AG60154

Pollution: overviewLecture: 01

Dr. D.R. MailapalliAssistant Professor

Agricultural and Food EngineeringIIT Kharagpur

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What is Pollution?

Environment is ‘everything that is not me’

o For ‘me’ to be healthy and happy, ‘everything that is not me’ must be healthy and happy.

o Environment:o a healthy balance between the demands of 7

billion people and the natural cycles of essential nutrients.

o safe from hazardous substances.

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Pollutiono Pollution:

o Contamination of natural resources such as water, land and air.

o Adversely impact the environment and human.

o Pollutants:o products which affect the normal functioning of

ecosystemo adverse effect on plants, animals, and humans.

o Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light.

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Pollution typesAir pollutionSound pollutionLight pollutionThermal pollutionRadioactive pollutionLand pollutionWater pollution

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1. Air pollution

6.5 million deaths/yr (more deaths than AIDS and Malaria).

5th largest killer in India (AIIMS: lung cancer- 1/10 lakh)Ozone, particulate matter, CO, NO2, SOx and lead.Global warming, acid rains, smog, ozone depletion.

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Global air pollution (NASA, 2010)

Threshold: particle size <10 microns/m3

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Global air pollution

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2. Sound pollution

Natural and anthropogenic typesPartial loss of hearing, emotional disturbances,

high blood pressureThreshold of hearing: 0dB; jet plane: 130 dB

(100 feet), motor cycle: 88 dB (30 feet)

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Sound pollution in Delhi

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Ocean vibrations (NOAA working group)

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3. Light pollution

Over illumination and sky glowPsychological stress, medical problems in

children, animal life

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Global night sky

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Global night sky

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4. Thermal pollution

Source: water as coolant in power plants and industries (half of all water used in the U.S)

Decrease in O2 supply Affects water quality and aquatic life

Biodiversity may decrease

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4. Thermal pollution

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5. Radioactive pollution

Alpha, beta and gamma particlesCancers, birth defects, deaths

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Global radioactive pollution(Lelieveld et al. 2012)

Annual probability in percentage of radioactive contamination (>40 kilobec querels per square meter)

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6. Land pollution

Each person in the U.S. produces about 2Kg of garbage a day.

14 billion pounds of garbage (mostly plastic) is dumped into Ocean every year

Largest e-waste site on earth is Guiyu, China; 88% of children have dangerous levels of lead in their blood

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7. Water pollution

In India, 1000 children die every day due to disease caused by polluted water

1.1 billion people have no access to safe drinking waterThe Ganges River is one of the most polluted rivers in the

world.

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7. Water pollution

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Global drinking water scenario

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More Life Expectation!(% recharge)

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Thank you!