Pollution: Causes, Effects, and Remedial Measures

About Pollution Control Equipments Necessity to control pollution Pollution Audit

Pollution control is necessary due to two reasons:

Polluted air and water are harmful to life. Air pollution creates problems for healthy living beings, plants and also material. Water pollution also creates problems for all living beings, agriculture, water bodies, all plants and animals living in water, land fertility etc. Thus, one’s consciousness should always attempt to generate means to control pollution of any type.
Most of the governments all over the world have laws by which no one is suppose to exceed creating pollution in air or water beyond prescribed limits. Law breakers often face punishments to the tune of heavy fines and even stoppage of work.

Bhopal, India gas tragedy is the best example to explain the necessity to take adequate measures to control pollution. Thousands of people were affested due to lack of adequate measures. The managing director of the company Union carbide, India was arrested and a warrant issued against the name of Union carbide USA till he lived.

Another example is the BSES plant at Dahanu, India. While preparation of the feasibility report, plant designers had not considered the low sulphonation plant while starting the unit. With more than 10 years of litigation, it has surfaced now that the court had to order stoppage of work or take necessary steps.

The above examples should be enough to make one understand the need to take measures to control pollution. Steps taken initially, would benefit in the long run. This is the reason we say ‘Pollution Control Pays Back – Earn while you Clean’

Main causes of Industrial Air Pollution

In factories and industrial plants, the main culprit is the process adopted to manufacture chemicals etc. Manufacturing an item is required, but equally necessary is the necessity to control the pollutants created during this manufacturing process as byproducts.
If a system is well designed to produce, chances of pollution are remote. However, many of the plant designers do not have the concept of pollution control in their minds while designing plants. They normally have the objective to design to manufacture the right product at low capital and power costs. Pollution is considered as optional.
Due to this approach, most of the industrial plants generate large quantities of pollutants in air, mostly in form of gases.
Another reason of this is the dearth of pollution control consultants. Each and every unit has to be doubly checked with in-house consultants to ensure that problems do not arise later.

The main products polluting air are acid vapors, sulphur-di-oxide, chlorine, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, particulates, benzene byproducts etc. These products are not supposed to be released in the atmosphere. Also, as these products are expensive, prevention of these products also provides the owner some gains.
Faulty pipes, duct joint openings are the main source from which these products escape.

Steps to prevent Industrial Air Pollution

For existing plants, thorough study should be made to locate the sources. Pressures, Temperatures etc. should be adjusted so that the leakages are minimum. At a level when reduction is not possible, steps should be taken to collect the same and then provide treatment.
Plants designed 10 years or before or by lowly equipped designs are sure cases for detailed study.
For prevention generous use of scrubbers & filters will be necessary.
It is said that a routine check will reduce 10%, a minor modification will reduce 15-20% and a thorough overhauling of the system will reduce more than 30% of power consumption and pollution creation.

Industrial Water Pollution

When various byproducts are released in drains they travel to the common drains. The washing of the equipment also adds water to this. These are the main causes of contamination of water.
At present all the chemicals and water are collected at one place. This is subjected to effluent treatment. This is a compulsion for all units. Due to the running costs, medium and small scale unit owners try to circumvent this without realizing the folly. A restudy by an experienced pollution control advisor can reduce the costs substantially.

Motive Powers Inc.