Q-5 Define Environmental Pollution.

Identify various types of Environmental Pollution and Highlight the

causes and consequences of air pollution with example from Dhaka City

Answer:

Environmental pollution is “the contamination of the physical and biological components of the
earth/atmosphere system to such an extent that normal environmental processes are adversely affected”.

Types of Environmental Pollution

Generally speaking, there are many types of environmental pollution but the most important ones
are:

 Air pollution
 Water pollution
 Soil pollution (contamination)

Major forms of pollution

The major forms of pollution are listed below along with the particular pollutants
relevant to each of them:

 Air pollution, the release of chemicals and particulates into the

atmosphere. Common air pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur
dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrogen oxides produced by
industry and motor vehicles. Photochemical ozone and smog are created
as nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react to sunlight.

 Water pollution, by the release of waste products and contaminants into

surface runoff into river drainage systems, leaching into groundwater, liquid
spills, wastewater discharges, eutrophication and littering.

 Soil contamination occurs when chemicals are released by spill or

underground leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are
hydrocarbons, heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated
hydrocarbons.
 Radioactive contamination, resulting from 20th century activities in
atomic physics, such as nuclear power generation and nuclear
weapons research, manufacture and deployment.

 Noise pollution, which encompasses roadway noise, aircraft

noise, industrial noise as well as high-intensity sonar.

 Light pollution, includes light trespass, over-illumination and

astronomical interference.

 Visual pollution, which can refer to the presence of overhead power

lines, motorway billboards, scarred landforms (as from strip mining),
open storage of trash or municipal solid waste.

 Thermal pollution, is a temperature change in natural water bodies

caused by human influence, such as use of water as coolant in a power
plant.

Causes of air pollution with example from Dhaka City

Air Pollution in Dhaka City:

 Basically, there are two major sources of air pollution in Bangladesh industrial emissions
and vehicular emissions. The industrial sources include brick kilns, fertilizer factories,
sugar, paper, jute and textile mills, spinning mills, tanneries, garment, bread and biscuit
factories, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, cement production and processing
factories, metal workshops, wooden dust from saw mills and dusts from ploughed land,
and salt particles from ocean waves near the and coastal lands. These sources produce
enormous amount of smokes, fumes, gases and dusts, which create the condition for the
formation of fog and smog. Certain industries in Bangladesh, such as tanneries at
Hazaribag in Dhaka City, emit hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, chlorine, and some other
odorous chemicals that are poisonous and cause irritation and public complaints. This
may cause headache and other health problems.
 With increased rate of urbanization in the country, the number of vehicles is also
increasing rapidly, and contributing to more and more air pollution. The Department of
Environment (DOE), and other related organizations, have identified the two-stroke
engines used in auto rickshaws (baby-taxies), tempos, mini-trucks, and motorcycles as
 major polluters. At present, there are about65000 baby-taxies among them more than
296,000 motor vehicles ply in Dhaka City alone. Moreover, overloaded, poorly
maintained and very old trucks and mini-buses are also plying the city streets emitting
smokes and gases. In fact about 90% of the vehicles that ply Dhaka's streets daily are
faulty, and emit smoke far exceeding the prescribed limit. Diesel vehicles emit black
smoke, which contain unburned fine carbon particles.

 The air quality standards are different for residential, industrial, commercial, and
sensitive areas. The worst affected areas in Dhaka city include: Hatkhola, Manik Mia
Avenue, Tejgaon, Farmgate, Motijheel, Lalmatia, and Mohakhali. Surveys conducted
between January 1990 and December 1999 showed that the concentration of suspended
particles goes up to as high as 3,000 micrograms per cubic meter (Police Box, Farmgate,
December 1999), although the allowable limits 400 micrograms per cubic meter. The
sulphur dioxide in the air near Farmgatew as found to be 385 micrograms per cubic
meter, where as the maximum permissible limit is 100 micrograms per cubic meter.
Similarly, in the Tejgaon Industrial Area the maximum concentration of suspended
particles was 1,849micrograms per cubic meter (January 1997), as opposed to the
allowable limit of 500 micrograms per cubic meter. Usually the maximum concentration
of air pollution in Dhaka is during the dry months of December to March.

 Also many Report states that at peak hours Dhaka air at Motijheel Commercial Area has
been found to contain 100 ppm of Carbon Monoxide, the sound level reaches 80 decibels.
The report also indicates that the water of Buriganga River contains alarming amount of
organochloric compound which may cause cancer like DDT or may obstruct Endocrine
(causing genetic problems leading to men turning women) .A survey of the
Environmental Chemistry Department of the University evidenced that the water of
Buriganga at half a kilometer of Hazaribagh Tannery contains about 28ppm chromium
which is extremely dangerous. Usually Buriganga water contains 6-10 ppm Chromium.
The wastes of Tanneries at Hazaribagh are responsible for this menace. According to the
guidelines of World Health Organization (WHO) water must not contain more than 1
ppm of Chromium. This alarming level of Chromium in River water which in many ways
used for human consumption is causing serious threat for human life in the city. But
unfortunately Rajuk and Dhaka City Corporation are doing nothing to mitigate this
menace. We have a Department of Environment (DOE),Air Pollution In Dhaka
CityMuhammad MahadiEnvironmental Science Discipline.Khulna University..It is time
to phase out old and black smoke emitting vehicles from city roads as our rightto live in
healthy environment largely depends on it. Good governance helped curb air pollution in
cities like Bangkok, Kolkata, Kathmandu and Lahore while weak administration caused
the increase of air pollution in Dhaka and Karachi. The problemshould be high on the
agenda of the government as well as political parties. Let us hopethat the issue gets the
priority it deserves.Air Pollution In Dhaka City : we have a very active Civil Society but
wonder why this very alarming situation is escaping every ones attention. We understand
the tanneries from Hazaribagh will be relocated soon to outskirts of Dhaka but if the
 wastes are not treated properly and disposed off carefully these will continue to pollute
another water stream.

 Contribution of urban transport system to Dhaka's air pollution :

Air pollution in Dhaka is serious due to increasing population and associated motorization.
Although existing air quality monitoring data is limited, it has been clearly shown that the
average ambient concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and airborne lead are
higher than the Bangladesh national ambient air quality standards and much higher than the
WHO guidelines. The city's average SPM levels are about 2 times higher than the Bangladeshi
standard of 200 µg/m3 in residential areas and are more than 10 times higher than the WHO
guidelines of 120 µg/m3 (24hours) in commercial areas. Lead levels are also high compared to
other cities in the world. Although there is a lack of time-series data, the ambient air quality
measurements available for 1990 and 1996 onward indicate that the air pollution is worsening.

Diesel vehicles found causing 80pc of air pollution in city

Diesel-run vehicles account for more than 80 per cent of the air pollution in Dhaka as most of
them fail to comply with the approved emission standard, said a recently published survey report.

About 60 per cent of the city dwellers consider motor vehicles as the main source of
air pollution, about 55 per cent consider diesel-run buses to be most polluting the air and 22 per
cent feel that diesel-run trucks cause the air pollution.

Nearly 60 per cent of the dwellers said they contract diseases because of air pollution and 88 per
cent believed smoke and dust are the most important air pollutants. The public perception of air
pollution was revealed in the survey, Stakeholders Perception on Air Pollution by Diesel
Vehicles in Dhaka City, conducted by the Air Quality Management Project of the Department of
Environment and the World Bank.

The air quality project director, Mohammad Nasiruddin, said in 2004, they conducted a study,
Roadside Vehicle Emission Testing Programme in Dhaka, where they surveyed2,140 vehicles of
all types to identify the principal contributors to air pollution.’ At the end of the study, we found
90 per cent of human haulers followed by 60 percent diesel-run minibus have failed to comply
with the approved emission standard, as their smoke capacity is higher than 80 Hart ridge Smoke
Units (HSU),’ he said, The study suggested aset of recommendations that included retirement of
old-technology vehicles following a time-bound road map, introduction of low sulphur diesel,
imposition of a total ban on the import of all types of old vehicles and switchover to natural gas
as the main source of transport fuel.
The visible signs of ambient air quality of Dhaka is indicating an upward trend in gross
emissions in recent years. Motor vehicles, especially the two strokes engine vehicles (TSEV) are
responsible for the increase in emissions of both local pollutants and green house gases due to
the rapid growth in the number and use of motor vehicles. Data shows that number of registered
vehicles in Dhaka has grown by 60% from 1990 to 1996.TSEVs have outgrown all other types of
vehicles. The following table shows the vehicle population by type, utilization, and fuel
economy.

 Air pollution in the Dhaka city Caused By Lead:

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated in its News Briefs (Bangladesh studies
pollution levels. IAEA News briefs. Volume 11, No. 4(73), November/December 1996: 11) that
pollution levels of lead in Bangladesh are among the world’s highest during dry season,
according Dr. M. Khaliquzzaman, a chief scientific officer of Bangladesh Atomic Energy
Commission (BAEC), with levels falling during periods of medium and heavy rainfall. Dr.
Khaliquzzaman attributed the high lead levels to the use of leaded fuel in vehicles. He said that
lead poses a public health danger, especially to children, by penetrating the lungs and entering
the blood stream, and can lead to impaired intelligence.

Cost of lead pollution

• 1 µg/m3 of air Pb corresponds to 1 point decrease in IQ.

• Current level of blood Pb concentration in adults in Dhaka is ~50 µg/dl.

• Cost involvement for 1 µg/dl increment of blood lead in Dhaka is ~US$ 8.33million per year
(Method of calculation is linear scaling by population and per capita GDP). Component costs for
children includes medical cost, infant mortality, neonatal cost and supplementary cost, and for
adults include medical cost, earning loss and mortality.

Why there is Pb in Bangladesh gasoline?

• Eastern Refinery processes Arabian Light Crude which lacks branch chain or cyclic
hydrocarbon.

• It is a small skimming refinery which performs crude distillation.

• Gasoline produced has low octane number.

• Lead based additives are used to increase octane number.

• One of most common additives is TEL (Tetraethyl lead).

• TEL is 100% imported.

• Only old technology automobiles (typically pre 1980 models) with soft valve seats need some
Pb for lubrication in order to avoid valve recession. A lead level of ~0.02-0.05 g/l is sufficient
for this. This also can be replaced by adding lubricants to unleaded gasoline. Cost of lubricant
additives is ~0.3 cents.

 Suspended Particulate Matters (SPM) in City Air :

Department of Environment has taken 8 hours measurements at several locations along busy
roads of Dhaka city. Results show SMP concentrations of 665-2456ug/m3 at Farmgate.
Bangladesh standard for Commercial Area is 400 ug/m3. The SMP trends are highest during the
dry season (December-March) due to increase in roadway dust, dust from dust-carrying vehicles,
and increased open burning. Figure-1 shows Street side SPM levels at Farmgate, a busy traffic
place in Dhaka. and figure-2 showsPM2.5 urban composition.

Air pollution making Dhaka city inhospitable:

The volume of poisonous particles in the city air has reached far beyond the permissible level for
human body in recent years.

The Dhaka city dwellers are always at a serious health risk due to the highly polluted air, warned
health experts.

The increasingly high concentration of toxic elements in the air is causing a foggy blanket in the
city sky at present, according to the experts of Air Quality Management Project (AQMP) under
the Department of Environment (DoE).

The AQMP, which has been monitoring the air quality of the city since 2002, has recently
lunched a website to inform the people about the air quality on daily basis.

The website reveals that the air quality of the city is lethal for human body especially during
winter and post winter.

The AQMP advised the city dwellers to stay indoors as much as possible during this time to
avoid health hazards from the pollution.

According to the website, poisonous carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide,
suspended particulate matter (PM-10) and particulate matter (PM-2.5) exist in Dhaka's
air beyond permissible level for human body.
Due to increase of PM-10 and PM-2.5, people lose lung function and suffer from chronic
respiratory and cardiovascular diseases while nitrogen dioxide increase risks of bronchitis and
pneumonia. Nitrogen dioxide causes respiratory infection.

Carbon monoxide reduces delivery of oxygen into the human body, creates severe headache and
decreases visual perception and manual dexterity.

Permissible limit of PM-10 is 65 micrograms per cubic metre and for PM-2.5 it is
150micrograms per cubic metre.

The implementation of the ban on two-stroke three-wheelers in 2003 made some temporary
progress in reducing toxic elements from the air but has been marred by the functioning of old
motorized vehicles and the brick kilns around the city.

Faulty vehicles are the largest source of air pollution. Only the diesel-run vehicles contribute
about 60 per cent of such particles in the air, surveys of the AQMP revealed.

At least 70 per cent of the diesel-run vehicles, mainly buses and trucks, are emitting
toxic particles beyond the permissible limit. Brick kilns in the northern edge of the city
contribute at least 20 per cent to the air pollution.

There are 4,000 brick kilns around the city, which use tyres, wood and low-quality coal, emitting
poisonous particles into the air. But no initiative has been taken yet to measure quantity of
poisonous particles emitting from brick kilns.

The chimneys of the brick kilns made higher than 120-feet is not a solution to reducing the air
pollution, said the AQMP officials.

The government banned running of buses more than 20 years old in the city but failed to keep
those vehicles out of the city.

The height of brick kiln chimneys has been increased to reduce air pollution but the initiative
failed as the government failed to ensure quality of fuel used in the kilns.

Mohammad Nasiruddin, Director of the AQMP, said: "Phasing out of the diesel-run old and
faulty vehicles could reduce air pollution to half in the city."

Effects Of Air Pollutants On Human Health:

Carbon di-oxide (CO2): It is a major absorber of infrared radiation emitted towards thespace
from the earth surface. Thus, it has crucial role in planetary temperature structure.

Carbon monoxide (CO): If inhaled, it is absorbed from the lung alveoli 300 times faster than
oxygen. High concentration of CO in blood makes it difficult for heart to pump blood through
arteries.
Hydrocarbons (HC): Unburnt hydrocarbon may form ozone with oxides of nitrogen which is a
central nervous system depressant. Other hydrocarbons cause convulsion of CNS.

Oxides of nitrogen (NOx): Causes dilatation of air spaces in lungs. NO2 causes damages to
bronchioles and alveolar ducts. NO2 is also suspected to impair the defense mechanism of
respiratory system. Infants and children are more susceptible.

Particulate matter: Diesel emits suspended particulate matter (SPM) which contains shoot.
Shoot is responsible for reduction of atmospheric visibility and absorb and carry organic
compound to lungs.

Lead (Pb): Around 75% of the ingested lead is deposited in bones and tissues causing
irreversible brain and kidney damage. Growing nervous system of young children
are particularly vulnerable.

(Source: Effect on Dhaka air quality by 2-strokes engines and suggested remedies. Paper
presented byUttara Motors Ltd. at a Consultative Meeting on integrated approach to vehicular
pollution control held between April 26-27, 1998 in Dhaka.)

Conclusion:

Bangladesh has yet to be implemented a National Air Quality Standard, there are no detail air
quality regulations based on which Environmental Impact Assessment could be done. Very few
works have been done on air quality measurements and national air pollutants estimates in
Bangladesh. Author is willing to extend his assistance in doing any projects related to road traffic
pollution in Bangladesh.