The document discusses social issues related to the environment like ozone layer depletion and nuclear accidents. It provides details on ozone layer depletion, including its causes from chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone depleting substances, and effects like increased UV radiation. Nuclear accidents are also summarized, with examples provided on the catastrophic Chernobyl disaster and Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings, which caused many deaths and long-term health impacts due to radiation exposure. Solutions to protect the ozone layer and prevent nuclear accidents through reduced emissions and public safety precautions are briefly highlighted.

1. Social Issues and the
Environment:
Ozone layer depletion, Nuclear accidents and
holocaust
PRESENTED BY
DR. SHWETA YARAGATTI
ASSISSTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF DRAVYAGUNA

2. INTRODUCTION
• We live in a Natural as well as socialworld•
• Development cannot be of only the rich nor it means only high
living standards.•
• Also not just ECONOMIC development
• It has to be a holistic approach.
• Social aspects, development and environment have a strong
relation.

3. From unsustainable to sustainable
• G.H Brundtland, ex-Director-General of World
Health Organization about Sustainable
Development :
"Meeting the needs of present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs"

4. Circular ecology

5. Current status
• Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in1992 (UN Conference on Environment
and Development - UNCED)
• Agenda- 21 proposed
• Everyone talks and walks sustainability
• Many programmes have been initiated.
• Paris Agreement in 2016 for climate change
• Conference of the Parties of UNFCCC, every year
• Recently, COP-27 in Egypt.
• Key goal is to achieve Sustainable development.

6. Key aspects of sustainable development
• Inter-generational Equity
 Stop overuse
 Reduce Impacts
 Maintain ecological balance
 Hand over a safe, healthy and resourceful environment to our future
generations

7. contd..
• Intra-generational Equity
 Minimize gap between and within nations
 Support economic growth of poorer countries
 Provide technological help

8. Measures for Sustainable development
• Using appropriate technology:concept of “Design with
nature”
• 3-R approach: Minimization of resource use, use again and
process to get new product from same material.
• Promoting environmental awareness and education
• Carrying capacity: Supporting and Assimilative

9. Indian Scenario
• Tremendous Population
• Tremendous natural diversity
• Hence makes planning sustainably all the more important
but complex.
• National Council of Environmental Planning and
Coordination set up in1972.
• Ministry of Environment and Forests set up in 1985.

10. Social Issues
• Urban problems related to ENERGY
• WATER CONSERVATION
• Resettlement and Rehabilitation issues
• Environmental ethics
• Climate Change
• Global Warming
• Acid Rain
• Ozone layer Depletion
• Nuclear Accidents and Holocaust
• Wasteland Reclamation
• Consumerism and waste products

11.  Ozone Layer Depletion
 Nuclear Accidents and Holocaust
We will particularly focus on....t

12. Ozone Layer depletion
• What is Ozone Layer?
• The ozone layer is mainly found in the lower portion of the earth’s
Atmosphere.
• It has the potential to absorb around 97-99% of the harmful
ultraviolet radiations coming from the sun that can damage life on
Earth.
• If the ozone layer was absent, millions of people would develop
skin diseases and may have weakened immune systems.

13. contd..
• However, scientists have discovered a hole in the ozone layer over
Antarctica.
• This has focused their concern on various environmental
issues and steps to control them.
• The main reasons for the ozone hole
are chlorofluorocarbons, carbon tetrachloride, methyl bromide and
hydrochlorofluorocarbons.
• Let us have a detailed look at the various causes and effects of ozone
layer depletion.

14. Ozone Layer Depletion

15. Ozone Layer Depletion
• Ozone layer depletion is the gradual thinning of the earth’s
ozone layer in the upper atmosphere caused due to the release of
chemical compounds containing gaseous bromine or chlorine from
industries or other human activities.
• Ozone layer depletion is the thinning of the ozone layer present in the
upper atmosphere.
• This happens when the chlorine and bromine atoms in
the atmosphere come in contact with ozone and destroy the ozone
Molecules.
• One chlorine can destroy 100,000 molecules of ozone. It is
destroyed more quickly than it is created.

16. contd..
• Some compounds release chlorine and bromine on exposure to high
ultraviolet light, which then contributes to ozone layer depletion. Such
compounds are known as Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS).
• The ozone-depleting substances that contain chlorine include
chlorofluorocarbon, carbon tetrachloride, hydrochlorofluorocarbons,
and
methyl chloroform. Whereas, the ozone-depleting substances that
contain
bromine are halons, methyl bromide, and hydro bromofluorocarbons.
• Chlorofluorocarbons are the most abundant ozone-depleting substance.
It is only when the chlorine atom reacts with some other molecule, it
does not react with ozone.
• Montreal Protocol was proposed in 1987 to stop the use, production
and import of ozone-depleting substances and minimise their
concentration in the atmosphere to protect the ozone layer of the earth.

17. The hole over antarctica

18. Causes of the ozone layer depletion
• Chlorofluorocarbons
 Chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs are the main cause of ozone layer
depletion. These are released by solvents, spray aerosols, refrigerators,
air-conditioners, etc.
 The molecules of chlorofluorocarbons in the stratosphere are broken
down by ultraviolet radiations and release chlorine atoms. These atoms
react with ozone and destroy it.
•
Unregulated Rocket Launches
 Researches say that the unregulated launching of rockets results in
much more depletion of the ozone layer than the CFCs do. If not
controlled, this might result in a huge loss of the ozone layer by the
year 2050.

19. contd..
• Nitrogenous Compounds
 The nitrogenous compounds such as NO2, NO, N2O are highly
responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer.
• Natural Causes
 The ozone layer has been found to be depleted by certain natural
processes such as Sun-spots and stratospheric winds. But it does not
cause more than 1-2% of the ozone layer depletion.
• The volcanic eruptions are also responsible for the depletion of the
ozone layer.

20. Ozone depleting sources in daily life
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) Refrigerators, air-conditioners,
solvents, dry-cleaning agents, etc.
Halons Fire-extinguishers
Carbon tetrachloride Fire extinguishers, solvents
Methyl chloroform Adhesives, aerosols
Hydrofluorocarbons fire extinguishers, air-conditioners,
solvents

21. Effects of Ozone layer Depletion
• Effects on Human Health
Humans will be directly exposed to the harmful ultraviolet radiation
of the sun due to the depletion of the ozone layer. This might result in
serious health issues among humans, such as skin diseases, cancer,
sunburns, cataract, quick ageing and weak immune system.
• Effects on Animals
Direct exposure to ultraviolet radiations leads to skin and eye
cancer in animals

22. contd..
• Effects on the Environment
Strong ultraviolet rays may lead to minimal growth, flowering and
photosynthesis in plants. The forests also have to bear the harmful
effects of the ultraviolet rays.
• Effects on Marine Life
Planktons are greatly affected by the exposure to harmful ultraviolet
rays. These are higher in the aquatic food chain. If the planktons are
destroyed, the organisms present in the food chain are also affected.

23. Solutions to Ozone layer depletion
• Avoid Using ODS
 Reduce the use of ozone depleting substances.
 E.g. avoid the use of CFCs in refrigerators and air conditioners,
replacing the halon based fire extinguishers, etc.
• Minimise the Use of Vehicles
 The vehicles emit a large amount of greenhouse gases that lead to
global warming as well as ozone depletion.
 Therefore, the use of vehicles should be minimized as much as
possible.

24. contd..
• Use Eco-friendly Cleaning Products
 Most of the cleaning products have chlorine and bromine releasing
chemicals that find a way into the atmosphere and affect the ozone
Layer.
 These should be substituted with natural products to protect the environment.
• Use of Nitrous Oxide should be Prohibited
 The government should take actions and prohibit the use of harmful
nitrous oxide that is adversely affecting the ozone layer.
 People should be made aware of the harmful effects of nitrous oxide and the
products emitting the gas so that its use is minimized at the individual level as
well.

25. Nuclear Accidents And holocaust
• Nuclear energy was researched and discoveredby man as a source of
alternate energy which would be clean and cheap compared to fossil
fuels.
• And although this did happen, along with the benefits of nuclear
energy came its down-falls.
• In the short history of nuclear energy there have been accidents that
have surpassed any natural calamity or other energy source extraction
in their impacts.
• A single nuclear accident can cause loss of life, long-term illness and
de-struction of property on a large scale for a long period of time.
• Radioactivity and radioactive fall-out leads to cancer, genetic
disorders and deathin the affected area for decades after, thus af-
fecting all forms of life for generations to come.

27. Case Study - Chernobyl
• In 1986 the Nuclear Power Station at Chernobyl in USSR developed a problem
that led to a fire and a number of explosions in its Nuclear Reactor.
• The radioactive dust spread over many kilometers and covered not only Europe
but North America as well.
• Three people died in the explosion and 28 shortly after due to radiation
exposure.
• Some 259 sick were hospitalized. As the area had to be evacuated 1,35,000
people had to be moved immediately and another 1.5 lac by 1991.
• As radioactive fall out continued even more people had to be moved. An
estimated 6.5 lakh people may have been seriously affected.
• They may get cancer, thyroid tumors, and cataracts, and suffer from a lowered
immune mechanism.

29. Contd..
• As radioactivity passes from grass to herbivores, sheep in
Scotland and Reindeer in Lapland were affected and were unfit for
human consumption.
• Vegetable, fruit and milk were contaminated in Europe.
 In another case, a French Nuclear Waste Processing Center in
Normandy may have affected the lives of children playing nearby.
 They may develop leukemia (blood cancer) in later life.

30. notable Nuclear disasters
• Serious nuclear power plant accidents include :
 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (2011).
 Chernobyl disaster (1986)
 Three Mile Island accident (1979)
 SL-1 accident (1961).

31. Nuclear holocaust
• The use of nuclear energy in war has had dev-astating effects on
man and earth.
• The Hiroshima and Nagasaki incident during World War II, the only
use of nuclear power in war in history, is one of the worst disasters
in history.
• The effects of the radiation from these nuclear bombs can still be
seen today in the form of cancer and genetic mutations in the
affected children and survivors of the incident.

32. Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings

33. The Aftermath...

34. Precautions taken to prevent a nuclear
accident
• Switch on the radio/television and look out for public
announcements from your local authority.
• Close doors/windows.
• Cover all food, water and consume only such covered items.
• If in the open, cover your face and body with a wet handkerchief,
towel, dhoti or sari

35. References..
• https://www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/modelcurriculum/chapter6.pdf
• Slideshare.net
• And finally Google ...

36. Thank you!!