NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORT

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT
ENGINEERING &TECHNOLOGY
ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY ENGINEERING
MEU 07603

DR. NURU N. KITARA

30/04/2021 POLLUTION
 OUTLINE

 Definition of pollution
 Classification of pollutants
 Types of pollution
- Air Pollution
- Water Pollution
- Land or Soil Pollution
- Noise Pollution
- Thermal Pollution
- Nuclear pollution

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 DEFINITIONS

 Pollution:
 “Pollution is the effect of undesirable changes in
our surroundings that have harmful effects on
plants, animals and human beings”.

 Environmental Pollution:
 Environmental Pollution can be defined as any
undesirable change in physical, chemical, or
biological characteristics of any component of the
environment i.e. air, water, soil which can cause
harmful effects on various forms of life or property
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 CONT...

Pollutant:

Any thing (solid, liquid or gas) that cause

pollution is called pollutant.

Eg. Lead, Sulphuric acid, Carbon monoxide,

Nitrogen Oxides (NOX).

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 Classification of Pollutants

Degradable Non-degradable

Degradable: Those Non-degradable: Those

can be readily broken can not be degraded by
down by natural
natural processes
processes
Eg. Discarded Eg.plastics
vegetables
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 TYPES OF POLLUTION

Types of Pollution:

Air Water Land or Soil

Noise Thermal Nuclear

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 Air Pollution

 Definition:
 Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological
materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms
or damages the natural environment into the atmosphere.
 Sources:
 Industries
 Automobiles and Domestic fuels
 Fire
 Dust and storm
 Emission of undesirable gases
by aircrafts, vehicles
 Effect of Air Pollution:
 Human health
 Animals
 Plants

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 CONT...
 How to control air pollution:
 Maintaining a healthy distance between the industrial and
residential areas.
 The chimneys should be constructed tall in size so that the
emissions must be released higher up in the environment
 The sulphur must be removed after burning.
 The gasoline must have anti knocking agents
 The mining area should be planted with trees.
 The coal fuel should be replaced with gas fuel to control the air
pollution.
 The automobiles must be designed with emission control system.
 The wastes must be removed and recycled in the industrial
plants and refineries.

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 Water pollution
 Water Pollution:
 Definition Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies e.g.
lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater. Water pollution
occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into
water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful
compounds
 Causes of Water Pollution:
 Marine Dumping
 Industrial Waste
 Sewage
 Household wastes
 Nuclear waste
 Oil leakage
 Agricultural pesticides
 Effects of Water Pollution
 Diseases like Cholera, Malaria, Typhoid
 Eutrophication-phytoplankton blooms and Aquatic life gets destroyed. 8
 Water pollution

 Prevention of Water Pollution:

 Don’t throw paints and oils in water channels.

 Use environment friendly household products, such as

washing powder, household cleaning agents which has
no phosphates, etc.
 Take great care not to overuse pesticides and fertilizers.

 Don’t throw litter into rivers, lakes or oceans.

 Help clean up any litter you see on beaches or in rivers

and lakes, make sure it is safe to collect the litter and
put it in a nearby dustbin.
 Suspended, solid particles and inorganic material can be
removed by the use of filters.
 Use of biological filters and processes can naturally
degrade the organic waste material.
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 Noise Pollution
 Definition
 Noise pollution is displeasing human, animal or machine-created
sound that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal
life.
 Causes of Noise Pollution
 Traffic Noise
 Air craft Noise
 Noise from construction (civil engineering works).
 Noise from the Industries.
 Loud speakers, boilers, generators, air conditioners,
fans, and vacuum cleaners.
 Effects of Noise Pollution
 Hearing Loss
 High Blood Pressure
 Stress
 Sleep Disturbance and Color Blindness 10
 CONT...

 Noise Pollution Control techniques:

 Installation of new machines that are noise
proof.
 Airports should be away from residential
areas.
 ‘No horn’ boards should be put on/near school
areas.
 We should talk less and work more.

 Reduce noise at source

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 Land (soil) Pollution
 Land Pollution:
 It is the destruction of Earth's land surfaces through misuse of
land resources by human activities. Polluted land has deposits of
liquid and solid waste such as rubbish, garbage, paper, glass
and plastic objects.
 Causes of Land Pollution:
 Accidental Spills

 Industrial Accidents

 Landfill and illegal dumping

 Agricultural practices

 Mining and other industries

 Oil and fuel dumping

 Buried wastes

 Drainage of contaminated surface water into the soil. 12

 CONT...
 Effects of Land Pollution:
 The toxic materials that pollute the soil can get into the
human body directly by into contact with the skin that
cause problems in the human respiratory system, skin
and various kinds of cancers diseases.
 Eating fruits and vegetables that have been grown in
polluted soil may harm animals and human health
 Breathing in polluted dust or particles lead to lung
diseases.
 Trees should be planted everywhere.
 Waste matter should be disposed immediately to
prevent penetration into underground water.
 Avoid using fertilizer and pesticides for farming.

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 Control of Land pollution

1. Cleanup
Environmental remediation: consists of
removing pollution from the soil, groundwater or
surface water. Bioremediation (microbes) and
phytoremediation (plants) can be used to
convert the pollutants into harmless products.
These are natural solutions that need to be
supported by in-depth actions.
2. Green agriculture

Sustainable agriculture is essential as it is meant to control the

impact on the cultivated environment, by minimizing the external
contributions (phytosanitary products or pharmaceutical products
e.g. herbicides against weeds, fungicides against fungi, insecticides
against insects and acaricides, molluscicides, taupicides ), by
diversifying the cultures and by using biological treatments, e.g.
Organic manure.
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 Green agriculture …Cont.

Biological plant protection products, also called “biologicals,” represent a

broad category of plant protection products that are derived from living
organisms. Growers use biologicals to complement chemical products in
an integrated pest management (IPM) program, or as stand-alone
method, for protecting plants from disease, insect pests and competition
from weeds

How do biologicals differ from pesticides?

The biggest difference between biologicals and chemicals is that biologicals are
made from living or naturally occurring materials and chemicals are not.
Biologicals can be chemically synthesized but nature-like in composition. Both
types of products offer protection against a wide variety of plant diseases,
insect pests, and weeds for the farmers who use them.

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 CONT...

3. Sustainable forest management

Conservation of the forests is key. Without the protection of
the trees, the land becomes dry and starts to erode.
Therefore, sustainable forestry or logging is crucial to saving
the soil from pollution.

4. Proper waste disposal

Be it for industrial or household waste, efficient waste
disposal is one of the most effective ways of curbing land
pollution. This especially applies to toxic and hazardous
waste disposal.
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 CONT...

5. The "3 R's" Rule & Education

Reducing the use of non-biodegradable products
will lower plastic pollution and eventually have an
impact on land pollution. This is why it is very
important to reuse and recycle every possible
item. Education should also play a major role in
efforts to protect the environment from land
pollution

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 Thermal Pollution

The rise or fall in the temperature of a natural

body of water caused by human influence.
A common cause is the use of water as a coolant
by power plants and industrial manufacturers.
 Warm water typically decreases the level of
dissolved oxygen in the water . The decrease in
levels of DO can harm aquatic animals.
May also increase the metabolic rate of aquatic

animals, as enzyme activity, resulting in these

organisms consuming more food.

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 CONT..

Source of Thermal pollution

 Thermal and nuclear power plants.

 The power generating plants use water as coolants

and release hot water into the original source.

Effect of Thermal Pollution

Sudden rise in temperature kills fish and other
aquatic animals.

Control of Thermal pollution:

Passing the heated water through a cooling pond or
cooling tower after it leaves the condenser 19
 Nuclear pollution

Nuclear pollution: Any undesirable effect

caused to the environment due to radioactive
substances or radiations.

“We can’t see it. We can’t smell it. We can’t touch it. The
effects may not

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 CONT...

CAUSES OF NUCLEAR POLLUTION

 Uranium mining
Production of nuclear fuel

Nuclear power reactors

Transportation of Nuclear Matters

 Nuclear Accidents

Nuclear tests carried out by the Defense

Personnel
Disposal of nuclear waste.
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 CONT...

EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR POLLUTION

 Weakens the immune system of the body.
 When the radioactive material is shipped via water
then it can also cause toxicity in water and we use
the same water for various purposes.
 Nuclear pollution is another major cause of earth
warming.
 Skin Diseases.
 Damages the reproductive organs.
 Destroys the Retina of Eyes.
 Shortening of life span 22
 CONT...

EXAMPLES OF NUCLEAR POLLUTION

HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI

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CONTROL OF NULEAR POLLUTION

 Proper maintenance of nuclear plants.

 The disposal of radioactive material must be safe
and secure.
 Ban usage of Nuclear weapons.
 Safe transportation.
 Proper storage.
 Preventive nuclear experiments.

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