PRESENTATION

ON

POLLUTIONS

Submitted To:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I Anoop Mehta student of B.Tech, C.T. Institute of Management, Shahpur,

Jalandhar, feel immense pleasure in presenting the seminar on the topic

‘Pollutions’. I have put in all my efforts to make this seminar complete in

all respect.

I have done my level best and have tried with my sincere efforts to do full

justice with the topic, but there would be quite injustice on my part if I fail to

mention the most creditable person whose involvement has made possible

to make this Project Report, Lecturer Kamal Dhillon they timely

encouragement and guidance has really been the motivating factor for me.

Therefore, I would like to thank them for their concern and guidance which

are invaluable according to me.

Anoop Mehta

Roll No. 7991115645

 AIR POLLUTION

‘I’ll go out for a breath of fresh air’ is an often-heard phrase. But how many

of us realize that this has become irrelevant in today’s world, because the

quality of air in our cities is anything but fresh.

The moment you step out of the house and are on the road you can

actually see the air getting polluted; a cloud of smoke from the exhaust of a

bus, car, or a scooter; smoke billowing from a

factory chimney, flyash generated by thermal power

plants, and speeding cars causing dust to rise from

the roads. Natural phenomena such as the eruption of a volcano and even

someone smoking a cigarette can also cause air pollution.

Air pollution is aggravated because of four developments: increasing

traffic, growing cities, rapid economic development, and industrialization.

The Industrial Revolution in Europe in the 19th century saw the beginning

of air pollution as we know it today, which has gradually become a global

problem.
 WATER POLLUTION

When toxic substances enter lakes, streams, rivers, oceans, and other

water bodies, they get dissolved or lie suspended in water or get deposited

on the bed. This results in the pollution of water whereby the quality of the

water deteriorates, affecting aquatic ecosystems. Pollutants can also seep

down and affect the groundwater deposits.

Water pollution has many sources. The most polluting of them are the city

sewage and industrial waste discharged into the rivers. The facilities to

treat waste water are not adequate in any city in India. Presently, only

about 10% of the waste water generated is treated; the rest is discharged

as it is into our water bodies. Due to this, pollutants enter groundwater,

rivers, and other water bodies. Such water, which ultimately ends up in our

households, is often highly contaminated and carries disease-causing

microbes. Agricultural run-off, or the water from the fields that drains into

rivers, is another major water pollutant as it contains fertilizers and

pesticides.

Domestic sewage refers to waste water that is discarded from households.

Also referred to as sanitary sewage, such water contains a wide variety of

dissolved and suspended impurities.

The amount of organic material that can rot in the sewage is measured by

the biochemical oxygen demand. BOD is the amount of oxygen required

by micro-organisms to decompose the organic substances in sewage.

Therefore, the more organic material there is in the sewage, the higher the

BOD. It is among the most important parameters for the design and

operation of sewage treatment plants. BOD levels of industrial sewage

may be many times that of domestic sewage. Dissolved oxygen is an

important factor that determines the quality of water in lakes and rivers.

The higher the concentration of dissolved oxygen, the better the water

quality. When sewage enters a lake or stream, micro-organisms begin to

decompose the organic materials. Oxygen is consumed as micro-

organisms use it in their metabolism. This can quickly deplete the available

oxygen in the water. When the dissolved oxygen levels drop too low, many

aquatic species perish. In fact, if the oxygen level drops to zero, the water

will become septic. When organic compounds decompose without oxygen,

it gives rise to the undesirable odours usually associated with septic or

putrid conditions.

It amounts to a very small fraction of the sewage by weight. But it is large

by volume and contains impurities such as organic materials and plant

nutrients that tend to rot. The main organic materials are food and

vegetable waste, plant nutrient come from chemical soaps, washing

powders, etc. Domestic sewage is also very likely to contain disease-

causing microbes. Thus, disposal of domestic waste water is a significant

technical problem. Sewage generated from the urban areas in India has

multiplied manifold since 1947.

Today, many people dump their garbage into streams, lakes, rivers, and

seas, thus making water bodies the final resting place of cans, bottles,

plastics, and other household products. The various substances that we

use for keeping our houses clean add to water pollution as they contain

harmful chemicals. In the past, people mostly used soaps made from

animal and vegetable fat for all types of washing. But most of today’s

cleaning products are synthetic detergents and come from the

petrochemical industry. Most detergents and washing powders contain

phosphates, which are used to soften the water among other things. These

and other chemicals contained in washing powders affect the health of all

forms of life in the water.

The use of land for agriculture and the practices followed in cultivation

greatly affect the quality of groundwater. Intensive cultivation of crops

causes chemicals from fertilizers (e.g. nitrate) and pesticides to seep into

the groundwater, a process commonly known as leaching. Routine

applications of fertilizers and pesticides for agriculture and indiscriminate

disposal of industrial and domestic wastes are increasingly being

recognized as significant sources of water pollution.

The high nitrate content in groundwater is mainly from irrigation run-off

from agricultural fields where chemical fertilizers have been used

indiscriminately.
Industrial effluents

Waste water from manufacturing or chemical processes in industries

contributes to water pollution. Industrial waste water usually contains

specific and readily identifiable chemical compounds. During the last fifty

years, the number of industries in India has grown rapidly. But water

pollution is concentrated within a few subsectors, mainly in the form of

toxic wastes and organic pollutants. Out of this a large portion can be

traced to the processing of industrial chemicals and to the food products

industry. In fact, a number of large- and medium-sized industries in the

region covered by the Ganga Action Plan do not have adequate effluent

treatment facilities. Most of these defaulting industries are sugar mills,

distilleries, leather processing industries, and thermal power stations. Most

major industries have treatment facilities for industrial effluents. But this is

not the case with small-scale industries, which cannot afford enormous

investments in pollution control equipment as their profit margin is very

slender.

Effects of water pollution

The effects of water pollution are not only devastating to people but also to

animals, fish, and birds. Polluted water is unsuitable for drinking,

recreation, agriculture, and industry. It diminishes the aesthetic quality of

lakes and rivers. More seriously, contaminated water destroys aquatic life

and reduces its reproductive ability. Eventually, it is a hazard to human

health. Nobody can escape the effects of water pollution.

The individual and the community can help minimize water pollution. By

simple housekeeping and management practices the amount of waste

generated can be minimized.

 NOISE POLLUTION

Noise pollution, human-created noise harmful to health or welfare. Transportation

vehicles are the worst offenders, with aircraft, railroad stock, trucks, buses,

automobiles, and motorcycles all producing excessive noise. Construction

equipment, e.g., jackhammers and bulldozers, also produce substantial noise

pollution.

Noise intensity is measured in decibel units. The decibel scale is logarithmic; each

10-decibel increase represents a tenfold increase in noise intensity. Human

perception of loudness also conforms to a logarithmic scale; a 10-decibel increase

is perceived as roughly a doubling of loudness. Thus, 30 decibels is 10 times more

intense than 20 decibels and sounds twice as loud; 40 decibels is 100 times more

intense than 20 and sounds 4 times as loud; 80 decibels is 1 million times more

intense than 20 and sounds 64 times as loud. Distance diminishes the effective

decibel level reaching the ear. Thus, moderate auto traffic at a distance of 100 ft

(30 m) rates about 50 decibels. To a driver with a car window open or a pedestrian

on the sidewalk, the same traffic rates about 70 decibels; that is, it sounds 4 times

louder. At a distance of 2,000 ft (600 m), the noise of a jet takeoff reaches about

110 decibels—approximately the same as an automobile horn only 3 ft (1 m)

away.

Subjected to 45 decibels of noise, the average person cannot sleep. At 120 decibels

the ear registers pain, but hearing damage begins at a much lower level, about 85
decibels. The duration of the exposure is also important. There is evidence that

among young Americans hearing sensitivity is decreasing year by year because of

exposure to noise, including excessively amplified music. Apart from hearing loss,

such noise can cause lack of sleep, irritability, heartburn, indigestion, ulcers, high

blood pressure, and possibly heart disease. One burst of noise, as from a passing

truck, is known to alter endocrine, neurological, and cardiovascular functions in

many individuals; prolonged or frequent exposure to such noise tends to make the

physiological disturbances chronic. In addition, noise-induced stress creates severe

tension in daily living and contributes to mental illness.

Noise is recognized as a controllable pollutant that can yield to abatement

technology. In the United States the Noise Control Act of 1972 empowered the

Environmental Protection Agency to determine the limits of noise required to

protect public health and welfare; to set noise emission standards for major

sources of noise in the environment, including transportation equipment and

facilities, construction equipment, and electrical machinery; and to recommend

regulations for controlling aircraft noise and sonic booms. Also in the 1970s, the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration began to try to reduce workplace

noise. Funding for these efforts and similar local efforts was severely cut in the

early 1980s, and enforcement became negligible.

 SOIL POLLUTION

"The mountain, and a deep and gloomy wood, their colours and their forms, were

then to me an appetite: a feeling and a love, that had no need of a remoter

charm,..."

The author of this poem thinks and ponders on his thought of nature. His

inspiration is reflected upon what he regards most beautiful by sight, unfortunately

enough we hardly have such inspirations in our minds now-a-days, leave a lone

the fact of the advent of video games but also because there isn't much to ponder

upon in our surroundings today. Look outside your window in most areas its

buildings and cars and cars and buildings. Lands and forests have been cleared to

the least natural sight for construction and infrastructures

DEFINITION

Soil pollution is defined as the build-up in soils of persistent toxic compounds,

chemicals, salts, radioactive materials, or disease causing agents, which have

adverse effects on plant growth and animal health.

The wars that hit the earth are probably the immediate cause of soil pollution. Not

talking in the sense of how many people died but in that it is through this period

that many countries found the necessity to improve their living standards. After

the world war two, many countries suffered from food shortage and this facilitated

the intoruction of fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals. Although KNP

[ Potassium, Nitrogen, Phosphorus] fertilisers has not led to soil pollution, the

application of trace elements has.

Pesticides such as DDT [dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane]a colourless chemical

pesticide, which is a potent nerve poison in insects was first widely used to combat

diseases such as yellow fever and malaria. It was later used to control and/ or

eradicate disease carrying and crop eating insects. DDT was later on discovered to

cause endagerement of species in the same food chain as the

controlled insects, particularly birds. DDT prevents the shelling of bird eggs and in

humans causes health threats.

In yet another famous war of Vietnam in 1970's was introduced another Chemical

substance which had a more adverse effect than that of DDT, Dioxin a chemical

impurity resulting from the production of the auxin 2,4,5T. Dioxin is a toxic

chemical and was used as a defoliant by the American army. Dioxin was a major

constituent of argent orange which was applied on trees which would then fall off

reaviling enemy camps. After the war it was found that the chemical cause

congenital deformalities and mental effects to the children born to the American

soldiers and in the area over which it was applied. In minute amount dioxin has

the ability to cause cancer,chloracne, miscarriage, and fetal abnormalities.

Glass industries have also been responsible of soil pollution. The glass industries

uses Arsenic to eliminate a green colour caused by impurities of iron compounds.

because arsenic is a violent poison, yet it is widely used and therefore is a frequent

contaminant. James Marsh, supplies a simple method for detecting traces of

arsenic so minute that they would escape discovery in ordinary analysis. Arsenic

is sometimes added to lead to harden it and is also used in the manufacture of such

military poison gases as lewisite and adamsite. Until the introduction of penicillin,

arsenic was of great importance in the treatment of syphilis. In other medicinal

uses, it has been displaced by sulpha drugs or antibiotics. Lead arsenate, calcium

arsenate, and Paris green are used extensively as insecticides. Pollution of land by

heavy metals is a result of the mining of ores to extract metals such as tin, silver,

nickel, lead, iron, chromium and copper. Most of these metals occur naturally as

ions in the soils. Though some metals, such as copper, iron, and zinc , are

necessary for plant growth. It is the high concentration if these ions that renders

the land unsuitable for plant growth. Soil pollution is widely linked to chemical

substances but irrigation. is somehow linked to it as well.

CONTROL

Soil pollution has been slightly controlled by putting regulations on the use of

DDT and introduction of alternatives to it. However the task of eliminating

completely soil pollution is not easy, third some third world countries still utilize

pollutants such as DDT as pesticides. Mining cannot be stopped because we are in

constant need for mineral ores for different applications.

Natural land pollution

Land pollution occurs massively during earth quakes, land slides, hurricanes and

floods. All cause hard to clean mess, which is expensive to clean , and may
sometimes take years to restore the affected area. These kinds of natural disasters

are not only a problem in that they cause pollution but also because they leave

many victims homeless.