CHAPTER -5

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND

CONTROL
 5.1.WATER POLLUTION

Pollution of water is a broad subject

dealing with different types of pollutants
entering the Hydrological cycle.
Surface water, River water, Underground
water, and vast sea water are included in
a broad subject of water pollution.
1/ Sources and Classification of water
pollutants
a/ Sources
 The water pollution may be caused by the waste water
discharges either from point source or non- point
source.
I/Point sources – effluents from industries, waste
treatment plants e.t.c.
 They are directly discharged in to the river.
II/ Non- point sources – that arise from human waste,
farm fields by run off, and other chemicals from roads.
 No specific entrance point.
b/ Classification

 Water pollutants broadly classified in to

1/Organic – which are oxygen depleting wastes
e.g. manmade organic chemicals such as
detergents, pesticides, food additives,
pharmaceuticals, oil pollutants…
2/ Inorganic- mineral acids, inorganic salts, heavy
metals, trace elements…
3/Radioactive pollutants – testing use of nuclear
weapons, nuclear power plants & uranium tailing.
2/Water quality testing

 Water quality is defined by analyzing it in

terms of its
1/Chemical content – Hardness(Ca and Mg),
metals(iron e.t.c.), nutrients(N2 and P),
Chloride, Na…
2/Physical content – turbidity, colour, odour…
3/Biological content – total coliform, fecal
coliform…
 Water quality…

 Pure – Water _ water i.e. free from any

chemical or mineral.
 Safe- drinking water_ water free from
disease-causing organisms, harmful chemical
substances and radioactive matter, tastes
good, is aesthetically appealing and is free
from objectionable colour or odour.
3/Effects of water pollution

 I/ Effects On human health

 Cause water – borne diseases such as Cholera,
typhoid, diarrhea.
 Nitrites restricts the amount of O2 reaching the brain
causing blue-baby syndrome
 Oil spills can cause skin irritations & rashes
 ii/ Effects on ecosystem
 Water pollution cause depletion of oxygen(DO) in
surface water bodies, thus affecting the fish & other
aquatic life.
Control of water pollution

 Water pollution control means the control of

effluents in to water or soil.
 Water pollution is controlled by treatment of
waste water from different sources.
 It depends on the characteristics of waste
water.
 Wetlands Protection

 Wetlands – are swampy lands or marshy area

 It is other area of land where the soil near the
surface is saturated or covered with water,
especially one that forms a habitat or wild
life.
 The federal government protects wetlands
through regulations(like section 404 of clean
water act).
Water conservation

 READING ASSIGNMENT
5.2 AIR POLLUTION

 Is an introduction of chemicals,
particular matter, or biological
materials that cause harm or
discomfort to humans or other livings
or cause damage to the natural
environment or built environment, in
to the atmosphere.
1/ Importance of Atmosphere

o Atmosphere is the earths protective

armor.
o It used
 To control heat
 To protect us from ultra contains ray of the
sun.
 To regulate the earth temperature
 To breath and survive.
2/Sources and classification of Air
pollutants
a/ Sources
I / Anthropogenic sources (human activity) -
mostly related to burning d/nt kinds of fuel.
 "Stationary Sources" include smoke stacks of
power plants, manufacturing facilities (factories)
and waste incinerators, as well as furnaces and
other types of fuel-burning heating devices
 "Mobile Sources" include motor vehicles, marine
vessels, aircraft etc.
 Sources…

 Fumes from paint, hair spray, varnish, aerosol

sprays and other solvents
 Waste deposition in landfills, which generate
methane.
 Military, such as nuclear weapons, toxic
gases, germ warfare and rocketry
 Sources …

II/ Natural Sources

 Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of
land with little or no vegetation
 Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by
animals, for example cattle
 Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth's
crust.
 Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires
 Volcanic activity, which produce sulfur, chlorine,
and ash particulates.
b/ Classification

 Air pollutants can be classified into primary &

secondary in nature.
 primary pollutants are directly emitted from a
process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption, the
carbon monoxide gas from a motor vehicle
exhaust or sulfur dioxide released from factories.
 Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly.
Rather, they form in the air when primary
pollutants react or interact. E.g. Ozone
Cont’s....
Pollutant Source Effect Control

So2 - Volcanic eruption - Respiratory irritant Lime stone

-Bacterial action - Corrodes metal injection process
-fuel combustion - Damage textiles Sodium based
- Industries - Toxic to plants scrubber process.
- Transportation Catalytic
- Solid waste oxidation process.
Adsorption:

No x •Transportation •Eye irritation Auto emission

•Stationary fuel. •Respiratory irritant control
•Industrial •Deterioration of Decreasing
•Solid waste fabrics combustion
•Reduce plant growth Reduce catalytic
•Leaf drops and reactors
reduce yield.
Cont’s....
Pollutant Source Effect Control
Co •Transportation • headaches or  Alternative
dizziness to death. mode of transp.
• fuel combustion •Slow down Encourage use
mental process of improved
•Industrial stoves
•Solid waste Fuel
modification
Engine design
modification
Improve forest
management

TSP • fuel combustion •grime deposit on improving the

•Industrial buildings stove to make it
•Solid waste and •obscure visibility energy efficient
agricultural •irritate public Education
activities respiratory tract use of
•Transportation ventilation
3/INDOOR AIR POLLUTION

 Indoor – situated or done with in a building.

 Cooking and heating with solid fuels on open
fires or traditional stoves results in high levels
of indoor air pollution.
 Indoor smoke contains a range of health-
damaging pollutants, such as small particles
and carbon monoxide.
 4/GLOBAL AIR POLLUTION
PROBLEM
 The green house effect – is the anticipated
warming of the earth produced by discharging
increasing amounts of energy, pollutants, and
combustion products to the atmosphere. CO2,
NO, methane, …….
 Thermal expansion of sea water (it expands as it
warms, decr. Its density & incr. its volume)
 Glacial melting
 Incr. in Co2 level, stimulates photosynthesis &
decr. water loss from transpiration.
5/ CONTROL OF AIR POLLUTION

I. Control of pollutants at the source

 Raw material changes
 Operational changes
 Modification of process equipment
II. Control Devices for gaseous contaminates
 Adsorption
 Absorption
 Condensation Reading Ass.
 combustion
Cont’s.....

III. Emission controls for mobile sources

 Engine modification.
 changes in fuels
 Zero emission vehicles
5.3 THERMAL POLLUTION
 Is the degradation of water quality by
any process that changes ambient
water temperature.
 It is caused by either dumping hot
water from factories and power plants
or removing trees and vegetation that
shade streams, permitting sunlight to
raise the temperature of water.
1/ Sources of Thermal pollution

I / The major sources are electric power and industrial

factories.
 In electrical power, to condense the steam, cool water is
bought in to the plant and circulated next to the hot steam.
In this case the water temp. warms 5-10 deg centigrade.
 Factories contribute to thermal pollution when they dump
water used to cool their machinery.
II/ removal of vegetation in order to harvest the wood in the
trees, to make room for crops, or to construct buildings,
roads, and other structures. This incr. temp by above
10deg.
 2/Effects of Thermal pollution
 Elevated temperature typically decreases the level
of dissolved oxygen in water. This can harm aquatic
animals such as fish, amphibians and copepods.
 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.
 limits oxygen dispersion into deeper waters,
contributing to anaerobic conditions. This can lead
to increase bacteria levels when there is ample food
supply.
3/ Control Of Thermal pollution

 Construction of cooling ponds --artificial

water bodies for cooling due to evaporation,
convection and radiation.
 Construction of cooling towers for radiation.
 Use cogeneration where the heat  is recycled.
 Kept away grazing livestock from stream
sides.
 Covering stream sides with vegetation.

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 5.4.NOISE POLLUTION

 is excessive, displeasing human,

animal or machine-created
environmental noise that disrupts the
activity or balance of human or
animal life.
 The word noise comes from the Latin
word nauseas, meaning seasickness.
1/Properties of Noise
 The annoyance caused by noise effects is related to some
of the physical properties of noise.
 Level and exposure: High noise levels have more negative
effects and are more annoying. WHO recommends a
maximum continuous noise exposure of 85 dB(A) for 8
hours per day.
 Frequency: The ear is more sensitive to high frequencies
than to low frequencies.
 Spectrum: Annoyance as a result of noise is greater for
pure-tone (or sound having tonal components) than for
broad-band noise
 Temporal changes: Annoyance is greater for intermitted
noise than continuous noise.
Types and Sources of Noise

I /Sources
 Uncontrolled Ground Motion- Anything that causes the
ground to move, other than your source, will generate
noise. These would include traffic traveling down a road,
running engines and equipment, and people walking.
 Electronic Noise -anything that can cause changes in the
electrical signal in the cable or the recording system
causes noise in our recorded data.
 Geological Noise -any type of subsurface geological
structure that we cannot easily interpret to be source of
noise.
Types and Sources…
ii/ Types of noise pollution
a/Broad band noise –acoustical energy distributed over a
broad range of wave lengths. E.g. noise produced by a
large crowd of people or railroad trains
b/Narrow band noise- acoustical energy distributed over a
narrow range of wavelengths & possessing a dominant
tone. E.g. jet engines and circular saws
c/Impulse or impact noise-acoustical energy distributed
over a short period of time. E.g. pneumatic jack hammer
& a punch press
d/White noise-broad band noise in which the power density
(acoustical power @ a particular freq) varies with time.
E.g. highway traffic noise
e/Pink noise-broad band noise in which the power densities
are equal.
4/Effects of Noise Pollution

 ON HUMAN HEALTH
 Hearing Problems :Noise levels above 80 decibels produce
damaging effects to the ear.
 Cardiovascular Issues: A noisy environment can be a source
of heart related problems.
 Sleep Disturbances: Noise can interrupt a good night's
sleep, and when this occurs, the person feels extremely
annoyed and uncomfortable.
 Interference in Verbal Communication:
 Mental Health Problems: Exposure to loud sound can lead
to elevated stress levels as well as stimulate violent behavior.
 Effects of…

 ON ANIMALS
 Intolerable noise levels can decrease a cow’s
capacity of milk.
 Affect egg production, cause stunted growth
in chickens
 Noise of common ships create a problem on
communication of sea animals.
5/Control of Noise Pollution

 People living in the heart of city or near the airport,

often have to bear the brunt of high noise levels. To
decrease noise, one can install dual-paned windows.
 An effective way to manage noise would be to wear
ear protection while working in noisy conditions.
 Vehicles and factory machines need to be
maintained properly and checked from time to time.
 Limitations of vehicle speed, limitation of heavy
vehicles.