Industrial Pollution and Environmental Degradation
- By now we know industries contribute significantly to India’s economic growth and development , but the increase in land , air , water , and noise pollution caused by the industries and the resulting degradation of the environment cannot be ignored.
- Industries are responsible for four types of pollution
- Air Pollution
- Water Pollution
- Land Pollution
- Noise Pollution
- The polluting industries also include thermal power plants .
Air Pollution:
- Air pollution is caused by the high proportion of undesirable gases , such as sulphur dioxide and monoxide .
- Air-borne particulate materials contain both solid and liquid particles like dust, sprays mist and smoke .
- Smoke is emitted by chemical and paper factories , brick kilns , refineries and melting plants , and the burning of fossil fuels in big and small factories that ignore pollution norms.
- Toxic gas leaks can be very hazardous with long-term effects.
- Air pollution adversely affects human health , animals, plants, buildings and the atmosphere as a whole.
Water Pollution:
- Water pollution is caused by organic and inorganic industrial wastes discharged into rivers .
- Industries mainly responsible for water pollution are:
-
- Paper , pulp , chemical , textile and dyeing industries let out dyes , detergents , acids , and salts .
- Petroleum refineries , tanneries and electroplating industries let out heavy metals like lead and mercury pesticides , fertilisers , synthetic chemicals with carbon , plastics and rubber , etc.
- In India, fly ash , phosphor-gypsum and iron and steel slags are the major solid wastes.
Thermal Pollution:
- Thermal pollution of water occurs when hot water from factories and thermal plants is drained into water bodies like rivers and ponds before cooling.
- Cancers , birth defects and miscarriages are caused by wastes from nuclear power plants , and nuclear and weapon production facilities.
- Soil and water are closely related to each other.
- For example,
- Dumping wastes like glass , packaging , salts , harmful chemical , industrial effluents and garbage make the soil useless.
- Rainwater percolates (drains) into the soil carrying pollutants to the ground and the groundwater also gets contaminated .
Noise Pollution:
-
Noise pollution causes:
- Irritation and anger
- Hearing impairment
- Increases heart rate and blood pressure and
- Some other physiological effects
- Unwanted sources of noise are not only irritant but also cause stress .
-
Other
sources of noise pollution
are:
- Industrial and construction activities
- Machinery
- Factory equipment
- Generators
- Saws
- pneumatic and electric drills
