EIA MODULE 3-Ktunotes - in
EIA MODULE 3-Ktunotes - in
EIA MODULE 3-Ktunotes - in
Industrial Wastes
Industrial wastes are those wastes arising from industrial activities and typically
include rubbish, ashes, demolition and construction wastes, special wastes, and
hazardous wastes.
Hazardous Wastes
Wastes that pose a substantial danger immediately or over a period of time to human,
plant, or animal life are classified as hazardous wastes. A waste is classified as
hazardous if it exhibits any of the following characteristics:
(1) Ignitability (that would cause fire during transport, storage or disposal)
Solid wastes that are easily decomposed by bacterial action. It consists of food
wastes. These may act as good fertilizer or soil conditioners or as animal feed.
• Non-putrescible Solid Wastes
1
(e) Sc = ( L W ) 2
Energy Content
It refers to the net calorific value of waste. Ti is defined as the heat produced by a
unit quantity of waste at a constant volume and at a constant pressure of 1 atm. It is
usually expressed as KJ/kg.
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
Energy Content = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒
On dry basis:
Radioactivity naturally decays over time, so radioactive waste has to be isolated and
confined in appropriate disposal facilities for a sufficient period until it no longer
poses a threat. The time radioactive waste must be stored for depends on the type of
waste and radioactive isotopes. Current approaches to managing radioactive waste
have been segregation and storage for short-lived waste, near-surface disposal for
low and some intermediate level waste, and deep burial or partitioning /
transmutation for the high-level waste.
SOURCES
Radioactive waste comes from a number of sources. In countries with nuclear power
plants, nuclear armament, or nuclear fuel treatment plants, the majority of waste
originates from the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear weapons reprocessing. Other
sources include medical and industrial wastes, as well as naturally occurring
radioactive materials (NORM) that can be concentrated as a result of the processing
or consumption of coal, oil and gas, and some minerals, as discussed below.
The nuclear fuel cycle, also called nuclear fuel chain, is the progression of nuclear
fuel through a series of differing stages. It consists of steps in the front end, which
are the preparation of the fuel, steps in the service period in which the fuel is used
during reactor operation, and steps in the back end, which are necessary to safely
manage, contain, and either reprocess or dispose of spent nuclear fuel.
Waste from the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle is usually alpha-emitting
waste from the extraction of uranium. It often contains radium and its decay
products.
Back end
The back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle, mostly spent fuel rods,
contains fission products that emit beta and gamma radiation,
and actinides that emit alpha particles, such as uranium-234 (half-life
245 thousand years), neptunium-237 (2.144 million years), plutonium-
238 (87.7 years) and americium-241 (432 years), and even sometimes some
neutron emitters such as californium (half-life of 898 years for Cf-251). These
isotopes are formed in nuclear reactors.
Legacy waste
Due to historic activities typically related to radium industry, uranium mining, and
military programs, numerous sites contain or are contaminated with radioactivity.
Medicine
Radioactive medical waste tends to contain beta particle and gamma ray emitters. It
can be divided into two main classes. In diagnostic nuclear medicine a number of
Industry
Industrial source waste can contain alpha, beta, neutron or gamma emitters. Gamma
emitters are used in radiography while neutron emitting sources are used in a range
of applications, such as oil well logging.[22]
Coal
Residues from the oil and gas industry often contain radium and its decay
products. The sulfate scale from an oil well can be very radium rich, while the
water, oil and gas from a well often contain radon. The radon decays to form
solid radioisotopes which form coatings on the inside of pipework. In an oil
processing plant the area of the plant where propane is processed is often one
of the more contaminated areas of the plant as radon has a similar boiling point
to propane.
LAND DEGRADATION
• Land degradation is the most important environmental problem currently
challenging sustainable development in many parts of the world.
• The change in the characteristic and quality of soil which adversely affect its
fertility is called as Degradation.
• The problem is most acute where the environment is intrinsically vulnerable and
where the population is losing control of its own resources.
Land Degradation means
1) Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients.
2) Less vegetation cover
3) Changes in the characteristic of soil.
4) Pollution of water resources from the contamination of soil through which
water sweeps into ground or runoff to the water bodies.
5) Changes in climatic conditions because of unbalance created in the
environment.
7)Acid rain:
Urbanization is the increased number of inhabitants in the urban areas. The trend of
urbanization has been in its greatest boom since 1980’s. Presently more and more
people flock towards cities for better living conditions and facilities.
This immediate drift towards urbanization has created various environmental issues.
Some of the major effects include
2.Land slides: The stability of slopes (both natural and artificial) determines the
vulnerability of landslides or slope failures Encroachment of urban land into
nearby forested or vegetated areas, and the expansion of built up areas and
transportation networks into steeper terrain destabilizing slopes lead to slope failures
3.Effect on Climate: The conversion of Earth's land surface to urban uses leads to
loss in the forest cover of Earth which in turn going to affect the amount of rain.
4.Improper waste disposal: Urban activities generate large quantities of city wastes
including several biodegradable materials (like vegetables, animal wastes, papers,
wooden pieces, carcasses, plant twigs, leaves, cloth wastes as well as sweepings)
and many non-biodegradable materials (such as plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic
wastes, glass bottles, glass pieces, stone / cement pieces). Uncollected and
improperly handled solid waste can have serious health consequences.
• Barrier to movement of water -Solid wastes have seriously damaged the normal
movement of water thus creating problem of inundation, damage to foundation
of buildings as well as public health hazards.
Agriculture is an art, science and industry of managing the growth of plants and
animals for human use. Agriculture includes preparation of soil for cultivation of
crops, harvesting crops, breeding and raising livestock, dairying and forestry.
Modern Agriculture
Modern agriculture makes use of hybrid seeds of single crop variety, technologically
advanced equipment, fertilizers, pesticides and water to produce large amounts of
single crop. As agriculture has become more intensive, farmers have become capable
of producing higher yields using less labor and less land. But environmental impacts
have increased, including potential degradation of the soil and water resources vital
to both farm productivity and human health.
• Soil compaction, low organic matter, loss of soil structure, poor internal
drainage, salinisation and soil acidity problems are the conditions that
can accelerate the soil erosion process.
• The subsoil that remains then tend to be less fertile, less absorbent, and
less able to retain pesticides, fertilizers, and other plant nutrients.
2.Damages
5)Water logging
• If water stands on land for most of the year, it is called water logging.
In water logged conditions, pore-voids in the soil get filled with water
and soil-air gets depleted. In such a condition the roots of plants do not
get enough air for respiration. Water logging also leads to low
mechanical strength of soil and low crop yield.
7)Use of Pesticides
PESTICIDE POLLUTION
A pesticide is a substance or a mixture of substance intended for preventing,
destroying or repelling or lessening the damage caused by the pest.
Classification of pesticide
Hazards of Pesticides
1)Adverse environmental Impact
• Pesticides causes pollution of soil, water and air.
• The pesticidal residue washed along with rain water, is added to the nearby
water resources making it unfit for drinking.
• Decreases the soil fertility.
• Pesticides are persistant organic pollutants and cause soil pollution.
• They enter the food chain and cause problem of biomagnifications.
2)Health issues.
• Health issues such as cancer, birth defects, neurological disorders etc which
results from long term exposure to pesticides as well as from food cycle.
1)Mechanical methods
• Hand picking: Method of choice when pests are slowly crawling and are not
able to fly e.g caterpillars
• Trapping :Is used for flying pests which cant be picked by hand or burned.
• Burning: Is used for flying pests which cant be picked by hand and can
cause damage. Pests are burned and waste is removed frequently
2)Biological control: