Environmental Pollution and Waste: Air, Water, and Land Media

Group FCE 341A

What is Pollution?• Pollution is the introduction of contaminants

into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light.

• Greenhouse effect• Ozone depletion• acidification • smog formation• eutrophication • human health• ecosystem health

Air pollutant impacts

Criteria air pollutants

• Nitrogen Dioxide: NO2 – brownish gas irritates the respiratory system originates

from combustion (N2 in air is oxidized); NOx sum of NO, NO2, other oxides of N

• Ozone: ground level O3– primary constituent of urban smog– reaction of VOC + NOx in presence of heat +sun light

• Carbon monoxide: CO– reduces bloods ability to carry O2 – product of incomplete combustion

Lead: Pb -causes learning disabilities in children , toxic to liver, kidney, blood forming organs-tetraethyl lead – anti knock agent in gasoline

-leaded gasoline has been phased outParticulate Matter: PM10 (PM 2.5)

-respiratory disordersSulfur Dioxide: SO2

-formed when fuel (coal, oil) containing S is burned and metal smelting-precursor to acid rain along with NOx

Water Pollution

• The largest source of water pollution in India is untreated sewage. Other sources of pollution include agricultural runoff and unregulated small scale industry. Most rivers, lakes and surface water in India are polluted.

• The problem is not only that India lacks sufficient treatment capacity but also that the sewage treatment plants that exist do not operate and are not maintained

Water Pollution Effects

– seepage into ground water from nonpoint sources– the loss of habitats such as wetlands. – we cannot always eat what we catch because fish

flesh is contaminated by the remaining discharges and sources of toxic substances.

– Microbial contamination of drinking water still presents problems in many communities.

– Pollution degrades water quality. Water pollution severely limits the amount of water available to Indian consumer, its industry and its agriculture.

Pollution Sources

• A Point sources is any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged. A point source has negligible extent

• Examples include discharges from sewage treatment plants, injection wells, and some industrial sources.

Pollution 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.

Water Treatment

• Water treatment is, collectively, the industrial-scale processes that makes water more acceptable for an end-use.

• The processes involved in treating water for drinking purposes may be solids separation using physical processes such as settling and filtration, and chemical processes such as disinfection and coagulation. Water purification is the removal of contaminants from untreated water to produce drinking water

Industrial Waste

• Industrial waste is process waste associated with manufacturing. – This waste usually is not classified as either municipal

waste or hazardous waste by federal or state laws. – Regulatory programs for managing industrial waste

vary widely among state, tribal, and some local governments.

• Each year, industrial facilities generate and manage 7.6 billion tons of nonhazardous industrial waste in land application units.

Municipal Solid Waste

– includes wastes such as durable goods, nondurable goods, containers and packaging, food scraps, yard trimmings, and miscellaneous inorganic wastes from residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial sources. • Examples of waste from these categories include

appliances, automobile tires, newspapers, clothing, boxes, disposable tableware, office and classroom paper, wood pallets, and cafeteria wastes.