Some Problems of Environmental Investigation and Assessment

Abstract

The construction of airports, power plants, waste disposal plants and large-scale industrial bases has often caused noise, vibration, air pollution and water pollution on land, and so these facilities at sea have recently been considered and some of them have already been constructed and been in operation there. However, they are of large-scale or super large-scale and environmental impacts, such as water pollution, deposits of drift sand or coastal erosion, a shift of wind brought by the occupation of an enormous space and changes of scenery, result from these construction works. Also, as a large quantity of waste water is drained with the operation of these facilities, contaminants in traces are eventually accumulated in the sediment and living things, and various problems arise along with it. Since these construction works have much influence on the neighborhood living environment, it is the trend of public opinion, in planning and executing works, to assess the environmental influence in advance (hereinafter referred to as “the environmental assessment”), to estimate the items for influence and their quantity (hereinafter referred to as “impacts”), and that unless they are above the standards for the preservation of environment, the works can not be done.