by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUES ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

INTRODUCTION
○ Pollution is any undesirable change in physical,

h
chemical or biological characteristics of air, land, water

ng
or soil.
○ Pollutants are the agents that bring about an

si
undesirable change in physical, chemical or biological
characteristics of air, land, water or soil.

ita
○ In order to control environmental pollution, the
Government of India has passed the Environment
sh
(Protection) Act, 1986 to protect and improve the quality
of our environment (air, water and soil).
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

AIR POLLUTION

h
ng
Air pollution is any undesirable change in the physical,
chemical or biological characteristics of air.

si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
Harmful effects of air pollution
○ Air pollutants cause injury to all living organisms.

ita
○ They reduce growth and yield of crops and cause premature
death of plants.
sh
○ Air pollutants also deleteriously affect the respiratory system
of humans and of animals.
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

Cause of air pollution

Automobiles are a major cause for atmospheric pollution.

h
○ The use of lead-free petrol or diesel can reduce the

ng
pollutants they emit.
○ Smokestacks of thermal power plants, smelters release

si
particulate and gaseous air pollutants with harmless gases,

ita
such as nitrogen, oxygen, etc. which must be separated before
releasing the harmless gases into the atmosphere.
○ Fine particulates can be inhaled deep into the lungs which
sh
cause breathing and respiratory symptoms, irritation,
inflammations and damage to the lungs and premature deaths.
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

Control of air pollution

Catalytic converters
● Having expensive metals namely platinum-palladium

h
and rhodium as the catalysts, are fitted into automobiles

ng
for reducing emission of poisonous gases.

si
● As the exhaust passes through the catalytic converter
and converts:

ita
unburnt hydrocarbons → carbon dioxide and water
carbon monoxide → carbon dioxide nitric oxide →
sh
nitrogen gas
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

Electrostatic precipitator
Electrostatic precipitators can remove over 99 per cent

h
particulate matter present in the exhaust from a thermal

ng
power plant.

si
It has electrode wires that are maintained at several
thousand volts,

ita
which produce a corona that releases electrons
⬇
sh
The electrons attach to dust particles giving them a net negative
charge
⬇
ak

The collecting plates are grounded and attract the

charged dust particles
⬇
R

The velocity of air between the plates must be

low enough to allow the dust to fall
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
Fig Electrostatic precipitator
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

Scrubber
● A scrubber can remove gases like sulphur dioxide.

h
● In a scrubber, the exhaust is passed through a spray of

ng
water or lime.

Measures

si
Parallel steps taken in Delhi for reducing vehicular
pollution include

ita
○ phasing out of old vehicles
○ use of unleaded petrol
sh
○ use of low-sulphur petrol and diesel
○ use of catalytic converters in vehicles
ak

○ Application of stringent pollution

R

level norms for vehicles

Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

In Delhi, Entire fleet of public transport switched over to

compressed natural gas (CNG).

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

NOISE POLLUTION
Noise pollution is undesired high level of

h
sound.

ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

The Government of India through a new auto fuel policy has laid
out a roadmap to cut down vehicular pollution in Indian cities.

h
More stringent norms for fuels means steadily reducing the

ng
sulphur and aromatic content in petrol and diesel fuels.

si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

WATER POLLUTION AND ITS CONTROL

○ Any undesirable change in the physical, chemical or

h
biological characteristics of water is called water pollution.

ng
○ Sewage is a domestic waste contains biodegradable organic
matter, nitrates, phosphates, and other nutrients, and toxic

si
metal ions.
○ Realising the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of

ita
the water bodies, the Government of India has passed the
Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 to
sh
safeguard our water resources.
○ The amount of organic matter in sewage water
ak

by measuring Biochemical Oxygen Demand

(BOD).
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

○ Biochemical oxygen demand is the amount of oxygen required

by aerobic microorganisms to break down all organic matter.

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
Harmful effects of water pollution
ak

○ Microorganisms involved in biodegradation of organic

matter in the receiving water body consume a lot of oxygen,
R

and as a result there is a sharp decline in dissolved oxygen

downstream from the point of sewage discharge which causes
mortality of fish and other aquatic creatures.
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

○ Sewage from our homes as well from hospitals contains many

undesirable pathogenic microorganisms which can cause diseases like

h
dysentery, typhoid, jaundice, cholera.

ng
Causes of water pollution

si
○ Presence of large amounts of nutrients in waters also causes
excessive growth of planktonic (free-floating) algae, called an algal

ita
bloom. sh
ak
R

Fig. algal bloom

Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

○ Algal blooms cause deterioration of the water quality and fish

mortality and some bloom-forming algae are toxic to human beings

h
and animals.

ng
○ Water hyacinth (Eichhorniacrassipes) called ‘terror of Bengal’ is
the most problematic water weed which grow abundantly in eutrophic

si
water bodies, and lead to an imbalance in the water ecosystem.
Biomagnification

ita
○ It is the increase in concentration of the toxicant at successive trophic
levels.
sh
○ Biomagnification happens because a toxic substance accumulated by
an organism cannot be metabolized or excreted, and is thus passed on to
ak

the next higher trophic level.

○ Examples of toxic substances- mercury, DDT.
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

Eutrophication

h
○ Eutrophication is the natural aging of a lake by biological

ng
enrichment of its water.

si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

Natural eutrophication-
Streams draining into the lake introduce
nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus

h
due to which aquatic organisms grow.

ng
⬇
As silt and organic debris pile up, the lake

si
grows shallower and warmer, with warm-
water organisms supplanting those that

ita
thrive in a cold environment
⬇
sh
Marsh plants take root in the shallows and begin to fill in the
original lake basin.
⬇
ak

Lake gives way to large masses of floating plants

R

(bog), finally converting into land.

Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

Cultural or Accelerated Eutrophication

1. Pollutants from man’s activities like effluents from the

h
industries and homes can radically accelerate the aging

ng
process and the process is called Cultural or Accelerated
Eutrophication.

si
2. It causes by
○ Sewage, agricultural and industrial wastes.

ita
3.Nitrates and phosphates, which act as plant nutrients.
sh
○ Sewage and plant nutrients overstimulate the growth of
algae, causing unsightly scum and unpleasant odors, and
ak

robbing the dissolved oxygen from water, and other

pollutants flowing into a lake may poison whole
R

populations of fish, whose decomposing remains further

deplete the water’s dissolved oxygen content and thus a
lake can choke to death
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

○ Thermal wastewaters flowing out of electricity-generating

units are another cause of pollution.

h
ng
○ Thermal wastewater can eliminate the number of
organisms sensitive to high temperature and also can enhance

si
the growth of plants and fish in extremely cold areas but only
after causing damage to the indigenous flora and fauna.

ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

Control of water pollution

○ The cleaning of waste water occurs in two stages –

h
1. The conventional sedimentation, filtering and chlorine treatments
are given.

ng
2. The biologists developed a series of six connected marshes over 60
hectares of marshland.

si
○ Plants, algae, fungi and bacteria were seeded into this area, which
neutralize, absorb and assimilate the pollutants.

ita
○ The water flows through the marshes, it gets purified naturally.
○ A citizens group called Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM) is
sh
responsible for the upkeep and safeguarding of this wonderful
project.
○ A citizens group called Friends of the Arcata
ak

Marsh (FOAM) is responsible for the upkeep and

safeguarding of this wonderful project.
R

○ With the help of ecological sanitation human

excreta can be recycled into a resource (as natural
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

SOLID WASTES
○ Solid wastes refer to everything that goes out in trash.

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

Prevention of solid wastes

1. Reduction in use of plastics and use of eco-
friendly packaging.

h
2. Carrying cloth or other natural fiber carry-bags.

ng
3. Refusing polythene bags.
● Burning and open dumps are used to
reduce the volume of the wastes.

si
● Open dumps serve as the breeding ground
for rats and flies.

ita
● Sanitary landfills were adopted as the
substitute for open-burning dumps.
sh
● Polyblend is a fine powder of recycled
modified plastic which is mixed with bitumen
to lay roads.
ak

● Hospitals wastes contain disinfectants,

harmful chemicals and pathogenic micro-
R

organisms.
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

● Incinerators are used to dispose hospital waste.

● Irreparable computers and other electronic goods are known as

h
electronic wastes (e-wastes).

ng
● E-wastes are buried in landfills or incinerated.
● The chemicals which are used in agriculture are called agro-

si
chemicals. Example- herbicides, fungicides, pesticides.
● Increasing amounts of artificial fertilizers can cause
eutrophication.

ita
● Integrated organic farming is a cyclical zero-
waste procedure where waste products from one
sh
process are cycled in as nutrients for other
processes. Examples-
1. Cattle excreta (dung) are used as manure.
ak

2. Crop waste is used to create compost,

which can be used as a natural fertilizer or
R

can be used to generate natural gas.

Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

RADIOACTIVE WASTES
○ Radioactive wastes are those which contain radioactive

h
materials.

ng
○ Radiation given off by nuclear waste causes mutations to occur
at a very high rate.
○ At high doses nuclear radiation is lethal but at lower doses it

si
creates various genetic disorders such as cancer.

ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

GREENHOUSE EFFECT AND GLOBAL WARMING

○ The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring phenomenon that is

h
responsible for heating of Earth’s surface and atmosphere.

ng
○ Carbon dioxide and methane are commonly known as
greenhouse gases.

si
○ Greenhouse effect is important to increase the temperature which

ita
is essential for the organisms to live.
sh
○ Due to the increase in the level of greenhouse gases the Earth
gets heated which is known as Global warming.
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

OZONE DEPLETION IN THE STRATOSPHERE

● Upper part of the atmosphere is called the stratosphere.
● Ozone is a layer in the earthʼs stratosphere which acts as a

h
shield absorbing ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

ng
● UV rays are highly injurious toliving organisms as the
chemical bonds within DNA and proteins of living organisms

si
break by its high energy.
● The thickness of the ozone in a column of air from the

ita
ground to the top of the atmosphere is measured in terms of
Dobson units (DU).
sh
● An international treaty Montreal Protocol, was
signed at Montreal (Canada) to control the
ak

emission of ozone depleting substances.

● In the human eye, cornea absorbs UV-B
radiation, and a high dose of UV-B causes
R

inflammation of cornea, called snow-blindness

cataract.
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

DEGRADATION BY IMPROPER RESOURCE

UTILIZATION AND MAINTENANCE
The degradation of natural resources can occur, not

h
just by the action of pollutants but also by improper

ng
resource utilisation practices.

1. Soil erosion and desertification

si
Soil erosion is the removal of the top layer of the
soil.

ita
2. Waterlogging and soil salinity
sh
Irrigation without proper drainage of water leads to
waterlogging in the soil.
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

DEFORESTATION

h
Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forested ones.

ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

○ Reforestation is the process of restoring a forest that once existed

but was removed at some point of time.

h
ng
○ The Government of India has recently instituted the Amrita Devi
Bishnoi Wildlife Protection Award.

si
○ Government of India has introduced the concept of Joint Forest
Management (JFM) so as to work closely with the local communities

ita
for protecting and managing forests.

○ Chipko movement was started by local women of Garhwal

sh
Himalayas to protect trees.
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R
Environmental issues by Rakshita singh

h
ng
si
ita
sh
ak
R