Environmental pollution

Definition of Pollution
• When Harmful Substances Contaminate the environment, it is Called Pollution.
• It can be defined as any undesirable change in the physical, chemical, biological
characteristics of any component of the environment which can cause harm to life and
property.
Types of Pollution
Air
Water
Marine
Thermal
Soil
Noise
Nuclear
Definition
• Air pollution : An atmospheric condition in which certain substances (including
normal constituents in excess) are present in concentrations which can cause
undesirable effects on man and his environment. They are in the form of gases;
Particulate matter& Radioactive
SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION
Natural: Volcanic Eruptions, Forest Fires, Sea Salt Sprays, Biological Decay, Pollen
Grains, Marshes, Photochemical Oxidation of Terpenes
Anthropogenic: Thermal Power Plants, Vehicular Emissions, Industrial Units
Classification of Air Pollutants
Air pollutants may be particulate or gaseous. On the basis of origin they are divided
as
• Primary pollutants - Are emitted directly from the point source. e.g. : CO, NO2,
SO2
• Secondary pollutants - formed by interaction of primary pollutants e.g. : PAN,
Smog, Ozone etc
Effects of Air Pollution
• Human health
• Animals
• Plants
• Materials
• Environment
Effect on Human health
 Main problems are related to Respiratory Track - Asthma, fever and other allergic diseases.
 Irritation of the eye, nose and throat. In severe cases there may be headaches, nausea, and loss of
coordination.
 Prolonged exposure can cause damage to the nervous system, digestive problems, and in some cases
cause Lung cancer.
 It lowers resistance to colds and pneumonia.
 SO2 in the air leads to diseases of the lung and other lung disorders such as wheezing and shortness
of breath.
 Chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver,
or kidneys.
Effect on Plants
 Pollutants enter through stomata
 Destroy chlorophyll and Affect photosynthesis
 Cuticle( Wax Layer on Leaves) is lost
 Necrosis – Damage to Leaf Structure
 Chlorosis - Loss/ reduction of Chlorophyll
 Abscission - Dropping of leaf
 Epinasty – Downward curling of Leaf
 DEATH
Effect on Animals and materials
• Corrosion of metal surfaces, fading
• SO2 & water form H2S – corrosion as well as disfigurement of statues made up of limestone or
Marble
• Air pollutants mix with rain water and increase acidity (Acid Rain) of water body and kill fish.
• Ozone causes crackling of rubber
Effect on Environment
Visibility
Pollutants in the presence of sunlight produce photochemical Smog
Emission of Green House Gases tend to Global Warming
CFC’s cause Ozone Depletion
Control Of Air Pollution
Proper air pollution control devices in industries
Using low sulphur coal
Regular engine tune up, replacement of old vehicles
Using mass transport system, bicycles etc
Shifting to less polluting fuels
Planting more trees
No to FIRE CRACKERS in festivals
 NATIONAL AIR QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAMME (NAMP)
• Central Pollution Control Board is executing a nation-wide program of ambient air
quality monitoring known as National Air Quality Monitoring Program (NAMP).
• The network consists of three hundred and forty two (342) operating stations covering
one hundred and twenty seven (127) cities/towns in twenty six (26) states and four (4)
Union Territories of the country.
Water Pollution
The Contamination of water with undesirable substances which make it unfit for usage is
termed water Pollution.

Pollution Sources
Point sources are direct discharges to a single point; examples include discharges from
sewage treatment plants, injection wells and some industrial sources.

Non-point sources are diffused across a broad area and their contamination cannot be
traced to a single discharge point. Examples include runoff of excess fertilizers,
herbicides, and insecticides from agricultural lands and residential areas; oil, grease,
and toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy production; and sediment from
improperly managed construction sites, crop and forest lands, and eroding stream
banks.
Surface Water Pollution
 Sewage
 Industrial effluents
 Synthetic detergents
 Agrochemicals
 Oil
 Waste heat

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.
• 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.
Industrial Effluents
• Waste water from manufacturing or chemical processes in industries
• Industrial waste water usually contains specific and readily identifiable chemical
compounds.
• Mainly in the form of toxic wastes and organic pollutants.
• Chromium, mercury, lead, copper, cadmium, etc.

Synthetic Detergents And Oils

• In industries for washing
• Add surfactants and soaps to water
• Toxic to fish, aquatic life.
• Added because of washing clothes, cleaning utensils
• Oceans are polluted by oil on a daily basis from oil spills, routine shipping, run-offs and
dumping.
• Oil spills make up about 12% of the oil that enters the ocean. The rest come from
shipping travel, drains and dumping.
Agricultural Run Off
 Routine applications of fertilizers and pesticides for agriculture and uncontrolled run off
in water bodies.
 Adds Nitrogen and Phosphorus to water
 Causes Eutrophication and algal blooms.
 Nitrate concentration is above the permissible level of 45 ppm in 11 states, covering 95
districts and 2 blocks of Delhi.
Ground Water Pollution
 Is less comparatively as soil acts as a filter Still...
 Septic tanks
 Mining
 Deep well injection
 Arsenic , Nitrate, Fluoride
 Presence of heavy metals in groundwater is found in 40 districts from 13 states, viz.,
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,
Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and five blocks of
Delhi.
Fluoride Poisoning
The incidence of fluoride above permissible levels of 1.5ppm occur in 14 Indian
states, namely: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar
Pradesh and West Bengal affecting a total of 69districts.
Some other estimates find that 65 per cent of India’s villages are exposed to
fluoride risk.

Arsenic Poisoning
• High levels of arsenic above the permissible levels of 50 parts per billion (ppb)
are found in the alluvial plains of Ganges covering six districts of West Bengal.
• Arsenic contamination of drinking water causes a disease called arsenicosis, for
which there is no effective treatment.
• Arsenic contamination is by far the biggest mass poisoning case in the world
putting 20 -30 million people from West Bengal and Bangladesh at risk
Control of Water Pollution
• Treatment of water before leaving in water bodies.
• Restoration of polluted water bodies.
• Ganga Action Plan
• River Water Monitoring

Marine Pollution
 Marine Pollution is caused due to Sewage Sludge, Industrial Effluents, Detergents, solid waste,
plastic, etc.
 Sources :
 River- Bring pollutants from drainage basins
 Catchment Area- Human Settlements
 Oil Drilling & Shipment
 Effects :
 Fishes show mortality
 Oil disrupts the insulating capacity of feathers
 Due to loss of Buoyancy and subsequent drowning of Birds cause Deaths
Control measures
• Effluents should not be discharged
• Treatment before discharge
• Strict law enforcement- regarding drilling in Eco-sensitive zones, dumping of toxic &
Hazardous wastes
• Minimum developmental activities on shore
• CRZs: Coastal regulation Zones

Thermal Pollution
• Definition : Presence of waste heat in the water which can cause undesirable changes
in natural environment.
• Causes:
• Heat producing Industries
• Power plants utilize only 1/3rd energy produced by fossil fuel rest is wasted as heat
• Cold water is taken from water body for cooling ….used and left in the water
body….back with increase of 10-15 Deg.
Effects…?
Oxygen penetration decreases, dissolved oxygen also reduces as the solubility is
decreased
Heat kills fishes and other aquatic life.
Toxicity of pesticides & chemicals increase with increase in temperature
Metabolic Activities increase at high temp. requiring more oxygen.
Spawning is disturbed
Fish migration is affected
Composition of flora & fauna changes

Control of Thermal pollution

• Cooling ponds, cooling towers and spray ponds
Noise pollution
Unwanted and unbearable sound is “Noise”
 Sound travels in form of pressure waves through air, liquid or solid
 Measured on DECIBEL SCALE.
 Maximum during Diwali, Ganpati and other festivals
 Higher in Industrial area.
 80 to 120 dB
 Crackers: 125 dB
 Construction: 100 dB

Sources and effects

• Transportation
• Heavy Machinery
• Construction activities
• Celebrations and household appliances
Effects
• Physiological and psychological
changes
• Interferes communication
• Hearing damage
• Sleep disturbance
Noise standards
• Night 10 p.m. to morning 6 a.m.- loud noise banned.
• Declaration of Zones

Control
• Reduction at the source
• Proper maintenance of machineries
• Machineries should be covered
• Use of sound absorbing silencers
• Through law
• Planting more trees of broad leaves
Nuclear Or Radioactive Hazard
 Natural radioactive decay
 Give out fast moving particles, high energy radiations.
 Alpha and beta particles
 Nuclear accidents, test laboratories radioactive fallout
 Fukushima in Japan
 Pripyat in Ukraine

Effects Genetic damage : DNA alterations, gene damage, chromosome damage

• Somatic damage: Burns, miscarriages, eye cataract, cancers of skin, bones, breast.

control
• Proper siting.
• Proper disposal.
Soil pollution
Soil is upper layer of earth crust, contains organic matter, fertile
• Dumping of wastes causes soil pollution
• Garbage and industrial waste
• Rubbish like glass, plastics, metallic cans, papers, cloth rags, containers
• Fly ash from Thermal power plants
• Fertilizers and pesticides: DDT, endrin, Lindane.
• Sewage sludge and radioactive wastes
Effects
 Reduce soil productivity
 Affects soil flora and fauna
 Sludge contains worms, bacteria and pathogens.
 Radioactive wastes enter food chain:
Strontium 90 mimics calcium.
Control
 Treatment before discharge
 Convert waste to biogas, fuel etc.
 Recover from soil.
SOLID WASTE AND ITS MANAGEMENT
Higher standards of living…generate more waste
• Quantities are enormous
• Management is very important
• Sources of solid waste include: Waste from homes, hospitals, industries, parks, gardens,
shops, construction and demolition waste
• In each and every action of
humans, Solid waste is generated
Two types of Waste:
BIODEGRADABLE NON-BIODEGRADABLE
 Vegetable waste  Polythene bags

 Food waste  Glass bottles

 Tea leaves  Scrap metal

 Egg shells  Tins, cans etc etc

 Dry leaves  Electronic waste

EFFECTS OF SOLID WASTE
• Waste heap up on roads
• Litter surroundings
• Foul smells
• Vector breeding
• BURNING produces toxic gases
Management
Following methods in use:
• Composting
• Sanitary landfill
• Segregation of waste
• Current trends of 3- R’s
Reduce Reuse Recycle