Assignment

Industrial pollution of water and remediation

Submitted to:
Professor Hasan M Abdullah, PhD. 
Water Resource Management
Course-ES-505

Prepared and Submitted by:

Student’s Name: Rubina Naz

SUB ID No: PG05-48-19-003
Batch: # 48
State University of Bangladesh
 Table of contents
Introduction:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Pollutants from industrial sources include:-----------------------------------------------------3
Asbestos – ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Lead ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3
Mercury-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Nitrates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Phosphates .-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
The types of industrial waste water--------------------------------------------------------------4
Causes of Industrial Water Pollution-------------------------------------------------------------4

The variable quality and volume of industrial waste-water---------------------------------5

Inorganic industrial waste-water------------------------------------------------------------------5
Organic industrial waste-water--------------------------------------------------------------------6
Waste-water produced from the pharmaceutical industries-------------------------------6
Waste-water produced by tannery plants-------------------------------------------------------7
Impacts of Industrial pollution:--------------------------------------------------------------------7
Ecological impacts:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7
Effects of water pollution on human health----------------------------------------------------8
Impacts on Marine Life:------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8
Important concepts related to marine pollution are:-----------------------------------------8
i. Ocean Acidification:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------8
ii. Eutrophication:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8
iii. Increased the Murkiness of Water------------------------------------------------------------9
Industrial Pollution in Bangladesh:----------------------------------------------------------------9
Industrial water pollution in Bangladesh-------------------------------------------------------10
Chemical waste management in Bangladesh:------------------------------------------------10
 Chemical waste from textile mills-------------------------------------------------------------11
 Chemical waste from pharmaceutica---------------------------------------------------------11
 Chemical wastes from tannery-----------------------------------------------------------------11
An Example in Bangladeshalmost unusable---------------------------------------------------11
Bangladesh Water Policy--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
Remediation of Industrial water pollution-----------------------------------------------------12
Reducing Pollution:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12
Industrial Pollution: A European Solution:-----------------------------------------------------13
 Industrial water treatment-----------------------------------------------------------------------14
Recommendation:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15
Introduction:
Until the mid 18th century, water pollution was essentially limited to small,
localized areas. Then came the Industrial Revolution, the development of the
internal combustion engine, and the petroleum-fuel led explosion of the chemical
industry. With the rapid development of various industries, a huge amount of fresh
water is used as a raw material, as a means of production (process water), and for
cooling purposes. Many kinds of raw material, intermediate products and wastes
are brought into the water when water passes through the industrial process. So in
fact the waste-water is an "essential by-product” of modern industry, and it plays a
major role as a pollution sources in the pollution of water
Industry is a huge source of water pollution, it produces pollutants that are
extremely harmful to people and the environment. Many industrial facilities use
freshwater to carry away waste from the plant and into rivers, lakes and oceans.
Over 1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, partly because
of industrial pollution. Because there is a lack of safe drinking water in developing
areas of the planet, nearly 5,000 people die every day simply because they only
have dirty water to drink. For a modern society, that is simply inexcusable. We
could think of it this way: because of a lack of water, a community with 50,000
residents today would become a ghost town in just 10 days.

Heavy metals from industrial processes accumulate in nearby lakes and rivers.
These are toxic to marine life such as fish and shellfish, and subsequently to the
humans who eat them. Heavy metals can slow development; result in birth defects
and some are carcinogenic.
Industrial waste often contains many toxic compounds that damage the health of
aquatic animals and those who eat them. Some of the toxins in industrial waste
may only have a mild effect whereas other can be fatal. They can cause immune
suppression, reproductive failure or acute poisoning.

Pollutants from industrial sources include:

Asbestos – This pollutant is a serious health hazard and carcinogenic. Asbestos
fibres can be inhaled and cause illnesses such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, lung
cancer, intestinal cancer and liver cancer.
Lead – This is a metallic element and can cause health and environmental
problems. It is a non-biodegradable substance so is hard to clean up once the
environment is contaminated. Lead is harmful to the health of many animals,
including humans, as it can inhibit the action of bodily enzymes.
Mercury – This is a metallic element and can cause health and environmental
problems. It is a non-biodegradable substance so is hard to clean up once the
environment is contaminated. Mercury is also harmful to animal health as it can
cause illness through mercury poisoning.
Nitrates – The increased use of fertilisers means that nitrates are more often being
washed from the soil and into rivers and lakes. This can cause eutrophication, which
can be very problematic to marine environments.
Phosphates – The increased use of fertilisers means that phosphates are more
often being washed from the soil and into rivers and lakes. This can cause
eutrophication, which can be very problematic to marine environments.
Sulphur – This is a non-metallic substance that is harmful for marine life.
The types of industrial waste water
There are many types of industrial waste-water based on the different industries and
the contaminants; each sector produces its own particular combination of pollutants .

Sector Pollutant
Iron and steel BOD, COD, oil, metals, acids, phenols, and
cyanide
Textiles and leather BOD, solids, sulfates and chromium
Pulp and paper BOD, COD, solids, Chlorinated organic
compounds
Petrochemicals and BOD, COD, mineral oils, phenols, and chromium
refineries
Chemicals COD, organic chemicals, heavy metals, SS, and
cyanide
Non-ferrous metals Fluorine and SS
Microelectronics COD and organic chemicals
Mining SS, metals, acids and salts
Water Pollutants by the Industrial Sector

The metal-working industries discharge chromium, nickel, zinc, cadmium, lead, iron
and titanium compounds, among them the electroplating industry is an important
pollution distributor. Photo processing shops produce silver, dry cleaning and car
repair shops generate solvent waste, and printing plants release inks and dyes. The
pulp and paper industry relies heavily on chlorine-based substances, and as a result,
pulp and paper mill effluents contain chloride organics and dioxins, as well as
suspended solids and organic wastes. The petrochemical industry discharges a lot of
phenols and mineral oils. Also waste-water from food processing plants is high in
suspended solids and organic material. Like the various characteristics of industrial
waste-water, the treatment of industrial waste-water must be designed specifically
for the particular type of effluent produced.

Causes of Industrial Water Pollution

 Lack of Stringent Policies

There are lack of strict pollution control policies in many countries of the world,
especially in the developing and underdeveloped countries. In many countries,
policies are there, but the apathy of the enforcement authorities has allowed
industries to take such laws for granted and bypass them easily.
 Use of Outdated Technologies
Some industries still rely on old and outdated technologies that produce a greater
amount of pollutants compared to modern technologies. Industries basically try to
avoid the high cost of modern or sophisticated technologies by using outdated
technologies, although these are known to be less efficient than modern
technologies.
 Lack of Capital
In many countries, industrial water is not treated adequately before discharging it
into rivers or lakes. This is particularly true for small scale industries that do not
have enough capital to invest in pollution control equipment.
 Unplanned Industrial Growth
Unplanned industrial growth contributes to water pollution. Though industrial
growth boosts the economy of a country, it degrades the environment, especially
when it is unplanned. The growth can also contribute tolack of proper waste
disposal sites, and a total disregard for pollution control laws are some negative
consequences of unplanned industrial growth.
 Leaching of Resources From Mines
The extraction of minerals through mining and drilling causes industrial water
pollution. Mining and drilling operations make the land useless for agricultural
activities, and any accidental leakage can escape into the surrounding water and
then enter the ocean. Oil spills can pollute both the land and the sea. Wastes
generated during mining operations can increase the salt and mineral content of
water, and change its pH level. Mining pollutes both surface water ground water.

The variable quality and volume of industrial waste-water

Industrial waste-water has very variable quality and volume depending on the type
of industry producing it. It may be highly biodegradable or not at all, and may or
may not contain compounds recalcitrant to treatment. These include organic
synthetic substances or heavy metals whose content in developing countries’
waste-water may be considerably different (in quantity and quality) from that of
developed ones. The main concern with industrial waste-water is the increasing
amount (in quantity and variety) of synthetic compounds contained in and
discharged to the environment.
The quality of the wastes from the production of pharmaceuticals varies a great
deal, owing to the variety of basic raw materials, working processes and waste
products. It is a characteristic of the pharmaceutical industry that very many
products as well as intermediate products are manufactured in the same plant.
Thus different kinds of effluent with widely varying qualities flow from the different
production areas.
For large chemical industries it is also usual to manufacture pharmaceutical
products together with other chemical products. Some times waste substances
include the extraction residues of natural and synthetic solvents, used nutrient
solutions, specific poisonous substances, and many other organics.
The waste-water produced by the pharmaceutical industry has a very bad quality
for waste-water treatment. Usually the concentration of COD is around 5000 –
15000 mg/L, the concentration of BOD5 is relative low, and the ratio of BOD5 /COD
is lower than 30% which means the waste-water has a poor biodegradability. Such
waste-water has bad color and high (or low) pH value, and it needs a strong
pretreatment method, followed by a biological treatment process with a long
reaction time.
Generally, industrial waste-water can be divided into two types: inorganic industrial
waste-water and organic industrial waste-water.

Inorganic industrial waste-water

Inorganic industrial waste-water is produced mainly in the coal and steel industry,
in the nonmetallic minerals industry, and in commercial enterprises and industries
for the surface processing of metals (iron picking works and electroplating plants).
These waste-waters contain a large proportion of suspended matter, which can be
eliminated by sedimentation, often together with chemical flocculation through the
addition of iron or aluminum salts, flocculation agents and some kinds of organic
polymers.
Other waste-water from rolling mills contain mineral oil and require additional
installations, such as scum boards and skim-off apparatus, for the retention and
removal of mineral oils. Residues of emulsified oil remaining in the water also need
chemical flocculation.
In many cases, waste-water is produced in addition to solid substances and oils, and
also contains extremely harmful solutes. These include blast-furnace gas-washing
waste-water containing cyanide, wastes from the metal processing industry
containing acids or alkaline solutions (mostly containing non-ferrous metals and
often cyanide or chromate), waste-water from eloxal works and from the waste gas
purification of aluminum works, which in both cases contain fluoride. Small and
medium sized non-metallic-minerals plants and metal processing plants are so
situated that they discharge their waste-water into municipal waste-water systems
and have to treat or purify their effluents before discharge, in compliance with local
regulations.

Organic industrial waste-water

Organic industrial waste-water contains organic industrial waste flow from those
chemical industries and large-scale chemical works, which mainly use organic
substances for chemical reactions.
The effluents contain organic substances having various origins and properties.
These can only be removed by special pretreatment of the waste-water, followed
by biological treatment. Most organic industrial waste-waters are produced by the
following industries and plants:

 The factories manufacturing pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, organic dye-stuffs, glue

and adhesives, soaps, synthetic detergents, pesticides and herbicides;
 Tanneries and leather factories;
 Textile factories;
 Cellulose and paper manufacturing plants;
 Factories of the oil refining industry;
 Brewery and fermentation factories;
 Metal processing industry.

As examples, two special types of waste-water produced are briefly introduced as

follows.

Waste-water produced from the pharmaceutical industries

The quality of the wastes from the production of pharmaceuticals varies a great
deal, owing to the variety of basic raw materials, working processes and waste
products. It is a characteristic of the pharmaceutical industry that very many
products as well as intermediate products are manufactured in the same plant.
Thus different kinds of effluent with widely varying qualities flow from the different
production areas.

For large chemical industries it is also usual to manufacture pharmaceutical

products together with other chemical products. Some times waste substances
include the extraction residues of natural and synthetic solvents, used nutrient
solutions, specific poisonous substances, and many other organics.

The waste-water produced by the pharmaceutical industry has a very bad quality
for waste-water treatment. Usually the concentration of COD is around 5000 –
15000 mg/L, the concentration of BOD5 is relative low, and the ratio of BOD5
 /COD is lower than 30% which means the waste-water has a poor
biodegradability. Such waste-water has bad color and high (or low) pH value,
and it needs a strong pretreatment method, followed by a biological treatment
process with a long reaction time.
Waste-water produced by tannery plants
A tannery is one of the most water intensive plants, and its production process
consists of several steps. The quality of water depends only to a slight degree on
the type of hides and the mechanical and chemical methods used in tanning. In a
tannery with chrome and bark tanning, the waste-water resulting from the different
processes are as follows:

 Soaking and washing 22.5%

 Liming 17.5%
 Rinsing 5.5%
 Plumping and bating 19.0%
 Chrome tanning 2.0%
 Bark tanning 2.0%
 Washing and drumming 31.5%

In fact the waste-water flow is very uneven. The peak flow can be 250% of the
hourly average flow rate.

Impacts of Industrial pollution:

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it has been estimated that
industrial pollution is responsible for almost 50 percent of the pollution present in
the World. There are various wide-ranging effects, as well as serious consequences,
of industrial pollution on the ecological balance of the atmosphere along with
biological impacts.
Ecological impacts:
 Disturbs the ecology of the water bodies: Dumping of various industrial
waste products into water sources, and improper contamination of industrial
wastes, often result in polluting the water. Such water pollution disturbs the
balance of the ecosystem inside, resulting in the death of various animal and
plant species present in the water.
 Smog: Smog is produced due to internal combustion engines and industrial
fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants
that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog. Smog
is also caused by large amounts of coal burning in an area caused by a mixture of
smoke, sulfur dioxide and other components.
 Endangers the aquatic fauna: Releases of unnaturally cold water from
reservoirs can dramatically change the fish and macro invertebrate fauna of
rivers, and reduce river productivity. In Australia, where many rivers have warmer
temperature regimes, native fish species have been eliminated, and macro
invertebrate fauna have been drastically altered. Again the warm water released
from the effluent streams from the industries harm aquatic animals such as fish,
amphibians and copepods. Thermal pollution may also increase the metabolic
rate of aquatic animals, as enzyme activity, resulting in these organisms
consuming more food in a shorter time than if their environment were not
changed.
Effects of water pollution on human health
There is a greater association between pollution and health problem. Health risk
associated with polluted water includes different diseases such as respiratory
disease, cancer, diarrheal disease, neurological disorder and cardiovascular disease.
Nitrogenous chemicals are responsible for cancer and blue baby syndrome.
Mortality rate due to cancer is higher in rural areas than urban areas because urban
inhabitants use treated water for drinking while rural people don’t have facility of
treated water and use unprocessed water. Contaminated water has large negative
effects in those women who are exposed to chemicals during pregnancy; it leads to
the increased rate of low birth weight as a result fetal health is affected.
Poor quality water destroys the crop production and infects our food which is
hazardous for aquatic life and human life. Pollutants disturb the food chain and
heavy metals, especially iron affects the respiratory system of fishes. An iron clog in
to fish gills and it is lethal to fishes, when these fishes are eaten by human leads to
the major health issue. Metal contaminated water leads to hair loss, liver cirrhosis,
renal failure and neural disorder.
Impacts on Marine Life:
Marine pollution occurs when harmful effects, or potentially harmful effects, can
result from the entry into the ocean of chemicals, particles, industrial and
residential waste, noise or the spread of invasine organisms. Most sources of
Marine pollution are land based.
Many potentially toxic chemicals adhere to tiny particles which are then taken up
by plankton and benthos animals, most of which are either deposit or filter feeders.
In this way, the toxins are concentrated upward with in ocean food chains. Many
particles combine chemically in a manner highly depletive oxygen, causing estuaries
to become anoxic.
Important concepts related to marine pollution are:
i. Ocean Acidification:
The oceans are normally a natural carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere. Since the levels of atmospheric CO2 are increasing, the oceans are
becoming more acidic. The potential consequences of ocean acidification are not
fully understood, but there are concerns that structures made of calcium carbonate
may become vulnerable to dissolution, affecting corals and ability of shellfish to
form shells.

ii. Eutrophication:
Eutrophication is an increase in chemicals nutrients, typically compounds containing
nitrogen or phosphorus, in an ecosystem. It can result in an increase in the
ecosystems primary productivity (excessive plant growth and decay), and further
effects including lack of oxygen and severe reductions in water quality, fish and
other animal populations.
When the nutrient content of water undergoes changes, it can disturb the delicate
balance of the ecosystem. For example, when the nutrient content of water
increases, which is known as eutrophication, it can promote algal bloom. Algal
bloom can deplete the oxygen content of water. Though algae produce oxygen in
the daytime with the help of photosynthesis, at night, they use the oxygen
dissolved in water. Algal bloom is often followed by the death of a large quantity
algae, which are decomposed by bacteria by using oxygen. Thus, the entire process
of algal bloom, and the consequent bacterial decomposition of algae deplete the
amount of dissolved oxygen in water. Sometimes, this process can reduce the
oxygen content of water to such an extent that it can no longer support aquatic life.
Such hypoxic areas of ocean, where marine life cannot survive are known as dead
zones.
iii. Increased the Murkiness of Water
Industrial waste-water can increase the murkiness of water. This in turn, can
prevent sunlight from reaching the bottom of the water bodies. As a result, bottom-
dwelling plants can fail to photosynthesize. Excessive murkiness of water can also
block the gills of fish, and thus, make it difficult for them to take up dissolved
oxygen from the surrounding water.

Industrial Pollution in Bangladesh

Bangladesh had always been predominantly an agricultural based country and in
early days pollution was never even felt in this region. Since early sixties, of
necessity, industries of various kinds started to spring up slowly. It appears in a
survey that ecological imbalance is being caused continuously due to discharge of
various industrial wastes into air and water bodies. It has also been found that the
intensity of pollution caused by the factories and industrial units depend on their
type, location, raw materials, chemical effects, production process and discharge of
gaseous, liquid and solid pollutants to the natural environment. There are wide
spread fears that as the region develops in industrial infrastructure, industrial
pollution will accelerate, compounding the problems posed by raw municipal
wastes.
Industrial water pollution in Bangladesh: The Buriganga River was once the lifeline
of the Bangladeshi capital. The water of the Buriganga is now so polluted that all
fish have died, and increasing filth and human waste have turned it like a black gel.
The plight of the Buriganga symbolizes the general state of many rivers in
Bangladesh,a large flat land criss-crossed by hundreds of rivers which faces an uphill
battle to keep them navigable and their waters safe for human and aquatic lives. A
World Bank study said four major rivers near Dhaka — the Buriganga, Shitalakhya,
Turag and Balu — receive 1.5 million cubic metres of waste water every day from
7,000 industrial units in surrounding areas and another 0.5 million cubic meters
from other sources.

Unabated encroachment that prevents the free flow of water, dumping of

medicinal waste and waste of river passengers has compounded the problem,
making the water unusable for humans and livestock. Among the top polluters are
dozens of tanneries on the banks of the Chemicals such as cadmium and chromium,
and other elements such as mercury carried by the industrial waste are also
creeping into the ground water, posing a serious threat to public health. If the
pollution is not controlled, we will face a serious health crisis in a year or two or at
best three years Bangladesh enacted a law in 1995 making it compulsory for all
industrial units to use effluent treatment plants in a bid to save river waters from
pollution, but industry owners often flout the rule. 

Chemical waste management in Bangladesh:

One of the main reasons behind Industrial pollution in Bangladesh is lack of
knowledge required for chemical waste management. Despite the growing extent
of this problem, the sector continues to remain one of the most disorganized areas
of urban development in Bangladesh.
 Chemical waste from textile mills: In textile mills, they use different kinds of
chemicals in different stages. There are different steps in dyeing of cotton, silk,
PVC, synthetic. About 5000 garment industries exist in Bangladesh. Not only that
there are many other garment related factories carrying out dying, printing,
washing etc. Waste from BSCIC Industrial Area in Gazipur ends up in the Baimail
Jheel and then flows into the Turag turning water of both into an obnoxious deep
purple liquid. The garments industries and textile industries are creating a huge
number of CFC gas. CFC in full Chloro-Fluoro-Carbon is claimed for breaking the
ozone layer which covers our whole earth like protector.
 Chemical waste from pharmaceutical: During the processes in pharmaceutical
industries, various hazardous and non hazardous products are dumped which
ultimately ends up in the rivers surrounding the industries causing intolerable
stench and renders the water unusable for any domestic purpose.
 Chemical wastes from tannery: There are also several hundred other industries
of different sizes and categories of industries, including nearly 300 tanneries. One
of the main by product in the tanneries is the Chromium which causes severe
water pollution and is harmful for human body.
An Example in Bangladesh: A project using this approach is under way in the
Kaliakoir area of Central Bangladesh. The project is working to tackle both the
causes and effects of pollution, by implementing changes to production processes
with industrialists, through industry and community-based mitigation measures, and
community and government monitoring. Kaliakoir is a well established industrial
area, particularly known for textile firms, but suffering from chronic aquatic
pollution. The local shallow lake (beel) ecosystem is heavily degraded to the point
that the canal (khal) and beel, historically relied on by the community for bathing
and fishing, are almost unusable. Initial analyses of these water bodies indicate that
several water quality parameters exceed national/international standards – dissolved
oxygen levels are zero in places, and pH levels are as low as 11. The project adopts a
“cleaner production “approach to reduce the level of pollution generated by the
factories. This approach includes:
 Discussions with factories to understand the operation process within each
industrial unit.
 Construction of a material balance using inputs, processes and desired
products to determine unwanted outputs (pollutants).
 Using results to identify pollution reduction measures, including identification
of alternative raw materials or process, and recycling options for selected waste
streams.
Observation and analysis in the factories suggests that introducing simple changes,
like carefully monitoring the dyeing temperature time profile, can significantly
improve efficiency, reduce pollution and save costs. Results suggest that 20 %
improvement inefficiency could result in savings of up to $90,000, providing a
serious incentive to introduce pollution reduction options. The project team is also
working to improve effluent treatment facilities. The approach is multifaceted,
providing technical support for private effluent treatment plants (ETPs), facilitating
shared ETPs and developing novel methods for the treatment for residual pollutants
on-site and in the wider environment.

Bangladesh Water Policy

On the section eight of Bangladesh Water Policy it says “Excessive water salinity in
the southwest region is a major deterrent to industrial growth. Also, pollution of
both surface and groundwater around various industrial centers of the country by
untreated effluent discharge into water bodies is a critical water management issue.
The policy of the Government in this regard is that:
a. Zoning regulations will be established for location of new industries in
consideration of fresh and safe water availability and effluent discharge
possibilities.
b. Effluent disposal will be monitored by relevant Government agencies to prevent
water pollution.
c. Standards of effluent disposal into common watercourses will be set by WARPO
in consultation with DOE.
d. Industrial polluters will be required under law to pay for the cleanup of water-
body polluted by them.”

Remediation of Industrial water pollution

With better practices and controls in place, industrial water pollution could be
immediately and dramatically reduced. Considering that cleaning up industrial
pollution would help our planet become a safer, healthier place for future
generations, however, the cost is worth it. Much of the pollution occurs because
Industrialists are not aware, they think of cost or because there are no controls. It’s
time for that to stop.
Reducing Pollution:
Many countries, including the E.U., Switzerland, Canada and the U.S., have
effectively implemented systems that treat waste water for most chemicals, yet
significant improvement in methods are possible. In such improvements, priority
should be given to considering the use of microbes or fungi for cleanup of heavy
metals and organic compounds that are hard to degrade because of their high
efficiency relative to chemical or physical methods (Christensen, 1989). Most
developing and threshold countries lack treatment facilities (World Bank, WDI,
2006), meaning waste waters in these countries are significantly more toxic per unit
mass then waste water in developed countries, which is also a result of companies
shifting pollution-intensive production to countries with fewer environmental
restrictions. This is especially observed in the mining industry, where treatment of
waste is often very expensive and pollutants are very toxic (Diamond, 2005).
It is often assumed that governmental restrictions or strong consumer pressure are
necessary to cause significant reduction in the production of polluting goods,
because there is usually no short-term internal benefit to reducing pollution for
corporations. The reasons corporations reduce their pollution are based on
consumer preference for low-pollution goods and the high cost of noncompliance
with environmental regulations (Innes & Sam, 2008). But reducing pollution does
not only mean treating waste or paying for waste removal, which only raises costs.
Research suggests that preventing water pollution during the production process by
reducing use of pollutants or implementing low-use techniques actually increases
efficiency and financial performance of private corporations by an additional 5 to 8
percent over five years (King & Lenox, 2002).
Consumers and governments need to do their part to push companies to decrease
pollution. Although pollution prevention can provide a financial incentive for private
corporations, consumer pressure is still necessary to develop company awareness
of pollution issues. To implement standards throughout a pollution-intensive
industry, a government agency must implement environmental regulations.
Regulations could include a levy or tax plan which would make polluters pay a fixed
amount of money for pollution, a cap-and-trade system which would fix the amount
 of emissions, prescription of maximum releases, or minimum waste reduction
techniques. Such regulations might come with a high cost to production if no
comparable alternatives are available and efficiency measures are already
exploited. However, according to a study by King and Lenox (2002), efficiency
measures are underestimated by at least 30 percent of managers. The potential for
development of efficiency has resulted in a small industry of efficiency counseling,
which could be helpful in eliminating unnecessary pollution from industrial
processes. In general, government regulations need to be stronger in order to
eliminate such industrial overuse of pollutants and provide incentives for research
and implementation of more efficient techniques. The exact guidelines must be
determined by case, as different pollutants have different effects and can be
reduced by different measures, which warrants different approaches.

Action Plan
Any action plan to reduce industrial pollution will need to be tailored toward
specific pollutants to work well and not pose undue risks on either the economy or
the environment. A slightly generalized plan based on the different kinds of
solutions available can be proposed for the different pollutants:
Industrial Pollution: A European Solution:
European nations are rapidly undergoing industrial development which is also
taking toll on their environment and climate in the form of industrial pollution. A
successful process of controlling industrial pollution is going on in those countries,
which is called ‘LIFE’. LIFE (“L’Instrument Financier pour l’Environment”/the
financing instrument for the Environment) is an EU program coordinated by the
Environment Directorate-General (LIFE Unit).
LIFE provides industrial innovators with support that may be decisive, in particular
within small and medium-sized industries, in demonstrating the feasibility of
promising technologies and ensuring dissemination of positive results. Several LIFE
projects in various sectors have already contributed to improving manufacturing
processes and others are in progress. This brochure highlights examples of the role
which LIFE plays in stimulating clean technologies. This role will be further
strengthened through the LIFE-Environment projects selected in 2003. There are
twice as many projects focusing on such technologies and on reducing the
greenhouse effect as in 2002, representing more than 16% of the total. Action at
source, and in particular at production sites, is an essential condition for the success
of endeavors to reduce the environmental impact of economic activities. Priority
should be given to choosing innovative techniques that are geared to prevention. It
is also important not to consider problems separately but from an overall
environmental point of view: air, water, soil, natural resources, etc. This two-
pronged approach, both innovative and integrated, is characteristic of LIFE projects.
Many of them contribute to the development of clean technologies in a wide range
of industrial sectors.
 
Several Countries got benefited using LIFE to control pollution:
 In Belgium (p. 12), a research centre has been successful in preventing the
use of sulphuric acid in the manufacture of semiconductors and reducing de
ionized water consumption by 90%.
 In Spain (p. 13), a manufacturer of margarine has met the challenge of
excluding from its production process all chemical treatment, waste disposal
and pollutant emissions.
  In Italy (p. 14), a textile SME has reduced ink surpluses by 100% and waste
water by 60% by developing digital fabric printing techniques at industrial level.
In Austria (p. 15), one of the world’s leading diode manufacturers have
drastically reduced the level of molybdenum in residual water discharged into
the Danube and has transferred the process used to a Hungarian site.
 In Germany (p. 16), an SME has introduced, with major benefits to the
environment and worker health, a dry sawing technique for metal tubes and
profiles which is likely to be recognized as BAT.
 In France (p. 18), a plant of a major pharmaceutical concern has considerably
improved its management of water resources by developing a set of new
techniques applicable to many other sectors.

Sulfate removal process

In the Netherlands (p. 20), a major manufacturer of shock absorbers and a
company specializing in industrial coatings have designed a varnish which
contains hardly any volatile solvents, thereby putting an end to a conflict with
the local population.
 
 Industrial water treatment
Before raw sewage can be safely released back into the water, it needs to be
treated correctly in a water treatment plant. In a water treatment plant, sewage
goes through a number of chambers and chemical processes to reduce the amount
and toxicity of the waste.
The sewage first goes through a primary phase. This is where some of the
suspended, solid particles and inorganic material is removed by the use of filters.
The secondary phase of the treatment involves the reduction of organic, this is
done with the use of biological filters and processes that naturally degrade the
organic waste material.
The final stage of treatment is the tertiary phase; this stage must be done before
the water can be reused. Almost all solid particles are removed from the water and
chemical additives are supplied to get rid of any left-over impurities.
Septic tanks and sewage treatment
Septic tanks treat sewage at the place where it is located, rather than transporting
the waste through a treatment plant or sewage system. Septic tanks are usually
used to treat sewage from an individual building.
Untreated sewage from a property flows into the septic tank and the solids are
separated from the liquid.
Solid material is separated depending on their density. Heavier particles settle at
the bottom of the tank whereas lighter particles, such as soap scum, will form a
layer at the top of the tank.
Biological processes are used to help degrade the solid materials.
There are many laws that protect the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes from
unnecessary water pollution. Each continent and country may differ in which laws
they enforce but they aim to have the same overall positive influence.
In Europe, there have been a number laws enforced to protect the surrounding
ocean from marine dumping.
In 1989, the dumping of industrial waste was terminated in all countries in North-
Western Europe, apart from the UK. Dumping was terminated in the UK in 1993.

Precipitation and Fluoride Removal

The traditional method of fluoride removal from waste-water involves a process of
precipitation, coagulation and solids separation.
Precipitation is a process that involves the addition of chemicals and formation of
fluoride precipitates. Large quantities of precipitation chemicals must be added
daily in batches, in proportion to the volume of water and the concentration of
dissolved Ions. The process produces a certain amount of sludge every day.
In the coagulating sedimentation tank, the fluoride containing waste-water is
treated with calcium hydroxide and pH is controlled. Through the process of
coagulation, fluoride ions combine with calcium ions creating larger particles of
calcium fluoride that exhibit low solubility and therefore can be moved through
solids separation method.
The recovered sludge is disposed of as industrial waste (approximately 2 million
liters of fluoride laden waste-water will create 40 KL of sludge).

Recommendations:
1. More efficient production can both reduce industrialists’ costs and reduce the
costs to the nation, local community and environment in terms of pollution.
2. Change the composition of the product to reduce the amount of waste resulting
from the product’s use.
3. It should be made mandatory by promulgating laws to use pollution control
devices in Industries.
4. Due to the difficultly in tracking toxic compounds and their fate, combined with
the need to use complex and costly treatment methods to remove them from
waste-water, it is advisable and cost effective to consider the implementation of
cleaner production methods in industries (such as the replacement of toxic
recalcitrant compounds with others that are less harmful or not harmful at all)
and, also to raise awareness of society to reduce the use of such types of
compounds.
5. Industrial waste-water, especially from chemical and pharmaceutical production,
often contains substances that need to be treated before being discharged into
a biological treatment plant and subsequent water bodies. Generally, this can
be done close to the site of production itself, in selected waste-water streams
 before reaching a central treatment plant. Each of the approaches used has
certain advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, various waste-water
treatment processes exist, but selection of the best technically and
commercially viable solution is always a challenge.
6. Steps should be taken to treat the waste products from industries properly, i.e.
chemical waste management should be taken seriously and it should be
handled in a way that their hazardous quality might be reduced.
7. Production modernization will also help in this regard. The production facilities
should be checked from time to time to detect any discrepancies if present.
8. Good experience and success story of other countries should be shared and
learned to practice as remedy of water pollution by the Industries.

End