Jump to content

Heavy industry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromHeavy Industry)
Integrated steel mill in the Netherlands. The two massive towers areblast furnaces.
U. S. Steel Košice(inSlovakia) – a typical example of a heavy industryfactory

Heavy industryis anindustrythat involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such asheavy equipment,largemachine tools,hugebuildingsand large-scaleinfrastructure); or complex or numerousprocesses.Because of those factors, heavy industry involves highercapital intensitythanlight industrydoes, and is also often more heavilycyclicalininvestmentandemployment.

Though important toeconomic developmentandindustrialization of economies,heavy industry can also have significant negative side effects: both local communities andworkersfrequently encounter health risks, heavy industries tend to produce byproducts that both pollute theairandwater,and the industrial supply chain is often involved in otherenvironmental justiceissues fromminingandtransportation.Because of their intensity, heavy industries are also significant contributors togreenhouse gas emissionsthat causeclimate change,and certain parts of the industries, especially high-heat processes used in metal working and cement production, are hard todecarbonize.[1]Industrial activities such as mining also results in pollution consisting of heavy metals. Heavy metals are very damaging to the environment because they cannot be chemically degraded.[2]

Types

[edit]

Transportation and construction along with their upstream manufacturing supply businesses have been the bulk of heavy industry throughout the industrial age, along with some capital-intensive manufacturing. Traditional examples from the mid-19th century through the early 20th includedsteelmaking,artilleryproduction,locomotivemanufacturing,machine tool building,and the heavier types ofmining.From the late 19th century through the mid-20th, as thechemical industryandelectrical industrydeveloped, they involved components of both heavy industry and light industry, which was soon also true for theautomotive industryand theaircraft industry.Modernshipbuilding(since steel replaced wood) and large components such asship turbochargersare also characteristic of heavy industry.[3]

A typical heavy industry activity is the production of large systems, such as theconstructionofskyscrapersand largedamsduring the post–World War IIera, and the manufacture/deployment of largerocketsand giantwind turbinesthrough the 21st century.[4]

As part of economic strategy

[edit]

Many East Asian countries relied on heavy industry as key parts of their development strategies,[5]and many still do for economic growth.[6]This reliance on heavy industry is typically a matter of government economic policy. Among Japanese and Korean firms with "heavy industry" in their names, many are alsomanufacturers of aerospace productsanddefense contractorsto their respective countries' governments such as Japan'sMitsubishi Heavy IndustriesandFuji Heavy Industries,and Korea'sHyundai Rotem,a joint project ofHyundai Heavy IndustriesandDaewoo Heavy Industries.[7]

In 20th-centurycommunist states,theplanning of the economyoften focused on heavy industry as an area for large investments (at the expense of investing in the greater production of in-demandconsumer goods), even to the extent of painfulopportunity costson theproduction–possibility frontier(classically, "lots of guns and not enough butter" ).[8]This was motivated by fears of failing to maintain military parity withforeign capitalist powers.For example,the Soviet Union's industrialization in the 1930s,with heavy industry as the favored emphasis, sought to bring its ability to produce trucks, tanks, artillery, aircraft, and warships up to a level that would make the country agreat power.ChinaunderMao Zedongpursued a similar strategy, eventually culminating in theGreat Leap Forwardof 1958–1960; an unsuccessful attempt to rapidly industrialize andcollectivize,that led to thelargest famine in human history,killing up to 50 million people, whilst simultaneously severely depleting the production of agricultural products and not increasing the output of usable-quality industrial goods.[9][10]

In zoning

[edit]

Heavy industry is also sometimes a special designation in localzoninglaws, allowing placement of industries with heavy impacts (on environment, infrastructure, and employment) with planning. For example, the zoning restrictions forlandfillsusually take into account the heavy truck traffic that will exert expensivewearon the roads leading to the landfill.[11]

Environmental impacts

[edit]

Greenhouse gas emissions

[edit]

As of 2019,heavy industry emits about 22% of globalgreenhouse gas emissions:high temperature heat for heavy industry being about 10% of global emissions.[12]The steel industry alone was responsible for 7 to 9% of the global carbon dioxide emissions which is inherently related to the main production process via reduction of iron with coal.[13]In order to reduce these carbon dioxide emissions, carbon capture and utilization andcarbon capture and storagetechnology is looked at. Heavy industry has the advantage of being apoint sourcewhich is less energy-intensive to apply the latter technologies and results in a cheaper carbon capture compared todirect air capture.

Pollution

[edit]

Industrial activities such as the improper disposal ofradioactive material,burning coal andfossil fuels,and releasing liquid waste into the environment contribute to thepollutionof water, soil, air, and wildlife.[14]

In regards to water pollution, when waste is disposed of in the environment, it affects the quality of the available water supply which has a negative impact on theecosystemalong with water supply used by farms forirrigationwhich in turn affects crops.[14]Heavy metals have also been shown to pollutesoil,deteriorating arable land quality and adversely impactingfood safety(such asvegetablesorgrain).[15]This occurs as a result of heavy industry when those heavy metals sink into the ground contaminating the crops that reside among it.[16]

Heavy metal concentrations resulting from water and/orsoil pollutioncan become deadly once they pass certain thresholds, which lead to plant poisoning.[17]Heavy metals can further affect many levels of the ecosystem throughbioaccumulation,because humans and many other animals rely on these plant species as sources of food. Plants can pick up these metals from the soil and begin the metal transfer to higher levels of the food chain, and eventually reaching humans.[18]

Regarding air pollution: long-term or short-term exposure of children to industry-basedair pollutioncan cause several adverse effects, such ascardiovascular diseases,respiratory diseasesand evendeath.Children are also more susceptible to air pollution detriments than adults.[19]Heavy metalssuch aslead,chromium,cadmium,andarsenicform dust fall particles and are harmful to the human body, with the latter two beingcarcinogens.[20]As a result of pollution, the toxic chemicals released into the atmosphere also contributes to global warming due to the increase ofradiationabsorbed.[21]

Sacrifice zones

[edit]
This section is an excerpt fromSacrifice zone.[edit]
A sacrifice zone where Iron hydroxide precipitate from coal mining has damaged a stream and surrounding area
A sacrifice zone where Iron hydroxide precipitate from coal mining has damaged a stream and surrounding area
Asacrifice zoneor sacrifice area (often termed a national sacrifice zone or national sacrifice area) is a geographic area that has been permanently changed by heavy environmental alterations (often to a negative degree) or economic disinvestment, often throughlocally unwanted land use(LULU). Commentators includingChris Hedges,Joe Sacco,and Steve Lerner have argued that corporate business practices contribute to producing sacrifice zones.[22][23][24]A 2022 report by theUnited Nationshighlighted that millions of people globally are in pollution sacrifice zones, particularly in zones used for heavy industry andmining.[25]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Gross, Samantha (2021-06-24)."The challenge of decarbonizing heavy industry".Brookings.Retrieved2021-10-04.
  2. ^Suman, Jachym; Uhlik, Ondrej; Viktorova, Jitka; Macek, Tomas (2018-10-16)."Phytoextraction of Heavy Metals: A Promising Tool for Clean-Up of Polluted Environment?".Frontiers in Plant Science.9:1476.doi:10.3389/fpls.2018.01476.ISSN1664-462X.PMC6232834.PMID30459775.
  3. ^"Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, LTD. Global Website | the Dynamism of Turbochargers".
  4. ^Teubal, Morris (1973). "Heavy and Light Industry in Economic Development".The American Economic Review.63(4): 588–596.ISSN0002-8282.
  5. ^Park, Jong H. "The East Asian Model of Economic Development and Developing Countries."Journal of Developing Societies18.4 (2002): 330-53. Print.
  6. ^Kumar, N. (2020). EAST ASIA'S PATHS TO INDUSTRIALIZATION AND PROSPERITY: LESSONS FOR INDIA AND OTHER LATE COMERS IN SOUTH ASIA.
  7. ^Wade, Robert (2003-11-30).Governing the Market: Economic Theory and the Role of Government in East Asian Industrialization(With a New introduction by the author ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0-691-11729-4.
  8. ^Birman, Igor (1988-04-01)."The imbalance of the Soviet economy".Soviet Studies.40(2): 210–221.doi:10.1080/09668138808411750.ISSN0038-5859.
  9. ^Walder, Andrew G. (2015-04-06). "5, 8".China Under Mao.Harvard University Press.ISBN978-0-674-28670-2.
  10. ^ Naughton, Barry J. (2006-10-27).The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth.Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press.ISBN978-0-262-64064-0.
  11. ^Committee, British Association Glossary (1952). "Some Definitions in the Vocabulary of Geography, IV".The Geographical Journal.118(3): 345–346.doi:10.2307/1790321.ISSN0016-7398.JSTOR1790321.
  12. ^Roberts, David (2019-10-10)."This climate problem is bigger than cars and much harder to solve".Vox.Retrieved2019-10-20.
  13. ^De Ras, Kevin; Van De Vijver, Ruben; Galvita, Vladimir V.; Marin, Guy B.; Van Geem, Kevin M. (2019-12-01)."Carbon capture and utilization in the steel industry: challenges and opportunities for chemical engineering".Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering.26:81–87.doi:10.1016/j.coche.2019.09.001.hdl:1854/LU-8635595.ISSN2211-3398.S2CID210619173.
  14. ^ab"Causes, Effects and Solutions to Industrial Pollution on Our Environment - Conserve Energy Future".conserve-energy-future.13 June 2013.Retrieved2021-11-25.
  15. ^Impact of Soil Heavy Metal Pollution on Food Safety in China Zhang X, Zhong T, Liu L, Ouyang X (2015) Impact of Soil Heavy Metal Pollution on Food Safety in China. PLOS ONE 10(8): e0135182.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0135182
  16. ^Folk |, Emily (2021-04-27)."The Environmental Impacts of Industrialization | EcoMENA".Retrieved2021-11-25.
  17. ^Okereafor, Uchenna; Makhatha, Mamookho; Mekuto, Lukhanyo; Uche-Okereafor, Nkemdinma; Sebola, Tendani; Mavumengwana, Vuyo (January 2020)."Toxic Metal Implications on Agricultural Soils, Plants, Animals, Aquatic life and Human Health".International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.17(7): 2204.doi:10.3390/ijerph17072204.ISSN1660-4601.PMC7178168.PMID32218329.
  18. ^Tovar-Sánchez, Efraín; Hernández-Plata, Isela; Santoyo Martínez, Miguel; Valencia-Cuevas, Leticia; Galante, Patricia Mussali (2018-02-19).Heavy Metal Pollution as a Biodiversity Threat.IntechOpen.doi:10.5772/intechopen.74052.ISBN978-1-78923-361-2.S2CID134318754.
  19. ^Bergstra, A.D., Brunekreef, B. & Burdorf, A. The effect of industry-related air pollution on lung function and respiratory symptoms in school children. Environ Health 17, 30 (2018).https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-018-0373-2
  20. ^Wang, Jinhe; Zhang, Xi; Yang, Qing; Zhang, Kai; Zheng, Yue; Zhou, Guanhua (September 2018)."Pollution characteristics of atmospheric dustfall and heavy metals in a typical inland heavy industry city in China".Journal of Environmental Sciences (China).71:283–291.doi:10.1016/j.jes.2018.05.031.ISSN1001-0742.PMID30195686.S2CID52178884.Retrieved12 September2022.
  21. ^"How Can Factories Affect The Environment? | Field".2018-10-12.Retrieved2021-11-25.
  22. ^Bullard, Robert D. (June 2011)."Sacrifice Zones: The Front Lines of Toxic Chemical Exposure in the United States by Steve Lerner. Cambridge, MA:MIT Press, 2010. 346 pp., $29.95 ISBN: 978-0-262-01440-3".Environmental Health Perspectives.119(6): A266.doi:10.1289/ehp.119-a266.ISSN0091-6765.PMC3114843.
  23. ^Kane, Muriel (2012-07-20)."Chris Hedges: America's devastated 'sacrifice zones' are the future for all of us".rawstory.Retrieved2019-09-16.
  24. ^Neal Conan (2 August 2012)."Drive For Profit Wreaks 'Days Of Destruction'".NPR.org.
  25. ^"Millions suffering in deadly pollution 'sacrifice zones', warns UN expert".the Guardian.2022-03-10.Retrieved2022-03-12.
[edit]
Look upheavy industryin Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heavy_industry&oldid=1233179304"