes (A2005, A1999-2004 and A1965-1980) gather most of the data and are attached to this review. -History Oil shales are a misnomer being neither shale or oil, in fact an immature source-rock which has not yet generated any oil and needs to be heated at 600 °C to yield oil by pyrolysis. In fact they should be classified with coal and peat. USDOE/EIA reports the oil shale of Estonia in the world lignite production (table 5.4). Most oil shale in Estonia was burned in electric or cement plants. Oil shales are completely different from oilsands (or extra-heavy oils), which are at the end of the oil cycle before being entirely degraded. But many people, even so-called experts (Chevalier) confuse them! Oil shale has a long past of production, starting in 1837 in France (Autun mines, which were closed in 1957), Scotland 1850-1963, Australia 1865-1952, 1998-2004, Brazil 1881-1900,1941- 1957, 1972-, Estonia 1921-, Sweden 1921-1965, Switzerland 1921-1935, Spain 1922-1966, China 1929-, South Africa 1935-1960. Combaz did in 1975 two good graphs on the past history involving many countries. Figure 1: different processes from Combaz Figure 2: history of oil shale production from 1838 to 1975 from Combaz 1 -US history Oil shale has a long history in the US involving many up and downs.
    [Show full text]
  • Cornell International Affairs Review 14.1
    1 CORNELL INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS REVIEW Editors-in-Chief Laura DeMassa ‘21 Benjamin Wang ‘22 Managing Editors Madison Kang ‘23 Billie Koffman ‘23 Asha Patt ‘23 Seyda Takis ‘21 Graduate Editors Michael Kriner Cameron Mailhot Angie Torres Hoang Vu Content Editors Hurya Ahmed ‘22 Michael Dekhtyar ‘24 Luke Hartigan ‘24 Samantha Surdek ‘24 Undergraduate Editors Faith Fisher ‘22 Angela He ‘21 Margaret Lim ‘22 Sergio Limandibhratha ‘22 Peter Mao ‘22 Eric Miranda ‘22 Lin Poyraz ‘23 Anna Sattler ‘21 Risa Sunakawa ‘22 Executive Board President Aadi Kulkarni ‘22 Vice President, External Eric Lee ‘21 Vice President, Internal Michael Tyrrell ‘23 Administrator Jack Carlos Mindich ‘21 Volume XIII Spring 2020 2 The Cornell International Affairs Review BOARD OF ADVISORS Dr. Heike Michelsen, Primary Advisor Associate Director for Assessment and Grant Writing, Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies Professor Ross Brann, Department of Near Eastern Studies Professor Raymond Craib, Department of History Professor Gustavo Flores-Macias, Department of Government Professor Durba Ghosh, Department of History Professor Christopher Way, Department of Government EMERITUS BOARD MEMBERS Professor Robert Andolina, Johnson School of Management Professor Matthew Evangelista, Department of Government Professor Peter Katzenstein, Department of Government Professor Isaac Kramnick, Department of Government Professor David Lee, Department of Applied Economics and Management Professor Elizabeth Sanders, Department of Government Professor Nina Tannenwald, Brown University
    [Show full text]
  • Life Cycle Analysis of the Estonian Oil Shale Industry
    Eestimaa Looduse Fond Tallinna Tehnikaülikool Estonian Fund for Nature Tallinn University of Technology Life Cycle Analysis of the Estonian Oil Shale Industry Olga Gavrilova1, Tiina Randla1, Leo Vallner2, Marek Strandberg3, Raivo Vilu1 1 Institute of Chemistry, Tallinn University of Technology, 2 Institute of Geology, Tallinn University of Technology 3Estonian Fund for Nature Tallinn 2005 CONTENT Introduction....................................................................................................................... 9 1. General characteristics of the energy sector in Estonia......................................10 1.1. Energy sector of Estonia and its comparison with the other European countries .................................................................................................. 10 1.2. Location of oil shale mining and oil shale consuming enterprises............. 13 1.3. Social indicators of Ida-Viru county......................................................... 16 1.4. Brief history of oil shale mining and consumption in Estonia................... 16 2. Oil shale – a resource for energy generation........................................................18 2.1. Oil shale deposits in the world.................................................................. 18 2.2. Chemical composition of oil shale............................................................ 18 2.3. Oil shale deposits in Estonia..................................................................... 19 2.4. Structure of oil shale beds .......................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Analyses of Energy Supply Options and Security of Energy Supply in the Baltic States
    IAEA-TECDOC-1541 Analyses of Energy Supply Options and Security of Energy Supply in the Baltic States February 2007 IAEA-TECDOC-1541 Analyses of Energy Supply Options and Security of Energy Supply in the Baltic States February 2007 The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: Planning and Economic Studies Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramer Strasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria ANALYSES OF ENERGY SUPPLY OPTIONS AND SECURITY OF ENERGY SUPPLY IN THE BALTIC STATES IAEA, VIENNA, 2007 IAEA-TECDOC-1541 ISBN 92–0–101107–5 ISSN 1011–4289 © IAEA, 2007 Printed by the IAEA in Austria February 2007 FOREWORD In its broadest meaning “energy security” is the ability of a nation to muster the energy resources needed to ensure its welfare. In a narrower meaning it refers to territorial energy autonomy. Consequently, energy supply security is a matter of both domestic policy and international relations. Perceived and real threats may be economic or logistic, politically motivated or the result of war or natural causes. They may be source, technology or transport related, specific to a facility or a function of system structure, due to sabotage or to inadequate investment or maintenance, or result from pricing or regulatory policies. Energy security has become a growing concern in the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania since regaining independence in 1991. As their national energy systems depend on essentially one single foreign supplier for most of their oil and all of their natural gas supplies, a comprehensive analysis of potential measures to improve security including alternative supply options becomes vital.
    [Show full text]