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Ppt 1 Add - Introduction to Environmental Issues

The document discusses environmental issues related to the construction materials industry, focusing on conservation, development, and the negative impacts of urbanization and industrialization. It highlights various environmental problems such as soil erosion, water pollution, toxic waste, and air pollution, along with strategies for prevention and management. Additionally, it emphasizes the role of civil engineering in promoting environmental engineering and green practices to minimize pollution and resource depletion.

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makgopanecm
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3 views

Ppt 1 Add - Introduction to Environmental Issues

The document discusses environmental issues related to the construction materials industry, focusing on conservation, development, and the negative impacts of urbanization and industrialization. It highlights various environmental problems such as soil erosion, water pollution, toxic waste, and air pollution, along with strategies for prevention and management. Additionally, it emphasizes the role of civil engineering in promoting environmental engineering and green practices to minimize pollution and resource depletion.

Uploaded by

makgopanecm
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FACULTY OF ENGINEERING & THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

DEPARTMENT CIVIL ENGINEERING

Qualification: Advanced Diploma in Civil Engineering


Subject: Construction Materials Technology 2 | CMT470S

Introduction to Environmental Issues of the


Construction Materials Industry

Presented by
Mrs. KM Rodriguez
Unit 5- Environmental Issues
Syllabus:
- Conservation and development
- Negative impact, environmental
problems
- Sewage
- Environmental Engineering
ENVIRONMENT
THE TERM ENVIRONMENT INCLUDES ‘THE SURROUNDINGS IN WHICH AN
INDIVIDUAL OR ORGANIZATION OPERATES, INCLUDING AIR, WATER, LAND,
NATURAL RESOURCES, FLORA, FAUNA, HUMANS AND THEIR INTERRELATION’.
(IS0)

Environment:
- Natural
- Economical
- Social
- Political
CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT

CONSERVATION CONSERVATION
GOALS EFFORTS

EFFICIENT DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT GOALS
CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT
• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HELPS CONSERVATION
• CAUSES OF OVER-EXPLOITATION:
– POVERTY (ONLY ALLEVIATED THROUGH ECONOMIC DEV)
– IGNORANCE CAN BE HANDLED THROUGH EDUCATION
– GREED AND REGULATIONS
• ECONOMIC DEV MUST ENSURE BENEFITS FOR CURRENT/FUTURE GENERATION BY BALANCING
DEV & CONSERVATION
• COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS

POPULATION FIGURES
• POPULATION REFERENCE BUREAU – INFO ABOUT POPULATION, HEALTH & THE
ENVIRONMENT & EMPOWERS THEM TO USE THAT INFORMATION TO ADVANCE THE
WELL-BEING OF CURRENT & FUTURE GENERATIONS. INTERESTING FACTS (2012);
– NEARLY ALL FUTURE POPULATION GROWTH WILL BE IN THE WORLD’S LESS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
– THE US POPULATION IS GROWING MORE SLOWLY & BEGINNING TO AGE RAPIDLY
LIFE EXPENTANCY MEN WOMEN

SA 55 54
ARGENTINA 72 80
ZIMBABWE 48 47
EFFECT OF POPULATION GROWS
• POPULATION = DEMAND ON RESOURCES

• BUT POPULATION NUMBERS ARE NOT THE ONLY VARIABLE FACTOR AFFECTING THE
IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
• AGE, EDUCATION, SOCIAL/LEGAL STATUS, ACCESS TO FAMILY PLANNING, FINANCIAL
INDEPENDENCE
• MORE PEOPLE

MORE FOOD

MORE
AGRICULTURAL
ACTIVITIES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
INCREASED DEVELOPMENT LEADS TO
URBANISATION AND INDUSTRIALISATION
WHICH LEADS TO ENVIRONMENTAL
DEGRADATION SUCH AS:
• SOIL EROSION
• WATER POLLUTION
• TOXIC WASTE
• AIR POLLUTION
SOIL EROSION
• FASTER THAN NATURAL OCCURANCE DEGRADATION & POSSIBLE
DESERFICATION
• OTHER THREATS SALINATION & ALIEN PLANTS
• CAUSES LEACHING, MINING, AGRICULTURE, LANDFILLS, DEVELOPMENT,
INDUSTRY, FORESTRY

Growing e-waste Solid waste

Desertification
PREVENTING SOIL EROSION
INCENTIVES TO MANAGE LAND SUSTAINABLY
– CONTOUR PLOUGHING & WIND BREAKS
– INDIGENOUS PLANTS TO GROW ALONG RIVER BANKS INSTEAD OF PLANTING
CROPS RIGHT UP TO WATER
– ENCOURAGE BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
– CONSERVATION OF WETLANDS
WATER POLLUTION
• HOW DOES LAND USE AFFECT QUALITY/QUANTITY OF WATER SOURCES?
– FARMING/AGRICULTURE
– DEVELOPMENT IE IMPERMEABLE SURFACES
– MINING

• WATER ACT
– WATER USE
– LIMITATIONS
– CONSERVATION
– ENSURING QUALITY
CAUSES OF WATER POLLUTION
• FLOATING MATTER (ALSO
SUSPENDED)
• MATTER IN SOLUTION
(DISSOLVED)
• TOXIC MATTER
• MICRO ORGANISMS
• RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL
• HEAT FROM INDUSTRIES
• UNPLEASANT ODOURS
• MATTER CAUSING
DISCOLOURATION
• SEDIMENTATION
• ACID RAIN
TOXIC WASTE
• PRODUCT OF INDUSTRIAL, CHEMICAL, MEDICAL & AGRICULTURAL PROCESSES
– DIOXINS PRODUCED BY BURNING OF PLASTICS
– HEAVY METALS IN BATTERIES AND LEADED PETROL
– RADIO-ACTIVE WASTE BY NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION, X-RAYS

(toxic waste is packed in container


and dumped in pre arranged
dumping areas OR NOT

Handling toxic waste


REDUCE TOXIC/ SOLID WASTE
• REPLACE POLLUTING MATERIALS WITH
NON-POLLUTING MATERIAL
• CREATE EFFICIENT PRODUCTION
PROCESSES & MAINTAINING MACHINERY
TO REDUCE WASTE PRODUCTION
• RECYCLE/REUSE/REDUCE
• NOT USING DANGEROUS MATERIALS
AIR POLLUTION
• GREENHOUSE EFFECT
• GREENHOUSE GASES:
– CHOLORO FLUOROCARBONS (CFC’s)
– WATER VAPOUR
– CO2
– METHANE
– NITROUS OXIDE
OZONE DEPLETION
• CFC’s REACT WITH OXYGEN
MOLECULES IN THE
STRATOSPHERE, THEREBY
REDUCING THEM.
• LAYER BECOMES THINNER
RESULTING IN:
– LESS UV RAY PROTECTION
– GLOBAL WARMING
– OXYGEN DEPLETION
• REDUCE AIR POLLUTION BY:
– REDUCE ELECTRICITY
CONSUMPTION
– REDUCE PRIVATE
TRANSPORTATION
– REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
GLOBAL WARMING
CAUSES vs CONSEQUENSES
Earth’s climate continues to warm - Melting of glacial ice in the European Alps,
owing to increasing levels of arctic ice, and of the land ice sheets in
atmospheric CO2 Greenland and Antarctica.
- Sea level has risen as a result of ice
melting. 8 inches higher since the late
1800s, and projections suggest an
accelerating rise of between 2 and 6 feet by
2100
- Large changes in climate patterns that have
led to cataclysmic wild fires encouraged by
the hottest summers on record and extreme
floods stemming from new and disruptive
storm patterns
- Acidification and warming of the oceans
leading to disruptions of the marine food
chain
- changes in global weather patterns
producing: drought, extreme high
temperature VS excess rain, snowfall along
with lower ambient temperatures and vast
wildfires.
- Acceleration of extinction of species
THE BALANCE BETWEEN
HUMANS AND NATURE
• THE IMPACT OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON THE ENVIRONMENT SHOULD BE
UNDERSTOOD SO THE IMPACT CAN BE MANAGED AND MINIMISED.
• ADAPTATION
• MITIGATION
• EIA’s AND EMP’s
SEWAGE TREATMENT
1. PRIMARY
– SCREENING
– DEGRITTER
– PRIMARY SEDIMENTATION
TANKS
– DIGESTORS (ANAEROBIC)

• TREATMENT ENSURES:
– THAT SEWAGE IS NOT
HARMFUL TO HEALTH 2. SECONDARY
– THAT IT CAN BE – AERATION TANK
RELEASED INTO – SECONDARY
ENVIRONMENT AND SEDIMENTATION
NOT HARM TANK
ECOSYSTEMS
– FILTRATION PLANT
– IT CAN BE RE-USED
– SIGHT/SMELL 3. TERTIARY
ELIMINATED
– MATURATION PONDS
– CHLORINATION
– METHANE GAS
EUTROPHICATION
• Increased nutrients in water due to
weathering/leaching
• Biological activity
• Algae growth
• Water quality

Leads to:
• Taste/odour
• Interference with recreational
activities Control Eutrophication by:
• Increase purification costs Limit fertility in water
• Algae produces toxins
Control unwanted organisms
Use chemicals
Improve food chain with the object of
producing valuable crops
CIVIL ENGINEERING PROMOTING
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Roles:
• To minimise pollution
• To Reduce waste
• Solid waste management
• Improve recycling
• Minimise environmental risks
• Prevent Soil erosion
• Prevent depletion of resources

Environmental engineering is a professional engineering discipline that takes from


broad scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology,
microbiology, and mathematics to create solutions that will protect and also improve the
health of living organisms and improve the quality of the environment. Environmental
engineering is a sub-discipline of civil
GREEN ENGINEERING
The basic definition of green engineering, according to
the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, is
"environmentally conscious attitudes, values, and
principles, combined with science, technology, and
engineering practice, all directed toward improving local
and global environmental

Engineering Design

 Recycling - reuse of waste

 Manufacturing of materials reducing carbon


footprint

 Good engineering practices during


construction
 Green buildings – low carbon footprint during
operation
GREEN BUILDING MATERIALS
Green building materials are manufactured from renewable, or recycled materials, its
selection criteria

TUTORIAL:
- Search for the guide to green building materials
- Turning green your existing house

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