Industrial Pollution and Environmental Degradation PDF

Industrial Pollution and Environmental Dumping of wastes specially glass, harmful Degradation chemicals, industrial effluents, packaging, salts Although industries contribute significantly to and garbage renders the soil useless. Rain In...

Industrial Pollution and Environmental Dumping of wastes specially glass, harmful Degradation chemicals, industrial effluents, packaging, salts Although industries contribute significantly to and garbage renders the soil useless. Rain India’s economic growth and development, the water percolates to the soil carrying the increase in pollution of land, water, air, noise pollutants to the ground and the ground water and resulting degradation of environment that also gets contaminated. they have caused, cannot be overlooked. Noise pollution not only results in irritation Industries are responsible for four types of and anger, it can also cause hearing pollution: (a) Air (b) Water (c) Land (d) Noise. impairment, increased heart rate and blood The polluting industries also include thermal pressure among other physiological effects. power plants. Unwanted sound is an irritant and a source of Air pollution is caused by the presence of high stress. Industrial and construction activities, proportion of undesirable gases, such as machinery, factory equipment, generators, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Air- saws and pneumatic and electric drills also borne particulate materials contain both solid make a lot of noise. and liquid particles like dust, sprays mist and Control of Environmental Degradation smoke. Smoke is emitted by chemical and paper factories, brick kilns, refineries and Every litre of waste water discharged by our smelting plants, and burning of fossil fuels in industry pollutes eight times the quantity of big and small factories that ignore pollution freshwater. How can the industrial pollution of norms. Toxic gas leaks can be very hazardous fresh water be reduced? Some suggestions are- with long-term effects. Are you aware of the (i) minimising use water for processing by Bhopal Gas tragedy that occurred? Air reusing and recycling it in two or more pollution adversely affects human health, successive stages animals, plants, buildings and the atmosphere (ii) harvesting of rainwater to meet water as a whole. requirements Water pollution is caused by organic and (iii) treating hot water and effluents before inorganic industrial wastes and affluents releasing them in rivers and ponds. discharged into rivers. The main culprits in this Treatment of industrial effluents can be regard are paper, pulp, chemical, textile and done in three phases dyeing, petroleum refineries, tanneries and (a) Primary treatment by mechanical means. electroplating industries that let out dyes, This involves screening, grinding, detergents, acids, salts and heavy metals like flocculation and sedimentation. lead and mercury pesticides, fertilisers, (b) Secondary treatment by biological process synthetic chemicals with carbon, plastics and rubber, etc. into the water bodies. Fly ash, (c) Tertiary treatment by biological, phospo- gypsum and iron and steel slags are chemical and physical processes. This the major solid wastes in India. involves recycling of wastewater. Overdrawing of ground water reserves by Thermal pollution of water occurs when hot industry where there is a threat to ground water from factories and thermal plants is water resources also needs to be regulated drained into rivers and ponds before cooling. legally. Particulate matter in the air can be What would be the effect on aquatic life? reduced by fitting smoke stacks to factories Wastes from nuclear power plants, nuclear with electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, and weapon production facilities cause scrubbers and inertial separators. Smoke cancers, birth defects and miscarriages. Soil and water pollution are closely related. can be reduced by using oil or gas instead 66 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II Reprint 2024-25