At the end of this week, students should be able to :

 Discuss and describe issues and trends related on

environmental engineering.
 Explain and describe in details on types of
pollutions (water, land, air and noise) in
environmental surrounding.
 Discuss and describe on mitigation measures to
control and minimize the pollutions.
What is Pollution?
 Pollution is the introduction of
contaminants/pollutants into the natural
environment that cause adverse change. Pollution
can take the form of chemical substances or energy,
such as noise, heat or light. Pollutants, the
components of pollution, can be either foreign
substances/energies or naturally occurring
contaminants. Pollution is often classed as point
source or nonpoint source pollution.
We need efficient regulation/law and monitoring system
We need efficient regulation/law and monitoring system
 The water you drink has been circling
around in the water cycle for millions of
years - that means the same water
exists now as when dinosaurs were on
the Earth!

 Somewhere between 70 and 75 percent

of the earth’s surface is covered with
water.

 Your brain is made up of approximately

85% of water and your bones are
approximately 33%

 World Water Day is 22 March and

World Toilet Day is 19 November.
 Malaysia lies entirely in the equatorial zone. The
climate is governed by the regime of the northeast
and southwest monsoons.

 The average temperature throughout the year is

very stable (26°C), and the mean annual rainfall is
3,000 millimeters (mm).

 Streams or river with or without impounding

reservoirs contribute about 99% of raw water for
water supply in Malaysia with the remaining 1% of
raw water coming from groundwater
 Out of an annual rainfall volume of 990
cubic kilometers (km3), 360 km3 (36
percent) are lost to Evapotranspiration.

 The total surface runoff is 566 km3,

and about 64 km3 (7 percent of the
total annual rainfall) contribute to
groundwater recharge.

 80 % of the groundwater flow returns to

the rivers and is therefore not
considered an additional resource.
 Water Sustainability Index (WSI) that measures the
sustainability of water resources both in terms of availability
and usage.

 The WSI showed a decrease from 64% in 1992 to 33% in 2002

– a reflection that Malaysia’s water resources are rapidly
depleting and have been managed unsustainably.
 Water pollution is the contamination of
water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans,
and groundwater caused by human
activities, which can be harmful to
organisms and plants that live in these water
bodies.

 Sources; point source and non – point

sources

 Impacts?
The objectives are;
 Pollution prevention
 Extensive monitoring network
 Database for baseline studies

Three (3) types of water quality monitoring;

 Groundwater monitoring
 Marine water monitoring
 River monitoring
 National Monitoring Network Established in
1978. The aims;
a) To establish the status of river water
quality;
b) To detect changes in water quality as a
result of development activities

 To date, 902 manual stations in 120 basins.

Program include :
a) In-situ measurements
b) Sampling and laboratory analysis
( 24-physico-chemical and biological
parameters)
 In situ measurements of more than six (6) parameters –
turbidity, DO, salinity, temperature, pH and electrical
conductivity.

 Lab analysis of as many as 24 other chemical and biological

parameters.

 10 automatic water quality monitoring stations on major

rivers

 To detect changes in river water quality on a continuous

basis.

 Water quality levels violating the ambient standard for

specific parameters will be transmitted real-time to DOE

 Immediate inspection will be conducted at the suspected

point
 The introduction of substances,
biological organisms, or energy into
the soil by human activities
 resulting in a change of the soil
quality,
 which is likely to affect the normal use
of the soil or endangering public
health and the living environment.
 Soil contaminants are spilled onto the
surface through many different activities.
1) accidents involving the vehicles that are transporting waste
material from site of origin to a disposal site.
2) direct action of humans pouring potentially toxic materials
3) Illegal dumping (also known as “open dumping”, “fly dumping”,
and “mid-night dumping”)
4) Sewage
5) Pesticide and herbicide
6) Nuclear
7) Acid Rain
• Organic contaminant  Inorganic contaminant
1. Polyaromatic hydrocarbon 1. Zinc (Zn2+)
(PAH) 2. Arsenic (As2+)
2.Polychlorinated carbon 3. Chromium Hexavalent
benzene (PCB) (Cr6+)
3. Tetrachloroacetylene (PCE) 4. Lead (Pb2+)
4.Trichloroacetylene (TCE)
Biogeochemical
reaction in soil
 Depending on the characteristic of the
chemical and characteristic of the soil
1) pollutant might be washed away by
precipitation, causing little or no harm to the
ground on which it was found
2) the pollutant, if volatile, could evaporate,
again causing little harm to the soil
3) pollutant could infiltrate through the
unsaturated soil, in much the same way as
ground water
 Depending on the
1) Exposure period
2) Pollutant type
3) Pathway of attack

Example:
exposure to chromium, lead and other metals, petroleum,
solvents, and many pesticide and herbicide formulations can
be carcinogenic, can cause congenital disorders, or can
cause other chronic health conditions
1) alteration of metabolism of endemic
microorganisms and arthropods resident in a
given soil environment
2) Lower pyramid levels of the food chain may
ingest alien chemicals, which normally
become more concentrated for each
consuming rung of the food chain.
3) alter plant metabolism, often causing a
reduction in crop yields
 Information needed to clean up materials
added to soil include:
1) Kind of material - organic or inorganic - is
the material biodegradable, is the material
dangerous to animals and humans,
2) Quantity - how much material was added to
the soil, will it overload the organisms in the
soil;
3) C:N ratio - are additional nutrients needed (
N & P)
4) Kind of Soil - will the soil be able to handle
the material before groundwater is
contaminated,
5) Growing conditions for the soil organisms -
is it too cold, too wet etc.
6) How long has the material been on the site -
is there evidence of environmental problems,
is it undergoing decomposition.
7) Immediate danger to people and the
environment - Urgency of the situation.
 Physical Method
◦ Washing
◦ Soaking
◦ Excavation
◦ Containment
 Biological Method
◦ Bioremediation
◦ Phytoremediation
 Chemical method
◦ Aeration
◦ Chemical washing
◦ Thermal remediation
◦ Electromechanical
 A treatment process that uses microorganisms
(yeast, fungi, or bacteria) to break down, or
degrade, hazardous substances into less toxic
or nontoxic substances (carbon dioxide and
water)
 Using Plants for pollution clean up
 Plants, soil, and microbes in the soil work
together to determine which metals and
nutrients plants take up from the soil.
 Some plants excrete a variety of different
chemicals into the soil, some of which act as
signals to soil organisms.
AIR POLLUTION
 What is air pollution??
(Other than “Pencemaran udara please..”)
 Air pollution is the modification of the natural
characteristics of the atmosphere by a chemical,
particulate matter, or biological agent.

Common observations: bad air quality (haze) & acid

rain, reduced visibility

What are the causes??

Two (2) main categories; anthropogenic & natural
causes
 There are many substances in the air which may effect
the health of humans animals and plants,

 ..also can reduce visibility.

 Substances not naturally found in the air or at greater

concentrations or in different locations from usual, are
referred to as pollutants.
Pollutants can be classified as either primary or
secondary.
1. Primary pollutants are substances directly emitted
from a process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption
or the carbon monoxide gas from a motor vehicle
exhaust.

2. Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly.

Rather, they form in the air when primary pollutants
react or interact. An important example of a
secondary pollutant is ground level ozone.
1. Sulfur oxides (SOx) especially sulfur dioxide are
emitted from burning of coal and oil.
2. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) especially nitrogen dioxide
are emitted from high temperature combustion.
3. Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless, non-
irritating but very poisonous gas. It is a product by
incomplete combustion of fuel such as natural gas,
coal or wood.
4. Carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas emitted
from combustion activities
5. Particulate Matter (PM), measured as smoke and
dust.PM2.5 has a maximum particle size of 2.5 µm
and will enter the bronchies and lungs.
6. Volatile organic compounds (VOC), such as
hydrocarbon fuel vapors and solvents.
7. Toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium and copper.
8. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), harmful to the ozone
layer emitted from products currently banned from
use.
9. Ammonia (NH3) from agricultural processes.
10. Odors, such as from garbage, sewage
11. Radioactive pollutants produced by nuclear
explosions and war explosives, and natural
processes such as radon.
1. Particulate matter formed from gaseous primary
pollutants and compounds in photochemical smog,
such as nitrogen dioxide.
2. Ground level ozone (O3) formed from NOx and
VOCs.
3. Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) similarly formed from
NOx and VOCs.
Health Impacts
source: http://www.epa.gov/oars
From WHO statistics;
 2.4 million people die each year from causes directly
attributable to air pollution . Many of these
mortalities are attributable to indoor air pollution.

 Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air

pollution than to automobile accidents. Published in
2005 suggests that 310,000 Europeans die from air
pollution annually.

 Direct causes of air pollution related deaths include

aggravated asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, lung
and heart diseases, and respiratory allergies.
Case 1;
 During the early hours of 3 December 1984 the
world’s worst industrial accident unfolded in the
Indian city of Bhopal.
 Poisonous gas escaped from a chemical plant and
killed 3,000 people, according to official estimates.
Other estimates put the number at between 8,000
and 10,000.Around 50,000 suffered permanent
disabilities, and more died later.

Case 2;
 The United Kingdom suffered its worst air pollution
event when the December 4th Great Smog of 1952
formed over London. In six days more than 4,000
died, and 8,000 more died within the following
months.
Case 3;
 An accidental leak of anthrax spores from a
biological warfare laboratory in the former USSR in
1979 near Sverdlovsk is believed to have been the
cause of hundreds of civilian deaths.

Case 4;
 The worst single incident of air pollution to occur
in the United States of America occurred in Donora,
Pennsylvania in late October, 1948, when 20
people died and over 7,000 were injured. An air
inversion trapped industrial effluent (air pollution)
from the American Steel and Wire plant and Donora
Zinc Works
 Mainly by the amount of energy coming from the
sun, but also by factors such as the amount of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,
 Properties of the Earth’s surface, which determine
how much of this solar energy is retained or
reflected back to space.
 The atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse
gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4)
and nitrous oxide (N2O) have significantly increased
since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
 Melting Polar ice caps
 Retreating glaciers
 Rising sea levels
 Extreme weather
 Nature under threat
 The term greenhouse is used in conjunction with the
phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect

 Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and

climate, and heats the earth earth’s surface;

 In turn, the earth radiates energy back into space;

 Some atmospheric gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide,

and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy,
retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a
greenhouse;

 These gases are therefore known as greenhouse gases;

 The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature on
Earth as certain gases in the atmosphere trap
energy.

 Six main gases considered to be contributing to

global climate change are
1. carbon dioxide (CO2),
2. methane (CH4) (which is 20 times as potent
carbon dioxide (CO2),
3. methane (CH4) (which is 20 times as potent as
carbon dioxide)
4. nitrous oxide (N2O),
5. three fluorinated industrial gases: hydro
fluorocarbons (HFCs), per fluorocarbons (PFCs)
and ) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
6. Water vapor is also considered a greenhouse gas.
 Many of these greenhouse gases are actually life-
enabling, for without them, heat would escape
back into space and the Earth’s average
temperature would be a lot colder.

 However, if the greenhouse effect becomes

stronger, then more heat gets trapped than
needed, and the Earth might become less habitable
for humans, plants and animals.
 Global warming refer to an increase in average
global temperatures of the Earth's near-surface air
and oceans since the mid-20th century and its
projected continuation.

 Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °

during the last century

 Natural events and human activities are believed to

be contributing to an increase in average global
temperatures.

 This is caused primarily by increases in “greenhouse

gases” such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2).
 Rapid changes in global temperature
 Extreme Weather Patterns: Super-storms
 Ecosystem Impacts
 Rising Sea Levels
 Increase in Pests and Disease
 World Failing Agricultural Output;
 Increase in World Hunger
 There are many air pollution control technologies and urban
planning strategies available to reduce air pollution; however,
worldwide costs of addressing the issue are high.

 These costs are a small fraction of the economic damage that

air pollution will inflict on every nation of earth.

 Within the last decade the cost of air pollution annually in

most of Europe is between 1-3 percent GDP (gross domestic
product) and is at least 5 percent GDP of China.
 Noise, basically is unwanted or
nuisance sound that disrupts activity
or balance of human or animal life.
 The word noise comes from the Latin
word noxia meaning "injury" or "hurt".
 Noise or sound is measured in
decibels, dB.
 30 dB: A quiet library or soft whisper.
 70 dB: Busy traffic, noisy restaurant. At this level, noise may
begin to affect your hearing if exposure is constant.
 80 dB: Heavy city traffic, alarm clock at two feet, and factory
noise. These noises are dangerous if you are exposed to them
for more than eight hours.
 100 dB: A chain saw, stereo headphones, pneumatic drill. Even
two hours of exposure can be dangerous at 100 dB, and with
each 5 dB increase, the “safe time” is cut in half.
 120 dB: Sound at a rock concert in front of speakers,
sandblasting, thunderclap. The danger is immediate. At 120 dB,
exposure can injure your ear.
 140 dB: A gunshot blast and a jet plane. Any length of exposure
time is dangerous and may cause actual pain in the ear.
 180 dB: The sound at a rocket launching pad. Noise at this level
causes irreversible damage if ear protection is not used, and
hearing loss is inevitable.
 Transportation systems-including motor
vehicle noise, aircraft noise and rail noise
 Poor urban planning - since side-by-side
industrial and residential buildings can
result in noise pollution in the residential
area
 Office equipment, factory machinery,
construction work, audio entertainment
systems, noisy people etc
1. Human health effects
a) Psychological
 Noise pollution can cause annoyance and
aggression, hypertension, high stress levels,
sleep disturbances, and other harmful
effects.
 Furthermore, stress and hypertension are
the leading causes to health problems,
whereas tinnitus can lead to forgetfulness,
severe depression and at times panic
attacks.
b) Physiological
 Chronic exposure to noise may cause noise-
induced hearing loss.
 High noise levels can also contribute to
cardiovascular effects and exposure to
moderately high levels during a single eight
hour period causes a statistical rise in blood
pressure as well as to increased incidence of
coronary artery disease.
 c) Affecting Productivity
 According to a study by Cornell University, it
examined children who were exposed to
long term exposure to airport noise as
compared to children in a quiet
environment.
 The result concludes that children exposed
to loud noise do not perform as well in oral
aspects.


 Aircraft noise can be reduced to some extent
by design of quieter jet engines,
reconsideration of operations - altering flight
paths and time
 Exposure of workers to industrial noise include
redesign of industrial equipment, shock
mounting assemblies and physical barriers in
the workplace.
 Mitigation of roadway noise can be reduced
through urban planning, roadway design, noise
barrier design, speed control, surface
pavement selection and limitation of heavy
vehicles.
1. Urban Planning and Roadway Design
 There are many design decisions regarding
alignment and roadway geometrics that can
affect the sound level created
 Use of technology to predict future sound
levels - exposure of sensitive receptors to
elevated sound levels can be minimized
2) Surface Pavement Selection
 Selection of surface pavement affects sound
level create when vehicles travel on it due to
different surface friction.
 Quieter pavements are porous with a
negative surface texture
 Louder pavements have a transversely
tined/grooved surface, and/or a positive
surface texture
3) Speed Control
 Effective.
 The lowest sound emissions arise from
vehicles moving smoothly at 30 km/h to 60
km/h.
 Above that range, sound emissions double
with each 3 km/h of speed.
 Mechanism Advantages Disadvantages
Market Forces Rapid Hard to assign costs
Poor access to
information
Common Law Compensation Difficult to prove
Liability Incentive to limit causation
liability Expensive
Government Uniformity Idiosyncratic
Regulation Can address non- Slow
economic factors Inflexible
Insurance Compensate May reduce
efficiently incentives to
prevent damage
after Percival et al., 1996
 Issues related on environmental pollution are
very common and getting worse nowadays.

 Everyone need to be responsible on their own

actions in order to control and minimise the
pollutions for the future generation.