ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

Maryam Zafar
M. Phil NUST
President Gold Medalist
 CSS Syllabus
• I. History of Environmental Thought :- Environment and Sustainable Development,
History of Environmental Movements, Industrial and Agriculture Revolution, United
Nations Conference on Human Environment 1972, Our Common Future 1987, Rio
Summit 1992, Agenda 21, World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002,
Millennium Development Goals.

• II. Sustainable Development Issues :- Population growth, Poverty, Biodiversity loss

and its Conservation, Energy security (energy conservation and alternative energy
resources), Urbanization and sustainable cities, Carrying capacity and ecological
footprint. Food security and sustainable agriculture. Ecological restoration.

• III. Interdisciplinary nature of Environmental Science :-Orientation on convergence

of various social and natural sciences to evolve a new discipline of environmental
science: Environmental Biology, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Physics,
Environmental Microbiology, Environmental Toxicology, Environmental Economics,
Environmental Geology, Environmental Geography, Environmental Biotechnology,
Environmental Sociology.

• IV. Environmental Pollution :-Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Soil Pollution, Noise
Pollution, Solid Waste, Water Logging & Salinity, Deforestation, Desertification,
Eutrophication, Global and regional air pollution problems (Greenhouse effect,
Global Warming/Climate Change, Ozone Depletion, Acid Rain).
 cont…..
• V. Climate Change:- Climate Pattern at local, regional and global scale. Different types of climate including tropical and mid
latitude climate, polar climates. Climate change processes, Drivers and Indicators of Climate Change, Effects of Climate Chang on
natural and societal systems. Carbon foot print. Climate change adaptation and mitigation, Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM), REDD+. Global environmental politics on climate change: role of India, China and USA (Copenhagen Accord 2009).

• VI. Environmental Governance :- Policy, legal and institutional frameworks for

governance of environment in Pakistan: National Conservation Strategy of 1992,
National Environmental Policy of Pakistan 2005, Environmental Protection Act of
1997, Pak-EPA (Review of IEE/EIA) Regulations 2000, Hospital Waste Management
Rules 2005, Pollution Charge Rules, Sample Rules, Solid Waste Management Plan
2005, Hazardous Substances Rules 2005, National Drinking Water Policy 2009,
Sanitation Policy, National Climate Change Policy 2012.
• VII. Global initiatives:- Brief on some of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements ratified by Pakistan, Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD), Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES), Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar
Convention), Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC), Kyoto Protocol to UNFCCC, Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer, United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

• VIII. Environmental Assessment and Management :-Environmental Impact Assessment, Strategic Environmental Assessment,
Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14000), Occupational Health & Safety management systems (OHSAS 18000),
Participatory Approaches to Environmental Management, Technological Approaches to Environmental Management,
Approaches to Solid Waste Management, Disaster Risk Management, Pollution Control Technologies, Geographic Information
System & Remote Sensing, Natural Resources Management.
Environmental Pollution
 Definition
• "pollution" means the contamination of air, land
or water by the discharge or emission or effluents
or wastes or air pollutants or noise or other
matter which either directly or indirectly or in
combination with other discharges or substances
alters unfavorably the chemical, physical,
biological, radiational, thermal or radiological or
aesthetic properties of the air, land or water or
which may, or is likely to make the air, land or
water unclean, noxious or impure or injurious,
disagreeable or detrimental to the health, safety,
welfare or property of persons or harmful to
biodiversity
(PEPA 1997)
 MAJOR TYPES OF POLLUTION

AIR POLLUTION

WATER POLLUTION

LAND POLLUTION

NOISE POLLUTION
Situational analysis
 Air pollution
• The presence of materials in the air in such
concentration which are harmful to man and his
environment.
(WHO)

• "air pollutant" means any substance that causes

pollution of air and includes soot, smoke, dust
particles, odor, light, electro-magnetic, radiation,
heat, fumes, combustion exhaust, exhaust gases,
noxious gases, hazardous substances and
radioactive substances.
(PEPA)
 Causes of air pollution
• Natural causes
– Volcanic eruptions, wildfires, methane emissions
• Anthropogenic causes
– combustion: fossil fuels
– Metallurgical process: mining
– Chemical: industries
– Processing industries: cotton textiles, wheat
flour mills
 Impacts
• Breathing disorders
• Greenhouse gases
• Acid rain
• Ozone depletion
• Headaches, nausea, and allergic
reactions, Eyes infection
• Chronic respiratory disease, lung
cancer and heart disease
 Remedies
• Standard for Air

• Laboratory equipment
– ambient air monitoring station
– portable gas analyzer

• Smoke control Action plan

Air pollution control technologies
• Scrubbing
• Adsorption
• Bag houses
• Cyclones
• Catalytic reactors
• Bio-filters
 Water Pollution

• Addition of some substance or

factor in water bodies which
degrades the quality of water so
that it becomes detrimental for
health and unfit for use.
 MAJOR WATER POLLUTANTS
• Synthetic Organic Chemicals

• Oxygen Demanding Wastes

• Plant Nutrients
• Infectious Agents
• Sediments
• Radioactivity
• Heavy Metals and Acids
 Impacts
• Contaminated Drinking Water
• Mercury Level Risks
• Ecological Dead zone
• Health Effects of Toxic Runoff
• Oil Spill
 Remedies
• Physical treatment system (screening,
filtration, sedimentation)
• Chemical treatment system (chemical
precipitation and disinfection
methods)
• Biological treatment system
(microorganism)
• Phytoremediation
• Reverse osmosis
 Land pollution
• Land pollution refers to the
deposition of solid or liquid waste
materials on land or underground in
a manner that can contaminate the
soil and groundwater, threaten public
health, and cause unsightly
conditions and nuisances.
 SOURCES OF LAND POLLUTION

• Domestic Solid Waste (Garbage, Rubbish, Trash)

• Construction and Demolition Waste

• Agricultural Waste

• Industrial Waste
 Impacts
• Spread of diseases
– Black death disease
• Contaminated lands and environments can:
– Cause problems in the human respiratory system.
– Cause problems on the skin.
– Cause various kinds of cancers.
• The toxic materials that pollute the soil can get
into the human body directly by:
– Coming into contact with the skin.
– Being washed into water sources like reservoirs and
rivers.
– Eating fruits and vegetables that have been grown in
polluted soil.
– Breathing in polluted dust or particles.
 Remedies
• Composting

• Land filling

• Incinerators
 Solid waste management
• Waste:
It includes any substance which constitutes a scrap
material or an effluent from the application of any
process and substance or article which is required to
be disposed of being broken, worn out,
contaminated or otherwise spoiled
• Solid waste is the sum of residential waste, industrial
waste, commercial waste, hospital, institutional
waste, municipal waste and agricultural waste
• Classification:
• Biodegradable Vs Non-biodegradable
• Recyclable Vs Non-recyclable
• Hazardous Vs Non-hazardous
 Factors Affecting Solid Waste
Generation
• Key factors which affect the generation and
composition of waste include:
– Economic growth: higher income and thus higher
consumption leads to an increase in waste
production.
– Population growth and the composition of the
population: households with children and persons
aged 25 to 64 produce more waste.
– Growing urbanization: urban population usually
has a higher income, which is associated with a
greater consumption of goods and thus a higher
level of waste generation.
 Solid waste management

• Solid waste management involves

waste generation, mode of
collection, transportation and
disposal techniques.
Options for solid waste management
• 3 Rs
• Composting
• Incinerator
• Waste to energy
• Land filling
• Legislation
Options available for waste
management
 NOISE POLLUTION
• Unwanted, unpleasant and annoying
sound which is dumped into the
environment without regard to the
adverse effects it may have.

• Residential area: 65 dB
• Commercial area: 70 dB
• Industrial area: 80 dB
• Silent zone: 55 dB
(NEQS)
 Sources of noise pollution
• Industrial (power plants, stone crushing, metal
workshops, cabinet making);
• Places of entertainment, including night clubs;
• Road traffic e.g. moving trucks, automobiles, buses,
especially those with modified silencer system;
• Community noise e.g. radio/TV, loudspeakers, pool
houses and alarms;
• Animals e.g. dogs, cats, crows; use of loud speaker,
amplifier, musical instrument, electrical or mechanical
device for religious activities;
• Aircrafts and speed boats; Neighbourhood
• Machinery (generator sets, compressors, air
conditioning units, boilers, pumps, motors);
• Others, including construction works, road
infrastructural works, public gathering, vibration, ice
cream sellers, vendor shouts.
 Impacts of Noise pollution
 Hearing Loss ( including occupational hearing loss)
 Stress
 High Blood pressure
 Sleep Loss
 Distraction
 Productivity Loss
 Cause Irritability,
 headache
 Annoying and interfere with communications.
 NOISE CONTROL MEASURES
An integrated approach is adopted
towards noise pollution control
through:
Mass sensitization
Enforcement of the existing Noise
Regulations
Use of Noise Abatement
Technologies
Research in Novel Technologies
NOISE ABATEMENT TECHNOLOGIES
Installation of barriers between the noise source
and the receiver

Use of acoustics in the design of building such as

double glazing

Installation of panels or enclosures

Green belt development such as the attenuation

of sound levels by plantation of trees and shrubs
 Water logging (Sem) and salinity
(thor)
• Water logging is the saturation of
land with water and salinity is the
saturation of land with salts.

• Situational analysis:
– 25% of Punjab and sind land
– 10000 acre being affected every year
 Causes
• High water table
• poor runoff and hence slow drainage
• Construction of housing colonies in the
path of natural drains
• Flood water spreads
• Inadequate irrigation
• Seepage from canals
• Over irrigation
• Hot dry climate
 Effects
• Plant growth affected because of
absence of oxygen
• Water loving plants
• Difficulty in tillage
• Harmful salts
• Inappropriate conditions i.e.
temperature
• Maturity time effected
 Remedies
• Drainage
• Forestation
• Improving canals system
• Disposal of rain water
• Salt tolerant crops
• crops requiring high water
• Chemical treatments
 Deforestation
• Deforestation is the conversion of
forested areas to non-forest land for
use such as arable land, pasture,
urban use, or wasteland. Generally,
the removal or destruction of
significant areas of forest cover has
resulted in a degraded environment
with reduced biodiversity
 Causes of Deforestation
• Population Growth
• Climate
• Agriculture
• Logging
– Commercial logging

• Fuel demands
• Overgrazing
 Impacts
• Climate change
• Soil erosion
• Floods
• Wildlife extinction
• Socioeconomic issues
• Food insecurity
 Remedies
• Laws
• Reforestation
• Recycling
• Reuse
• Movements
• Restoration of ecosystems
• Controlling forest fires
• Population control
• Quality of life
 Desertification
• A desert is an area where evaporation
exceeds precipitation. Precipitation is
typically less than 25 centimeters a year
and is often scattered unevenly
throughout a year.

The classification of deserts based on the

level of rainfall combined with different
average temperatures. There are
tropical, temperate and cold deserts.
 Causes
• Overgrazing on fragile arid and semiarid
rangelands
• Deforestation without reforestation
• Surface mining
• Irrigation techniques that lead to increased
erosion
• Salt buildup and waterlogged soil
 Farming on land with unsuitable terrain or
soils
 Soil compaction by farm machinery and
cattle hoofs
 Wind factor
 Impacts
• Worsening drought

• Famine

• Declining living standards

• Swelling numbers of environmental

refugees
 Remedies
• Drastically reduce overgrazing

• Reducing deforestation and increasing reforestation

• Reduce the destructive forms of planting, irrigation and

mining

• Rationale land use

• Restoring soil fertility by planting trees and grasses with

anchor the soil and hold water

• Desertification and Sustainable development

UND
 Eutrophication
• Increase in supply of organic matter
in an ecosystem is called
Eutrophication.

• Eutroph” means “well fed”

 Process
• Nutrients load
• Plants flourish
• Algae bloom
• Depletion of oxygen
• Death of ecosystem
 Impacts
• Growth of toxic species
• Loss of water quality
• Decrease in oxygen
• Death of fish
• Decreased biodiversity
• Habitat destruction
• Aesthetic value
 Remedies
• Limiting nutrients discharge
• Removal of algae
• Phytoremediation plants
• Growth of nitrogen fixing bacteria
• Forestation
• Prevent soil erosion
• Chemical treatment-copper suphate and
sodium arsenide
THANK
YOU