Pollution: Types and Impact on Health, E-Waste and Bioremediation

• Pollution is the deterioration of the environment due to the addition of harmful materials (pollutants) to it.
• Pollutants can be natural ex- volcanic ash OR Anthropogenic such as CO2 emission from the burning of fossil fuels.
• They can also be biodegradable or non-biodegradable based on their disposal and Primary or secondary based on their formation.
• Types of Pollution: Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Radioactive pollution, Soil & Plastic pollution, etc.

AIR POLLUTION

• Air pollution is the degradation of air quality due to the contamination of pollutants.
• It was the 4th leading risk factor for early death worldwide in 2019 (State of Global Air Report 2020).
• Industries (51%), Vehicles (27%), and Crop burning (17%) are the largest contributors to Air pollution.

Pollution: Acid Rain

• Normal rain has a pH of about 5.6 when pH falls below this; it is called Acid rain (pH 4.2 to 4.4).
• Acid rain results when Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) & Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) react with water, oxygen & other chemicals to form Sulfuric & Nitric acids.
• NOx + SO2 + Moisture + other chemicals à Acid Rain (HNO3 + H2SO4)
• Effects: Harms microorganisms in the soil + inhibit the activity of nitrogen fixation bacteria + soil acidification + ocean acidification + affects the growth of plants + food chain + kill aquatic animals + corrosion of metals & weathering of stone buildings & statues.

Common Air Pollutants and Their Effects 

POLLUTION: FLY ASH

• Fly ash is a fine powder that is a by product of burning pulverized coal in electric power generating plants.
• Indian coal is of low grade with more ash content (30-45 %) compared to imported coal.
• MAIN COMPOSITION OF FLY ASH: Silicon dioxide (SiO2), Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) & Calcium oxide (CaO).
• MINOR CONSTITUENTS: Arsenic, Beryllium, Boron, Cadmium, Chromium, Hexavalent Chromium, Cobalt, Lead, Manganese, Mercury, Molybdenum, Selenium, Strontium, Thallium, Vanadium, & Unburnt Carbon.
• NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FLY ASH: It contains acidic, toxic, & radioactive matter + Carcinogenic & damages nervous system + causing cognitive defects, developmental delays, and other respiratory diseases.

THE AIR (Prevention & Control of Pollution) ACT 1981

• It was enacted to prevent, control & abate air pollution.
• Under this Act, all industries operating within designated air pollution control areas must obtain a permit from the State Boards.
• The states are required to prescribe emission standards for industry & automobiles.
• It expanded the authority of the CPCB to include Air Pollution under it.
• The 1987 amendment introduced a citizen’s suit provision into the Air Act & extended the Act to include Noise pollution.

NATIONAL AIR QUALITY INDEX (NAQI)

• CPCB launched AQI in 2014 under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to disseminate information on air quality in an easily understandable form for the general public.
• It transforms complex air quality data of 8 pollutants into a single number, nomenclature, and color.
• AQI has six categories of air quality:
• Eight pollutants: Particulate Matter (PM10), Particulate Matter (PM2.5), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Ammonia (NH3), and Lead (Pb).

NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS (NAAQS)

• Notified by CPCB (under powers given to it by Air Act, 1981) in 2009.
• It covers 12 pollutants: Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, PM10, PM5, Ozone, Lead, Carbon Monoxide, Ammonia, Benzene, Benzo Pyrene, Arsenic, Nickel.

AIR QUALITY EARLY WARNING SYSTEM

• An initiative of the Ministry of Earth Sciences and Environment (MoES).
• Objective: To predict extreme air pollution events over the Delhi region & give alerts to take necessary steps as per the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
• It uses data of stubble burning incidents from the past 15 years to predict and help authorities to act in advance.
• It is developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.

GRADED RESPONSE ACTION PLAN (GRAP)

• It is a set of stratified actions to enforce in the NCR if the pollution level reaches a certain specified limit.
• It was formulated by the Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) on the advice of the Supreme Court in 2016.
• Objective: To specify actions required to control air pollution, when the air quality moves from ‘Poor’ to ‘Very Poor’ on AQI.
• GRAP works only as an emergency measure, not throughout the year.
• These measures were earlier implemented in Delhi only. However recently GRAP has been extended to the NCR towns also.

CENTRAL POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD (CPCB) OF INDIA

• The CPCB is a statutory organization established under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
• It is also entrusted with the powers & functions under the Air (prevention and control of pollution) Act,
• It works under the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
• Important functions: To prevent, control & abate water & air pollution in the country + To provide technical services to the MoEF&CC under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 + Collect, compile & publish technical and statistical data relating to water and air pollution.

POLLUTION: LOW-EMISSION (GREEN) CRACKERS

• These are produced using less harmful raw materials & have additives which reduce emissions by suppressing dust.
• Developed by CSIR-NEERI
• Names of these crackers are: “Safe Water Releaser (SWAS)”, “Safe Minimal Aluminum (SAFAL)” & “SAFE THERMITE CRACKER (STAR)”.
• Firecrackers are regulated by PESO.
• PESO (Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organisation) is an office under the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industries.

ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY (EPCA)

• EPCA is a Supreme Court mandated statutory body.
• Notified by the Environment Ministry in 1998 under Environment Protection Act, 1986.
• Objective: to protect and improve the environmental quality & pollution control in the NCR-National Capital Region (Delhi).
• Enforces Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in NCR as per the pollution levels.
• EPCA has the power to take action suo-moto.

 AIR POLLUTION IN DELHI

• Air quality in Delhi is the worst of any major city in the world – WHO

 Hydrogen- Compressed Natural Gas (HCNG)

HCNG is a hydrogen-enriched Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

THE GREAT GREEN WALL OF ARAVALLI

• It will be a 1,400km long & 5km wide green belt from Gujarat to the Delhi-Haryana border.
• The ‘Green wall’ idea was mooted in the COP14 of UNCCD, India in 2019.
• It intends to restrict land degradation & the eastward march of the Thar Desert.
• Also, it will act as a barrier for dust coming from the deserts in western India and Pakistan.

NATION CLEAR AIR PROGRAMME (NCAP)

• It was launched by the MoEF&CC in 2019
• It is the first-ever effort by India to frame a national framework for air quality management with a time-bound reduction
• Objective: to reduce particulate matter (PM) pollution by 20-30% in at least 102 nonattainment cities by2024 with 2017 as the base year.
• Non-attainment cities: These are those that have fallen short of the NAAQS for over five years.

NITROGEN POLLUTION

• Nitrogen becomes a pollutant when it escapes into the environment & reacts with other organic compounds.
• Sources: Agriculture, fossil fuel burning sewage etc.,
• Impacts: global warming, acid rain and eutrophication etc.,
• UNEP’s Colombo Declaration: Aims to halve Nitrogen waste by 2030
• Joint initiative of UNEP, the International Nitrogen Initiative & Global Environmental Facility

NOTABLE DISASTERS 

WATER POLLUTION

• Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities.
• Point pollution sources, where the source is a well-defined location.
• Non-point pollution sources, which are spread over larger areas.
• Causes: Agricultural sources, Sewage water, Industrial effluents, Thermal Pollution, Oil-spills, ships & other economic activities.
• Effects: Decline on Dissolved oxygen, Increase in BOD, Death of Aquatic species, Eutrophication etc.

POLLUTION: EUTROPHICATION

• It indicates excessive plant and algal growth due to the increased availability of nutrients (Nitrates & Phosphates) in water bodies.
• It occurs naturally but human activities such as fertilizers, industrial wastewater, sewage disposal accelerate it.

POLLUTION: BIOMAGNIFICATION

• It is the process where toxic substances move up the food chain and become more concentrated at each level. Ex: DDT
• It adversely affects human and marine life. It can also destroy Coral Reefs.
• It can disrupt the food chain.

POLLUTION: OCEAN ACIDIFICATION

• Ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH of seawater due to excessive absorption of CO2 by the oceans.
• Effects: Loss of Coral reefs, marine biodiversity, disruption in food chain etc.

DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH WATER POLLUTION

THERMAL POLLUTION

• Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature.
• CAUSES / SOURCES OF THERMAL POLLUTION: Industries & Nuclear power plants + Deforestation + Soil erosion + Urban runoff + Natural causes like volcanoes + Hot springs + Bio-medical wastes + Domestic sewage
• EFFECTS NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON HUMAN, WILDLIFE & MARINE LIFE: Increase in toxin levels in water + Decrease in DO (Dissolved Oxygen) Levels + Disrupts the stability of the food chain + Affects reproductive process + Species migration & Loss of biodiversity.
• CONTROL MEASURES: Could be reused for Biological applications such as soil warming, Fish culture etc.

SOIL POLLUTION

Soil pollution is the deterioration in quality & fertility of soil due to the presence of toxic pollutants.

Soil Contaminants and Their Effects On Health & Environment

NOISE POLLUTION

It is an unwanted or excessive sound that can have adverse effects on human health, wildlife, and the environment.

RADIOACTIVE POLLUTION

• Radioactive pollution is the result of the release of radioactive substances into the environment.
• Radioactive substances are those which can emit high energy particles like alpha, beta & gamma rays.
• These substances are highly unstable & are continuously emitting these particles to gain some stability.
• It is not a constant or regular phenomenon & hence the duration and frequency of pollution vary with time & conditions.

LIGHT POLLUTION

• Light pollution is excessive, misdirected, or obtrusive artificial (usually outdoor) light.
• Consequences: it washes out starlight in the night sky, interferes with astronomical research, disrupts ecosystems, has adverse health effects and wastes energy.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

• Solid waste consists of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), e-waste & Biomedical wastes.
• Solid Waste Management involves a collective activity involving segregation, collection, transportation, re-processing, recycling & disposal of various types of wastes.

E-WASTE

• E-waste is any electrical or electronic equipment that’s been discarded.
• India’s first e-waste clinic – at Bhopal.

E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016

• Notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change
• The new e-waste rules included CFL & other Mercury-containing lamps, as well as other such equipment.
• For the first time, the rules brought the producers under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), along with targets.
• Producers can have a separate Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) & ensure the collection & disposal of E-waste in an environmentally sound manner.
• Deposit Refund Scheme has been introduced, wherein the producer charges an additional amount as a deposit at the time of sale and returns it to the consumer along with interest when equipment is returned.
• The role of State Governments has been also introduced to ensure the safety, health & skill development of the workers involved in dismantling & recycling operations.
• Bulk consumers have to file annual returns. It prescribes a waste collection target of 30% waste generated for the first 2 years and progressively going up to 70% in the 7th year from rule notified.
• Provision of penalty for violation of rules.
• Urban Local Bodies has been assigned the duty to collect & channelize the orphan products to authorized dismantlers or recyclers.

PLASTICS POLLUTION

• It is the harmful accumulation of synthetic plastic products in the environment.
• India aims to eliminate single-use plastic by 2022.
• UNEP’s 2018-World Environment Day’s theme: ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.
• Causes / Sources of Plastic Pollution: Households + Industrial use + Bio-medical wastes + Agriculture + Fishing and marine economic activities.
• Effects: Upsets the food chain + Contributes to Air, Soil as well as Water pollution.

THE GLOBAL TOURISM PLASTICS INITIATIVE

• The Initiative is led by UNEP & the World Tourism Organization, in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
• Aims to address the root causes of plastic pollution.
• Developed within the framework of the ‘One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme’.
• It enables businesses, governments, & other tourism stakeholders to make a set of concrete & actionable commitments by 2025.

OZONE POLLUTION:

• Ozone can be good or bad, depending on where it is found. It is a secondary pollutant.
• Stratospheric ozone is good ozone that protects the earth from UV radiation.
• Ground-level ozone, which is bad ozone, is a colorless & highly irritating gas that forms just above the earth’s surface (lower troposphere).

GOTHENBURG PROTOCOL, 1999

• Aims to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication & Ground-level Ozone.
• Also known as the Multi-effect protocol, was adopted by the countries of UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe).
• The protocol sets national emission ceilings for 2010 up to 2020 for four pollutants: Sulphur dioxide, Nitrogen oxides (Nox), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) & Ammonia (NH3).
• The protocol also is a part of the convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution.

BIOREMEDIATION

Bioremediation is the process of using organisms to neutralize or remove contamination from waste.

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