Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering, Mysuru

Autonomous Institute, Affiliated to VTU

Accredited by NBA | NAAC with ‘A’ Grade
 Module 3: Environmental Pollution
• Environmental Pollution: (Sources, Impacts, Preventive
measures and Public Health Aspects).
• Water Pollution
• Noise pollution
• Air pollution

• Self-Study Component (SSC): Case studies of air pollution

episodes

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 Environmental pollution
• Pollution –
• The presence of a substance in the environment that
prevents the functioning of natural processes and produces
undesirable environmental and health effects
• Pollutant –
• Any liquid, solid / gaseous substance present in such
concentration that injurious to the environment
• A pollutant is a substance that causes pollution.
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 Environmental pollution

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 Sources of Pollution
•Natural sources-Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, forest
fires, dust storms, pollens, bacteria, decay of organic
matter

•Man made sources- Multiple human activities such as

urbanization, mining, industrialization, deforestation,
transportation, agriculture, etc

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 Classification of Pollutants
I. Based on formation
1. Primary Pollutants:
• Directly formed from identifiable sources.
• Ex- CO2, SO2, NO2
2. Secondary Pollutants:
• Derived from primary pollutants by chemical reactions in
environment.
• Ex- PAN (Peroxyacetyl nitrate ) formed from NO2 in presence of
sunlight, Ozone,..
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 Cont…
II. Based on degradability
1. Biodegradable pollutants
• food wastes, domestic sewage, etc
2. Non degradable pollutants
• Compounds like iron, mercury, DDT (Dichloro diphenyl trichloro
ethane), phenolic compounds, etc

III. Based on source

1. Point sources
2. Non-Point sources
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 Cont…
• Pollutants may ultimately reach
the different components of the
environment (Air, Water &
Land) and subsequently give
rise to
• Water Pollution
• Air Pollution
• Soil Pollution

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 Effects of Pollution
• Pollution can cause short and long-term effects

• It can enter the food chain & can enter the human tissues/organs

• Pollutants also affect the vegetation & productivity of agricultural

lands

• Pollutants alter the environmental conditions (global warming,

acid rain, ozone layer depletion, sea level rise)

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 1. Water Pollution
• It is the contamination of water by foreign matter which
change the quality of water and also impairs its use causing
physical, chemical and biological impurities.

• Sources of Water Pollution

• Natural Sources
• Artificial Sources

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 Types of water pollution
• Physical pollution- change in color, turbidity, odour, taste

• Chemical pollution- change in pH, addition of chemical substances such as

chlorides, sulphates, nitrates, organic matter, heavy metals

• Biological pollution- presence of bacteria, virus, worms,…

Major water pollutants

• Domestic sewage, Industrial waste, Radioactive substances, Heat from
thermal power plants & Petroleum products (oil spills)

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 Control of water pollution
• Treatment of wastewater from households & industries before
discharge into water bodies

• Control of runoff from agricultural lands to control Eutrophication

in water bodies

• Control of sediment accumulation in water bodies by Afforestation

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 Water Treatment
1. Screening

2. Aeration

3. Plain Sedimentation

4. Sedimentation by Coagulation

5. Filtration

6. Disinfection

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 2. Air Pollution

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 Cont…
Excessive discharge of
undesirable foreign
substances into the
atmospheric air thereby
adversely affecting the quality
of air and causing damage to
human, plants and animal
lives.

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 Composition of Air ( by volume)
• Nitrogen – 78.084%

• Oxygen – 20.9476%

• Argon – 0.934%

• Methane – 0.0002 %

• Hydrogen – 0.00005%

• Carbon dioxide – 0.0314%

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 Major air pollutants

• Particulate matter

• Carbon monoxide

• Carbon dioxide

• Sulphur dioxide

• Hydrogen sulphide

• Hydrocarbons

Nitrogen oxides
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 Sources
• Natural • Man Made
• Natural contaminants (fungi, spores, • Rapid industrialization
cysts, bacteria, methane, dust, etc.)
• Automobile Revolution
• Carbon monoxide
• Methane Gas & Volcanic Eruptions • Deforestation
• Forest fires
• Electric storms and Solar flares
• Salt spray from oceans
• Dust storms
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Outdoor
pollution
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 Effect of Air Pollution On Human Health
– Irritate respiratory tract
– Irritate eyes, nose and throat
– Lead particles cause Lead Poisoning
– Cadmium particles: Cardiovascular disease, Kidney and Liver
damage
– Nickel particles: respiratory damage
– Mercury: Central nervous system, kidney and brain
– Radioactive substances affect future generations
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 Health effects of Particulate Matter

Coarse Particulates
(2.5-10µm) Upper respiratory
tract

Fine particulates
(0.1 – 2.5µm)
Lower respiratory
tract

NanoParticulates(NPs) (<0.1µm) Alveoli

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 Measures to Control Air Pollution
• Planting more trees
• Reducing vehicle exhausts
• Use of less polluting fuels
• Use of mass/public transport
• Industrial area should be cited far away from residential area.
• Suitable chemical methods applied to remove hydrocarbons
• Multi-stage combustion process – suggested to remove oxides of nitrogen
• Removal of particulate matter using electrostatic precipitator, cyclone filter,
etc.

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 Air Pollution Control Equipment

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Bag house and filter
 3. Noise pollution
• “The word noise comes from the Latin word noxia
meaning "injury" or "hurt" .”
•Noise is an unwanted, unpleasant sound caused by
vibration of the matter.
•Noise is the wrong sound at the wrong time in wrong
place
•Unit of sound – Decibel (dB)
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 Cont…
Sound that is unwanted or disrupts one’s quality of life is
called as noise. When there is lot of noise in the environment, it
is termed as noise pollution.

Sound becomes undesirable when it disturbs the normal

activities such as working, sleeping, and during conversations.

World Health Organization stated that “Noise must be recognized

as a major threat to human well-being”

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 Sources:
•Road Traffic noise
•Aircraft
•Noise from railways
•Construction Noise
•Noise in Industry
•Noise in building
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 Effects of Noise Pollution
•Humans are mainly affected by noise pollution

•It causes nuisance leading to

•loss of efficiency
•sleep disturbance, irritation
•lack of concentration, speech interference.

•It may cause temporary or permanent hearing loss

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 Noise Standards

Area Day Time Night Time

6:00 am to 9:00 pm 9:00 pm to 6:00 am

Silence zone 50 dB 40 dB
Residential area 50 dB 45 dB
Commercial area 65 dB 55 dB
Industrial area 75dB 70dB

Note: Unit of sound is measured in a

logarithmic scale

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 Noise Mitigation
• Noise Mitigation “Noise mitigation is a set of strategies to reduce noise
pollution.”

Construction of sound proof rooms for noisy machines in industries.

Every motor vehicle shall be fitted with a device.

Growing green plants/trees along roadside to reduce noise pollution

as they absorb sound.

Noise Regulation Rules under the Environment (Protection) Act of

1986.

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Case studies of environmental
pollution
River ganga water pollution
Industrial pollution–Minamate
episode Distillery
SSC: Case studies of air pollution
episodes
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