Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution
Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution: In this post, we will learn about Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution. In Bed 2nd Year there is one of the most important questions comes from Environment Education. You will learn about Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution. Teaching is a social and professional activity. It is a process of development. Teaching is a system of actions that induce learning through interpersonal relationships. and all the rest you will study in this Blog.
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Meaning and Definition of Pollution
Pollution is a necessary evil for all development. The lack of development of the culture of pollution control, there has resulted in a heavy backlog of gaseous, liquid and solid pollution in our country. Thus, pollution control in our country is a recent environmental concern. There is a race in developed countries to exploit every bit of natural resources to convert them into goods for their use and comfort and to export them to other needy countries. The industrialized countries dump a lot of materials in their environment which becomes polluted. Environmental pollution has lowered its quality.
Environmental Pollution and degradation are used interchangeably by most people because both are, concerned with the lowering of the ‘quality of the environment.’ There are two aspects (i) lowering the quality of the environment, and (ii) deterioration of the quality of the environment. The deterioration of environmental quality refers to the magnitude or intensity of the area covered.
Environmental pollution means lowering the quality of the environment local caused by human activities for exploitation of resources.
Environmental degradation means deteriorating the environmental quality at global, regional and local levels by both natural processes and human activities. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
Definition of Pollution
The adverse changes by human activities in the environmental quality local level are generally called pollution, but sometimes the effects of human activities are so wide that the environment is degraded at the global and regional levels as well.
Pollution is an undesirable change in the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of air, water and soil that may harmfully affect the life or create a potential health hazard to any living organisation. Pollution is thus a direct indirect change in any component of the biosphere that is harmful to living organisms and man, affecting adversely industrial progress, cultural and natural resources or the general environment. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
Meaning of Pollutants
Any substance which causes a lowering of the quality of the environment or pollution is called a pollutant.
A pollutant may be defined as any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in such a concentration that may have adverse harmful effects or may be injurious to the environment. Pollutants are the residues of things we make use of or throw away. The rivers are polluted by wastes from factories, air by gases, thermal power plants etc. In fact, in countries where there have been great technological and industrial advances, the worst pollution occurs. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
“Every human society, be it rural, urban, industrial and most technological advanced society dispose of certain kinds of by-products and waste product which are injected into the biosphere in great quantities and they affect the normal functioning of ecosystems and have an adverse effect on plants, animals and man are called pollutants.” -Smith (1977)
Environmental Pollutants
The following are the main pollutants which pollute our environment or our air, water and land:
(i) Deposited matter-dust, smoke, tar, grit, etc.
(ii) Gases-nitrogen, carbon monoxide, sulphur, oxides
(iii) Solid waste
(iv) Radioactive waste
(v) Noise
(vi) Complex organic
(vii) Metals
(viii) Fluorides
(ix) Photo chemical oxidants and
(x) Agrochemicals—fungicides and fertilizers.
Types of Pollution
There are various types of pollution which have been classified in different kinds on different criteria on the basis of the type of environment being used, which may be classified in the following categories. Pollution is generally used by human activities which can be divided into two broad categories:
- Physical Pollution. It is caused by human activities due to the lowering of the quality of physical components of the environment and this is further divided into three sub-types:
(a) Air Pollution (b) Water Pollution and (c) Land Pollution.
- Social Pollution. It is caused in different aspects of society due to the cumulative effects of extreme events/hazards and pollution. It may be further subdivided into several categories:
(a) Population Explosion, (b) Sociological Pollution-educational and social backwardness, etc., and (c) Economic Pollution-Poverty, devolution of currency, and lower per-capita income. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
Another way to classify pollution is the nature of pollutants. The pollutants are broadly classified into two categories:
- Non-Degradable Pollutants. These are the materials and poisonous substances like aluminium, mercuric salts, long-chain phenolics, etc., which do not degrade or degrade very slowly in nature. They are not cycled in the ecosystem naturally.
- Biodegradable Pollutants. These are the domestic wastes that can be rapidly decomposed under natural conditions. They may create problems which they accumulate. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
Meaning and Definition of Air Pollution
Air pollution is generally accomplished through the pollutants of gases and solid and liquid particles of both organic and inorganic chemicals. It is true that air is never pure because some gases such as sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide emissions from volcanoes, swamps, dust, salt spray, pollens from plants, etc., are continuously added to the air by these natural processes.
Thus, the air becomes polluted when its natural composition is disturbed either by natural or man-made sources or activities or by both. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
The contamination of air with dust, smoke and harmful gases is called Air Pollution.
The atmosphere is a gaseous envelope which surrounds the earth from all es and the air is a composition of several gases mainly nitrogen, oxygen, argon and carbon dioxide. Air is very important for all types of the biosphere. Even human life is not possible without air because man for a few days without water and for a few weeks without food, even for a few minutes without air or oxygen.
Sources of Air Pollution
There are two major sources of air pollution as follows:
- Natural Sources. Such as volcanic eruptions, and deflation of sand. forest, or wildfires of natural vegetation, etc.
- Man-made Sources or Human Activities. Such as industries to urban centres, aircraft, nuclear experiments, automobiles, agriculture, and power. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
From the different sources of air pollution, a variety of pollutants are in the atmosphere. The principal air pollutants emitted from these differences are as follows:
- Carbon Compounds. These are mainly carbon dioxide and monoxide, the former released by the complete combustion of fossil fuels the latter by automobile exhausts. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
- Sulphur Compounds. These include SO2, H2 S and sulphuric acid, mostly released by fossil fuel (coal, etc.) based power generating plants (Thermal plants) and industrial units as refineries.
- Nitrogen Oxides. These include chiefly nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and nitric acid mostly released by automobiles, power plants and industries. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
- Ozone (O3). Its level may rise in the atmosphere due to human activities.
- Fluorocarbons. These come from industries, insecticides spray, etc.
- Hydrocarbons. These are chiefly benzene, benzopyrene, etc., which are mostly discharged by automobiles and industries.
- Metals. These include chiefly lead, nickel, arsenic, beryllium, tin, vanadium, titanium, cadmium, etc., present in the air as solid particles or liquid droplets or gases. They are produced mostly by metallurgical processes, automobiles, seaspray, etc.
Types of Air Pollution
Air pollution is classified on two bases as follows:
(1) On the basis of types of pollutants, and
(2) On the basis of types of sources of pollutants.
- On the basis of types of pollutants are further divided into two categories—(i) Gaseous pollution and (ii) Particulate air pollution.
- On the basis of sources of air pollution are sub-divided into six categories-
(i) Automobiles Pollution, (ii) Industrial Pollution, (iii) Thermal Pollution, (iv) Urban Pollution, (v) Rural Pollution, and (vi) Nuclear Pollution. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
Generally, these approaches are used to describe air pollution. It is Ferlapping among the various ways used for this purpose.
Methods of Detection and Measurement of Air Pollution
Air pollution is usually measured by a sampling of air by thermal and by electrostatic, Sonikin impactor and electrostatic and dust collectors. The particulate pollution is examined by the instrument which is called deposit gauge or by Owen’s dust counter. The thickness of the smoke was measured by Liegean Spheres and by Ringelmann chart. The rough estimate of sulphur dioxide in the air by laboratory chemical analysis of the dust collected in a deposit gauge or by bubbler method. Fluorides are estimated by the colour reaction. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
There is a separate department at Bhava Atomic Energy Centre in Bombay which is known as the ‘Air Monitoring department’ to measure and mate about atomic experiments conducted by any country in the world. The dust is collected in a deposit gauge on International Aeroplanes which travel the world. The dust is analysed for several purposes as to how far the atomic article is harmful to man and what will be the remedy for the adverse effect on man.
Adverse Effects of Air Pollution
Air pollution causes several kinds of damage to man, animals, and plants and also to weather, climate and atmospheric processes. Some significant effects have been enumerated here in the following paragraphs:
(i) Air pollution has very serious types of pathological effects on man.
(ii) It causes obstruction to the vision of pilots and has caused aircraft accidents.
(iii) Air pollution has damaged both agricultural crops and natural plants and vegetation.
(iv) There has been an injury to agricultural livestock, particularly from air-borne fluoride and arsenic pollution.
(v) Air pollution also takes its role in buildings and other man-made objects such as famous buildings, monuments and art treasures.
(vi) Air pollution also affects weather and climate on a regional, continental or global basis.
(vii) The increased amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere cause to increase in the temperature of the earth. It is known by the phrase “Greenhouse effect. It also tends to prevent the long wave radiation from the earth. Thus it has an atmospheric effect. The intensity of radiation will cause skin cancer. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Environmental Pollution)
(viii) The jet engines of supersonic aircraft flying at high altitude release nitrogen oxides which destroy ozone molecules. It has also atmospheric adverse effects. It is a cause of the ozone hole.
Control and Prevention of Air Pollution
These several types of air pollution can be controlled by employing modern technology and scientific research, but the costs are to be borne by the public in the form of higher prices for manufactured goods. Higher taxes, reduction of profit margins in the industry and more restrictions on human activities. It involves the benefits to improve the quality of the environment and human health, agriculture, and vegetation. It will also improve the ecological balance and stability of the ecosystem.
The main sources of air pollution are (1) Automobiles, (2) Industrial development, and (3) Power plants-coal based and thermal power plant. Thus, steps are to be taken to control air pollution at the source and after the release of pollutants.
- Automobiles Air Pollution. The following are some of the measures to be followed for controlling air pollution by automobiles:
(i) To check pollutants emission from the vehicular exhaust.
(ii) To control evaporation from fuel tank and carburettor.
(iii) To use the filters, and
(iv) To control through law-Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and other Acts of the engine.
- Industrial Air Pollution. Air pollution by industry and power plant wastes can be checked by devising measures for removal of the particulate matter and gaseous pollutants from the wastes. The three types of equipment or device used are:
(i) Cyclone collectors.
(ii) Electrostatic precipitators, and
(iii) Control through law-Acts of industry.
- Gaseous Pollutants. The following four methods can be used to control air pollution from gaseous pollutants.
(i) Wet System. The alkali liquid reacts with sulphur dioxide to produce a precipitate.
(ii) Dry System. Water in contact with sulphur dioxide produces sulphuric acid.
(iii) Wet Dry Systems. This method is very effective in dry cleaning plants, printing, shops, paint factories, food processing plants, etc.
(iv) Control through Law. Acts for Industries are to be enforced to prevent gaseous pollution.