WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution may be defined as “the alteration in physical, chemical and biological
characteristics of water which may cause harmful effects on humans and aquatic life.”

Pollutants include:
 Sewage

 Industrial effluents and chemicals

 Oil and other wastes e.tc…

 TYPES, EFFECTS AND SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION :Water pollution is any chemical,
biological or physical change in water quality that has a harmful effect on living organisms or
makes water unsuitable for desired uses.

1. Infectious agents
Ex: Bacteria, Viruses, Protozoa, and parasitic worms.

Human sources
Human and animal wastes

Effects: Variety of diseases.

 2. Oxygen demanding wastes (Dissolved oxygen): This degradation consumes dissolved

oxygen in water. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is the amount of oxygen dissolved in a given quantity
of water at a particular pressure and temperature.

Ex: Organic wastes such as animal manure and plant debris that can be decomposed by
aerobic (oxygen-requiring) bacteria decrease the DO value of water so make it unfit for life.

Human sources: Sewage, Animal feedlots, paper mills and food processing facilities.
Effects: Large populations of bacteria decomposing these wastes can degrade water quality by
depleting water of dissolved oxygen. This causes fish and other forms of oxygen-consuming
aquatic life to die.

3. Inorganic chemicals
Ex: Water soluble inorganic chemicals:

 Acids

 Compounds of toxic metals such as lead (Pb), arsenic (As) and selenium (Se)

 Salts such as NaCl in oceans and fluoride (F-) found in some soils
Human sources:
Surface runoff, industrial effluents and household cleansers

Effects:
Inorganic chemicals can:

 Make freshwater unusable for drinking and irrigation

 Cause skin cancer and neck damage

 Damage nervous system, liver and kidneys

 Harm fish and other aquatic life

 Lower crop yields

4. Organic chemicals
Ex: Oil, Gasoline, Plastics, Pesticides, Cleaning solvents and Detergents.
Human Sources: Industrial effluents, household cleansers and surface runoff from farms.

Effects:
 Can threaten human health by causing nervous system damage and some cancers.

 Harm fish and wildlife.

5. Plant nutrients
Ex: Water soluble compounds containing nitrate, Phosphate and Ammonium ions.
Human sources: Sewage, manure and runoff of agricultural and urban fertilizers.

Effects:
 Can cause excessive growth of algae and other aquatic plants, which die, decay, deplete
dissolved oxygen in water thereby killing fish

 Drinking water with excessive levels of nitrates lower the oxygen carrying capacity of the
blood and can kill urban children and infants.

6. Sediment
Ex: Soil, silt, etc.
Human Sources: Land erosion

Effects:
 Causes cloudy water thereby reducing photosynthetic activity

 Disruption of aquatic food chain

 Carries pesticides, bacteria and other harmful substances

  Settles and destroys feeding and spawning grounds of fish

 Clogs and fills lakes, artificial reservoirs, stream channels and harbours.

7. Radioactive materials:
Ex: Radioactive isotopes of:

 Iodine

 Radon

 Uranium

 Cesium and

 Thorium

 Human sources: Nuclear power plants, mining and processing of uranium and other ores,
nuclear weapon production and natural sources.

Effects: Genetic mutations, birth defects and certain cancers.

8. Industrial Waste Effluent

 All manufacturing industries produce some by-products and waste effluents.

 The industries are leather tanneries, fertilizers, oil refineries, petrochemical, textiles paper
pulp and paper board, rubber products, agrochemicals, leather goods, etc.

 The waste products may be in the form of waste, heat, smoke, solid or waste water effluents.

Harmful Effects
 The industrial waste may contain synthetic organic compounds and heavy metals i.e., Pb, Cd,
Cr, Hg, As, Sb, etc., oils and greases, mineral acids, etc.

 The toxic organic compounds and heavy metals pollute both surface and ground water used
for irrigation and potable, water supply.

 This also causes irreversible degradation of the environment.

 Heavy metals such as Pb, Cd, Cr, As, Hg, etc. are highly toxic and do not have any safe limits.
They have accumulation effects and cause anaemia, Kidney diseases, nervous disorder, high blood
pressure, etc.

9.Leather Tanneries
 Leather tanning units from the cottage scale to big industrial units are working in and around
many big cities of Pakistan.
 They use large quantities of chromium (VI) salts for leather tanning.

 They are producing good variety of exportable leather.

Harmful Effects
Only some units treat water to reduce Cr (VI) into Cr (III) and then precipitate it by alkali as
Cr(OH)3

Mostly the effluents are discharged onto the open land or into the sewage system.

These industries are the big source of chromium (VI) pollution in the environment.

Chromium (VI) is highly toxic and is known to cause cancer.

Point and non-point sources of water pollution:

Point sources These are pollutants that are discharged at specific locations through pipes, ditches
or sewers into bodies of surface waters.

 Ex: Factories, sewage treatment plants, abandoned underground mines and oil tankers.

Non point sources These pollutants cannot be traced to a single point of discharge. They are
large land areas or air-sheds that pollute water by runoff, subsurface flow or deposition from the
atmosphere.

 Ex: Acid deposition, runoff of chemicals into surface water from croplands, livestock feedlots,
logged forests, urban streets, lawns, golf courses and parking lots.

Factors Affecting The Quality Of Water

The quality of water is measured in the following terms.

1. Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

In water the most important oxidizing agent is dissolved molecular oxygen (O 2) it oxidizes organic
matter.

 The concentration of O2 ranges from 4-8 ppm

 The dissolved oxygen value less than 4 ppm indicates that water is polluted.

2. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

It is the capacity of organic matter in natural water to consume oxygen within a period of five
days.

 It tells about amount of oxygen which is consumed due to biological oxidation of dissolved
organic matter in the simple.

 The oxidation reaction is catalyzed by microorganisms present in the natural water.

Measurement:
 Amount of oxygen is calculated at the beginning.

 Sealed water sample is the placed in the dark at constant temperature either at 200C or 250C.

 Amount of oxygen is finally calculated at the end of five days period.

 The value of BOD is determined from the amount of oxygen consumed.

3.Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

The organic content of water which consumes oxygen during chemical oxidation is called its
chemical oxygen demond.

 Value of COD is a direct measure of chemically oxidizable matter in water.

 Higher values of COD will indicate more pollution.

Measurement
 It is determined directly by treating water with dichromate ions Cr 2O72-

 Dichromate is a powerful oxidizing agent and oxidizes organic matter in water.

 The excess (remaining) amount of dichromate is determined by titration.

 The value of COD is determined from the amount of dichromate consumed.

Control measures of water pollution:

 Administration of water pollution control should be in the hands of state or central
government

 Scientific techniques should be adopted for environmental control of catchment areas of

rivers, ponds or streams

 Industrial plants should be based on recycling operations as it helps prevent disposal of

wastes into natural waters but also extraction of products from waste.

 Plants, trees and forests control pollution as they act as natural air conditioners.

 Trees are capable of reducing sulphur dioxide and nitric oxide pollutants and hence more
trees should be planted.

 No type of waste (treated, partially treated or untreated) should be discharged into any
natural water body. Industries should develop closed loop water supply schemes and
domestic sewage must be used for irrigation.

 Qualified and experienced people must be consulted from time to time for effective control of
water pollution.

 Public awareness must be initiated regarding adverse effects of water pollution using the
media.
 Laws, standards and practices should be established to prevent water pollution and these
laws should be modified from time to time based on current requirements and technological
advancements.

 Basic and applied research in public health engineering should be encouraged.

Thermal pollution
Thermal pollution is defined as the addition of excess of undesirable heat to water thereby
making it harmful to man, animal or aquatic life. Thermal pollution may also cause significant
departures from life activities of aquatic communities.

Sources of Thermal Pollution:

 The following sources contribute to thermal pollution.

 Nuclear power plants

 Coal fired plants

 Industrial effluents

 Domestic sewage

 Hydro-electric power

Nuclear power plants:

 Nuclear power plants including drainage from hospitals, research institutions, nuclear
experiments and explosions, discharge a lot of heat that is not utilized along with traces of
toxic radio nuclides into nearby water streams.

 Emissions from nuclear reactors and processing installations are also responsible for
increasing the temperatures of water bodies.

 The operations of power reactors and nuclear fuel processing units constitutes the major
contributor of heat in the aquatic environment.

 Heated effluents from power plants are discharged at 10 C higher than the receiving waters
that affects the aquatic flora and fauna.

Coal-fired power plants:

 Coal fired power plants constitute a major source of thermal pollution.

 The condenser coils in such plants are cooled with water from nearby lakes or rivers.
 The resulting heated water is discharged into streams thereby raising the water temperature
by 15C.

 Heated effluent decreases the dissolved content of water resulting in death of fish and other
aquatic organisms.

 The sudden fluctuation of temperature also leads to "thermal shock" killing aquatic life that
have become acclimatized to living in a steady temperature.

Industrial effluents:
 Industries like textile, paper, pulp and sugar manufacturing release huge amounts of cooling
water along with effluents into nearby natural water bodies.

 The waters polluted by sudden and heavy organic loads result in severe drop in levels of
dissolved oxygen leading to death of several aquatic organisms.

Domestic Sewage:
 Domestic sewage is discharged into rivers, lakes, canals or streams with minimal treatment or
without any treatment.

 These wastes have a higher organic temperature and organic load. This leads to decrease in
dissolved oxygen content in the receiving waters resulting in the set-up of anaerobic
conditions causing release of foul and offensive gases in water.

 Eventually, this leads to development of anoxic conditions resulting in rapid death of aquatic
organisms.

Hydro-electric power:
 Generation of hydroelectric power sometimes leads to negative thermal loading in water
systems.

 Apart from electric power industries, various factories with cooling requirement contribute to
thermal loading.

 Thermal pollution in streams by human activities, Industries and power plants use water to
cool machinery and discharge the warm water into a stream.

 Stream temperature rises when trees and tall vegetation providing shade are cut.

 Soil erosion caused due to construction also leads to thermal pollution.

 Removal of stream side vegetation. Poor farming Practices also lead to thermal pollution.
Effects of Thermal pollution:
 Reduction in dissolved oxygen: Concentration of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) decreases with
increase in temperature.

 Increase in toxicity:
 The rising temperature increases the toxicity of the poison present in water.

 A 10oC increase in temperature of water doubles the toxicity effect of potassium cyanide,.

 while 80oC rise in temperature triples the toxic effects of o-xylene causing massive mortality to
fish.

 Interference in biological activity:

 Temperature is considered to be of vital significance to physiology, metabolism and
biochemical processes that control respiratory rates, digestion, excretion, and overall
development of aquatic organisms.

 Temperature changes cause total disruption to the entire ecosystem.

 Interference in reproduction:
 In fishes, several activities like nest building, spawning, hatching, migration and reproduction
depend on optimum temperature.

 Direct mortality:
 Thermal pollution is directly responsible for mortality of aquatic organisms.

 Increase in temperature of water leads to exhaustion of microorganisms thereby shortening

the life span of fish.

 Above a certain temperature, fish die due to failure of respiratory system and nervous system
failure.

 Food storage for fish:

 Abrupt changes in temperature alters the seasonal variation in the type and abundance of
lower organisms leading to shortage of right food for fish at the right time.

Control measures for thermal pollution:

 The following methods can be adapted to control high temperature caused by thermal
discharges:

Cooling towers: Use of water from water systems for cooling systems for cooling purposes, with
subsequent return to the water way after passage through a condenser, is called cooling process.
Cooling towers transfer heat from hot water to the atmosphere by evaporation. Cooling towers
are of two types:
(i) Wet cooling tower: Hot water coming out from the condenser (reactor) is allowed to spray
over baffles. Cool air, with high velocity, is passed from sides, which takes away the heat and cools
the water.

(ii) Dry cooling tower: Here, hot water is allowed to flow in long spiral pipes. Cool air with the
help of a fan is passed over these hot pipes, which cools down hot water. This cool water can be
recycled.

Cooling ponds: Cooling ponds are the best way to cool thermal discharges. Heated effluents on
the surface of the water in cooling ponds maximize dissipation of heat to the atmosphere and
minimize the water area and volume.

 Spray ponds: The water coming out from condensers is allowed to pass into the ponds
through sprayers. Here water is sprayed through nozzles as fine droplets. Heat from the fine
droplets gets dissipated to the atmosphere.

Artificial lakes: Artificial lakes are man-made water bodies that offer once-through cooling. The
heated effluents can be discharged into the lake at one end and water for cooling purposes may
be withdrawn from the other end. The heat is eventually dissipated through evaporation.

NOISE---------POLLUTION
Noise is defined as, "the unwanted, unpleasant or disagreeable sound that causes discomfort to
all living beings". Sound intensity is measured in decibels (dB),that is the tenth part of the longest
unit Bel. One dB is the faintest sound that a human ear can hear.

TYPES OF NOISE: Environmental noise has been doubling every ten years. Noise is classified as:
 Industrial Noise

 Transport Noise and

 Neighborhood noise

Industrial Noise
 It is sound with a high intensity sound caused by industry machines. Sources of such noise
pollution is caused by machines from machines in various factories, industries and mills.

 Noise from mechanical saws and pneumatic drills is unbearable and a nuisance to the public.

 Workers in steel industry, who work close to heavy industrial blowers are exposed to 112dB
for eight hours suffer from occupational pollution.

Transport Noise:
 Transport noise mainly consists of traffic noise from road, rail and aircraft. The number of
automobiles on roads like motors, scooters, cars, motor cycles, buses, trucks and diesel engine
vehicles have increased enormously in the recent past further aggravating the problem of
transport noise.
 Noise levels in most residential areas in metropolitan cities is hovering around the border line
due to increased vehicular noise pollution. This high level of noise pollution leads to deafening
in the elderly.

Neighbourhood noise:
 This type of noise includes disturbance from household gadgets and community. Common
sources being musical instruments, TV, VCR, Radios, Transistors, Telephones, and
loudspeakers etc.

 Statistically, ever since the industrial revolution, noise in the environment has been doubling
every ten years.

Effects of Noise pollution

 Noise pollution affects both human and animal health. It leads to:

 contraction of blood vessels

 making skin pale

 excessive adrenalin in the blood stream which is responsible for high

blood pressure.

 Blaring sounds are known to cause mental distress

 Heart attacks, neurological problems, birth defects and abortion

 Muscle contraction leading to nervous breakdown, tension, etc

 The adverse reactions are coupled with a change in hormone

content of blood, which in-turn increases heart beat, constriction of
blood vessels, digestive spams and dilation of the pupil of the eye.

 Adverse affects health, work efficiency and behaviour. Noise pollution

may cause damage to the heart, brain, kidneys, liver and may produce
emotional disturbance.

 The most immediate and acute effect of noise is impairment of

hearing that diminishes some part of the auditory system. Prolonged
exposure to noise of certain frequency pattern leads to chronic
damage to the inner ear.

 Impulsive noise may cause psychological and pathological disorders

 Ultrasonic sound can affect the digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular

system and semicircular canals of the internal ear.

 The brain is adversely affected by loud and sudden noise by jets and
airplanes. People are subjected to psychiatric illness.

 Recent reports suggest that blood is thickened by excessive noise.

  The optical system of human beings is also affected by noise pollution.

Severe noise pollution causes:

 Pupullary dilation

 Impairment of night vision

 Decrease in rate of colour perception

Control measures:
• SOURCE CONTROL: This includes source modification such as acoustic treatment to machine
surface, design changes, limiting operational timings, etc

 TRANSMISSION PATH INTERVENTION: This includes containing the source inside a sound
insulating enclosure, constructing a noise barrier or provision of sound absorbing materials
along the path.

 RECEPTOR CONTROL: This includes protection of the receiver by altering the work schedule
or provision of personal protection devices such as ear plugs for operating noisy machinery.
The measure may include dissipation and deflection methods.

 OILING: Proper oiling will reduce noise from the machine.

Preventive measures:
 Prescribing noise limits for vehicular traffic

 Ban on honking (usage of horns) in certain areas

 Creation of silence zones near schools and hospitals

 Redesigning buildings to make them noise proof

 Reduction of traffic density in residential areas

 Giving preference to mass public transport system.