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Control of Environmental Degradation
- Every litre of wastewater discharged by our industry pollutes eight times the quantity of freshwater.
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Some ways of
reducing industrial pollution
of freshwater can be:
- By minimising the use of water for processing by reusing and recycling it in two or more successive stages.
- By using rainwater to meet the water requirement for harvest .
- By treating hot water and effluents (liquid waste) from industries before releasing them into rivers and ponds.
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This can be done in three phases:
- Primary treatment - mechanical means - involves screening, grinding, flocculation and sedimentation.
- Secondary treatment - biological process .
- Tertiary treatment - biological, chemical and physical process - involves recycling wastewater.
- By legally regulating the overdrawing of groundwater reserves by industries where there is a threat to groundwater resources.
- By fitting smokestacks to factories with electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, scrubbers and inertial separators to reduce particulate matter in the air.
- By using oil and gas instead of coal to reduce smoke from factories.
- By redesigning machinery and equipment and using silencers in generators to increase energy efficiency and reduce noise .
- By using noise-absorbing materials apart from personal use of earplugs and earphones.
- The challenge of sustainable development requires the integration of economic development with environmental concerns .
Example of NTPC:
- NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) is a major power-providing corporation in India.
- It has ISO certification for Environmental Management System (EMS).
- The company has taken a proactive approach to preserve the natural environment and resources like water, oil and gas and fuels.
- This has been made possible:
- By utilising equipment , adopting the latest technology and upgrading existing equipment.
- By minimising waste generation by maximising ash utilisation.
- By providing green belts for nurturing ecological balance and using special-purpose vehicles for afforestation.
- By reducing environmental pollution through ash pond management, ash water recycling system and liquid waste management.
- By ecological monitoring , reviews and online database management for all its power stations.
