Pollution: 1. Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes
Pollution: 1. Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes
Pollution: 1. Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes
The most important source of organic pollutants is sewage which contains faecal matter, urine,
kitchen washing and oil washings. Sewage also contains a large number of pathogenic and
harmless bacteria. The strength of organic waste material of sewage is measured in terms of
Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (B.O.D). The value is expressed in terms of mg of oxygen per liter
of waste for 5 days at 20C. If the volume of B.O.D. is below 1500mg per liter, the sewage is
termed as weak waste, if it is 4000mg per liter, it is medium and above this value it is termed as
strong waste. However, if liquid industrial wastes containing acids, alkalis and poisonous
substances enter the river, the aquatic life is affected and self-purification system of water is
impaired. Pesticides and herbicides which enter water may kill some organisms or accumulate in
fishes which, when consumed by man, pass on the chemicals giving rise to cumulative
poisoning.
3. Pollution Caused by Gaseous Wastes
The gaseous wastes include Carbon monoxide (CO), Sulfur dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen dioxide
(NO2), Ozone (O3) and smog gases (composed of a complex mixture of photochemical oxidation
products of hydrocarbons. These gases are more abundant in the atmosphere of industrial
cities.
i. Radio-active Substance
Despite of all possible precautions in the functioning and maintenance of nuclear
reactors, it is seen that minute quantity of radio-active waste escapes out into the
environment. From the mining operation of the uranium to the use and final disposal of
wastes from the reactor, radio-active materials continuously escape out into the
environment. Besides, a lot of radio-active wastes enter into environment during the
nuclear tests.
ii. Heat
A large quantity of waste heat energy is dissipated into environment by the way of hot
liquid streams or hot gases released by industries and automobiles.
iii. Noise
The unwanted sound is known as noise. This sources of noise for the general public are
the machines in the industry, traffic noise, indiscriminate use of transistor, radios,
public address systems, etc.
ii. Poisons e.g., radio-active substances, pesticides, smog gases, heavy metals like mercury, lead
and their salts.
2. Degradable Pollutants or Bio-degradable Pollutant
These are natural organic substances which can be decomposed, removed or consumed and
thus, reduced to acceptable levels either by natural processes like biological or microbial action
or by some engineered systems, like sewage treatment plants. The degradable pollutants can be
further sub-divided into two categories:
The nature and concentration of a pollutant determine the severity of its detrimental effects on
human health. Impurities released directly from the source of origin are known as primary
pollutants, for example, CO, SO2, NO. When contaminants like HC, NO, O3, combine in the
atmosphere (moisture, sunlight) to form new products like PAN (peroxy acetyl nitrate),
petrochemical smog, formaldehyde, which are known as secondary pollutants.
From an ecological perspective, pollutants can be classified as degradable, slowly degradable
and non-degradable. The Degradable or called as non-persistent pollutants can be rapidly
broken down by natural process. For example domestic sewage, discarded vegetables, Slowly-
degradable or persistent pollutants are pollutants that remain in the environment for many
years in an unchanged condition and take decades or longer to degrade.
For example, DDT (pesticides) and most plastics. The Non-degradable pollutants cannot be
degraded by natural process. Once they are released into the environment they are difficult to
eradicate and continue to accumulate: For example, toxic elements like lead or mercury, and
nuclear wastes.
Causes:
The ultimate cause of pollution is human activity itself. Pollution is a human contribution to
nature. Human activities mainly include: industries for various human needs both directly and indirectly,
agriculture for food production and industrial needs, health care for health of human beings and
animals, transport for mobility of human beings, dwelling for settlement in city or villages, energy for
various direct human and industrial needs.