The document discusses various ways that coir industries can cause groundwater pollution. During the coir production process, large amounts of coir pith waste are generated which contain compounds like lignin, tannins, and salts. When this waste is dumped untreated or stored in piles (hillocks), the compounds can leach into the groundwater during rains and contaminate it. Retting of coconut husks in water bodies also releases pollutants. The bleaching and dyeing steps further pollute if chemicals are discharged without treatment. A case study found that improperly disposed coir waste in Tamil Nadu raised TDS and contaminated local groundwater, rendering it unusable.

1. GROUND WATER
POLLUTION DUE TO
COIR INDUSTRIES

2. GROUND WATER POLLUTION
 Groundwater pollution also called ground water contamination occurs when
pollutants are released to the ground and make their way into the groundwater
 It is more likely referred as contamination rather than pollution
Groundwater pollution can be caused by various factors…
o NATURALLY OCCURING(GEOGENIC)
o ON-SITE SANITATION SYSTEMS
o SEWAGE AND SEWAGE SLUDGE
o FERTILIZERS AND PESTICIDES
o COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LEAKS
o HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
o LANDFILL LEACHATE
o OTHERS..

3. HOW DOES GROUNDWATER BECOME
CONTAMINATED..
 Depending on its physical , chemical and biological properties , a contaminants
that has been released into the environment may move within an aquifer in the
same manner that ground water moves.
 Just as groundwater generally moves slowly , so do contaminants in ground water
 Because of this slow movement , contaminants tend to remain concentrated in the
form of plumes.

4. COIR INDUSTRY
 Coir industry is one of the important agro-based industries in India
contributing significantly for creation of livelihood in major coconut
growing states and Union territories i.e. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Orissa, Assam, Andaman &
Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry.
 Coir fiber is the raw material of the industry and during the
extraction process coir pith is generated in large quantities as waste
 The process involved in making coir pith are
HUSKING
RETTING
DEFIBERING
FINISHING

5. COMPOSITION OF COIR PITH
 Coir waste has a high lignin (30-31%) and cellulose (26.8%) content.
 Its carbon nitrogen ratio is around 112:1.
 Lignin is a complex amorphous polymer of phenyl propane which surrounds the cellulose in cell
walls and is relatively inert to hydrolysis.
 Because of the high lignin content left to it, coir waste takes decades to decompose.

6. PROCESSES INVOLVED IN COIR
INDUSTRIES
 After the coir fiber is extracted from the husk(Defibering) the pith can be collected
and processed to enter the supply chain for the production of horticultural grade
material.
 The process for the production of coir pith for horticultural grade material follows a
number of steps depending on the requirement of the end user and customer
 It is firstly matured for up to 6 months which serves to reduce the salt content, to
change the pH from acidic to neutral, to reduce the content of tannins and phenols
in the pith and to achieve a more favorable carbon to nitrogen ratio.
 The pith is then initially sieved to remove physical contaminants and remaining coir
fiber.
 This is followed by washing with water to further reduce the salt content.
 In terms of impacts, coir pith processing requires extensive washing with water to
reduce the salt concentration.
 The runoff from these processes will contain high levels of sodium and potassium

7. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT DUE TO
COIR PITH HILLOCKS
 Coir pith is recalcitrant and accumulates in the environment forming hillocks
posing environmental pollution in the areas close to coir fiber extracting
units.
 Coir fiber extraction units contribute considerably to the problems of
environmental pollution, both land and groundwater pollution.
 The high quantum of its production in the defibering units and the
difficulties experienced in its disposal have tended to create a major
problem of pollution of large areas of land and water in coir fiber extraction
units.
 Very often coir pith is heaped as mounds on way side.
 During monsoon rains leaching of tannins and salts from the hillocks of coir
pith leads to ground water pollution and may be magnified up the food
chain to levels that are harmful for wild life and possibly for humans because
most of these pollutants are extremely difficult to remove by waste
treatment methods.

8. POLLUTION DUE TO RETTING OF COIR
 Retting is carried out immersing coconut husks in lakes , rivers and
ponds for period ranging from 6 months to 1year.
 Retting of coconut husk is the basic process involved in the
production of coir and coir goods which is one of the most popular
traditional occupations in the coastal areas of Kerala.
 Coconut husk retting is considered as one of the important sources
of pollution in the Cochin backwaters.
 As a result of retting, large quantities of organic substances
including pectin, pectosan, fat, tannin and also toxic polyphenols are
liberated into the ambient water by the activity of bacteria and
fungi.
 Thus , the groundwater would get contaminated.

9. FURTHUR PROCESSING
 Besides this there certain level of works are involved in processing of coir to make
coir fiber
 They are BLEACHING
DYING
BLEACHING:
- Bleaching of coir fiber and yarn is undertaken to obtain lighter colored
fibers and more commercially attractive products.
This can be HYDROGEN PEROXIDE BLEACHING
PERACETIC ACID BLEACHING
Thus , this will futher leads to cause of ground water pollution as they
chemicals from this will get into the ground and cause contamination.

10. CASE STUDY
 The recent study on Pollachi’s Kallipattipudhur , Coimbatore, has
revealed that , ‘After the coming up of coir industries in those areas
results in the contamination of ground water’.
 It is reported that the coir pith industries do not have proper waste
disposal system in place and the waste materials and coconut husks
are dumped without proper precautions.
 This leads to harmful waste and chemicals seeping into the ground
thereby affecting the groundwater and causes groundwater
contamination.
 During monsoon, TDS level between 800-1,500 and in summer it is
1,500-2,500.
 This water can’t be even used for agricultural purposes.
 Though they have ample water in our resources but we cannot use it
. The water here has been biologically contaminated
 Thus , Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has shifted the
coir pith units from white category to orange category