Author(s)

G Pandi, V Sorocovschi & M Vigh

Abstract

Copsa Mica is the town with the highest degree of pollution in Romania. A number of highly polluted industrial units have appeared in a concentrated area since 1935. Between 1950 and 1980 the town developed at high speed due to the policy of forced industrialization and eventually the number of inhabitants declined. Because of the faulty distribution of industries, the natural environmental conditions facilitate the spreading of polluting agents not only inside the town’s perimeter but also in the neighboring areas. The most intensive polluting agents are the sulphur dioxides, lead, the solid particles in suspension, cadmium, and other similar substances, which are present in the atmosphere, in the subsurface and surface water, in the soil and on the vegetation. Pollution affects the health of the local population as well, mostly that of children. The toxic substances enter the human body through the polluted air, water and food from the affected areas. The spatial and temporal variation of pollution ranges between wide limits according to the intensity of industrial pollution and the environmental conditions. The concentrations sometimes exceed ten times the limit of acceptance.

Keywords