The addition of constituents to water, air or land, which adversely alter the natural quality of our environment is known as
POLLUTION.
POLLUTION may also be defined as an undesirable variation
in the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of our water,
air and land that may or will harmfully affect human life or that of
desirable species, our industrial processes, living conditions and
cultural assets, or that may or will waste or deteriorate our raw
material resources.
Global Aspect of Pollution
Entire world can be considered as a single vast ecosystem of the universe consisting of two parts :
(i) Biotic Community (or Living Part)
That is, the BIOSPHERE in which life exists. The lack of living
creatures and the disbalance in their life balance, gives rise to the
crises in biological community.
(ii) Abiotic Community (or Nonliving Part or Physical Environment
The abiotic or physical environment of all the organisms existing on the earth or globe exists in three main zones :
ATMOSPHERE, LITHOSPHERE and HYDROSPHERE.
Causes of Environmental Pollution
The root cause of environmental pollution has been man’s
misbehaviour with the nature. Albeit, there are several reasons for
environmental pollution, for example :
(i) Harmful gases in the atmosphere
The concentration of harmful gases is increasing! day by day in the
atmosphere. Increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) content will warm up the
earth’s atmosphere to such an extent that it will melt the polar ice and
will cause a subsequent rise in the sea-level. Thus low lying areas
will be submerged carbon-dioxide is harmful to our health. Carbon-
monodioxide, sulphur dioxide (S0
2), hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen oxides, ozone etc. also constitute the other harmful pollutants.
(ii) INDUSTRIAL WASTES (or EFFLUENTS)
Discharge of untreated industrial effluents (for example, breveries,
tanneries, dying, textile and paper) can cause very serious pollution
indeed.
(iii) SEWAGE AND DOMESTIC WASTES
Dumping of tonnes of sewage, dead humans and animals and domestic
wastes from cities into the water reservoirs are one of the major causes
of water pollution. Discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage
may cause : (a) depletion of oxygen content caused by biological
oxidation of organic matter; and (b) stimulation of algae growth.
The above effects affect the diverse uses of water.
(iv) INSECTICIDES AND PESTICIDES
Insecticides used to kill insects which destroys (damages) our crops,
spread several diseases in man, after spraying are washed off to the
rivers and lakes and become a part fish body and other animal there. In
the same way pollution of food grains by insecticides and pesticides and
the various diseases caused by such food grains are also well known.
(v) AUTOMOBILE EXHAUSTS
The air becomes foul by the exhaust from the internal combusa- tion
engines of automobiles used for personal conveyance, transport of goods
and passenger traffic in the modern world. This polluted air is
unhealthy for breathing.
Carbon-monodioxide a deadly poisonous gas discharged from the
automobiles and factories is a serious problem in big cities of the
world. It causes ‘headaches’, ‘lost of vision’, ‘nausea’, ‘pain’,
‘convulsions’, ‘asthmatic spasm’ etc.
(vi) FERTILIZERS AND DETERGENTS
FERTILIZERS applied in the fields are also washed off into streams,
rivers and the seas. Here they increase the growth of algae (algae is a
microscopic green plant). This algae consumes the oxygen of water much
more than they returned to water in dissolved state (during
photosynthesis). In short supply of oxygen the animal living in water
become suffocated.
DETERGENTS also cause a serious pollution problem to the fresh water
resources. Major ingredients of most detergents is phosphates. When
discharged into water they support luxuriant growth of algae.
Antipollution Measures
Some common antipollution measures are in the following manner:
(i) Air Pollution, can be controlled by
(a) Planning trees on the roadsides; laying parks and gardens in the spacing houses and colonies.
(b) Keeping a check on the quality of fuels meant for automobiles etc.
(c) Less use of oil and coal for running factories.
(d) Controlled nuclear tests.
(e) Strict safeguard against disasters (like Bhopal Gas Tragedy)
(ii) Noise Pollution, may be checked by
(a) Making highways, circular and ring roads, not in close touch with towns and cities.
(b) Methodical spacing of office hours of different categories, school and colleges, factories and industries.
(c) Restrictions on the use and volume of loudspeakers pressure horns of vehicles etc.
(iii) Soil Pollution, may be reduced by
(a) Training the people for hygiene and sanitation.
(b) Providing lavatories and proper hygienic conditions; recycling of scrap and other waste material.
(c) Proper dumping of unwanted material.
(d) Production of natural fertilizers.
(e) Restriction on the use of chemicals which are otherwise fatal to plants and animals.
(f) Plantation of forests extensively.
(iv) Water Pollution, can be reduced by
(a) Proper disposal of sewage, dreading of shallow rivers and streams and cleaning operations in lakes.
(b) Effective filteration and chlorination of drinking water.
(c) Reducing and recycling the radioactive contents of nuclear power plants.
(d) Checking of a random disposal of factory wastes, specially into rivers which are the major source of drinking water.
(e) Use of bio-reactors to fight organic pollution of water.
(f) Nuclear explosions should not be done in seas.
