THERMAL POLLUTION

-The discharge of warm water into a normal water body is

usually called a “Thermal Pollution”.
-Sudden increase or decrease in temperature of a natural water body,
which may be ocean, lake, river, pond, etc. by any human influence.
Sources of Thermal Pollution:
¢ It occurs when an industry removes water from a source,
uses the water for cooling purposes and then returns the
heated water to its source. Power plants heat water to
convert it into steam, to drive the turbines that generate
electricity.

¢ For efficient functioning of the steam turbines, the steam is

condensed into water after it leaves the turbines. This
condensation is done by taking water from a water body to
absorb the heat. The heated water is discharged back into
the water body.
 IMPACT OF THERMAL POLLUTION
-The warmer temperature decreases the solubility of oxygen and increases the
metabolism of fish. This changes the ecological balance of the water body.
Within certain limits thermal additions can promote the growth of certain fish
and the fish catch may be high in the vicinity of a power plant.

Sudden changes in temperature caused by periodic plant shutdowns both

planned and unintentional, result in death of the fish that are acclimatized to
living in warmer waters.

-Elevated water
temperatures
decreases oxygen
levels, which kill fish
and affects the aquatic
ecosystem
composition
 CONTROL MEASURES:
¢ It can be controlled by passing the heated water through a
pond or a cooling tower after it leaves the condenser. The
heat is dissipated into the air and the water is discharged
into the river or pumped back to the plant for reuse as
cooling water.

¢ To construct a Large shallow pond: Hot water is

pumped into one end of the pond and cooler water is
removed from the other end. The heat gets dissipated from
the pond into the atmosphere.

¢ To use a Cooling tower: These structures take up less

land area than the ponds. Most of the heat transfer occurs
through evaporation. Warm waters coming from the
condenser is sprayed downward over vertical sheets or
baffles where the water flows in thin films.
 CONTD..
¢ Cool air enters the tower through the water inlet that
encircles the base of the tower and rises upwards causing
evaporative cooling.
¢ A natural draft is maintained because of the density
difference between the cool air outside and the warmer air
inside the tower.

¢ The waste heat is dissipated into the atmosphere about

100 m above the base of the tower. The cooled water is
collected at the floor of the tower and recycled back to the
power plant condensers.

-The disadvantage in both methods is that large amounts of

water are lost due to the evaporation.
 NOISE POLLUTION
¢ Noise may not seem as harmful as the contamination of air
or water but it is a pollution problem that affects human
health and can contribute to a general deterioration of
environmental quality.

¢ What is Noise ?
-Sound that is unwanted or disrupts one’s quality of life is called
as noise. When there is lot of noise in the environment, it is
termed as Noise Pollution.

¢ World Health Organization stated that “Noise must be

recognized as a major threat to human well-being”
 SOURCES OF NOISE POLLUTION
Indoor Vs Outdoor Noise Pollution

¢ Transportation
¢ Construction of Buildings
¢ Industrial Noise

¢ Loudspeakers, Generators
A.C. and Vacuum Cleaners

-Noise is not a substance that can accumulate in the

environment like most other pollutants. Sound is
measured in a unit known as Decibel (dB).
DECIBEL LEVELS OF SOME COMMON SOUND

¢ dB Environmental Condition

¢ 10 Rustle of leaves
¢ 20 Broadcasting studio
¢ 30 Bedroom at night
¢ 40 Library
¢ 50 Quiet office
¢ 60 Conversational speech (at 1m)
¢ 70 Average radio
¢ 74 Light traffic noise
¢ 90 Subway train
¢ 100 Symphony orchestra
¢ 110 Rock band
¢ 120 Aircraft takeoff
¢ 146 Threshold of pain
 EFFECTS OF NOISE POLLUTION

¢ The most direct harmful effect of excessive noise is physical damage

to the ear and the temporary or permanent hearing loss known as a
Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS)

¢ People suffering from this condition are unable to detect weak

sounds. Such hearing ability is usually recovered within a month of
exposure.

¢ E.g: Maharashtra (People living in close vicinity of Ganesh mandals

that play blaring music for ten days of the Ganesh festival are usually
known to suffer from this phenomenon).
 EFFECTS OF NOISE POLLUTION…
-‘Noise Induced Permanent Threshold Shift (NIPTS)’
represents a loss of hearing ability from which there is no
recovery.
¢ Apart from hearing loss, excessive sound levels cause
harmful effects on the circulatory system by raising blood
pressure and altering pulse rates.

-Blood pressure rise of 5-10 mmHg for 8 hrs of

exposure to even 70 dB of sound level.
-Hearing loss, begins at 90 dB of sound level
-Painful condition, beyond 140 dB of sound level
-Physically rupture the human eardrum, beyond 150
dB of sound level
-Kill a person, beyond 180 dB of sound level
 Permitted noise levels
Ambient Noise Levels dB

Zone Day-time Night-time

Silent Zone 50 40
Residential Zone 55 45
Commercial Zone 65 55
Industrial Zone 70 70

-The permitted noise level is 125 dB, as per the Environment

Protection Second Amendment Rules, 1999.
 POINTERS FOR NOISE POLLUTION
¢ Say no to crackers during festivals and important occasions

¢ Do not honk unnecessarily

¢ Use the acoustic enclosure with DJ sets

¢ Do not use horn in identified silence zones

¢ Shut the door or barricade the area when using noisy machines

¢ Use the sound limiters with DJ and public addressing system

¢ Follow the noise rules and permitted limits of noise level

¢ Go green by planting trees

 POINTERS FOR NOISE POLLUTION….
¢ Avoid use of multi toned or air horns in vehicle

¢ Always maintain motor vehicles, machineries etc. and its exhaust

silencer in proper condition

¢ Keep the volume of the loudspeaker or sound amplification system

low as not to annoy neighbours

¢ Do not make neighbour a capacitive listener to your music system.

¢ Avoid use of loudspeaker in open

¢ Avoid using horn expect emergencies

 NOISE CONTROL TECHNIQUES

¢ 4 Fundamental ways in which noise can be controlled:

-Reduce noise at the source,
-Block the path of noise,
-Increase the path length and
-Protect the recipient.

In general, the best control method is to reduce noise levels

at the source.
 ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN..
¢ There are a variety of effective strategies for mitigating
adverse sound levels

¢ Planting bushes and trees in and around sound generating

sources is an effective solution for noise pollution.

¢ Regular servicing and tuning of automobiles can effectively

reduce the noise pollution.

¢ Buildings can be designed with suitable noise absorbing

material for the walls, windows, ceilings, etc.

¢ Workers should be provided with equipments such as ear

plugs and earmuffs for hearing protection
 CONTD…
¢ Similar to automobiles, lubrication of the machinery and
servicing should be done to minimize noise generation.

¢ Soundproof doors and windows can be installed to block

unwanted noise from outside.

¢ Regulations should be imposed to restrict the usage of play

loudspeakers in crowded areas and public places.

¢ Factories and industries should be located far from the

residential areas.

¢ Social awareness programs should be taken up to educate

the public about the causes and effects of noise pollution
 SUGGESTED READINGS (UNIT: POLLUTION)
¢ Brusseau, M.L., Pepper, I.L. and Gerba, C.P. (2019). Environmental and
Pollution Science, 3rd Edition. Academic Press, USA. Chapter 16 (Pages:
243-255); Chapter 18 (Pages: 280-305); Chapter 21 (Pages: 352-358);
Chapter 22 (Pages: 365-374); Chapter 23 (Pages: 378-388); Chapter 25
(Pages: 416-426).

¢ Carson, R. (2002). Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, USA. Pp. 1-

264.

¢ Raven, P.H, Hassenzahl, D.M., Hager, M.C, Gift, N.Y. and Berg, L.R.
(2015). Environment, 9th Edition. Wiley Publishing, USA. Chapter 19
(Pages: 359-381); Chapter 21 (Pages: 401-421); Chapter 23 (Pages: 440-
453).

¢ Singh, J.S., Singh, S.P. and Gupta, S.R. (2017). Ecology, Environmental
Science and Conservation. S. Chand Publishing, New Delhi. Chapters 19,
20, 12 (Pages: 445-535).
Thank You