Environmental

Pollution and its

classification
(Dr. G S thakur)
Environmental pollution
• It means adding impurities to the environment. It is an undesirable
change in chemical, physical and biological characteristics of air, water,
and soil, which causes the health problems to all the living beings.
• Pollutants; it is the harmful solid, liquid or gaseous substance present
in such a concentration in the environment, which tends to be
injurious for the whole living biota.
• Pollutants are undesirable substance present in the wrong place, at the
wrong time and in the wrong quantity.
• Beside physical and chemical substances, such dust, toxins and
chemicals. Noise, radiation, thermal energy can be pollutants.
Classification of
pollutants/pollution
• Primary pollutants; the substances emitted directly from a identifiable
sources, such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides etc.
• Secondary pollutants; substance that are derived from primary pollutants,
such as peroxyacetyl nitrate.
• Air pollution; change in the atmospheric air composition.
• Water pollution; when allowed to mix contaminated water with fresh water
and marine water.
• Soil pollution; unethical use of insecticides and pesticides make unfertile land
• Noise pollution; when sound crosses the normal range of audible frequency
(20-20,000 Hz)
• Light pollution; presence of unwanted, excessive artificial light.
 Air pollution
• According to BIS, IS-4167 air pollution is the presence in ambient
atmosphere of substances, generally resulting from the activity of
man, in such sufficient concentration, present for a sufficient time
under circumstances such as to interfere with comfort, health or
welfare of persons or living organisms or with reasonable use or
enjoyment of property.
• Thermal power stations are responsible for about 14% of the global
air pollution, while transport system and industry contribute 60% and
16% respectively.
Sources of air pollution
• Automobile; they emit hydrocarbons, CO, lead, nitrogen oxides etc.
• Industries; such as Thermal power plants; Oil refineries; they also
generate SO2, H2S, CO2, organic halides etc
• Domestic sources; combustion of coal, wood, or oil produces smoke,
dust, SO2, CO, Nitrogen oxides etc.
• Miscellaneous; these comprise incinerators, pesticide spraying, wind
borne dust, fungi, molds etc and nuclear energy
• Natural calamities; forest fires, cyclones, storms etc.
How air can be impure ?
• 1. respiration of men and animals
• 2. combustion of coal, gas oil etc.
• 3. decomposition of organic matter
• 4. Trade, traffic and manufacturing processes.
There are certain self-cleansing mechanisms in nature for air purification.
• 1. wind; it dilutes and sweeps away the impurities.
• 2. Sunlight; by oxidizing impurities and killing microbes.
• 3. Rain; it removes the suspended and gaseous impuritries
• 4. Plant life; as green plants utilises carbon dioxides
Air of occupied room
• Requirement of human being for air is about 10-20 m³ per day.
• Chemical change that can take place in confined places is
• In mixed gathering of all age groups, per capita output of CO2 is 0.6
c.ft per hour.
• Physical change;
• 1. rise in temperature; a man can at rest gives off 400 Btu per hour
body heat.
• One Btu (British Thermal Unit); it is the quantity of heat required to
raise the temperature of one pound of water to 1° F
2. Increase of humidity; due to moisture evaporated from skin and
lungs
• An adult person at rest releases an average 700 gms. Of water vapour
per 24 hour in the form of perspiration.
3. Decrease in air movement; in crowded places natural movement of
air impeded.
4. Body odours; unpleasant odour can arise from foul breath,
perspiration, dirty clothes etc.
5. Bacterial pollution; Exhaled air contains microorganisms in
suspension.
Comfort zones
• It may be defined as the range of ET (Effective temperature) over
which the majority of adults feel comfortable.
S.No Comfort zone Corrected effective temp.
(F)
1 Pleasant and cool 69
2 Comfortable and cool 69-76
3 Comfortable 77-80
4 Hot and uncomfortable 81-82
5 Extremely hot 83+
6 Intolerably hot 86+

• Effective temperature is an arbitrary index which combines into a

single value the effect of temperature, humidity and movement of the
internal air on sensation of warmth or cold felt by the human body.
McArdle's maximum allowable
sweat rate;
• They prepared a chart from which the “ predicted four-hour sweat
rate” (P4SR) under different work intensity.
S. no1 Zone P4SR
1 Comfort zone 1-3 litres
2 Just tolerable 3-4.5 litres
3 Intolerable Morea than 4.5 litres

• Comfortable thermal conditions are those under which a person can

maintain normal balance between production and loss of heat at
normal body temperature and without sweating.
 Air pollutants
• Carbon monoxide; it is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
containing materials, such as automobiles, industrial process etc. The
fluctuation in ambient concentration is only slowly reflected in the
carboxyhemoglobin levels in humans
• Sulphur dioxide; it is one the several form of Sulphur exists in air. The
others H2S, H2SO4 etc. Acid aerosol-H2SO4 is a strong acid, results into
acid rain.
• Lead; the combustion of alkyl lead additives in motor fuels accounts for
the major part of all lead emissions. Children up to 6 years of age are
susceptible for its neurological effects due to poor blood-brain barrier
development. Since it also cross placental barrier, so fetus of pregnant
women are at risk.
• Cadmium; the steel industry, waste incineration, volcanic action and zinc
production seem to be the largest emissions. Cigarettes may contain from
0.5 to 3 µg cadmium per gram of tobacco, depending upon company.
• Hydrogen Sulphide; it is formed during coke production, waste-water
treatment plant, wood pulp production using sulphate method, sulphur
extraction process, oil refining and tanning industry.
• Ozone (pale blue gas); it is a secondary pollutant that forms when
nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds reacts in sunlight and hot
temperature.
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); due incomplete combustion of
organic materials. E.g; fluorene, Benzopyrene etc. causes photochemical
smog.
 Monitoring of air pollution
• The best indicators of air pollution are sulphur dioxide, smoke and
suspended particles. (Lichens as SO2 indicators)
• Smoke or soiling index; a known volume of air is filtered through a
white paper under specified conditions and the stain is measured by
photoelectric meter.
• Smoke concentration is estimated and expressed as micrograms/cubic
metre of air as an average level over a period of time.
• Grit and dust measurement; deposit gauge collects grit, dust, and
other solids
• Coefficient of haze; to assess the amount of smoke or aerosol in air.
• Air pollution index; it is an arbitrary index which takes into account
one or more pollutants as a measure of the severity of pollution.
• Air pollution monitoring in India; National Air Quality Monitoring
Programme sponsored by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
since 1990, has generated database for major polluted cities of India.
• They evaluate pollutants such as inhalable dust, sulphur dioxide,
nitrogen dioxide, lead, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and PAH.
Effects of air pollution
• Health aspects;
1. Immediate effects are acute bronchitis and may cause death due to
suffocation of person with respiratory distress.
2. Delayed effects; chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, bronchial asthma
and respiratory allergies.
• Lead poisons many system in the body particularly to children
developing brain and nervous system.
• It associated with impaired neuropsychologic development as
measured by loss of IQ, poor school performance and behavioural
difficulties.
• Ozone can cause cough, substernal discomfort, bronchoconstriction,
decreased exercise performance and respiratory tract irritation.
• Social and economic aspects;
• these comprises of destruction of plant and animals life,
• corrosion of metals; damage to building;
• cost of cleaning and maintenance and repairs and aesthetic nuisance.
• It also reduces visibility in towns
Global effect of air pollution
• Green house effect; CO2 present absorbs solar and terrestrial radiation
(long wavelength radiation).
• Heat islands; because of the thermal capacitance of streets, building and
industries for solar input and because of energy dissipation, cities are
warmer than their rural surrounding.
• Acid rain; it means any precipitation-rain, snow, or dew which is more acidic
than normal (generally pH less than 5.6), mainly due NO2 & SO2.
• Ozone holes; CFC’s release free radicles of chlorine, fluorine, bromine,
which destroy the stratospheric ozone, results in thinning of ozone layer,
these patches of thin ozone called ozone holes. (Width of ozone measured
in dobson unit)
Prevention and control of air
pollution
• The WHO has recommended the following procedures
1. Containment; prevention of escape of toxic substances into the ambient air.
2. Replacement; increase use of electricity, natural gas and central heating in place of
coal.
3. Dilution; the establishment of “green belts” between industrial and residential
areas is an attempt of dilution.
4. Legislation; it covers matters such as height of chimneys, power to local authorities
to carry out investigations, research and education concerning air pollution, Govt. of
India enacted the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) act in 1981.
5. International action; WHO established various centre at different locations of the
globe for monitoring and study of air pollution.
Disinfection of air
• Mechanical ventilation; this reduces foul (vitiated) air and bacterial
density
• Ultraviolet radiation; this method used in operation theatres and
infectious disease wards with optimum precautions, since it is danger
to eyes and skin.
• Chemical mists; Triethylene glucol vapours have been found to be
effective air bactericides, droplet nuclei and dust.
• Dust control; application of oil and detergents to the floors of
hospitals reduces the bacterial content of the air.
 Ventilation
• The modern concept of ventilation implies not only the replacement
of vitiated air by supply of fresh outdoor air, but also control of the
quality of incoming air with regard to its temperature, humidity, and
purity with a view to provide a thermal environment that is
comfortable and free from risk of infection.
• Types of ventilation
• Natural; depends upon natural forces; the wind, diffusion and
inequality of temperature
• Mechanical; 1) Exhaust 2) Plenum 3) balanced 4) air conditioning
• Perflation; when wind blows through a room.
• Plenum ventilation; In this system, fresh air is blown into the room by
centrifugal fans so as to create a positive pressure, and displace the
vitiated air. Plenum (propulsion system) is used for supplying air to air-
conditioned building and factories through ducts.
• Air conditioning (AC); “ the simultaneous control of all, or at least the
first three of those factors affecting both the physical and chemical
conditions of the atmosphere within any structure.
• These factors include temperature, humidity, air movement,
distribution, dust bacteria and toxic gases, which may effects animal
and human health and comfort”
Air pollution in animal house
• Atmospheric air; deviation from normal composition in air results
change in internal house also.
• Physical activities; dust arises due to physical activities of animals and
farmers related to cleanliness and animals husbandry practices.
• Agricultural source;
1. Ammonia is also emitted from dung/manure storage areas.
2. Animals eliminate CO2 into the atmosphere.
3. Average figure of the hourly excretion of CO2 [in cubic feet (cf)] in
domestic animals. [Cow (5.8 cf), horse (3.9 cf), swine(1.3 cf), sheep (.55
cf).
Effects on animals health and
production
• In domestic animals natural resistance to disease particularly respiratory
affections is lowered by continued living in polluted surrounding.
• With regard to production, milk field in cows and egg production is lowered.
• If there is higher concentration of CO2 than normal range lead to dyspnoea.
• Contaminated forage with metallic pollutants like arsenic (bloody diarrhoea),
lead, etc. can cause animals health issues (liver & kidney damage, anaemia) .
• Fluoride is another pollutant, causes fluorosis among animals.
• Hydrogen sulphide (H2S); cause irritation of eyes, throat and nose and lungs
edema,
Measurement of air
contamination
• 1. Sedimentation
• 2. Impaction
• 3. Impingement
• 4. Precipitation
• 5. Filtration
• 6. Sieve cascade sampler
Sedimentation (Settling plate
method)
• It is a passive method
• Take a nutrient agar plate
• Permit settlement of
atmospheric air on the surface
of an agar plate for 10 min or
more.
• Then incubate the agar plate
with settled particles
Impaction (active method)
• Collecting the atmospheric particles on the surface of a solid/ semi-
solid agar medium
• Air centrifuge is used ; air flow on the sides of a rotating cylinder lined
with a culture medium
• A slit sampler can be used ; air is sucked through a slit onto a rotating
culture plate kept underneath the device.
• Bioload (B); level of bacterial contamination of air expressed as the
number of bacteria carrying particles per cubic metre.
Impingement
• To collect atmospheric particles in a
liquid medium
• Air is sucked through a glass
instrument at a defined rate into the
fluid.
• The microbial load is determined by
examining the fluid.
Precipitation

• There are two ways to precipitate atmospheric particles

1. Thermal precipitation; slow moving air current (3 lit/min) is directed
between heated & cooled surfaces.
• The heated surface repulses the particles towards the cold surface.
• Collection of cold surface (particles & microbes) are then transferred on
to agar medium.
2. Electrostatic precipitation; microbes collection based on electric
charge.
• It is also an efficient method for collecting the air borne particles.
Filtration
• The microbes are trapped on a
filter (cotton/ glass wool) or
membrane filter.
• In membrane filter technique; air
is filtered through the membrane.
• The particles (with microbes) are
impunged on this membrane.
• The membrane is then placed on
a paper saturated with an
appropriate medium & incubated.
Sieve (cascade) samplers
• To collect the samples of air on
the basis of the particle size of
the pollutant.
• Sieve of varying size are arranged
in a cascading manner (one upon
the other)
• Larger particles are collected on
top and smaller ones towards the
bottom sieves.
Preventive Measure, which can
reduce the air pollution ;
1. Strengthening and introduction of mass transit system as these use
significantly less fuel per person per kilometre.
2. Vehicles with old technology should be banned from big cities.
3. Catalytic converters should be made compulsory for all petrol-driven
vehicles and diesel vehicles must have a particle trap.
4. Better urban design to avoid congestion and reduce transport needs.
5. Encourage the introduction of modern technology in vehicles and
use of electric or battery-operated vehicles.
General Control of air pollution
• Minimize the production and release of pollutants near the animals or
human dwellings
• Control of dust particles by improving sanitary conditions within the
houses and frequent washing of floor & equipment
• Proper ventilation; a prompt clearance of foul gases.
• Filtration; filters can be installed to check the entry of external
contaminants.
• Follow the rules and regulations of biosecurity and biosafety while
dealing with the microbes.
Environmental contaminants in
food chain
• Environmental contaminants include substances from natural sources
or from industry and agriculture, such as harmful microbes, toxins ,
organic chemicals, metals and radionuclides.
Environmental contamination of food takes two forms,
1. Long term low-level contamination resulting from gradual diffusion
of persistent chemicals through the environment. Ex; PCB
(polychlorinated biphenyl), this group of substances widely used in
transformers, and capacitors as heat transfer fluid.
2. Relatively short term, higher level contamination stemming from
industrial accidents and waste disposal.
Bioaccumulation
• Bioaccumulation refers to the build-up of a toxic chemical in the body
of a living organism.
• What essentially happens is that an organism absorbs the chemicals
across their skin or otherwise takes them in.
• The concentration of the toxic chemical will become higher in the
organism than it is in the air, water, or soil.
• Overtime, the amount of the toxic chemical will grow until it reaches
the point where it becomes deadly to the living organism.
Biomagnification
• It means when a toxic chemical increases in amount each time it
moves up a food chain.
• The toxic chemical may start at a low amount in the original organism
that originally took it in, but then that organism is eaten.
• The second organism that eats the original organism is larger and
therefore needs to consume more than just one or two.
• Finally, the larger third animal gets eaten by a yet much larger animal,
hence ends up a very high amount of the toxic chemical in its body.
• The amount of toxic chemical can be so high at last trophic level ,
hence become life threatening for the next animal in the food chain.
Persistent organic pollutants
(POPs)
• They are chemicals of global concern due to their potential for long-
range transport, persistence in the environment, ability to bio-
magnify and bioaccumulate in ecosystems, and have negative impact
on human, animals and environment health.
• Most commonly used POPs are organochlorine pesticides (DDT),
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and dioxins.
• Stockholm Convention was adopted and put into practice by the
UNEP on May 22, 2001.
• The UNEP decided that POP regulation need to be addressed globally
for the future.
Compounds (dirty dozen) on the
Stockholm Convention List
• Aldrin/Dieldrin (pesticide); linked to Parkinson’s disease, toxic to aquatic life.
• Chlordane (insecticide); lethal to birds,
• Endrin; is an organochlorine (OC) compound and used as insecticide.
• Heptachlor; OC and used as insecticide
• Hexachlorobenzene (HCB); used to treat seeds because it kills fungus on food crops
• Mirex; OC and used as insecticide and flame retardant
• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB);used as heat exchange fluid in transformers.
• DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane); agricultural insecticide
• Dioxins; derived as by-products of burning of PCB’s and PBB’s
• Polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF’s); potent toxicant and carcinogen.
Famous disaster related to air
pollution
• Famous Smog disaster of London (1952) for 5 days; results in death od
thousands of people and animals (Sulphur compounds main agent)
• Bhopal tragedy (1984); leakage of toxic gas (methyl isocynate) from a
pesticide plant, results in death of more than 5000 people.
• Chernobyl (USSR), 1986; famous radiation disaster as a result of
leakage from nuclear reactor, causes death of more than 2000 people
and contamination of environment of neighbouring areas.