ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

1. one of the greatest problem that the world facing
today is that is environmental pollution, increasing with
every passing year and causes grave and irreparable
damage to earth.

2. Definition
Environmental pollution is defined as
the unfavorable alteration of our surroundings. It
changes the quality of air , water and land which
interferes with the health of humans and other
life on earth.

3. Types of pollutants
1. Biodegradable pollutants: biodegradable pollutants
decompose rapidly by natural processes.
2. Non-degradable pollutants: non – degradable
pollutants do not decompose or decompose slowly in
the environment.
The slowly decomposed materials are more
dangerous because it is more difficult to remove
them.

4. Types of pollutions
 Air pollution
 Water pollution
 Soil (or) land pollution

5. Air pollution
It is defined as the presence of one or
more contaminants like dust, smoke , mist ,and
odour in the atmosphere which are injurious to
human beings, plants and animals.

6. Sources of air pollution
The sources are of two types ,
 natural sources
 man-made activities
Natural sources:
Air can be polluted naturally by the volcanic
eruptions, forest fires, biological decay pollutants etc….
Man- made activities:
Air is polluted by human by thermal power plants,
vehicular emissions, fossil fuel burning, agricultural
activities.

8. 1. Burning of Fossil Fuels:
Sulphur dioxide emitted from the
combustion of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum
and other factory combustibles is one the
major cause of air pollution. Pollution emitting
from vehicles including trucks, jeeps, cars,
trains, airplanes cause immense amount of
pollution.

9. Pollution from vehicles

10. 2. Agricultural activities
Ammonia is a very common by product
from agriculture related activities and is one of
the most hazardous gases in the atmosphere.
Use of insecticides, pesticides and fertilizers in
agricultural activities has grown quite a lot. They
emit harmful chemicals into the air and can also
cause water pollution.

11. 3.Exhaust from industries& factories.
Manufacturing industries release large
amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, organic
compounds, and chemicals into the air thereby
depleting the quality of air. Manufacturing industries
can be found at every corner of the earth and there is
no area that has not been affected by it. Petroleum
refineries also release hydrocarbons and various
other chemicals that pollute the air and also cause
land pollution.

12. Air is polluted
by factories
and industries.

13. 4. Mining operations
Mining is a process wherein minerals
below the earth are extracted using large
equipments. During the process dust and
chemicals are released in the air causing
massive air pollution. This is one of the reason
which is responsible for the deteriorating health
conditions of workers and nearby residents.

14. 5. Indoor air pollution
Household cleaning products,
painting supplies emit toxic chemicals in the air
and cause air pollution. Have you ever noticed
that once you paint walls of your house, it
creates some sort of smell which makes it
literally impossible for you to breathe.

15. Effects of air pollution

16. Control measures of air pollution
 Using unleaded petrol .
 Using fuels with low sulphur and ash content.
Encouraging people to use public transport, walk or
use a cycle as opposed to private vehicles.
 Ensure that houses, schools, restaurants and
playgrounds are not located on busy streets.
 Plant trees along busy streets as they remove
particulates, carbon dioxide and absorb noise.
 Industries and waste disposal sites should be
situated outsdide the city preferably on the downwind
of the city.
 Catalytic converters should be used to help control
emissions of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons

17. Water pollution
 Water pollution is defined as the alteration in
physical, chemical and biological characteristics of
water which may cause harmful effects on humans
and aquatic life.
 The pollutants include sewage, industrial
chemicals and effluents, oil and other wastes.
Besides, chemicals from the air dissolved in the rain
water, and fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides

18. Sources of water pollution
1.Point sources:
the point sources are discharged
pollutants at specific locations through pipes,
ditches or sewers into bodies of surface water.
eg: it includes factories, sewage treatment plants,
abandoned underground mines and oil tankers.

19. 2.Non-point sources
They are usually large land areas or air sheds
that pollute water by run off, subsurface flow or
deposition from the atmosphere. location of
which cannot be easily identified.

20. Point and Nonpoint Sources
NONPOINT SOURCES
Urban streets
Suburban
development
Wastewater
treatment
plant
Rural homes
Cropland
Factory
Animal feedlot
POINT
SOURCES

21. Causes of water pollution
The pollution causes by the following
factors,
 industrial waste
 sewage and waste water
 mining activities
 marine dumping
 accidental oil leakage

22. 1.Industrial waste
Industries produce huge amount of waste
which contains toxic chemicals and pollutants which can
cause air pollution and damage to us and our environment.
They contain pollutants such as lead, mercury, sulphur,
asbestos, nitrates and many other harmful chemicals. Many
industries do not have proper waste management system and
drain the waste in the fresh water which goes into rivers, canals
and later in to sea. The toxic chemicals have the capability to
change the colour of water, increase the amount of minerals,
also known as Eutrophication, change the temperature of water
and cause serious hazard to water organisms.

23. 2. Sewage and waste water
The sewage and waste water that is produced by
each household is chemically treated and released in to
sea with fresh water. The sewage water carries harmful
bacteria and chemicals that can cause serious health
problems. Pathogens are known as a common water
pollutant; The sewers of cities house several pathogens
and thereby diseases. Microorganisms in water are known
to be causes of some very deadly diseases and become
the breeding grounds for other creatures that act like
carriers. These carriers inflict these diseases via various
forms of contact onto an individual. A very common

24. 3.Mining activities
Mining is the process of crushing the
rock and extracting coal and other minerals from
underground. These elements when extracted in
the raw form contains harmful chemicals and can
increase the amount of toxic elements when
mixed up with water which may result in health
problems. Mining activities emit several metal
waste and sulphides from the rocks and is
harmful for the water.

25. 4. Marine dumping
The garbage produce by each
household in the form of paper, aluminum,
rubber, glass, plastic, food if collected and
deposited into the sea in some countries. These
items take from 2 weeks to 200 years to
decompose. When such items enters the sea,
they not only cause water pollution but also harm
animals in the sea.

26. 5.Accidental oil leakage
Oil spill pose a huge concern as large
amount of oil enters into the sea and does not
dissolve with water; there by opens problem for
local marine wildlife such as fish, birds and sea
otters. For e.g.: a ship carrying large quantity of
oil may spill oil if met with an accident and can
cause varying damage to species in the ocean
depending on the quantity of oil spill, size of
ocean, toxicity of pollutant.

27. We are eating these died fishes

28. It causes skin cancer
Damages the nervous systems, liver and
kidneys.
Lower crop yields
Birth defects

29. Control measures of water pollution
The administration of water pollution
control should be in the hands of state or central
government.
The industrial plants should be based on
the recycling operations, because it will not only
stop the discharge of industrial waste into
natural water sources but by the products can be
extracted by the wastes.
Plants, trees and forests controls the
pollution and they acts as the natural air
conditioners.

30. The national goal should be “conservation
of forests” and campaign should be “plant more trees”.
Public awareness regarding adverse
effects of water pollution is must. So there should be
propaganda for water pollution control on radio, TVs,
internet etc.,

31. Soil pollution

32. Sources of soil pollution
 Acid rain
 Solid waste
 Fertilizers
 Insecticides & herbicides

33. Acid rain:
Acid rain is caused by the air pollution. The
acidic water falls on the soil and pollutes it by
making the soil acidic.
Solid waste:
The wastes comes from homes, cattle sheds,
agricultural fields industries and many other places
and get accumulated in the form of heep. solid waste
includes cow dung, night soil, fruits and vegetable
peels ash, waste paper, metal objects etc .,

34. Fertilizers:
The use of excess fertilizers to increase
the crop yields makes the soil either acidic or
alkaline and pollutes it. for example, excessive
use of ammonium sulphate fertilizers makes
the soil highly acidic whereas the excessive
use of sodium nitrate fertilizers makes the soil
highly alkaline.
Insecticides & herbicides:
Insecticides and herbicides are
poisonous chemicals which are used to spray
standing crops to prevent them from harmful
insects and herbs. These insecticides and
herbicides mix with the soil and pollute it.

35. Causes of soil pollution

36. Overcrowded landfills
Each house hold produces tones of
garbage each year. Garbage like aluminum
plastic, paper, cloth ,wood is collected and send
to the local recycling unit. Items that cannot be
recycled became a part of the land fills and
hence pollute the soil.

38. Agricultural activities
With growing human population,
demand for food has increased considerably.
Farmers often use highly toxic fertilizers and
pesticides to get rid off insects, fungi, bacteria
from their crops. however with the over use
these chemicals, they result in contamination
and poisoning of soil.

40. Mining activities
Mining is also the source of land pollution huge
holes are dug in mining, and the holes form can pose a
hazard to us as they form deep mining pools. metals
like cadmium and lead will be deposited, which are toxic
, contaminating the soil. This will leave the mining land
barren and unable to use again.
Acid rain:
Soil is also affected by acid rain as it converts the
neutralized soil into the acidic one. Hence making it
barren and unproductive.

41. Effects of soil pollution

49. Control measures of soil pollution

53. use 3rs,reduce
reuse,recycle.

54. Thank you
R.S.YAMUNA
114011011869
2ND YR
CIVIL”A”