Environmental Pollution

Dr. Asgar Ali

➢ Pollution is the effect of undesirable changes in our surroundings that have harmful effects on plants, animals

and human beings. This occurs when only short-term economic gains are made at the cost of the long-term

ecological benefits for humanity.

➢ During the last few decades we have contaminated our air, water and land on which life itself depends with a

variety of waste products. Pollutants include solid, liquid or gaseous substances present in greater than natural

abundance produced due to human activity, which have a detrimental effect on our environment. The nature and

concentration of a pollutant determines the severity of detrimental effects on human health.

 Soil Pollution
➢ Soil is a thin covering over the land consisting of a mixture of minerals, organic
material, living organisms, air and water that together support the growth of
plant life.
➢ Several factors contribute to the formation of soil from the parent material. This
includes mechanical weathering of rocks due to temperature changes and
abrasion, wind, moving water, glaciers, chemical weathering activities and
lichens.
Causes of Soil Pollution
1. Erosion
➢ Soil erosion can be defined as the movement of surface litter and topsoil from one place to
another. While erosion is a natural process often caused by wind and flowing water it is
greatly accelerated by human activities such as farming, construction, overgrazing by
livestock, burning of grass cover and deforestation.
➢Loss of the topsoil makes a soil less fertile and reduces its water holding capacity.
➢The topsoil, which is washed away, also contributes to water pollution clogging
lakes, increasing turbidity of the water and also leads to loss of aquatic life.
2. Excess use of fertilizers
➢ The excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has detrimental effect on
the soil.
➢ These pesticides ultimately reach the soil and persist there for a long time. E.g.
DDT
➢ Residues of these pesticides in the soil have long time effects especially under
temperate region.
3. Domestic waste: It includes waste such as food waste, paper, glass, plastics
materials. These all contribute to soil pollution.
4. Industrial waste : Discharge of large quantities of toxic, flammable, non-
biodegradable substance on land results in soil pollution.
5. Mining: Mining refers to process by which non-renewable substances and valuable minerals
are extracted from earth. It leads to change in the composition of soil.
6. Radioactive waste: Nuclear power plants, Nuclear testing and explosion add variable amount
of radioactive materials to soil.
Effects of Soil Pollution
➢ Sewage and industrial effulents which pollute the soil ultimately effect human healths.
➢ Indiscriminate use of pesticides is a matter of great concern.
➢ Sewage sludge has many types of pathogenic bacteria and viruses which causes various kinds
of diseases.
➢ Radioactive fallout on vegetation is the source of radioactive isotopes, which enters the food
chain in the grazing animals.
Control of soil Pollution

➢ Effluents should be properly treated before discharging them into the soil.

➢Soild wastes should be properly collected and disposed off by an appropriate

method.

➢Biodegradable waste should be used for generation of biogas and non-

biodegradable should be recycled.

➢ Planting of trees must be encouraged.

➢ Use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides should be minimized.

Marine Pollution

Marine pollution can be defined as the introduction of substances to the marine environment
directly or indirectly by man resulting in adverse effects such as hazards to human health,
obstruction of marine activities and lowering the quality of sea water.

Causes of marine Pollution

➢ The most obvious inputs of waste is through pipes directly discharging wastes into the sea. Very
often municipal waste and sewage from residences and hotels in coastal towns are directly
discharged into the sea.
➢ Pesticides and fertilizers from agriculture which are washed off the land by rain, enter water
courses and eventually reach the sea.
➢ Petroleum and oils washed off from the roads normally enter the sewage system but
stormwater overflows carry these materials into rivers and eventually into the seas.
➢ Ship accidents and accidental spillages at sea therefore can be very damaging to the marine
environment.
➢ Offshore oil exploration and extraction also pollute the seawater to a large extent.
Effects of Marine Pollution
1. Pollution due to organic waste
The amount of oxygen dissolved in the water is vital for the plants and animals living in it. Wastes, which directly or
indirectly affect the oxygen concentration, play an important role in determining the quality of the water.
➢ The sewage primirly contain organic waste, which are decomposed by bacteria into stable inorganic compounds
aerobically.
➢ However as a result of this bacterial activity the oxygen concentration in the water is reduced. When the oxygen
concentration falls below 1.5 mg/ lit, the rate of aerobic oxidation is reduced and their place is taken over by the
anaerobic bacteria that can oxidize the organic molecules without the use of oxygen. This results in end products
such as hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and methane, which are toxic to many organisms.

2. Pollution due to oil

Oil pollution of the sea normally attracts the greatest attention because of its visibility. There are several sources
though which the oil can reach the sea.
A. Tanker operations: After a tanker has unloaded its cargo of oil it has to take on seawater as ballast for the
return journey. This ballast water is stored in the cargo compartments that previously contained the oil.
B. Dry docking: All ships need periodic dry docking for servicing, repairs, cleaning the hull, etc. During this period
when the cargo compartments are to completely emptied, residual oil finds its way into the sea.
 C. Tanker Accidents:
d. Offshore oil production:
Control of Marine Pollution
➢ One way of reducing the pollution load on marine waters is through the introduction of
sewage treatment plants. This will reduce the biological oxygen demand (BOD) of the final
product before it is discharged to the receiving waters.
➢ load-on-top method :- uses high jet of water to clean the compartments.
➢ Crude oil washing
Effect of marine pollution
When liquid oil is spilled on the sea it spreads over the surface of the water to form a thin film

called an oil slick. The rate of spreading and the thickness of the film depends on the sea

temperature and the nature of the oil.

Noise Pollution
➢ Noise can be defined as an unpleasant and unwanted sound that is loud and disruptive to
hearing.
➢ A low sound is pleasant whereas a loud sound is unpleasant and is commonly referred to as
‘noise’.
➢ There are four different types of noise :-
(a) Continuous Noise :- Noise that is produced continuously by machinery that does not stop
while working.
(b) Intermittent Noise :- Refers to quick rise or drop in the noise volume.
(c) Impulsive Noise :- Refers to sudden and fast nature of noise.
(d) Low frequency Noise :- Refers to the background noise that we hear in our surrounding.
➢ Noise is the loudness of sound and can be measured in decibel (db) unit.
Source of Noise Pollution:
The source of Noise Pollution can be classified as
(a) Mobile Sources :- Various modes of transportation such as air, road and rail transportation.
(b) Stationary Sources:- This include industrial operations, construction activities and
celebrations (social/religious functions, elections etc.), electric home appliances etc.
Effect of Noise Pollution:
1. Interferes with man’s communication
2. Hearing damage:- Noise can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss. It depends on
intensity and duration of sound level.
3. Physiological and psychological changes:- Continuous exposure to noise affects the
functioning of various systems of the body. It may result in hypertension, insomnia
(sleeplessness), gastro-intestinal and digestive disorders, peptic ulcers, blood pressure changes,
behavioural changes, emotional changes etc.
Remedial Measures for Noise Pollution (Control)

1. Reduction in sources of noise: Sources of noise pollution like heavy vehicles and old vehicles
may not be allowed to ply in the populated areas.

2. Noise making machines should be kept in containers with sound absorbing media. The noise
path will be uninterrupted and will not reach the workers.

3. Proper oiling will reduce the noise from the machinery.

4. Use of sound absorbing silencers: Silencers can reduce noise by absorbing sound. For this
purpose various types of fibrous material could be used.

5. Planting more trees having broad leaves.

6. Through law: Legislation can ensure that sound production is minimised at various social
functions. Unnecessary horn blowing should be restricted especially in vehicle-congested areas.
Thermal Pollution:

➢ The discharge of warm water into a river, which changes the ecological balance is termed as
thermal pollution.
➢ It is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes the ambient temperature of
water.

Effects:
➢ The warmer temperature decrease the solubility of the oxygen in the water.
A temperature increase as small as 1 or 2 °C can kill native fish, shellfish and plants. This results in
a change in the diversity of fauna as only those species that can live in warmer water survive.

Control measures

➢ One method is to construct a large shallow pond. Hot water is pumped into one end of the pond
and cooler water is removed from the other end. The heat gets dissipated from the pond into the
atmosphere.
➢ A second method is to use a cooling tower.
➢ Here most of the heat transfer occurs through evaporation.

➢ Here warm waters coming from the condenser is sprayed downward over vertical sheets or
baffles where the water flows in thin films.

➢ Cool air enters the tower through the water inlet that encircles the base of the tower and rises
upwards causing evaporative cooling.

➢ A natural draft is maintained because of the density difference between the cool air outside and
the warmer air inside the tower.

➢ The waste heat is dissipated into the atmosphere about 100 m above the base of the tower.

➢ The cooled water is collected at the floor of the tower and recycled back to the power plant
condensers