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S. No. Content Page No.

1. Introduction, definition, scope and importance of 1-3

environmental studies. Environment definition and
importance
2. Components of environment - structure of earth - 4-8
different spheres of earth - atmosphere, hydrosphere,
lithosphere, biosphere: Introduction and definition
3. Biogeochemical cycles – Importance 9-12

4. Air environment - Structure, composition and 13-16

importance of different layers of atmosphere
5. Water environment - classification - freshwater, 17-21
importance, availability, components, zones, biotic
and abiotic interaction
6. Marine water - Importance, Availability, 22-26
Components, Zones, Biotic and Abiotic interaction
7. Global and Indian environment – past and present 27-31
status
8. Environmental pollution - definition, types of 32
pollution, pollutant, types of pollutants
9. Air pollution, major air pollutants, source, effect and 33-36
control measures
10. Criteria air pollutants, Air Quality Index (AQI), 37-40
National ambient air quality standards. Important
air pollution event
11. Water pollution, source, effect and control measures, 41-49
water quality standards, eutrophication
12. Soil pollution, source, effect and control measures 50-56

13. Noise pollution, source, effect and control measures 57-60

14. Impact of different pollution on human, organism 61-65

and environment
15. Food contaminants, preservatives, artificial colours, 66-71
source, effects and regulations
16. Smog – definition – classification – particulate 72-75
pollution – brown air smog (photochemical smog),
gray air smog (industrial smog) formation and
chemistr
17. Mid semester

18. Acid rain – source, formation, effect and control 76-80

measures
19. Global warming: global warning – green house 81-83
effect – green house gases – latest developments –
effect and control measures
20. Ozone layer - importance, ozone formation and 84-88
depletion, ozone depleting substances, chemistry and
control measure
21. Biomagnification – Introduction, definition, process 89-93
and control
22. Sewage water source, characteristics, sewage 94-101
treatment process
23. Hazardous waste - handling and management - 102-105
incineration, pyrolysis and other hazardous waste
management practices
24. Deforestation – forms, causes – Consequences of 105-108
Deforestation, conservation strategy
25. Role of central pollution control board in pollution 109-113
prevention and control
26. Prevention and control of pollution – technological 114-117
and sociological measures and solution, Indian and
global efforts. Environmental act, law, policy and
legislation in india
27. Environment Protection Act, Air (Prevention and 118-124
Control of Pollution) Act, Water (Prevention and
Control of Pollution) Act, Wildlife Protection Act,
Forest Conservation Act
28. International voluntary agencies mandates and 125-128
activities in environmental conservation
29. Important global treaties, agreements & conventions 129-130
on the environment
30. International conferences, convention and summits – 131-138
major achievements of Montreal protocol, Earth
summit
31. Kyoto protocol 139-148

32. Environmental Impact Assessment 149-150

33. Socio economic factors responsible for 151-154

environmental degradation
34. Human population growth and life style. 155-160
Environmental education and awareness overview
 Topic 1
Introduction, definition, scope and importance of environmental studies.
Environment definition and importance
• The word environment is derived from the French verb environner, which
means to “encircle” or “surround.” Thus, our environment can be defined as
the physical, chemical and biological world that surrounds us, as well as the
complex of social and cultural conditions affecting an individual or community

Environmental Science
• Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary field that involves both the
physical sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, geology, geography, resource
technology and engineering) and the social sciences (resource management and
conservation, demography, economics, politics and ethics). It encompasses the
surrounding conditions that affect man and other organisms. Natural and
human resources are interdependent and the use or misuse of one affects the
other.

Components & Importance of Environmental Studies

Components
• Atmospheric sciences
• Ecology
• Environmental chemistry
• Geosciences
Importance of Environmental Studies
• The environmental studies enlighten us, about the importance of protection and
conservation of our indiscriminate release of pollution into the environment. At
present a great number of environment issues, have grown in size and
complexity day by day, threatening the survival of mankind on earth.
Environmental studies have become significant for the following reasons:
1. Environment issues being of international importance
• It has been well recognized that environment issues like global
warming and ozone depletion, acid rain, marine pollution and biodiversity are
not merely national issues but global issues and hence must be tackled with
international efforts and cooperation.
2. Problems cropped in the wake of development
• Development, in its wake gave birth to Urbanization, Industrial Growth,
Transportation Systems, Agriculture and Housing etc. However, it has become
phased out in the developed world. The North, to cleanse their own
environment has fact fully, managed to move ‘dirty’ factories of South. When
the West developed, it did so perhaps in ignorance of the environmental impact
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 of its activities. Evidently such a path is neither practicable nor desirable, even
if developing world follows that.
3. Explosively increase in pollution
• World census reflects that one in every seven persons in this planet lives in
India. Evidently with 16 per cent of the world's population and only 2.4 per
cent of its land area, there is a heavy pressure on the natural resources
including land. Agricultural experts have recognized soil health problems like
deficiency of micronutrients and organic matter, soil salinity and damage of
soil structure.

Ecology
• Ecology is the branch of biological science concerned with the relationships
and interactions between living organisms and their physical surroundings or
environment. Ecology comes from the Greek words oikos (house or place
where one lives) and logos (study of).
• Ecology means the Study of the “House” in which We Live. The term ecology
was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919).
Ecology can be defined more specifically as the “Study of the interactions
between organisms and the non-living components of their environment. (Or)
“Study of interrelationship between the organism and Environment”
• Living organisms and the environment with which they exchange materials
and energy together make up an ecosystem, which is the basic unit of ecology.
An ecosystem includes biotic components – the living plants and animals and
abiotic components – the air, water, minerals, and soil that constitute the
environment. A third and essential component of most natural ecosystems is
energy, usually in the form of sunlight.
• Familiar examples of land-based or terrestrial ecosystems include forests,
deserts, jungles, and meadows. Water-based or aquatic ecosystems include
streams, rivers, lakes, marshes, and estuaries. There is no specific limitation on
the size or boundaries of an ecosystem. A small pond can be studied as a
separate ecosystem. A desert comprising hundreds of square kilometers or
even the entire surface of earth can be viewed as an ecosystem.
• Structural units of ecology: For many ecologists the basic structural units of
ecological organization are species and populations. A biological species
consists of all the organisms potentially able to interbreed under natural
conditions and to produce fertile offspring. A population consists of all the
members of a single species occupying a common geographical area at the
same time. An ecological community is composed of a number of populations
that lie and interact in a specific region.

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• Environment, Ecology and Ecosystem: Environment, Ecology and Ecosystem
are three different terms. But they are interrelated. The natural surroundings of
an organism, both living and physical are its environment. Light, Water, Air,
Land etc., are our physical surroundings. Humans, Rats, Lizards, Dogs etc are
our living surroundings. Scientists believe that natural environment is a better
word to use given the common use of the word environment.
• It is a basic fact that the Earth includes a tremendous variety of living things
which depend in some way on other living and nonliving things in its
Environment. Definitely, as an organism, camel has a relationship with its
environment. Humans have a working relationship with cows, chickens, bees
etc. This study of how the existence and activity of organism influences its
environment and the vice versa is ecology. Ecosystem is a large geographical
area where both biotic and abiotic components interact with each other. Eg.
Desert, Ocean, Sea etc

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 Topic 2
Components of environment - structure of earth - different spheres of earth -
atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere: Introduction and definition

Definitions of Environment
• Some important definitions of environment are given by different scientist are
as follows.
• Boring: ‘A person’s environment consists of the sum total of the stimulation
which he receives from his conception until his death.’ It can be concluded
from the above definition that Environment comprises various types of forces
such as physical, intellectual, economic, political, cultural, social, moral and
emotional. Environment is the sum total of all the external forces, influences
and conditions, which affect the life, nature, behaviour and the growth,
development and maturation of living organisms.
• Douglas and Holland: ‘The term environment is used to describe, in the
aggregate, all the external forces, influences and conditions, which affect the
life, nature, behaviour and the growth, development and maturity of living
organisms.’ Generally, our surroundings are called as environment

Elements & Structure of Environment

• Environment is constituted by the interacting systems of physical, biological
and cultural elements inter-related in various ways, individually as well as
collectively. These elements may be explained as under:
1. Physical elements: Physical elements are as space, landforms, water bodies,
climate soils, rocks and minerals. They determine the variable character of
the human habitat, its opportunities as well as limitations.
2. Biological elements: Biological elements such as plants, animals,
microorganisms and humans constitute the biosphere.
3. Cultural elements: Cultural elements such as economic, social and political
elements are essentially man-made features, which make cultural milieu.

Structure of Environment
• Environment is both physical and biological. It includes both living and non-
living components.
1. Physical Environment: The Physical Environment is classified into three
broad categories viz.
(i) Solid,
(ii) Liquid
(iii) Gas.
• These represent the following spheres:

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 a) The lithosphere (solid earth)
b) The hydrosphere (water component)
c) The atmosphere (gaseous component)
• As such, the three basic of physical environment may be termed as under:
a) Lithospheric Environment
b) Hydrospheric Environment
c) Atmospheric Environment
• The scientists have classified them into smaller units based on different spatial
scales, e.g.
(i) Mountain Environment
(ii) Glacier Environment
(iii) Plateau Environment
(iv) Coastal EnvironmeNT
(v) Biological Environment

2. Biological Environment: The biological of the environment consists of:

(i) Plants (flora)
(ii) Animals (fauna).
• Thus, the biotic environment further is divided into floral environment and
faunal environment. All the organisms work to form their social groups and
organizations at several levels. Thus, the social environment is formed.
• In this social environment the organisms work to derive matter from the
physical environment for their sustenance and development. This process gives
birth to economic environment. Man claims to be most skilled and civilized of
all the organisms. This is the reason why his social organization is most
systematic.

Structure of Earth
• The earth is a cold, spherical, solid planet of the solar system which spins on
its axis and revolves around the sun at a certain constant distance.
• The solid component of earth is called lithosphere.
• The lithosphere is multi- layered and includes following three main layers. 1.
Crust 2. Mantle 3. Core.
• The core is the central fluid or vapourized sphere having diameter of about
2500 km from the center and is possibly composed of nickel-iron.
• The mantle extends about 2900 km above the core.
• The crust is the outermost solid zone of the earth and it is about 8-40 km
above the mantle.
• The crust is very complex and its surface is covered with the soil supporting
varied biotic communities.
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• The geologic component layers of Earth are at the following depths below the
surface.

Depth
Layer
Kilometers Miles

0–60 0–37 Lithosphere

0–35 0–22 Crust

35–60 22–37 Uppermost part of mantle

35–2,890 22–1,790 Mantle

100–200 62–125 Asthenosphere

35–660 22–410 Upper mantle

660–2,890 410– Lower mantle

1,790

2,890– 1,790– Outer core

5,150 3,160

5,150– 3,160– Inner core

6,360 3,954

Spheres of Earth
• Everything in Earth's system can be placed into one of four major subsystems:
land, water, living things, or air. These four subsystems are called "spheres."
Specifically, they are the "lithosphere" (land), "hydrosphere" (water),
"biosphere" (living things), and "atmosphere" (air).

Lithosphere
• Lithosphere is the outer mantle of the solid earth. It consists of minerals
occurring in the earth’s crusts and the soil e.g. minerals, organic matter, air and
water. The lithosphere contains all of the cold, hard solid land of the planet's
crust (surface), the semi-solid land underneath the crust, and the liquid land
near the center of the planet. The surface of the lithosphere is very uneven.
There are high mountain ranges like the Rockies and Andes, huge plains or flat

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 areas like those in Texas, Iowa, and Brazil, and deep valleys along the ocean
floor.
• The solid, semi-solid, and liquid land of the lithosphere form layers that are
physically and chemically different. If someone were to cut through Earth to its
center, these layers would be revealed like the layers of an onion. The
outermost layer of the lithosphere consists of loose soil rich in nutrients,
oxygen, and silicon. Beneath that layer lies a very thin, solid crust of oxygen
and silicon. Next is a thick, semi-solid mantle of oxygen, silicon, iron, and
magnesium. Below that is a liquid outer core of nickel and iron. At the center
of Earth is a solid inner core of nickel and iron.

Hydrosphere
• The Hydrosphere comprises all types of water resources oceans, seas, lakes,
rivers, streams, reservoir, polar icecaps, glaciers, and ground water.
a. 97% of the earth’s water supply is in the oceans,
b. About 2% of the water resources is locked in the polar icecaps and
glaciers.
c. Only about 1% is available as fresh surface water-rivers, lakes streams,
and ground water fit to be used for human consumption and other uses.
• The hydrosphere contains all the solid, liquid, and gaseous water of the planet.
It ranges from 10 to 20 kilometers in thickness. The hydrosphere extends from
Earth's surface downward several kilometers into the lithosphere and upward
about 12 kilometers into the atmosphere. A small portion of the water in the
hydrosphere is fresh (non-salty). This water flows as precipitation from the
atmosphere down to Earth's surface, as rivers and streams along Earth's
surface, and as groundwater beneath Earth's surface. Most of Earth's fresh
water, however, is frozen. Ninety-seven percent of
• Earth's water is salty. The salty water collects in deep valleys along Earth's
surface. These large collections of salty water are referred to as oceans. Water
near the poles is very cold, while water near the equator is very warm. The
differences in temperature cause water to change physical states. Extremely
low temperatures like those found at the poles cause water to freeze into a solid
such as a polar icecap, a glacier, or an iceberg. Extremely high temperatures
like those found at the equator cause water to evaporate into a gas.

Biosphere
• Biosphere indicates the realm of living organisms and their interactions with
environment, viz., atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. This sphere
includes all of the microorganisms, plants, and animals of Earth. Within the
biosphere, living things form ecological communities based on the physical
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 surroundings of an area. These communities are referred to as biomes. Deserts,
grasslands, and tropical rainforests are three of the many types of biomes that
exist within the biosphere. It is impossible to detect from space each individual
organism within the biosphere. However, biomes can be seen from space.

Atmosphere:
• The atmosphere implies the protective blanket of gases, surrounding the earth:
(a) It sustains life on the earth.
(b) It saves the Earth from the hostile environment of outer space.
(c) It absorbs most of the cosmic rays from outer space and a major portion
of the electromagnetic radiation from the sun.
(d) It transmits only mere ultraviolet, visible, near infrared radiation (300 to
2500 nm) and radio waves. (0.14 to 40 m) while filtering out tissue-
damaging ultra-violate waves below about 300 nm.
• The atmosphere contains all the air in Earth's system. It extends from less than
1 m below the planet's surface to more than 10,000 km above the planet's
surface. The upper portion of the atmosphere protects the organisms of the
biosphere from the sun's ultraviolet radiation. It also absorbs and emits heat.
When air temperature in the lower portion of this sphere changes, weather
occurs. As air in the lower atmosphere is heated or cooled, it moves around the
planet. The result can be as simple as a breeze or as complex as a tornado.

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 Tppic 3
Biogeochemical cycles – Importance
• The flow of energy through the ecosystem drives the movement of nutrients
within the ecosystem. Inorganic nutrients are chemical elements and
compounds necessary to living organisms. Although an ecosystem needs a
constant source of energy from outside, the nutrients upon which life depends
can be recycled indefinitely.
• The pathways in which the chemical nutrients move through the biotic and
abiotic components of the ecosystem are called biogeochemical cycles or
nutrient cycles. Major biogeochemical cycles include the water cycle, carbon
cycle, oxygen cycle, nitrogen cycle, phosphorous cycle, sulfur cycle and
calcium cycle. Decomposers play a key role in many of these cycles, returning
nutrients to the soil, water, or air, where they can again be used by the biotic
constituents of the ecosystem.
• An important aspect of biogeochemistry is the fact that elements can occur in
various molecular forms that can be transformed among each other, often as a
result of biological reactions. Such transformations are an especially important
consideration for nutrients, i.e., those chemicals that are required for the
healthy functioning of organisms. As a result of biogeochemical cycling,
nutrients can be used repeatedly, nutrients contained in dead biomass can be
recycled through inorganic forms, back into living organisms, and so on.
• Biogeochemistry is also relevant to the movements and transformations of
potentially toxic chemicals in ecosystems, such as metals, pesticides, and
certain gases. The important nutrient cycles considered here are the carbon
cycle, the nitrogen cycle, and the phosphorus cycle. Carbon, nitrogen, and
phosphorus are considered to be among the macronutrients essential to life
apart from hydrogen, oxygen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.
The many micronutrients, required only in very small quantities, include iron,
manganese, copper, zinc, and sodium. Biogeochemical cycles are broadly
classified into two i.e.,
1. Sedimentary cycle (Phosphorous and Sulphur)
2. Gaseous cycle (Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon).

Hydrological (water) cycle

• In the water cycle, energy is supplied by the sun, which drives evaporation
whether it be from ocean surfaces or from treetops. The sun also provides
the energy, which drives the weather systems, which move the water vapor
(clouds) from one place to another (otherwise, it would only rain over the
oceans). Precipitation occurs when water condenses from a gaseous state in
the atmosphere and falls to earth.
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 • Evaporation is the reverse process in which liquid water becomes gaseous.
Once water condenses, gravity takes over and the water is pulled to the
ground. Gravity continues to operate, either pulling the water underground
(groundwater) or across the surface (runoff). In either event, gravity
continues to pull water lower and lower until it reaches the oceans (in most
cases; the Great Salt Lake, Dead Sea, Caspian Sea, and other such
depressions may also serve as the lowest basin into which water can be
drawn).
• Frozen water may be trapped in cooler regions of the Earth (the poles,
glaciers on mountaintops, etc.) as snow or ice, and may remain as such for
very long periods of time. Lakes, ponds, and wetlands form where water is
temporarily trapped. The oceans are salty because any weathering of
minerals that occurs as the water runs to the ocean will add to the mineral
content of the water, but water cannot leave the oceans except by
evaporation, and evaporation leaves the minerals behind. Thus, rainfall and
snowfall are comprised of relatively clean water, with the exception
of pollutants (such as acids) picked up as the waster falls through the
atmosphere.
• Organisms play an important role in the water cycle. As you know, most
organisms contain a significant amount of water (up to 90% of their body
weight). This water is not held for any length of time and moves out of the
organism rather quickly in most cases. Animals and plants lose water
through evaporation from the body surfaces and through evaporation from
the gas exchange structures (such as lungs). In plants, water is drawn in at
the roots and moves to the gas exchange organs, the leaves, where it
evaporates quickly.
• This special case is called transpiration because it is responsible for so much
of the water that enters the atmosphere. In both plants and animals, the
breakdown of carbohydrates (sugars) to produce energy (respiration)
produces both carbon dioxide and water as waste products. Photosynthesis
reverses this reaction, and water and carbon dioxide are combined to form
carbohydrates

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Phosphorus Cycle
• Phosphorus is another nutrient that plays a central role in aquatic ecosystems
and water quality. Unlike carbon and nitrogen, which come primarily from
the atmosphere, phosphorus occurs in large amounts as a mineral in
phosphate rocks and enters the cycle from erosion and mining activities. This
is the nutrient considered to be the main cause of excessive growth of rooted
and free-floating microscopic plants in lakes (algal blooms).

Carbon cycle
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air and dissolved in water is the primary source
of the element carbon.
• Through the process of photosynthesis, the carbon is removed from the CO2
and incorporated with other chemical elements in complex organic
molecules.
• The CO2 eventually finds its way back into the atmosphere when the organics
are broken down during respiration.
• The combustion of fossil fuels (oil and gasoline) for energy is a human
activity that increases the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere.
• CO2plays a role in absorbing radiated heat and in regulating global
atmospheric temperatures.
• A rise in CO2 levels in the atmosphere will tend to cause the average
temperature to increase.

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The Oxygen cycle
• Oxygen is present in the carbon dioxide, in the carbohydrates, in water, and as
a molecule of two oxygen atoms. Oxygen is released to the atmosphere by
autotrophs during photosynthesis and taken up by both autotrophs and
heterotrophs during respiration. In fact, all of the oxygen in the atmosphere is
biogenic; that is, it was released from water through photosynthesis by
autotrophs. It took about 2 billion years for autotrophs (mostly cyanobacteria)
to raise the oxygen content of the atmosphere to the 21% that it is today; this
opened the door for complex organisms such as multicellular animals, which
need a lot of oxygen.

Nitrogen cycle
• About 78 percent of the atmosphere is nitrogen gas (N2), but in this molecular
form it is not active in biological systems. The nitrogen must first be fixed in
the form of nitrates (NO3-), in which form it can be utilized by plants during
photosynthesis. Eventually, it is combined with other substances and converted
into proteins, consumed by heterotrophs and broken down again in the process
of decay. Nitrification, the process in which nitrogen in the form of ammonia
(NH3) is converted to nitrate nitrogen, is of particular significance in water
pollution control.

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 Topic 4
Air environment - Structure, composition and importance of different layers
of atmosphere

• A clean air supply is essential to our own health and that of the environment.
But since the industrial revolution, the quality of the air we breathe has
deteriorated considerably - mainly as a result of human activities.
• Rising industrial and energy production, the burning of fossil fuels and the
dramatic rise in traffic on our roads all contribute to air pollution in our towns
and cities which, in turn, can lead to serious health problems.
• For example, air pollution is increasingly being cited as the main cause of lung
conditions such as asthma - twice as many people suffer from asthma today
compared to 20 years ago.
• The multilayered gaseous envelope surrounding the planet earth is called
atmosphere. It is an ocean of air which blends into outer space some 1000 km.
• The atmosphere is a reservoir of several elements essential to life and it serves
many functions, including the filtering of radiant energy from the sun,
insulation from heat loss at the earth’s surface and stabilization of weather and
climate owing to heat capacity of the air.
• There are five concentric layers within the atmosphere, which can be
differentiated on the basis of temperature.
• These include the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the
thermosphere and the exosphere.
• The Atmosphere is divided into layers according to major changes in
temperature.
• Gravity pushes the layers of air down on the earth's surface. This push is called
air pressure. 99% of the total mass of the atmosphere is below 32 kilometers.

Troposphere
• Troposphere - 0 to 12 km - Contains 75% of the gases in the atmosphere.
• This is where we live and where weather occurs. As height increases,
temperature decreases in this region.
• The temperature drops about 6.5 degrees Celsius for every kilometer above
the earth's surface.
• Tropopause- located at the top of the troposphere. The temperature remains
fairly constant here.
• This layer separates the troposphere from the stratosphere.

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 Constituent Percentage

Nitrogen 78.08

Oxygen 20.95

Argon 0.934

Carbon dioxide 0.0314*

Neon 0.0018

Helium 0.0005

Methane 0.0002*

Trypton 0.00011

Nitrous oxide 0.00005

Hydrogen 0.00005

Xenon 0.000008

Ozone 0.000001*

* Components are highly variable

• The concentration of water vapour in this layer rate from 0 to more than 4%.
• Troposphere is more abundant in warm air. Troposphere is the layer of
sulphates and is the region of strong air movements and cloud formation, i.e., it
is the layer of most weather phenomena which affect different ecosystems of
the biosphere.

(2) Stratosphere
• Stratosphere - 12 to 50 km - in the lower part of the stratosphere. The
temperature remains fairly constant (-60 degrees Celsius). This layer contains
the ozone layer.
• Ozone acts as a shield for in the earth's surface. It absorbs ultraviolet radiation
from the sun. This causes a temperature increase in the upper part of the layer.
It can be defined as the air mass extending from the tropopause (ie. upper

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 most level of the troposphere), to the stratopause (ie ., upper most level of the
stratosphere), about 50 km above the surface of the earth.
• The stratosphere exhibits several significant differences from the troposphere.
Water vapour is virtually absent. The only clouds found in the stratosphere are
very thin wispy clouds formed of tiny ice crystals. Ozone is present in
significant quantities and it forms a well marked ozone layer called
ozonosphere within the stratosphere.
• Ozone is formed from oxygen by a photochemical reaction in which energy
from the sun splits apart the oxygen molecule to form atomic oxygen. The
atomic oxygen then combines with molecular oxygen to form ozone.
• Ozone is in equilibrium with the rest of the air, which means that ozone is
being produced from oxygen as fast as it is broken down to molecular oxygen.
This is important because ozone absorbs UV radiation from the sun. In fact,
the reason that the stratosphere bec omes warmer. With increasing distance
from the earth is that the UV energy absorbed by the ozone is transformed into
heat. Because of this heat, the ozonosphere also acts like a blanket that
reduces the cooling rate of earth and thus adds to the effect of water vapour.

(3) Mesosphere
• Mesosphere extends 50 to 80 km. This is the coldest region of the atmosphere.
This layer protects the earth from meteoroids.
• They burn up in this area. Above the stratosphere is the mesosphere which is
characterized by cold temperatures and very low atmospheric pressure.
• In fact, the temperature reversal, starts from the stratopause, i.e., temperature
begins to drop, reaching a minimum about – 95oC at a level some 80-90 km
above the earth’s surface. This level is termed the mesopause.

(4) Thermosphere
• Above the mesosphere is the thermosphere which extends upto 500 km above
the earth’s surface and is characterized by steady temperature increase with
height from mesopause. The thermosphere includes the region in which UV
radiation and cosmic rays cause ionization of molecules like oxygen and nitric
oxide. This region is called the ionosphere. In the thermosphere molecules of
air so widely spaced that high frequency audible sounds are not carried by the
atmosphere.

(5) Exosphere
• Thermosphere- 80 km and up - The air is very thin. Thermosphere means
"heat sphere". The temperature is very high in this layer because ultraviolet

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 radiation is turned into heat. Temperatures often reach 2000 degrees Celsius or
more. This layer contains:
• Ionosphere- This is the lower part of the thermosphere. It extends from about
80 to 550 km. Gas particles absorb ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from the
sun. The particles of gas become electrically charged (ions). Radio waves are
bounced off the ions and reflect waves back to earth. This generally helps radio
communication. However, solar flares can increase the number of ions and can
interfere with the transmission of some radio waves.
• The region of atmosphere above the thermosphere is called exosphere or outer
space which lacks atoms except that of hydrogen and helium and extends up to
32,190 km from the planet. It has very high temperature due to solar radiations.
Air is very thin here. This is the area where satellites orbit the earth.

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 Topic 5
Water environment - classification - freshwater, importance, availability,
components, zones, biotic and abiotic interaction
Types and characteristics of water bodies
• The aquatic biome can be broken down into two basic regions, freshwater (i.e.,
ponds and rivers) and marine (i.e., oceans and estuaries).
• Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in bogs, ponds,
lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and
underground streams. Freshwater is characterized by having low concentrations
of dissolved salts (<1%) and other total dissolved solids.
• The term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water. Scientifically,
freshwater habitats are divided into lentic systems, which are the still waters
including ponds, lakes, swamps and mires; lotic systems, which are running
water; and groundwater which flows in rocks and aquifers.
• There is, in addition, a zone which bridges between groundwater and lotic
systems, which are the hyporheic zone, which underlies many larger rivers and
can contain substantially more water than is seen in the open channel. It may
also be in direct contact with the underlying groundwater.
• The source of almost all freshwater is precipitation from the atmosphere, in the
form of mist, rain and snow. A very small proportion is emitted from active
volcanoes.
• Freshwater falling as mist, rain or snow contains materials dissolved from the
atmosphere and material from the sea and land over which the rain bearing
clouds have traveled. In industrialized areas rain is typically acidic because of
dissolved oxides of sulfur and nitrogen formed from burning of fossil fuels in
cars, factories, trains and aircraft and from the atmospheric emissions of
industry.
• In extreme cases this acid rain results in pollution of lakes and rivers.
• In coastal areas freshwater may contain significant concentrations of salts
derived from the sea if windy conditions have lifted drops of seawater into the
rain-bearing clouds.
• This can give rise to elevated concentrations of sodium, chloride, magnesium
and sulfate as well as many other compounds in smaller concentrations.
• In desert areas, or areas with impoverished or dusty soils, rain bearing winds
can pick up sand and dust and this can be deposited elsewhere in precipitation
and causing the freshwater flow to be measurably contaminated both by
insoluble solids but also by the soluble components of those soils.
• Significant quantities of iron may be transported in this way including the well
documented transfer of iron rich rainfall falling in Brazil derived from sand-
storms in the Sahara in northern Africa.
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 Water salinity based on dissolved salts in parts per thousand
(ppt)

Freshwater Brackish Saline Brine

water water

< 0.5 0.5 – 30 30 – 50 > 50

Freshwater Regions:-
• Plants and animals in freshwater regions are adjusted to the low salt content and
would not be able to survive in areas of high salt concentration (i.e., ocean).
There are different types of freshwater regions: ponds and lakes, streams and
rivers, and wetlands.

i. Ponds and Lake

• These regions range in size from just a few square meters to thousands of
square kilometers. Scattered throughout the earth, several are remnants from the
Pleistocene glaciations. Many ponds are seasonal, lasting just a couple of
months while lakes may exist for hundreds of years or more. Ponds and lakes
may have limited species diversity since they are often isolated from one
another and from other water sources like rivers and oceans. Lakes and ponds
are divided into three different “zones” which are usually determined by depth
and distance from the shoreline.
• The topmost zone near the shore of a lake or pond is the littoral zone. This zone
is the warmest since it is shallow and can absorb more of the Sun’s heat. It
sustains a fairly diverse community, which can include several species of algae
(like diatoms), rooted and floating aquatic plants, grazing snails, clams, insects,
crustaceans, fishes, and amphibians. In the case of the insects, such as
dragonflies and midges, only the egg and larvae stages are found in this zone.
The vegetation and animals living in the littoral zone are food for other
creatures such as turtles, snakes, and ducks.
• The near-surface open water surrounded by the littoral zone is the limnetic
zone. The limnetic zone is well lighted (like the littoral zone) and is dominated
by plankton, both phytoplankton and zooplankton. Planktons are small
organisms that play a crucial role in the food chain. Without aquatic plankton,
there would be few living organisms in the world, and certainly no humans. A
variety of freshwater fish also occupy this zone.

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• Plankton have short life spans - when they die, they fall into the deep-water part
of the pond, the profundal zone. This zone is much colder and denser than the
other two. Little light penetrates all the way through the limnetic zone into the
profundal zone. The fauna are heterotrophs, meaning that they eat dead
organisms and use oxygen for cellular respiration.

Classification of lakes
On the basis of formation of lakes they are broadly grouped into two
a) Natural
b) Artificial

On the basis of productivity, lakes are grouped into two

a) Oligotrophic : Very little plant and animals, poor in nutrients
b) Eutrophic : More plants and animals, rich in nutrients

Thermal stratification of lakes

a) Epilimnion : Upper stratum of water exposed to sunlight
b) Hypolimnion : Basal stratum when water remains always cool and does not
circulate
c) Thermocline : Transitional zone between eplimnion and hypolimnion where
temperature changes occur

On the basis of light penetration lakes have the following zones

a) Euphotic zones: Sunlight present in this region extends up to 53 m.
b) Disphotic zones: Sunlight is present but the quantity of sunlight in low.
Extends up to 200 m.
c) Aphotic zones: Light is absent in this region. Extend from 200 m to bottom
of the lakes.

ii. Streams and Rivers

• These are bodies of flowing water moving in one direction. Streams and
rivers can be found everywhere - they get their starts at headwaters, which
may be springs, snowmelt or even lakes, and then travel all the way to their
mouths, usually another water channel or the ocean. The characteristics of a
river or stream change during the journey from the source to the mouth. The
temperature is cooler at the source than it is at the mouth.
• The water is also clearer, has higher oxygen levels, and freshwater fish such
as trout and heterotrophs can be found there. Towards the middle part of the

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 stream/river, the width increases, as does species diversity - numerous
aquatic green plants and algae can be found. Toward the mouth of the
river/stream, the water becomes murky from all the sediments that it has
picked up upstream, decreasing the amount of light that can penetrate
through the water. Since there is less light, there is less diversity of flora, and
because of the lower oxygen levels, fish that require less oxygen, such as
catfish and carp, can be found.

iii. Wetlands
• These are areas of standing water that support aquatic plants. Marshes,
swamps, and bogs are all considered wetlands. Plant species adapted to the
very moist and humid conditions are called hydrophytes. These include pond
lilies, cattails, sedges, tamarack, and black spruce. Marsh flora also includes
such species as cypress and gum. Wetlands have the highest species
diversity of all ecosystems.
• Many species of amphibians, reptiles, birds (such as ducks and waders), and
furbearers can be found in the wetlands. Wetlands are not considered
freshwater ecosystems as there are some, such as salt marshes, that have
high salt concentration these support different species of animals, such as
shrimp, shellfish, and various grasses.

Ecological classification of lentic ecosystem

a) Producers: Macro vegetation (large plants), Micro vegetation (plankton)
b) Consumers: Macro consumers (insects, fishes), Micro consumers
(crustacean)
c) Decomposers: Bacteria, fungi.

Organisms in fresh water may also be classified based on their habitat and
also the zones at which they are found.
a) Benthos: This includes organisms found in the bottom of fresh waters. Eg.
Fresh water mussel, fresh water snail.
b) Periphyton (Aufurichs): This includes organisms which are found attached
to the stems and leaves of plants. Eg. Insect larvae.
c) Plankton: It includes both phytoplankton (algae) and zooplankton
(crustacean)
d) Nekton: These include organisms which swim or actively move about in
fresh waters. Eg. Aquatic insects, fishes and amphibians.
e) Neuston: These are organisms which swim or rest on the surface. Eg.
Surface feeders.

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Water distribution
• Water is a critical issue for the survival of all living organisms. Many can use
salty water but many organisms including the great majority of higher plants
and most mammals must have access to freshwater to grow bigger. Some
terrestrial mammals, especially desert rodents appear to survive without
drinking but they do generate water through the metabolism of cereal seeds
and they also have mechanisms to conserve water to the maximum degree.
• Only three percent of the water on Earth is freshwater, and about two-thirds of
this is frozen in glaciers and most of the rest is underground and only 0.3
percent is surface water. Freshwater lakes, most notably Lake Baikal in Russia
and the Great Lakes in North America, contain seven-eighths of this fresh
surface water. Swamps have most of the balance with only a small amount in
rivers, most notably the Amazon River. The atmosphere contains 0.04% water.
In areas with no freshwater on the ground surface, freshwater derived from
precipitation may, because of its lower density, overlie saline ground water in
lenses or layers.
• Aquatic organisms
• Agriculture
• Limiting resource
• Freshwater withdrawal
• Causes of limited fresh water
• Another source of fresh water

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 Topic 6
Marine Regions
• Marine regions cover about three-fourths of the Earth’s surface and include
oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries. Marine algae supply much of the world’s
oxygen supply and take in a huge amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The
evaporation of the seawater provides rainwater for the land.

i. Oceans
• The largest of all the ecosystems, oceans are very large bodies of water that
dominate the Earth’s surface. Like ponds and lakes, the ocean regions are
separated into separate zones: intertidal, pelagic, abyssal, and benthic. All four
zones have a great diversity of species. Some say that the ocean contains the
richest diversity of species even though it contains fewer species than there are
on land.
• The intertidal zone is where the ocean meets the land - sometimes it is
submerged and at other times exposed, as waves and tides come in and out.
Because of this, the communities are constantly changing. On rocky coasts, the
zone is stratified vertically. Where only the highest tides reach, there are only a
few species of algae and mollusks.
• In those areas usually submerged during high tide, there is a more diverse array
of algae and small animals, such as herbivorous snails, crabs, sea stars, and
small fishes. At the bottom of the intertidal zone, which is only exposed during
the lowest tides, many invertebrates, fishes, and seaweed can be found. The
intertidal zone on sandier shores is not as stratified as in the rocky areas. Waves
keep mud and sand constantly moving, thus very few algae and plants can
establish themselves-the fauna include worms, clams, predatory crustaceans,
crabs, and shorebirds.
• The pelagic zone (0 to 200 m) includes those waters further from the land,
basically the open ocean. The pelagic zone is generally cold though it is hard to
give a general temperature range since, just like ponds and lakes; there is
thermal stratification with a constant mixing of warm and cold ocean currents.
The flora in the pelagic zone includes surface seaweeds. The fauna include
many species of fish and some mammals, such as whales and dolphins. Many
feed on the abundant plankton.
• The benthic zone (200 to 1500 m) is the area below the pelagic zone, but does
not include the very deepest parts of the ocean. The bottom of the zone consists
of sand, slit, and/or dead organisms. Here temperature decreases as depth
increases toward the abyssal z one, since light cannot penetrate through the
deeper water. Flora are represented primarily by seaweed while the fauna, since

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 it is very nutrient-rich, include all sorts of bacteria, fungi, sponges, sea
anemones, worms, sea stars, and fishes.
• The deep ocean is the abyssal zone (> 1550 mt). The water in this region is very
cold (around 3° C), highly pressured, high in oxygen content, but low in
nutritional content. The abyssal zone supports many species of invertebrates
and fishes. Mid-ocean ridges (spreading zones between tectonic plates), often
with hydrothermal vents, are found in the abyssal zones along the ocean floors.
Chemosynthetic bacteria thrive near these vents because of the large amounts of
hydrogen sulfide and other minerals they emit. These bacteria are thus the start
of the food web as they are eaten by invertebrates and fishes.

Ecological classification of marine biota:

• The organisms living in different zones of the sea are classified ecologically.
They are:
a) Plankton: Organisms which float or drift in the surface layers of the sea and
are passively moved about by winds and currents are known as plankton. It
includes protests, plants and animals and most of these are microscopic to
minute in size. The plankton constitutes a major source of food for the fishes.
b) Nekton: These are animals which move about freely by their own efforts, in
open sea. Eg. Fishes, turtles, sea snakes, seals, whales, dolphins etc.
c) Neuston:These are organisms which swim of rest on the surface of the sea.
Eg. Flying fishes, dolphin fishes etc.
d) Benthos:These forms inhabit the bottom of the seas and are called benthic
forms

ii. Coral Reefs

• Coral reefs are widely distributed in warm shallow waters. They can be found
as barriers along continents (e.g., the Great Barrier Reef of Australia), fringing
islands, and atolls. Naturally, the dominant organisms in coral reefs are corals.
Corals are interesting since they consist of both algae (zooanthellae) and tissues
of animal polyp. Since reef waters tend to be nutritionally poor, corals obtain
nutrients through the algae via photosynthesis and also by extending tentacles to
obtain plankton from the water. Besides corals, the fauna include several
species of microorganisms, invertebrates, fishes, sea urchins, octopuses, and sea
stars.
• Coral reefs are made up of calcareous skeletal remains and secretion of corals
and certain algae. They are confined largely to the warm waters of the pacific
and Indian oceans. The reef building corals grow best in waters having an
average annual temperature of about 24 ◦C at a depth of about 40-50 meters

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 with salinity of 35 g per litre. They cannot grow in fresh or turbid waters or in
highly saline lagoons.
• Corals build protective shells of calcium carbonate around their bodies, which
after their death, sink and accumulate on the sea bottom. Coral families usually
produce forms that resemble branching trees or shrubs. In due course, the inner
spaces between the branching coralline structures are filled up by the deposition
of calcium carbonate either by lime secreting organism or by debris brought by
sea waves.

iii. Estuaries
• Estuaries are areas where freshwater streams or rivers merge with the ocean.
This mixing of waters with such different salt concentrations creates a very
interesting and unique ecosystem. Microflora like algae, and macroflora, such
as seaweeds, marsh grasses, and mangrove trees (only in the tropics), can be
found here. Estuaries support a diverse fauna, including a variety of worms,
oysters, crabs, and waterfowl.
• Physical alteration and the destruction of habitats are now considered one of the
most significant threats to coastal areas. Half of the world’s wetlands, and even
more of its mangrove forests, have been lost over the past century to physical
alterations, the major causes being accelerating social and economic
development and poor-planning (UNEP, 2002). There are currently about one
billion people living in coastal urban areas. It is estimated that almost 50% of
the world’s coasts are threatened by development-related activities. The intense
pressure on coastal ecosystems calls for preventive and protective action at all
levels - local, national, regional and global.

Integrated Coastal Management

• Integrated Coastal Management: Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) is
increasingly being recognized as an effective method for managing and
protecting marine and coastal environments and associated freshwater
catchments. It merits wider application, both for resolving existing problems
and for dealing effectively with new ones.

ICM incorporates and promotes the following actions

• Coordinated, cross-sectoral and holistic approaches to the management of
environmental resources and amenities, taking full account of environmental,
public health, economic, social and political considerations
• Environmental impact assessments, risk management, and cost-benefit
analyses in all decision making processes, and incorporating the value of
ecosystem services wherever possible
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• The active involvement and participation of all major stakeholders (local
authorities, private sector and interested public) in the design and
implementation of ICM
• Regular reviews of management systems and their implementation, and
adjusting of priorities, targets and methods where necessary
• Strengthened institutional capacities through training and retraining
programmes.
• If existing global and regional environmental agreements had been
implemented as intended, coastal areas would not be in their current precarious
state. In many countries, legislative frameworks to achieve national goals and
implement multilateral agreements are weak and inadequately enforced.

To address this situation, ICM recommends the following actions:

• Governments should adapt national legal instruments to conform to the
provisions of internationally endorsed agreements
• National and international attention should focus on compliance with existing
international agreements rather than the development of new ones, unless they
have compelling justification
• Governments must adopt a consistent and coordinated approach in dealing
with different international organizations and agreements
• International bodies responsible for the implementation of global
environmental agreements should improve the coordination of their secretariats
and governing bodies
• Further attention should be devoted at the regional level to harmonizing
national approaches and measures, and to cost-effective collaboration; the full
potential of voluntary commitments and targets should be explored, including
with the private sector; and further legally binding instruments should be
developed.
• Unsurprisingly, the coastal areas with the greatest population densities are also
those with the most Shoreline degradation. The areas surrounding the Black
Sea, the Mediterranean and southern Asia have the highest proportion of
altered land, while the coastal zones of the Arctic, northeast Pacific, south
Pacific, West and Central Africa, East Africa, the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden, and
Kuwait have the highest proportions of least modified land. In order to better
manage and protect the oceans and coasts using effective methods such as
Integrated Coastal Management, we also need to continuously improve our
understanding of the current state of biophysical, social, and economic
relationships and formulate sustainable, ecosystem-based policies and
measures that are supported by assessments at national, regional and global
scales. Also needed is an overview of the global marine environment that
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 encompasses socio-economic considerations and shows the linkages between
the state of the marine environment and human well-being.
• In response to these needs, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has
requested, through Resolution 60/30, that UNEP and UNESCO-IOC co-lead a
process which aims to provide a better understanding of the marine assessment
landscape to determine the ways in which on-going global, regional and
national level assessment work and processes can contribute to the regular
assessment and reporting of the state of the marine environment.
• Options, a framework and the feasibility of establishing such a process
(referred to as a ‘Regular Process’) will be proposed to the United Nations
General Assembly, in October 2009. Amongst other aims, it will identify
linkages between human impacts on the marine environment, environmental
change and human well-being and will explore ways to ensure linkages
between regions so that issues of common concern can be tackled in a
coordinated way, taking into account best practices and regional strengths and
capacities.
• Since the 1990s, the scientific community has been warning about the rapidly
changing climate, endeavouring to convince people to take urgent measures to
mitigate the changes. These multiple warnings have been ignored until very
recently, but the issue is now a priority with many international organizations.
However, all reliable climate scenarios run by the IPCC and published in the
fourth assessment reports show the following results:
• The accelerating changes in our global climate will undoubtedly cause major
changes in the patterns of water cycle and geographical distribution, in the near
future. Some regions will receive less precipitation, some more, and this will
significantly affect agricultural activity. While some regions will see a
reduction in arable land, others will have more suitable land for agriculture.
• It’s likely that certain types of agriculture will migrate and traditional areas for
crops will change. In other words, climate change will alter the geography of
traditional crop areas, which may impact on the world’s capacity to provide
enough food for all.A reduction of glaciers will imply a growing security risk
for hundreds of millions living near coasts.
• In other words, ongoing climate change will mean that the water supply for
human communities will become more and more uncertain. The IPCC has
stated that between 2000 and 2005 in the northern hemisphere, climate change
accelerated faster than predicted, with the consequence that the water cycle
could change in an unpredictable way, leading to the possibility of increases in
extreme weather. The fear is that with all these changes, even if the quantity of
water in the world does not change, the level of accessibility of the
theoretically available water may significantly change.
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 Topic 7
Global and Indian environment – past and present status
The Global Environment Outlook
• The Global Environment Outlook (GEO-1) report shows that significant
progress has been made in the last decade in confronting environmental
challenges in both developing and industrial regions. World-wide, the greatest
progress has been in the realm of institutional developments, international co-
operation, public participation, and the emergence of private-sector action.
• Legal frameworks, economic instruments, environmentally sound
technologies, and cleaner production processes have been developed and
applied. Environmental impact assessments have become standard tools for
the initiation, implementation, and evaluation of major development and
investment projects in many countries around the world.
• As a result, several countries report marked progress in curbing environmental
pollution and slowing the rate of resource degradation as well as reducing the
intensity of resource use. The rate of environmental degradation in several
developing countries has been slower than that experienced by industrial
countries when they were at a similar stage of economic development.

Environmental transitions
• Internationally, Agenda 21 - the plan of action adopted by Governments in
1992 in Rio de Janeiro- provides the global consensus on the road map
towards sustainable development. The Commission on Sustainable
Development offers an intergovernmental forum to co-ordinate and monitor
progress on the plan's implementation. A financial mechanism, the Global
Environment Facility, addresses the incremental costs that developing
countries face in responding to selected global environmental problems.
• UNEP continues to be the environmental voice of the United Nations,
responsible for environmental policy development, scientific analysis,
monitoring, and assessment. Increasingly, United Nations organizations, the
World Bank, and Regional Banks are "greening" their programmes. Recently
signed international agreements are entering into force, older treaties are being
improved, and new approaches to international policy are being developed,
tested, and implemented.
• Since Rio, a growing body of actors-Governments, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), the private sector, civil society, and the scientific and
research community-have responded to environmental challenges in a variety
of ways and have taken great strides towards incorporating environmental
considerations in their day-to-day activities.

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 • Groups such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the
Earth Council, and the International Council for Local Environment Initiatives
provide effective non-governmental forums for world-wide co-operation and
information sharing. Increasingly, Government departments are called on to
take environmental considerations into account, and consequently
environment assumes a more important role in international relations and
transactions.
• The participation of a broad range of ministries (other than those on the
environment) in the negotiation and implementation of the Biodiversity,
Climate, and Desertification Conventions and the increasing array of
voluntary agreements, codes of conduct, and guidelines generated by the
industry, banking, and insurance sectors all exemplify the encouraging trend.
• Nevertheless, despite this progress on several fronts, from a global perspective
the environment has continued to degrade during the past decade, and
significant environmental problems remain deeply embedded in the socio-
economic fabric of nations in all regions. Progress towards a global
sustainable future is just too slow. A sense of urgency is lacking.
Internationally and nationally, the funds and political will are insufficient to
halt further global environmental degradation and to address the most pressing
environmental issues-even though technology and knowledge are available to
do so.
• The recognition of environmental issues as necessarily long-term and
cumulative, with serious global and security implications, remains limited.
The reconciliation of environment and trade regimes in a fair and equitable
manner still remains a major challenge. The continued preoccupation with
immediate local and national issues and a general lack of sustained interest in
global and long-term environmental issues remain major impediments to
environmental progress internationally. Global governance structures and
global environmental solidarity remain too weak to make progress a world-
wide reality. As a result, the gap between what has been done thus far and
what is realistically needed is widening.
• Comprehensive response mechanisms have not yet been fully internalized at
the national level. The development at local, national, and regional levels of
effective environmental legislation and of fiscal and economic instruments has
not kept pace with the increase in environmental institutions. In the private
sector, environmental advances by several major transnational corporations
are not reflected widely in the practices of small- and medium-sized
companies that form the backbone of economies in many countries.

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 • In the future, the continued degradation of natural resources, shortcomings in
environmental responses, and renewable resource constraints may
increasingly lead to food insecurity and conflict situations. Changes in global
biogeochemical cycles and the complex interactions between environmental
problems such as climate change, ozone depletion, and acidification may have
impacts that will confront local, regional, and global communities with
situations they are unprepared for.
• Previously unknown risks to human health are becoming evident from the
cumulative and persistent effects of a whole range of chemicals, particularly
the persistent organic pollutants. The effects of climate variability and change
are already increasing the incidence of familiar public health problems and
leading to new ones, including a more extensive reach of vector borne
diseases and a higher incidence of heat-related illness and mortality. If
significant major policy reforms are not implemented quickly, the future
might hold more such surprises.
• GEO-1 substantiates the need for the world to embark on major structural
changes and to pursue environmental and associated socio-economic policies
vigorously. Key areas for action must embrace the use of alternative and
renewable energy resources, cleaner and leaner production systems world-
wide, and concerted global action for the protection and conservation of the
world's finite and irreplaceable fresh-water resources

Regional Environmental Trends

• Regional Concerns: Relative Importance Given to Environmental Issues by
Regions
• Regional Concerns: Relative Importance Given to Environmental Issues by
Regions
• The above figure reflects trends for the same issues, without depicting the rate
of changes in these trends. In many instances, although trends are increasing,
the rate of increase over the years has slowed down or was less than the rate of
increase in economic growth previously experienced by countries with
comparable economic growth.
• This suggests that several countries are making the transition to a more
sustainable environment at a lower level of economic development than
industrial countries typically did over the last 50 years.

Regional Environmental Trends

• As nations develop, different sets of environmental concerns assume priority.
Initially, prominence is given to issues associated with poverty alleviation and
food security and development- namely, natural resource management to
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 control land degradation, provide an adequate water supply, and protect
forests from overexploitation and coastal zones from irreversible degradation.
Attention to issues associated with increasing industrialization then follows.
Such problems include uncontrolled urbanization and infrastructure
development, energy and transport expansion, the increased use of chemicals,
and waste production. More affluent societies focus on individual and global
health and well-being, the intensity of resource use, heavy reliance on
chemicals, and the impact of climate change and ozone destruction, as well as
remaining vigilant on the long-term protection needs of natural resources. The
following Figure illustrates the observed progression on environmental
priority issues.

Looking to the Future

• The first GEO Report concludes with a brief exploration, based on model
analyses, of what we might expect in the future for a selected number of
environmental issues. The results highlight the integrated nature of the
environment and underscore the need for more systematic analysis of linkages
between environment, social, economic, institutional, and cultural sectors and
among different environmental issues, such as biodiversity, climate, land, and
water.
• Preliminary results from the model analyses confirm trends revealed by the
regional chapters. They indicate that, despite both declining global birth rates
since 1965 and recent policy initiatives towards more efficient and cleaner
resource use in some regions, the large increases in world population,
expanding economies in industrializing countries, and wasteful consumption
patterns particularly in developed countries of the world will continue to
increase global resource and energy consumption, generate burgeoning
wastes, and spawn environmental contamination and degradation. Pressures
on remaining biodiversity and natural ecosystems will increase accordingly.
• If no fundamental changes occur in the amount and type of energy used,
global carbon dioxide emissions will increase, and the declining trends in
acidifying sulphur and nitrogen concentrations may be reversed. In light of the
apparent effects of human activity on climate, contingency plans to adapt to
projected climate change will be required in the near future. These include the
development of drought-resistant crops, increases in water use efficiency, the
avoidance of ecosystem fragmentation, and an improvement of the adaptive
capabilities in all regions.
• With only moderate application of improved agricultural management and
technology in developing regions, the demands of growing populations and
the increasing burden of poverty may well lead to substantial expansion of
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 agricultural activities into marginal lands at the expense of remaining
wilderness and associated biodiversity. Although the models project adequate
availability of water and food on a global basis, regional deficiencies could be
aggravated in the near future. The combination of increased pressure on land
by expanding urbanization and losses of productive land through degradation
and unsustainable management practices may lead to shortages in arable land
and water, impeding development in several regions. Global food trade can
supplement these regional shortfalls, but will create dependencies and require
importing countries to engage in other production activities to finance
essential food imports.
• In such a scenario, sharp regional differences will remain and poverty will be
aggravated in several regions. If global economic gains are not accompanied
more explicitly by investment in education, social development, and
environmental protection, a move towards a more equitable, healthy, and
sustainable future for all sectors of society will not be realized, and a new
spate of urban and pollution-related health impacts may surface.

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 Topic 8
Environmental Pollution
• Any undesirable change in the physical, chemical and biological properties of
air, water and soil that adversely affects the life is called pollution. The
pollution may be due to human activities or natural ecosystems. Natural
pollution contaminates the air by storms, forest fire, volcanoes and natural
processes (methane from marshy lands). Man-made pollutants threaten the
integrity of the nature.

Types of pollution
• The various types of pollution are classified based on the environment, based on
sources of pollutant or nature of pollutants. Based on environment they are
classified as Soil pollution, water pollution, and air pollution. Based on sources
of pollutants, they are classified as automobile pollution, agricultural pollution
and industrial pollution (tanneries, distilleries, nuclear power plants, chemical
industries, etc.). Based on nature of pollutants, pollution is classified as
pesticide pollution, plastic pollution, heavy metal pollution, radiation pollution,
oil pollution, sewage pollution, noise pollution, etc.

Pollutants
• Any substance present in concentrations high enough to cause adverse effect in
the environment/living organisms. Substances that cause pollution is also called
pollutants. Environment Protection Act, 1986 (EPA, 1986) defines pollutant, as
any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in such a concentration as may
be, or tend to be, injurious to environment.

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 Topic 9
Air pollution
• Air is necessary for the survival of all higher forms of life on earth. On an
average, a person needs at least 30 lb of air every day to live, but only about 3
lb of water and 1.5 lb of food. A person can live about 5 weeks without food
and about 5 days without water, but only 5 minutes without air. Naturally,
everyone likes to breathe fresh, clean air. But the atmosphere, that invisible yet
essential ocean of different gases called air, is as susceptible to pollution from
human activities as are water and land environments.
• Any undesirable change in the physical, chemical and biological properties of
air that adversely affects the life is called air pollution. Air pollution may be
simply defined as the presence of certain substances in the air in high enough
concentrations and for long enough duration to cause undesirable effects.
“Certain substances” may be any gas, liquid or solid, although certain specific
substances are considered significant pollutants because of very large emission
rates or harmful and unwanted effects. “Long enough durations” can be
anywhere from a few hours to several days or weeks; on a global scale,
durations of months and years are of concern.

Automobile emissions
• The automobile, powered by piston-type internal combustion engine, is so
widely used that it has become the dominant source of air pollutants in large
urban cites.
• Automotive engines generally operate on "fuel rich" mixtures, which mean
that there is not quite enough oxygen to completely burn the fuel. As a result
there is an excess of unburnt hydrocarbons, particularly along the cylinder
walls, and substantial amounts of carbon monoxide. This efficient production
of carbon monoxide has made automobiles the most important source of this
poisonous gas in the urban atmosphere.
• Many of the carcinogens found in the exhaust from diesel engines are
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and are archetypical carcinogens.
Best known of these is benzo-a-pyrene. Benzene represents a large part of the
total volatile organic emissions from automobiles. Yet the compound is also
recognized by many as imposing a substantial carcinogenic risk to modern
society. Toluene, although by no means as carcinogenic as benzene, is also
emitted in large quantities. Toluene proves a very effective compound at
initiating photochemical smog and also reacts to form the eye irritant
peroxybenzoyl nitrate. The highly dangerous compound dioxin can be

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 produced in auto exhausts where chlorine is present (anti-knock agents often
contain chlorine).
• Many exotic elements that are added to improve the performance of
automotive fuels produce their own emissions. The best known is the anti-
knock agent tetraethyl lead, which was added in such large quantities that it
became the dominant source of lead particles in the air. A wide range of
long-term health effects, such as lowering IQ, have been associated with
exposure to lead. Although lead in urban populations is still rather high, the
use of unleaded gasoline has decreased the problem somewhat. Although
huge quantities of fossil fuels are burnt in power generation and a range of
industrial processes, automobiles make a significant and growing
contribution to carbon dioxide emissions which enhance the greenhouse
effect.
• The nitrogen oxides emitted by automobiles are ultimately converted to nitric
acid and these are making an increasing contribution to rainfall acidity.
Diesel-powered vehicles use fuel of higher sulfur content and can contribute
to the sulfur compounds in urban air.Thus while air pollution problems might
well be cured by a wide range of sociological changes, a technological fix has
been favoured, such as the use of catalytic converters. Although much
attention is being given to lowering emissions of volatile organic compounds,
it is likely that non-polluting vehicles will have to be manufactured and better
a mass transmit system created.

Effects of ambient air pollution

• Air pollution is known to have many adverse effects, including those on human
health, buildings and other exposed materials, vegetation, agricultural crops,
animals, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the climate of earth as a whole.

Health effects
• Perhaps the most important effect of air pollution is the harm it causes to
human health. Generally, air pollution is most harmful to the very old and the
very young. Many elderly people may already suffer from some form of heart
or lung disease, and their weakened condition can make them very susceptible
to additional harm from air pollution. The sensitive lungs of new born infants
are also susceptible to harm from dirty air. But it is not just the elderly or the
very young who suffer; healthy people of all ages can be adversely affected by
high levels of air pollutants. Major health effects are categorized as being
acute, chronic, or temporary.
• There is much evidence linking lung cancer to air pollution, although the actual
cause-and – effect relationship is still unknown. Typical effects of sulfur
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 dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and ozone include eye and throat irritation,
coughing and chest pain. Nitrogen dioxide is known to cause pulmonary
edema, an accumulation of excessive fluids in the lungs. Ozone, a highly
irritating gas, produces pulmonary congestion; symptoms of ozone exposure
may include dry throat, headache, disorientation, and altered breathing
patterns.

Air Pollution control strategies

• There are several approaches or strategies for air pollution control. The most
effective control would be to prevent the pollution from occurring in the first
place. Complete source shutdown would accomplish this, but shutdown is only
practical under emergency conditions, and even then it causes economic loss.
Nevertheless, state public health officials can force industries to stop
operations and can curtail highway traffic if an air pollution episode is
imminent or occurring.
• Another option for air pollution control is source location in order to minimize
the adverse impacts in a particular locality. An important approach for
air pollution control is to encourage industries to make fuel substitutions or
process changes. For example, making more use of solar, hydroelectric, and
geothermal energy would eliminate much of the pollution caused by fossil fuel
combustion at power generating plants. Nuclear power would do the same, but
other problems related to high level radioactive waste disposal and safety
remain to be solved.
• Fuel substitutions are also effective in reducing pollution from mobile sources.
For example, the use of reformulated gasoline or alternative fuels such as
liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas, or methanol for highway
vehicles would help to clear the air. The use of correct operation and
maintenance practices is important for minimizing air pollution and should not
be overlooked as an effective control strategy.
• Air pollution control strategies can be divided into two categories, the control
of particulate emissions and the control of gaseous emissions. There are many
kinds of equipment which can be used to reduce particulate emissions.
Physical separation of the particulates from the air using settling chambers,
cyclone collectors, impringers, wet scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, and
filtration devices, are some processes that are typically employed. Gaseous
emissions are controlled by similar devices and typically can be used in
conjunction with particulate control options, such as scrubbers, adsorption
systems, condensers, flares, and incinerators.
• Scrubbers utilize the phenomena of adsorption to remove
gaseous pollutants from the air stream. There is a wide variety of scrubbers
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 available for use, including spray towers, packed towers, and venturi
scrubbers. A wide variety of solutions can be used in this process as absorbing
agents. Lime, magnesium oxide, and sodium hydroxide are typically used.
Adsorption can also be used to control gaseous emissions. Activated carbon is
commonly used as an adsorbent in configurations such as fixed bed and
fluidized bed absorbers. Another means of controlling both particulate and
gaseous air pollutant emission can be accomplished by modifying the process
which generates these pollutants. For example, modifications to process
equipment or raw materials can provide effective source reduction. Also,
employing fuel cleaning methods such as desulfurization and increasing fuel-
burning efficiency can lessen air emissions.

Global Air Pollution

• Air pollution problems are not necessarily confined to a local or regional scale.
Atmospheric circulation can transport certain pollutants far away from their
point of origin, expanding air pollution to continental or global scales; it can
truly be said that air quality problems know no international boundaries. Some
air pollutants are known to be associated with changes in earth’s climate,
requiring consideration of governmental actions to limit their impacts. Two
important air pollution problems that are generally considered worldwide in
scope are global warming and depletion of stratospheric ozone.

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 Topic 10
Criteria Air Pollutants, Air Quality Index (AQI), National ambient air quality
standards. Important air pollution events
'Criteria air pollutants' is a term used internationally to describe air pollutants that
have been regulated and are used as indicators of air quality.The five primary
criteria pollutants include the gases- sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx)
and carbon monoxide (CO), solid or liquid particulates (smaller than 10 µm), and
particulate lead.

1. Sulfur dioxide
• Certain fossil fuels, particularly coal, may contain the element sulfur.
• When these fuels are burned for power or heat, the sulfur is also burned or
oxidized. Sulfur dioxide is a colorless gas with a sharp, choking odour. It is a
primary pollutant because it is emitted directly in the form of SO2.
• The sulfuric acid (H2SO4) mist is a secondary pollutant because it is not
emitted directly, but is formed subsequently in the atmosphere. It is a
constituent of acid rain, an important regional air pollution problem.

2. Nitrogen oxides
• There are many forms of nitrogen oxides (characterized collectively as NOx),
but the one that is of greatest importance is nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
• Most emissions are initially in the form of nitric oxide (NO), which by itself is
not harmful at concentrations usually found in the atmosphere.
• But NO is readily oxidized to NO2, which in the presence of sunlight can
further react with hydrocarbons to form photochemical smog.
• Smog is, of course, harmful. NO2 also reacts with the hydroxyl radical (OH-) to
form nitric acid (HNO3), which contributes to the problem of acid rain.
Although NO is colorless, NO2 is pungent, irritating gas that tends to
give smog a reddish brown color.

3. Carbon Monoxide
• During complete combustion of fossil fuels, carbon atoms in the fuel combine
with oxygen molecules to form carbon dioxide (CO2). But the process of
combustion is rarely complete.
• Incomplete combustion of the fuel may occur when the oxygen supply is
insufficient, when the combustion temperatures are too low, or when residence
time in the combustion chamber is too short.
• Carbon monoxide (CO), a product of incomplete combustion, is the most
abundant of the criteria air pollutants.
• Carbon monoxide is completely invisible; it is colorless, odorless, and tasteless.

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• Almost 70 per cent of the total carbon monoxide emissions come from highway
vehicles, and atmospheric concentrations are very much a function of urban
traffic patterns.
• CO levels, which typically range from 5 to 50 ppm in city air, may often reach
100 ppm on congested highways (cigarette smoke contains more than 400 ppm
of carbon monoxide).

4. Solid or liquid particulates

• Extremely small fragments of solids or liquid droplets suspended in air are
called particulates.
• Most particulates range in size from 0.1 to 100 µm (one micrometer, or 1 µm, is
one millionth of a meter; it may also be called a micron).
• The particulate materials of most concern with regard to adverse effects on
human health are generally less than 10 µm in size and are referred to as PM10.
• Suspended solids roughly 1 to 100 µm in size are called dust particles, while
smaller suspended solids (less than 1 µm) may be called either smoke or fumes.
Dust is formed from materials handling activities or mechanical operations,
including grinding, wood working, and sandblasting.
• Smoke is a common product of incomplete combustion; smoke particles consist
mostly of carbonaceous material. Fumes, usually consisting of very small
metallic oxide particles, are typically formed during certain high temperature
chemical reactions and vapor condensation.

5. Lead particulates
• This toxic metal, in the form of a fume (less than 0.5 µm in size), is one of the
criteria pollutants.
• In the past, major sources of lead (Pb) fumes were motor vehicles that burned
gasoline containing a lead based antiknock additive.
• Young children are particularly at risk from lead poisoning because even
slightly elevated levels of lead in the blood cause learning disabilities, seizures,
permanent brain damage, and even death.

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 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) (Source: USEPA)

Pollutant Primary Averaging Secondary

Stds. Times Stds.
Carbon 9 ppm 8-hour None
Monoxide 35 ppm 1-hour None
(40
mg/m3)
Lead 1.5 Quarterly Same as
µg/m3 Average Primary
Nitrogen 0.053 Annual Same as
Dioxide ppm (Arithmetic Primary
(100 Mean)
µg/m3)
Particulate 50 Annual (Arith. Same as
Matter (PM10) µg/m3 Mean) Primary
150 24-hour
ug/m3
Particulate 15 Annual Same as
Matter µg/m3 (Arith. Mean) Primary
(PM2.5) 65 24-hour
ug/m3
Ozone 0.08 8-hour Same as
ppm Primary
0.12 1-hour Same as
ppm Primary
Sulfur Oxides 0.03 Annual (Arith. -------
ppm Mean)
0.14 24-hour -------
ppm
------- 3-hour 0.5 ppm
(1300
ug/m3)

• The Air Quality Index (AQI) (also known as the Air Pollution Index (API) or
Pollutant Standard Index (PSI)) is a number used by government agencies to
characterize the quality of the air at a given location. As the AQI increases, an
increasingly large percentage of the population is likely to experience
increasingly severe adverse health effects
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• To compute the AQI requires an air pollutant concentration from a monitor or
model. The function used to convert from air pollutant concentration to AQI
varies by pollutant, and is different in different countries. Air quality index
values are divided into ranges, and each range is assigned a descriptor and a
color code. Standardized public health advisories are associated with each AQI
range. An agency might also encourage members of the public to take public
transportation or work from home when AQI levels are high.

Important Air Pollution Episodes

• London Smog 1952 (4000 deaths)
• Black Fog 1962 (400 deaths)
• Killer Smog of Donora 1984 (steel industry, wire plank and H2SO4 plants)
• The Meuse valley Disaster Belgium 1930 (Sulphate, inorganic acids, Metallic
oxidants)
• The Inter State suit Duck town, Tennesse 1900.
• Pittsburgh (Alleghency country) Pennsylvania.
• Before 1948, Pittsburgh was nick named as ‘Smoke city’.
• Bay of smoker, Los Angeles, California 1958.
• Bhopal Gas Tragedy 1984, December 2, Methyl Iso Cyanate termed as one of
the world’s ever severe industrial accident.
• Sri Ram food and Fertilizer Ltd., Delhi 1987, Oleum gas leakage.
• National fertilizer plant, Paripat (Haryana) Ammonia gas, 1992.
• The Chernobyl Disaster, USSR 1986, Ukraine 50,000 people had to be
evacuated, large tracts of agricultural land in various combine remain
inhospitable for many years 1000 of tones of vegetables and milks were
destroyed radioactivated cattle’s were slaughtered.

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 Topic 11
Water pollution
• Water like air, is an indispensable and one of the most precious of natural
resources on this planet. Most of our water bodies such as ponds, lakes,
streams and river have become polluted as a consequence of increasing
industrialization, urbanization and other development activities. Water has
such a strong tendency to dissolve other substances and sometimes referred
to as the universal solvent.
• This is largely because of its polar molecular structure. Pure water (pure
H2O) is not found under natural conditions in streams, lakes, ground water,
or the oceans. It always has something dissolved or suspended in it. Because
of this, there is not any definite line of demarcation between clean water and
contaminated water.
• In general terms, water is considered to be polluted when it contains enough
foreign material to render it unfit for specific beneficial use, such as for
drinking, recreation, or fish propagation. Actually human activity is the
cause of the poor water quality and cause water pollution. The
water pollution is defined as addition of any substances that alter the
physical and chemical characteristics of water in any way which interferes
with its use for legitimate purposes

Classification of water pollutants

• To understand the effects of water pollution and the technology applied in its
control, it is useful to classify pollutants into various groups or categories.
First, a pollutant can be classified according to the nature of its origin as either
a point source or a dispersed source pollutant (non point source).A point
source pollutant is one that reaches the water from a pipe, channel or any
other confined and localized source. The most common example of a point
source of pollutants is a pipe that discharges sewage into a stream or river.
Most of these discharges are treatment plant effluents.
• A dispersed or non point source is a broad, unconfined area from
which pollutants enter a body of water. Surface runoff from agricultural areas
carries silt, fertilizers, pesticides, and animal wastes into streams, but not at
only one particular point. These materials can enter the water all along a
stream as it flows through the area. Acidic runoff from mining areas is a
dispersed pollutant. Storm water drainage systems in towns and cities are also
considered to be dispersed sources of many pollutants, because, even though
the pollutants are often conveyed into streams or lakes in drainage pipes or
storm sewers, there are usually many of these discharges scattered over a large
area.
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 • Point source pollutants are easier to deal with while pollutants from dispersed
sources are much more difficult to control. Many people think that sewage is
the primary culprit in water pollution problems, but dispersed sources cause a
significant fraction of the water pollution. The most effective way to control
the dispersed sources is to set appropriate restrictions on land use. For
example, the following list identifies nine specific types of water pollutants.
1. Pathogenic organisms,
2. Oxygen – demanding substances,
3. Plant nutrients,
4. Toxic organics,
5. Inorganic chemicals,
6. Sediment,
7. adioactive substances,
8. Heat,
9. Oil
• Domestic sewage is a primary source of the first three types of pollutants.
Pathogens, or disease – causing microorganisms, are excreted in the feces of
infected persons and may be carried into waters receiving sewage discharges.
Sewage from communities with large populations is very likely to contain
pathogens of some type.
• Sewage also carries oxygen-demanding substances, the organic wastes that
exert a biochemical oxygen demand as they are decomposed by microbes.
BOD changes the ecological balance in a body of water by depleting the
dissolved oxygen (DO) content. Conventional sewage treatment processes
significantly reduce the amount of pathogens and BOD in sewage, but do not
eliminate them completely. Certain viruses, in particular, may be somewhat
resistant to the sewage disinfections process. To decrease the amounts of
nitrogen and phosphorous in sewage, usually some form of advanced sewage
treatment must be applied.
• Toxic organic chemicals, primarily pesticides, may be carried into water in the
surface runoff from agricultural areas. Perhaps the most dangerous type is the
family of chemicals called chlorinated hydrocarbons. They are very effective
poisons against insects that damage agricultural crops. Unfortunately, they can
also kill fish, birds, and mammals, including humans. And they are not very
biodegradable, taking more than 30 years in some cases to dissipate from the
environment.
• Toxic organic chemicals can also get into water directly from industrial
activity, either from improper handling of the chemicals in the industrial plant
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 or, as has been more common, from improper and illegal disposal of chemical
wastes. Proper management of toxic and other hazardous wastes is a key
environmental issue, particularly with respect to the protection of groundwater
quality. Poisonous inorganic chemicals, specifically those of the heavy metal
group, such as lead, mercury, and chromium, also usually originate from
industrial activity and are considered hazardous wastes.
• Oil is washed into surface waters in runoff from roads and parking lots, and
ground water can be polluted from leaking underground tanks. Accidental oil
spills from large transport tankers at sea occasionally occur, causing significant
environmental damage. Blowout accidents at offshore oil wells can release
many thousands of tons of oil in a short period of time. Oil spills at sea may
eventually move toward shore, affecting aquatic life and damaging recreation
areas.

Sources and impacts of water pollution

• There are many causes for water pollution but two general categories exist:
direct and indirect contaminant sources.
• Direct sources include effluent outfalls from factories, refineries, waste
treatment plants etc. that emits fluids of varying quality directly into urban
water supplies.
• Indirect sources include contaminants that enter the water supply from
soils/groundwater systems and from the atmosphere via rain water. Soils and
groundwaters contain the residue of human agricultural practices (fertilizers,
pesticides, etc.) and improperly disposed of industrial wastes. Atmospheric
contaminants are also derived from human practices (such as gaseous
emissions from automobiles, factories)
• Contaminants can be broadly classified into organic, inorganic, radioactive and
acid/base. Examples from each class and their potential sources are too
numerous to discuss here. Some of the sources of water pollution are as
follows;
a) Sewage and other oxygen demanding wastes which contain
decomposable organic matter and pathogens.
b) Industrial wastes (metal salts to complex synthetic organic chemicals).
c) Agricultural waste and agricultural inputs (fertilizer, pesticides,
biocides).
d) Physical pollutants (heat and radioactive substances).

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Sewage and other oxygen demanding wastes:
• Sewage is defined as the waterborne waste derived from home (domestic
wastes) and animal or food processing plants which includes human excreta,
soaps, detergents, paper and cloth. Water pollution is caused by uncontrolled
dumping of wastes of villages, towns and cities into ponds, lakes, streams or
rivers. The discharge of sewage into water bodies results into the following.
a. Depletion of oxygen contents
• Dissolved oxygen is the total amount of oxygen dissolved in water. Oxygen
depletion is caused by aerobic bacteria in the decomposition of organic matter.
The quantity of oxygen utilized by bacteria in degradation of organic substances
is called biological oxygen demand. Also it can be defined as the amount of
oxygen required by the bacteria to stabilize the organic matter. On an average
basis, the demand for oxygen i.e.
• BOD value, is proportional to the amount of organic waste present in water.
The BOD value can be a measure of waste strength and also an indicates of
degree of pollution. Along with BOD, the quantity of oxygen dissolved in a
body of water (DO) is indicated by the kind of biotic life, which lives there.
When dissolved oxygen is reduced below 4 to 5 ppm of water, fish are scarce.
BOD test should be restricted to only suitable wastes in management of
treatment plants. However for other kinds of wastes chemical oxygen demand
(COD) values would be more appropriate.
• COD: “It is the amount of oxygen required by organic matter in a sample of
water for its oxidation by a strong chemical oxidant and is expressed as ppm of
oxygen taken from a solution of potassium dichromate in two hours”.

b. Stimulation of algal growth

• A major ingredient of most detergents is phosphate. When discharged into
water, the phosphate supports luxuriant growth or blooms of algae. Extensive
growth of algae often withdraws great quantities of oxygen from water to the
detriment of other organisms and produces bad odour when decay. In a poorly
oxygenated condition, with increased CO2, fishes and other animals die and
clean river is turned into a stinking drain. (Eutrophication)

c. Spreading infectious diseases

• Microorganisms, usually viruses, bacteria some protozoans and helminthes
occur in water bodies as a result of sewage disposal therein spread several
infectious diseases. The degree of water pollution is assessed by the presence
of Escherichia coli. Their quantity in water is indicative of the degree
of pollution due to animal and human excrements. On the basis of number of
E. coli in water body the degree of water pollution may be distinguished as
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 a) Drinking water - 3/ lit
b) Satisfactory quality - 10/lit
c) Polluted water- >100/lit
• Eighty per cent of the diseases in India and other developing countries are
linked with contaminated water.

Industrial wastewater
• Most of the rivers and fresh water streams which pass near the major cities are
polluted by industrial wastes of effluents. Effluents from these contain a wide
variety of both inorganic and organic pollutants such as oils, greases, plastics,
methylic wastes, suspended solids, phenols, toxins and other chemical
substances, many of which are not readily susceptible to degradation and cause
very serious pollution problems. Arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium,
mercury, zinc and nickel are some of the most common heavy metals
discharged from industries.
• Mercury: The safe level of mercury in surface water for domestic use as
prescribed by Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi is <0.002 ppm, the
limit prescribed by the WHO is <0.001 ppm. Mercury poisen – minantta
disease or cat tail dance syndrome
• Fluoride: Sources of fluorine compounds are nature, man’s activities and other
air borne sources. According to WHO, fluoride concentration below 0.5 ppm
causes dental caries and mottling of teath. But when fluoride level exceeds 0.5
ppm over a period of 5-10 years may result in fluorosis or paralysis-fluoride is
not absorbed in the blood stream. It has an affinity for calcium and gets
accumulated in bones resulting pain in bones and joints and outward bending
of legs from the knees (knock knee syndrome)
• Lead: Lead poisoning is common in adults. Lead and processing industries
constitute the major sources of serious lead pollution. Lead pollution causes
gastrointestinal troubles, neuromuscular effects and affects central nervous
system (CNS - Central Nervous Syndrome) also.
• Cadmium: Causes Itai – Itai (or) ouch-ouch disease to human beings

The discharge of industrial waste results into the following:

• Organic substances deplete the oxygen content.
• Inorganic substances render the water unfit for drinking and other purposes.
• Acids and alkalies adversely affect the growth of fish and other aquatic life.
• Toxic substances like cyanide, phenol and other heavy metals cause damage
to flora and fauna.
• Oil and other greasy floating substances interfere with breathing system of
aquatic life.
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3. Agricultural waste
• Modern agricultural practices require the use of large amount of fertilizers,
pesticides and other soil additives. Some of these along with waste are washed
off lands through irrigation, rainfall, drainage and leaching into the rivers and
streams where they can seriously disturb the aquatic ecosystem. Depletion of
dissolved oxygen caused by phosphate induced algal growth leads to death of
fish and other aquatic biota. In presence of phosphates, nitrates too bring about
an exaggerate growth of vegetation.
a) Nitrate pollution: Excessive and indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers
and synthetic feed for livestock often lead to accumulation of nitrates in water.
When such waters are drunk by cattle or humans these nitrates taken into body
are converted to toxic nitrites by intestinal bacteria. This in turn combines
with the hemoglobin to form methaemoglobin, which interferes with the
oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, producing a serious disease known as
methaemoglobinaemia. The various ailments that result from this disease
include damage to respiratory and vascular system, blue colouration of the
skin (Blue baby syndrome) and even cancer. A person in good health contains
0.8% of methaemoglobin. Symptoms of methaemoglobinaemia can be
perceived as soon as the mathaemoglobin reaches a level of 10 per cent in the
blood. The WHO laid down the permissible concentration of NO3 in water at
45 mg L-1. Nitrates could become toxic when it occurred in association with
sulphates.
b) Eutrophication: The non-flowing water bodies such as ponds or lakes during
their early stages of formation are relatively barren and deficient in nutrients
to support the aquatic life and are referred to as oligotrophic (nutrient poor).
With the passage of time, organic substances from the surrounding areas
accumulate and the water body becomes highly productive or Eutrophic. A
comparative account of Oligotrophic and Eutrophic lakes is given below:
Eutrophication thus denotes the enrichment of a water body by input of
organic material of surface run off containing nitrates and phosphates. This
may happen naturally but very slowly, often over a period of hundreds of
years. Human activity generally responsible for rapid eutrophication as
domestic waste, agricultural and land drainage and organic industrial waste or
their decomposition products reach the water bodies and induce the
productivity and composition of aquatic life. Eutrophication leads to increase
in the growth of aquatic plants and often to algal blooms. The extensive algal
growth have resulted in killing of fishes by interfering with recreation,
excluding light intensity necessary for photosynthesis by other aquatic plants
and thereby preventing the release of oxygen into the water or depleting the
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 oxygen through decay or respiration with bloom. Some algal bloom release
toxic substances that kill fishes, domestic animals and birds and water begins
to stink.
Lake Erie (USA) is an excellent example of eutrophication from man’s
activities.
• In 1965, 87t of phosphates were dumped into the lake leading to the
development of 350 t of algal slime. The various measures suggested to step
eutrophication are as follows:
(i) Treatment of waste water in order to minimize nutrient inputs.
(ii) Reduction in the amount of nutrient solubilized in water through stimulation
of bacterial multiplication.
(iii) Harvesting and removal of algal blooms to check recycling of nutrients into
the water.
(iv) Removal of dissolved nutrients from water physically or chemically.
Phosphorus can be removed by various methods of precipipation. Nitrogen
can be removed by
(a) ion exchange,
(b) electrodialysis,
(c) reverse osmosis and
(d) denitrification

Physical pollutants
• Chemical industries, fossil fuel and nuclear power plants use lot of water for
cooling purposes and return this water to stream at a high temperature. The hot
water interferes with the natural conditions in the lake and river affecting
aquatic life. This is a thermal pollution as heat acts as a pollutant. The
thermal pollution is thus the raising of temperature of part of the environment
(water in this case) by the discharge of substances whose temperature is higher
than the ambient. Some plants and animals are killed outright by the water, if it
is very hot some of the adverse environmental effects of the
thermal pollution are:
a) Fish eggs hatch so early.
b) Trout eggs commonly fail to hatch.
c) BOD increases as warm water holds less oxygen.
d) Change in diurnal and seasonal behaviour of organisms.
e) Decrease in species diversity.
f) Affects migration of some aquatic life.

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Prevention and control of water pollution
• Natural purification of chemically contaminated groundwater can take decades
and perhaps centuries, and cleanup efforts are sometimes much too expensive
to be practical. The best way, then, to control groundwater pollution is to
prevent it from occurring in the first place. Laws related to solid and hazardous
waste disposal now significantly reduce new contamination. Not only are
physical barriers between the waste and the groundwater required, but
monitoring wells must be installed in some cases to provide early warning of
possible leakage.
• Land-use management applied on the local level by towns and cities can be
effective in preventing aquifer contamination. For example, zoning ordinances
that prevent residential or industrial development in areas that are known
groundwater recharge zones can reduce pollution problems. Strict enforcement
of regulations pertaining to the siting, design, and construction of septic
systems can reduce or eliminate the incidence of sewage contamination of
private wells. Prudent application of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural
areas can also be effective in this regard.
• Control of water bodies and of organism serving the purpose of water
protection should be reinforced and carried out by all available means
including legal enforcement under the provisions laid down in water
(prevention and control of pollution) Act 1974 and Environmental (protection)
Act, 1986. The various ways / techniques suggested for prevention and control
of water pollution are as follows.

1. Stabilization of Ecosystem
• This is the most reliable way to control water pollution. This would involve
reduction in waste input, trapping of nutrients, fish management and
aeration. Some of species of algae such as chlorella spirulina are excellent
biological oxidants that can be used to reduce pollution load in a water body.
Water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes , a luxuriantly growing weed may also
be employed to remove phosphorus, nitrogen from a water body. It can also
reduce BOD, COD and organic carbon.

2. Reutilization and recycling of waste

• Various kinds of wastes such as paper pulp, municipal and industrial
effluents, sewage and thermal pollutants can be recycled to advantage. For
example, urban waste could be recycled to generate cheaper fuel gas and
electricity.

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3. Removal of pollutants
• The various physico-chemical devised for removal of chemical, biological or
radiobiological pollutants involve adsorption, electrodialysis, ion exchange
and reverse osmosis. Of the various techniques, reverse osmosis deserves
special mention. This technique is based on the removal of salts and other
substances from water by forcing the later through a semi permeable
membrane under a pressure that exceeds the osmotic pressure so that flow is
in the reverse direction to the normal osmotic flow. Techniques devised by
CSIR for the control of water pollution have been successfully employed for
the removal and reuse of pollutants from industrial effluents.
• Removal of ammonia from industrial waste water: Ammonia is removed in
the form of ammonium sulphate which can be reused for the manufacture of
fertilizer.
• Removal of mercury: Mercury thrown out from chlor-alkali plants is
removed and recovered by mercury –selective ion exchange resin.
• Removal of phenolics: Phenolics in waste water from pulp, paper mill,
petroleum refineries, tanneries etc are removed by the use of polymeric
adsorbents.
• Decolorization of water: An electrolyte decomposition technique has been
developed to decolorize the sample of saree dying and printing industries.
• Removal of sodium salts: Reverse osmosis technique has been developed to
recover sodium sulphate from rayon mill effluent.

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 Topic 12
Soil pollution
• Soil is the loose and unconsolidated outer layer of earth’s crust that is powdery
in nature and made up of small particles of different sizes. Soil ecosystem
includes inorganic and organic constituents, and the microbial groups. Soil
microorganisms are the active agents in the decomposition of plant and animal
solid wastes and said to be nature’s garbage disposal system.
• The soil microbes keep our planet earth free of unwanted waste materials and
recycle the elements (C, N, and P) through mineralization. Soil microbes
decompose a variety of compounds, cellulose, lignin, hemi cellulose, proteins,
lipids, hydrocarbons etc. The soil microbial community has little or no action
on many man-made synthetic polymers. The persistent molecules that fail to be
metabolized or mineralized have been termed as recalcitrants.
• An undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological characterization
of soil may harmfully affect the life or create a potential health hazard of any
living organisms.Soil pollution could result from a whole range of situations,
and can have lasting effects on all types of ecosystems and human health. Soil
may become contaminated through dry deposition or by toxins becoming
integrated into in the ground water.

Soil Pollutants
• Acid rain : Oxides of sulphur and nitrogen
• Heavy metals: Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Nickel, Arsenic,
Titanium, Mercury, Selenium etc.
• Industrial wastes
• Sewage
• Agricultural wastes: Fertilizers, Pesticides, Herbicides, Other Chemicals
• Volcanoes
• Oil, grease and other petroleum products
• Asbestos
• Other solid wastes
• Paper and paper products, Polythene bags and covers, Oil cans , Cloth wastes,
Tires, Carcasses, Radioactive wastes, Municipal solid wastes, Hospital wastes,
Animal wastes, Plastics, glass and other bio non degradable wastes, Crop
residues

Plastics
• Plastics form a major part of global domestic and industrial waste. Not being
biodegradable, waste plastic accumulates, adding to pollution. In USA plastic
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 are 7% in weight of all solid waste but 30% of the volume. Standard plastic
takes several hundreds of years to disintegrate, over 400 years for the plastic
bottles used for mineral water.Using photodegradable plastic or biodegradable
plastic can solve plastic pollution problem. Photodegradable plastic contains an
element sensitive to UV rays. Under the effect of solar rays the element is
activated and breaks the polymeric chain of the photodegradable plastic. It
results in small fragments that are easily digested by microbes.

Biodegradable plastic
• Biodegradable plastic is made by adding at least 6% starch and an oxidizing
agent (vegetable oil) to the polymers during manufacture. In the biologically
active soil environment, the biodegradable plastic is decomposed easily. The
metallic salts naturally present in soil interact with the oxidizing agent to form
ferro oxides, which attack the polymer bonds and set the biodegradation of
plastic in motion. Parallely, soil microbes break up the starch grains (amyloids),
which results in an increased attack surface and accelerates the auto oxidation
process.
• The presence of starch reduces the water resistance of plastic. Addition of a fine
protective layer to the starch based plastic; make it possible to obtain high
degree of water-resistance. In future, plastics with 50% starch will appear in the
market. Biodegradable plastics may offer many solutions to
the pollution problems.

Heavy metals
Lead
• Contamination of soils by lead is a major concern in many countries at the
moment including the U.K. It is believed that the primary cause of the increased
levels found in many soils is car exhaust emissions. Although unleaded petrol
has been available for some time now the lead particles still remain from the
time when lead was added to fuel as a thinner. In America, lead poisoning has
been termed 'the silent epidemic'. 900,000 children under the age of 6 have a
blood lead concentration of at least 10 nano grams / litre, this is the critical
threshold, above this level lead is believed to have psychological effects on
factors such as intelligence.
• The high concentrations of lead were also seen in hair and blood samples of
local residents, although not to such an extent. This suggests that there is some
kind of barrier which reduces the bioavailability of lead, within the body. In
Derbyshire this is the process whereby the lead is slowly eroded into the

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 secondary element of pyromorphite, which has a very low bioavailability is not
easily put into solution.

Chromium
• As a trace element, chromium is essential for many organisms (just like iron),
however an excess in chromium and many chromium compounds are
poisonous. Chromium compounds are found in pigments and wastewater from
tanneries. These materials can be cancerous, lead to eczema or impair the
mucous membranes in the period 1985-1995.

Copper
• Copper is a toxic heavy metal. It ends up in the marine environment particularly
through rivers and polluted dredged materials. Since the ban on using paint
containing tin, copper is often used as an anti-foul material on ship hulls. In the
vicinity of military training grounds, the bottom is locally polluted with copper
from munition remnants. The Netherlands contributes around 25% to the total
load of copper in the North Sea. With algae, a concentration of 0.5
microgametes of copper per litre seawater will decrease photosynthesis (and
thereby growth decline). With higher concentrations (around 10 microgametes
per litre), crustaceans will also be affected.

Nickel
• Nickel is found in nature. It is a heavy metal applied in producing steel and as a
surface layer for metal products. In addition, nickel is used in a large number of
alloys, batteries, the electrochemical industry and as catalyst, for example in
congealing vegetable fats. It is in all probability an essential trace element.
Some nickel compounds are cancerous. A concentration of 0.003 to 0.1 mg/l
will lead to a decrease in bacteria growth

Arsenic
• Arsenic has been known to be poisonous for centuries. It is a heavy metal. The
inorganic arsenic compounds are reputed to be extremely toxic, and are used in
cases such as rat poison. Arsenic compounds are used in the production of
copper, lead, zinc, steel and iron, as well as in agriculture. Arsenic affects fish
and amphibians by increasing the chance in changes in hereditary material, and
could cause an unnaturally high death rate among birds.

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Cadmium
• Cadmium is a heavy metal. It is found throughout nature, especially as an
impurity in zinc minerals. It is a white metal, fairly soft, easily flexible and non-
corrosive. Due to dumping by human activities (especially the industry, and
indirectly from dredging activities), the concentration of cadmium measured in
the coastal waters is approximately 5 times higher than the natural
concentration. Cadmium is poisonous for almost all organisms. That's why
limiting the dumping of cadmium in the past decade has had a high priority, and
with great success: the discharges have decreased by 81%.

Mercury
• Mercury is a heavy metal, originating from industry, most often from burning
fossil fuels and from dumps. In addition, mercury is found in pesticides and
fertilizers, is used in the production of chlorine and the removal of sulphur from
natural gas. Actually, mercury is found naturally in low amounts in natural gas.
Mercury poisoning damages the nerves, which can lead to deafness, blindness
and paralysis. Less acute poisoning could lead to loss of concentration and
memory and memorial disorders

Titanium
• In the 1980s, Greenpeace successfully conducted a campaign against the
dumping of titanium dioxide wastes; for example, they prevented dumping
ships from entering the harbours. In addition, Greenpeace gathered evidence
concerning the effects dumping had on sea life. Scientists also discovered the
consequences for those fish which had come into contact with the waste. With
such evidence and facts on hand, pressure could be applied on the policy
makers and the titanium dioxide dumpers themselves. Titanium dumping has
deceased since 1989.

Agriculture
• Agriculture is an industry which works directly with the soil as a result it is
bound to have some effects on the makeup of the soil. The uses of pesticides
and fertilizers have come under scrutiny for many reasons. One of the most
harmful ecotoxicological effects is that of the eutrophication of water bodies.
This occurs due to over use and poor management of Phosphorous and Nitrogen
fertilizers. It leads to over productivity in the water body and eventually to
deoxygenating of the water, meaning that more fragile populations and
communities cannot survive. This has many implications, not only for the
environment and wildlife involved but it may also affect human activity such as
drinking water, or leisure activities like swimming and fishing.
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• Bioaccumulation and biomagnifications of these poisons as they move along
the food chain is also a major problem which has influence on the whole
ecosystem. One of the most famous incidents was that of the near extinction of
the Peregrine Falcon in areas of North America during the late 1960's which
lead to the den of the pesticide DDT.
• Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemical substances that persist in the
environment, bioaccumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing
adverse effects to human health and the environment. With the evidence of
long-range transport of these substances to regions where they have never been
used or produced and the consequent threats they pose to the environment of the
whole globe, the international community has now, at several occasions called
for urgent global actions to reduce and eliminate releases of these chemicals.

Industrial Effluents
• Contamination of drinking water supplies from industrial waste is a result of
various types of industrial processes and disposal practices. Industries that use
large amounts of water for processing have the potential to pollute waterways
through the discharge of their waste into streams and rivers, or by run-off and
seepage of stored wastes into nearby water sources. Other disposal practices
which cause water contamination include deep well injection and improper
disposal of wastes in surface impoundments.
• Industrial waste consists of both organic and inorganic substances. Organic
wastes include pesticide residues, solvents and cleaning fluids, dissolved
residue from fruit and vegetables, and lignin from pulp and paper to name a
few. Effluents can also contain inorganic wastes such as brine salts and metals.

Effects of soil pollutants

• Affects soil health and productivity
• Affects plant and animals
• Affects soil microbes
• Ground water contamination through seepage
• Affects human health
• Causes biomagnification etc.
• Soil Remediation process

Phytoremediation
• The process of recovery of hazardous substances from soil or ground water
contaminated with municipal or industrial wastes etc. by using plants is called
phytoremediation. Among vascular plants, some aquatic weeds such as species

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 of Salvia, Lemna, Azolla, sedges and tree species are known to tolerate and
uptake heavy metals. Bamboo can accumulate Zn, Cd, Ni and Pb (lead). Flower
crops could be an effective method of remediating soil polluted due to disposal
of tannery effluent.

Biological transformation of heavy metals

• Biological transformation of heavy metals is an important detoxification
mechanism that can occur in many habitats and can be carried out by a variety
of microorganisms especially bacteria and fungi. As a result of biological
action, metals undergo changes in valency and or conversion into
organometallic compounds.
• Bioconversions involving changes in valency and resulting in production of
volatile or less toxic compounds have been shown in several cases. e.g.
oxidation of As (III) to As (V) and mercury ion to metallic mercury.
• Transformation of metals into organometallic compounds by methylation, e.g.
lead, mercury. Although the product of methylation may be more toxic than
free metal, they are often volatile and released into atmosphere. Organometallic
compounds can also undergo degradation, which may result in the metal being
liberated in a volatile form. e.g. mercury.

Recovery of heavy metals

• Green plants such as specific strains of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) can
accumulate heavy metals when grown in chromium-contaminated soils.
Modified strains of this plant have been shown to accumulate up to 40% of their
biomass as heavy metals, such as lead and chromium. While microorganisms
breakdown the organic bonds, the plants themselves take up the metals through
their root system and sequester the contaminants in their cells. Useful plants can
be found growing on ore outcroppings or contaminated areas. For instance, a
variety of tree, Seberia acuminata (Sapotaceae), a native of New Caledonia
accumulates an astonishing 20 to 25% of its body dry weight of nickel. The
plant bleeds bluish green latex (sap).
• The lead accumulating plants, such as common ragweed (Ambrosia
artemisiifolia) and hemp dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) exhibited shoot
concentrations of 400 and 250 mg Pb kg-1 respectively. Efforts are being made
to develop more efficient soil remediation methodologies by breeding or
bioengineering plants which have the ability to absorb, translocate, and tolerate
Pb while producing sufficient biomass.
• Bio stimulation: Stimulation of the native microbes for site remediation

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• Bioventing: It is the In-situ method of bio remediation in which air is supplied
to an unstaturated soil zone through installation of wells connected to associated
pumps and blowers which draw a vacuum on the soil.
• Air spraying: It involves the injection of air into the saturated zone of a
contaminated soil

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 Topic 13
Noise pollution
• The word noise is derived from the Latin word nausea. Unwanted sound that
causes discomfort to the listener is called noise. Wrong sound in wrong place at
wrong time is also called as noise.

The root cause

• Modern mechanization and technological innovation have greatly increased the
source of noise forced to consider it a major component of
environmental pollution.
• Formerly it was limited with the industrial environment only where heavy
machines used to work round the clock. But with growing population heavy
traffic and urban crowd and electrical entertainment it has become new irritant
and some of environmental assistance.

Sources
• Natural - Thunder
• Man made - Industrial and Non-industrial

Industrial source
• Industries of various kinds such as textile, iron, steel, utensils, automobiles,
fertilizers, paper, ceramics and thermal power stations are the major
contribution of noise. Machines in connection with threshing, grinding,
drilling, bunching, weaving, boiler making, forging, pressing and blasting
operations.

Industrial source of pollution

• Non-industrial source
• Domestic noise
• Loud speaker
• Construction work
• Traffic
• Crowded markets
• Theatres
• Religious function
• Cultural festivals
• Trains
• Air craft’s
• Projection of satellites
• Atomic explosions.
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Measurement of Noise
• Measurement of Noise: Sound consists of repeated alternate compressions and
expansions of air. The pitch of sound is determined by frequency and intensity
of sound. The intensity of noise is measured by ‘decibels’ dB. (deci = 10 and
the name of scientist Alfred Graham Bell).
dB = 10 x log 10 I/I0
I = Sound Intensity
I0 = Softest audible sound intensity
• Human ear is known to be sensitive to an extremely wide intensity from 0 to
190 dB. Here, ‘0’ dB is threshold of hearing while 180 dB is threshold of pain.
Some people will feel discomfort with 85 db and most people may not feel
discomfort even with sound of 115 dB. Pain is usually felt at 140 dB. The sound
intensity is measured by instrument Larnharometer. The effect of sound as man
depends upon its frequency. Frequency = Number of vibrations per second.It is
denoted by Hertz. One Hz = 1 vibration / second.People can hear sound from 16
to 20000 hz, but this range is reduced with age. Why the sound which at one
time gives soothing touch to the ear becomes noise at another occasion.

Ambient and quality standards for noise

Place Limits dB

Day time Night time

Industrial area 75 70

Commercial area 65 55

Residential area 55 45

Silent zone 50 40

Effect of Noise pollution:

Effect on human beings
• Affects physiological and mental health
• Reduces job efficiency
• Reduces enjoyment of life at home.
• Prolonged exposure to noise beyond 90 dB may cause hearing loss.
• In some cases, it causes auditory fatigue, nervousness, irritability, increased
blood pressure, cardio-vascular, respiratory, glandular, deafness and
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 neurological disorders. Physiological disorder : Neurosis, anxiety, insomnia,
hypertension

Effects on wildlife: Decline is migratory birds to a habitat if it becomes noisy

animals become dull and inactive.

Effects on non-living things

• High intensity of noise, such as vibrations emanating from heavy machineries
cause shattering of window glasses, loosen the plaster of house walls, cracks in
walls.
• Some time even cause the shattering of the foundation of the building.
• Noise may also cause depreciation of the residential property located nearby air
path, highways, industrial areas and other noise prone areas.

Control of noise pollution:

(1) Control of noise at source:
• Designing and fabricating silencing devices and then use in air craft, motor
cycles, industrial machines and home appliances.
• Segregating the noisy equipments.
• Introducing less noisy machines in plan of noisy areas.
• Conducting noisy operations in open spaces far away from residential zones.
• Setting up industries 5 km away from residential zones.

(2) Control of transmission

• This is achieved by covering the room walls with sound absorbing materials
constrained layer damping technique.

(3) Protection of exposed person

• Using weaving devices such as ear plugs and ear muffs.

(4) Creation of vegetation and buffer zones

• Growing of noise absorbing plants like Ashoka, Banyan, Neem, Legume,
Tamarind, Coconut etc. in the road side and in front of buildings.

(5) Environmental education and awareness

• People may be made aware of health hazards of noise pollution through news
papers, Television, Articles, Radio, News reels in cinema halls etc.

(6) Legislation
• Strict laws and enforcement; Appointing Noise Inspectors.
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 Noise Source Intensity (dB)

Breathing 10

Soft whisper 20

Library 30

Low volume radio (Walkman) 35

Normal conversation 35 to 60

Telephone 60

Alarm clock 70

Traffic 70 to 90

Lions roar (at 12 feet) 105

Thunder, Jet, Train whistle (at 50 110

feet)

Air craft Jet take off (at 100 feet) 120

Siren 150

Space rocket 170

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 Topic 14
Impact of different pollution
• It is a well-known fact that clean water is absolutely essential for healthy living.
Adequate supply of fresh and clean drinking water is a basic need for all human
beings on the earth, yet it has been observed that millions of people worldwide
are deprived of this. Freshwater resources all over the world are threatened not
only by over exploitation and poor management but also by ecological
degradation. The main source of freshwater pollution can be attributed to
discharge of untreated waste, dumping of industrial effluent, and run-off from
agricultural fields.
• Industrial growth, urbanization and the increasing use of synthetic organic
substances have serious and adverse impacts on freshwater bodies. It is a
generally accepted fact that the developed countries suffer from problems of
chemical discharge into the water sources mainly groundwater, while
developing countries face problems of agricultural run-off in water sources.
Polluted water like chemicals in drinking water causes problem to health and
leads to water-borne diseases which can be prevented by taking measures even
at the household level.

Groundwater and its contamination

• Many areas of groundwater and surface water are now contaminated with heavy
metals, POPs (persistent organic pollutants), and nutrients that have an adverse
affect on health. Water-borne diseases and water-caused health problems are
mostly due to inadequate and incompetent management of water resources. Safe
water for all can only be assured when access, sustainability, and equity can be
guaranteed. Access can be defined as the number of people who are guaranteed
safe drinking water and sufficient quantities of it.
• There has to be an effort to sustain it, and there has to be a fair and equal
distribution of water to all segments of the society. Urban areas generally have
a higher coverage of safe water than the rural areas. Even within an area there is
variation: areas that can pay for the services have access to safe water whereas
areas that cannot pay for the services have to make do with water from hand
pumps and other sources.
• In the urban areas water gets contaminated in many different ways, some of the
most common reasons being leaky water pipe joints in areas where the water
pipe and sewage line pass close together. Sometimes the water gets polluted at
source due to various reasons and mainly due to inflow of sewage into the
source.Ground water can be contaminated through various sources and some of
these are mentioned below.

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Pesticide
• Run-off from farms, backyards, and golf courses contain pesticides such as
DDT that in turn contaminate the water. Its effects on the ecosystems and health
are endocrine and reproductive damage in wildlife. Groundwater is susceptible
to contamination, as pesticides are mobile in the soil. It is a matter of concern as
these chemicals are persistent in the soil and water. The organophosphates and
the carbonates present in pesticides affect and damage the nervous system and
can cause cancer. Some of the pesticides contain carcinogens that exceed
recommended levels. They contain chlorides that cause reproductive and
endocrinal damage.

Nutrients
• Domestic waste water, agricultural run-off, and industrial effluents contain
phosphorus and nitrogen, fertilizer run-off, manure from livestock operations,
which increase the level of nutrients in water bodies and can cause
eutrophication in the lakes and rivers and continue on to the coastal areas. The
nitrates come mainly from the fertilizer that is added to the fields. Excessive use
of fertilizers cause nitrate contamination of groundwater. Good agricultural
practices can help in reducing the amount of nitrates in the soil and thereby
lower its content in the water.

Synthetic organics
• Many of the 100000 synthetic compounds currently in use today are found in
many of the aquatic environment and accumulate in the food chain. POPs or
Persistent organic pollutants, represent the most harmful element for the
ecosystem and for human health, for example, industrial chemicals and
agricultural pesticides. These chemicals can accumulate in fish and cause
serious damage to human health. Where pesticides are used on a large-scale,
groundwater gets contaminated and this leads to the chemical contamination of
drinking water.

Acid rain
• Acidification of surface water, mainly lakes and reservoirs, is one of the major
environmental impacts of transport over long distance of air pollutants such as
sulphur dioxide from power plants, other heavy industry such as steel plants,
and motor vehicles. This problem is more severe in the US and in parts of
Europe.

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Fluoride
• Fluoride in the water is essential for protection against dental caries and
weakening of the bones, but higher levels can have an adverse effect on health.
In India, high fluoride content is found naturally in the waters in Rajasthan.
Excess fluorides can cause yellowing of the teeth and damage to the spinal cord
and other crippling diseases.

Arsenic
• Arsenic occurs naturally or is possibly aggravated by over powering aquifers
and by phosphorus from fertilizers. High concentrations of arsenic in water can
have an adverse effect on health. A few years back, high concentrations of this
element was found in drinking water in six districts in West Bengal. A majority
of people in the area was found suffering from arsenic skin lesions. It was felt
that arsenic contamination in the groundwater was due to natural causes. The
government is trying to provide an alternative drinking water source and a
method through which the arsenic content from water can be removed. Lead.
Pipes, fittings, solder, and the service connections of some household plumbing
systems contain lead that contaminates the drinking water source. Arsenic
poisoning through water can cause liver and nervous system damage, vascular
diseases and also skin cancer.

Lead
• Lead is hazardous to health as it accumulates in the body and affects the central
nervous system. Children and pregnant women are most at risk.

Other heavy metals

• These contaminants come from mining waste and tailings, landfills,
or hazardous waste dumps. Heavy metals cause damage to the nervous system
and the kidney, and ther metabolic disruptions.

Petrochemicals
• Petrochemicals contaminate the groundwater from underground petroleum
storage tanks. Benzene and other petrochemicals can cause cancer even at low
exposure levels.

Chlorinated solvents
• Metal and plastic effluents, fabric cleaning, electronic and aircraft
manufacturing are often discharged and contaminate groundwater. Also causes
reproduction disorders and some cancers.

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Nitrates
• Drinking water that gets contaminated with nitrates can prove fatal especially to
infants that drink formula milk as it restricts the amount of oxygen that reaches
the brain causing the ‘blue baby’ syndrome. It is also linked to digestive tract
cancers. It causes algae to bloom resulting in eutrophication in surface water.

Salts
• It makes the fresh water unusable for drinking and irrigation purposes.

Disease
• Exposure to polluted water can cause diarrhoea, skin irritation, respiratory
problems, and other diseases, depending on the pollutant that is in the water
body. Stagnant water and other untreated water provide a habitat for the
mosquito and a host of other parasites and insects that cause a large number of
diseases especially in the tropical regions.
• Among these, malaria is undoubtedly the most widely distributed and causes
most damage to human health. Water-borne diseases are infectious diseases
spread primarily through contaminated water. Though these diseases are spread
either directly or through flies or filth, water is the chief medium for spread of
these diseases and hence they are termed as water-borne diseases.

Cause Water-borne diseases

Bacterial Typhoid , Cholera , Paratyphoid fever

infections , Bacillary dysentery

Viral Infectious Hepatitis (jaundice)

infections Poliomyelitis

Protozoal Amoebic dysentery

infections

• Most intestinal (enteric) diseases are infectious and are transmitted through
faecal waste. Pathogens – which include virus, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic
worms – are disease-producing agents found in the faeces of infected persons.
These diseases are more prevalent in areas with poor sanitary conditions.
• These pathogens travel through water sources and interfuses directly through
persons handling food and water. Since these diseases are highly infectious,

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 extreme care and hygiene should be maintained by people looking after an
infected patient. Hepatitis, cholera, dysentery, and typhoid are the more
common water-borne diseases that affect large populations in the tropical
regions.

Preventive measures
• Water-borne epidemics and health hazards in the aquatic environment are
mainly due to improper management of water resources. Proper management of
water resources has become the need of the hour as this would ultimately lead
to a cleaner and healthier environment. In order to prevent the spread of water-
borne infectious diseases, people should take adequate precautions. The city
water supply should be properly checked and necessary steps taken to disinfect
it. Water pipes should be regularly checked for leaks and cracks. At home, the
water should be boiled, filtered, or other methods and necessary steps taken to
ensure that it is free from infection.

Minamata: environmental contamination with methyl mercury

• In Minamata, Japan, inorganic mercury was used in the industrial production of
acetaldehyde. It was discharged into the nearby bay as waste water and was
ingested by organisms in the bottom sediments. Fish and other creatures in the
sea were soon contaminated and eventually residents of this area who consumed
the fish suffered from MeHg (methyl mercury) intoxication, later known as the
Minamata disease. The disease was first detected in 1956 but the mercury
emissions continued until 1968. But even after the emission of mercury
stopped, the bottom sediment of the polluted water contained high levels of this
mercury.
• Various measures were taken to deal with this disease.
Environmental pollution control, which included cessation of the mercury
process; industrial effluent control, environmental restoration of the bay; and
restrictions on the intake of fish from the bay. This apart research and
investigative activities were promoted assiduously, and compensation and help
was offered by the Japanese Government to all those affected by the
disease. The Minamata disease proved a turning point, towards progress in
environment protection measures. This experience clearly showed that health
and environment considerations must be integrated into the process of
economic and industrial development from an early stage

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 Topic 15
Food contamination
• Food contamination refers to the presence of harmful chemicals and
microorganisms in food which can cause consumer illness. A separate issue is
genetically modified food, or the presence in foods of ingredients from
genetically modified organisms, also referred to as a form of food
contamination.

Impact
• The impact of chemical contaminants on consumer health and well-being is
often apparent only after many years of prolonged exposure at low levels (e.g.
cancer). Chemical contaminants present in foods are often unaffected by
thermal processing (unlike most microbiological agents). Chemical
contaminants can be classified according to the source of contamination and the
mechanism by which they enter the food product.

Agrochemicals
• Agrochemicals are used in agricultural practices and animal husbandry with the
intention to increase productivity. Such agents include pesticides (e.g.
insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides), plant growth regulators, veterinary drugs
(e.g. nitrofuran, fluoroquinolones, malachite green, chloramphenicol), and
bovine somatotropin (rBST).

Environmental contaminants
• Environmental contaminants are chemicals that are present in the environment
in which the food is grown, harvested, transported, stored, packaged, processed,
and consumed. The physical contact of the food with its environment results in
its contamination. Possible sources of contamination are:
• Air: radionuclides (137Caesium, 90Strontium), polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAH).
• Water: arsenic, mercury.
• Soil: cadmium, nitrates, perchlorates.
• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) , dioxins, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers
(PBDE) are ubiquitous chemicals, which are present in air, water, soil, and the
entire biosphere.

Packaging materials:
• Antimony, tin, lead, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), semicarbazide,
benzophenone, isopropylthioxanthone (ITX), bisphenol A.Processing/cooking
equipment: copper, or other metal chips, lubricants, cleaning and sanitizing
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 agents.Naturally occurring toxins: mycotoxins, phytohaemagglutinin,
pyrrolizidine alkaloids, grayanotoxin, mushroom toxins, scombrotoxin
(histamine), ciguatera, shellfish toxins, tetrodotoxin, among many others.

Banned pesticides, carcinogens

• There are many cases of banned pesticides or carcinogens found in foods.
• Greenpeace exposed in 2006 in China that 25% of surveyed supermarkets
agricultural products contained banned pesticides. Over 70% of tomatoes that
tested were found to have the banned pesticide Lindane, and almost 40% of the
samples had a mix of three or more types of pesticides.Fruits were also tested in
this investigation. Tangerines, strawberries and Kyofung grapes samples were
found contaminated by banned pesticides, including the highly toxic
Methamidophos. These fruits can also be found in Hong Kong market.
Greenpeace says there exists no comprehensive monitoring on fruit produce in
the Hong Kong as of 2006.In India, soft drinks were found contaminated with
high levels of pesticides and insecticides, including lindane, DDT, malathion
and chlorpyrifos.

Hair in food
• Many people consider hair in food to be particularly unpleasant, however there
are certain risks to be considered such as choking and repulsion induced
vomiting. There are also considerations of contaminants on the hair itself such
as waxes or other hair products that may cause problems. It is claimed
sometimes that it does not usually pose any serious health risk, but in other
cases it is claimed that it does pose a health risk.
• For example, people working in the food industry are required to cover their
hair. Also, when people are served food which contains hair in restaurants or
cafes, people may complain to the manager. Despite this, it is not valid ground
to sue the restaurant in the United States but in the United Kingdom it breaks
the regulations of the UK Food Safety Act 1990 and is known to cause food
poisoning and people can sue for this. In one case a supermarket considered
banning a man with a beard working there. In such cases there exists protection
for food workers who have facial hair, which is called 'snood'. The cause of
people's disgust with hair in food could be that hair is not easily digestible and
is the wrong shape for being processed in the body. Hair in food was often a
common cause of complaint from people eating food, before the introduction of
complete capture hairnets.

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Processing contaminants
• Processing contaminants are generated during the processing of foods (e.g.
heating, fermentation). They are absent in the raw materials, and are formed by
chemical reactions between natural and/or added food constituents during
processing. The presence of these contaminants in processed foods can not be
entirely avoided. However, technological processes can be adjusted and/or
optimized in order to reduce the levels of formation of processing contaminants.
Examples are: nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH),
heterocyclic amines, histamine, acrylamide, furan, benzene, trans fat,
monochloropropanediol (MCPD), semicarbazide, 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE),
and ethyl carbamate. There is also the possibility of metal chips from the
processing equipment that requires metal detection. In many conveyor lines, the
line will be stopped, or when weighing the product with a Check weigher, the
item can be rejected for over- or underweight as well as detection of very small
pieces of metals.

Emerging food contaminants

• While many food contaminants have been known for decades, the formation
and presence of certain chemicals in foods has been discovered relatively
recently. These are the so-called emerging food contaminants, e.g. acrylamide,
furan, benzene, perchlorate, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA),
monochloropropanediol (MCPD), 4-hydroxynonenal and (4-HNE).

Safety and regulation

• Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) levels and tolerable concentrations of
contaminants in individual foods are determined on the basis of the "No
Observed Adverse Effect Level" (NOAEL) in animal experiments, by using a
safety factor (usually 100). The maximum concentrations of contaminants
allowed by legislation are often well below toxicological tolerance levels,
because such levels can often be reasonably achieved by using good agricultural
and manufacturing practices.The establishment of ADIs for certain emerging
food contaminants is currently an active area of research and regulatory
debate.A preservative is a natural or synthetic chemical that is added to
products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, wood, etc.
to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical
changes.

Preservatives in foods
• Preservative food additives can be used alone or in conjunction with other
methods of food preservation. Preservatives may be antimicrobial preservatives,
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 which inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi and mold growth, or antioxidants
such as oxygen absorbers, which inhibit the oxidation of food constituents.
Common antimicrobial preservatives include calcium propionate, sodium
nitrate, sodium nitrite, sulfites (sulfur dioxide, sodium bisulfite, potassium
hydrogen sulfite, etc.) and disodium EDTA. Antioxidants include BHA and
BHT. Other preservatives include formaldehyde (usually in solution),
glutaraldehyde (kills insects), ethanol and methylchloroisothiazolinone. The
benefits and safety of many artificial food additives (including preservatives)
are the subject of debate among academics and regulators specializing in food
science and toxicology, and of course biology.

Natural food preservation

• Natural substances such as salt, sugar, vinegar, and diatomaceous earth are also
used as traditional preservatives. Certain processes such as freezing, pickling,
smoking and salting can also be used to preserve food. Another group of
preservatives targets enzymes in fruits and vegetables that continue to
metabolize after they are cut. For instance, citric and ascorbic acids from lemon
or other citrus juice can inhibit the action of the enzyme phenolase which turns
surfaces of cut apples and potatoes brown. FDA standards do not currently
require fruit and vegetable product labels to reflect the type of preservative used
in the products.

Food colouring
• Food coloring (colouring) is any substance that is added to food or drink to
change its colour. Food colouring is used both in commercial food production
and in domestic cooking. Due to its safety and general availability, food
colouring is also used in a variety of non-food applications, for example in
home craft projects and educational settings.

Purpose of food coloring

• People associate certain colors with certain flavors, and the color of food can
influence the perceived flavor in anything from candy to wine. For this reason,
food manufacturers add dyes to their products. Sometimes the aim is to simulate
a color that is perceived by the consumer as natural, such as adding red coloring
to glace cherries (which would otherwise be beige), but sometimes it is for
effect, like the green ketchup that Heinz launched in 2000.
• While most consumers are aware that food with bright or unnatural colors (such
as the green ketchup mentioned above) likely contain food coloring, far fewer
people know that seemingly "natural" foods such as oranges and salmon are
sometimes also dyed to mask natural variations in color. Color variation in
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 foods throughout the seasons and the effects of processing and storage often
make color addition commercially advantageous to maintain the color expected
or preferred by the consumer. Some of the primary reasons include:
a) Offsetting color loss due to light, air, extremes of temperature, moisture,
and storage conditions.
b) Masking natural variations in color.
c) Enhancing naturally occurring colors.
d) Providing identity to foods.
e) Protecting flavors and vitamins from damage by light.
f) Decorative or artistic purposes such as cake icing.

Regulation
• Food colorings are tested for safety by various bodies around the world and
sometimes different bodies have different views on food color safety. In the
United States, FD&C numbers (which generally indicates that the FDA has
approved the colorant for use in foods, drugs and cosmetics) are given to
approved synthetic food dyes that do not exist in nature, while in the European
Union, E numbers are used for all additives, both synthetic and natural, that are
approved in food applications.Most other countries have their own regulations
and list of food colors which can be used in various applications, including
maximum daily intake limits.Natural colors are not required to be tested by a
number of regulatory bodies throughout the world, including the United States
FDA. The FDA lists "color additives exempt from certification" for food in
subpart A of the Code of Federal Regulations - Title 21 Part 73. However, this
list contains substances which may have synthetic origins.

Natural food dyes

A growing number of natural food dyes are being commercially produced, partly
due to consumer concerns surrounding synthetic dyes. Some examples include:
• Caramel coloring (E150), made from caramelized sugar, used in cola products
and also in cosmetics.
• Annatto (E160b), a reddish-orange dye made from the seed of the Achiote.
• A green dye made from chlorella algae (chlorophyll, E140)
• Cochineal (E120), a red dye derived from the cochineal insect, Dactylopius
coccus.
• Betanin extracted from beets.
• Turmeric (curcuminoids, E100)
• Saffron (carotenoids, E160a)

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Elderberry juice
• To ensure reproducibility, the coloured components of these substances are
often provided in highly purified form, and for increased stability and
convenience, they can be formulated in suitable carrier materials (solid and
liquids)

Impact
• The impact of chemical contaminants on consumer health and well-being is
often apparent only after many years of prolonged exposure at low levels (e.g.
cancer). Chemical contaminants present in foods are often unaffected by
thermal processing (unlike most microbiological agents). Chemical
contaminants can be classified according to the source of contamination and the
mechanism by which they enter the food product.

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 Topic16
Smog – definition – classification – particulate pollution – brown air smog
(photochemical smog), gray air smog (industrial smog) formation and
chemistry
• The term smog was first used in 1905 by Dr. H. A. Des Voeux to describe the
conditions of fog that had soot or smoke in it. Smog is a combination of various
gases with water vapour and dust. A large part of the gases that form smog is
produced when fuels are burnt. Smog forms when heat and sunlight react with
these gases and fine particles in the air. Smog can affect outlying suburbs and
rural areas as well as big cities. Its occurrences are often linked to heavy traffic,
high temperatures, and calm winds. During the winter, wind speeds are low and
cause the smoke and fog to stagnate; hence pollution levels can increase near
ground level. This keeps the pollution close to the ground, right where people
are breathing.
• It hampers visibility and harms the environment. Heavy smog is greatly
decreases ultraviolet radiation. In fact, in the early part of the 20th century,
heavy smog in some parts of Europe resulted in a decrease in the production of
natural vitamin D leading to a rise in the cases of rickets. Smog causes a misty
haze similar to fog, but varies in composition. In fact the word smog has been
coined from a combination of the words fog and smoke. Smog refers to hazy air
that causes difficult breathing conditions.
• The most harmful components of smog are ground-level ozone and fine
airborne particles. Ground-level ozone forms when pollutants released from
gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles and oil-based solvents react with heat and
sunlight. It is harmful to humans, animals, and plants. The industrial revolution
in the 19th century saw the beginning of air pollution in Europe on a large scale
and the presence of smog mainly in Britain.
• The industries and the households relied heavily on coal for heating and
cooking. Due to the burning of coal for heat during the winter months,
emissions of smoke and sulphur dioxide were much greater in urban areas than
they were during the summer months. Smoke particles trapped in the fog gave it
a yellow/black colour and this smog often settled over cities for many days.
• The effects of smog on human health were evident, particularly when smog
persisted for several days. Many people suffered respiratory problems and
increased deaths were recorded, notably those relating to bronchial causes. A
haze of dense harmful smog would often cover the city of London. The first
smog-related deaths were recorded in London in 1873, when it killed 500
people. In 1880, the toll was 2000. London had one of its worst experiences
with smog in December 1892.

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• It lasted for three days and resulted in about 1000 deaths. London became quite
notorious for its smog. By the end of the 19th century, many people visited
London to see the fog. Despite gradual improvements in air quality during the
20th century, major smog occurred in London in December 1952. The Great
London Smog lasted for five days and resulted in about 4000 more deaths than
usual. In response to the Great London Smog, the government passed its first
Clean Air Act in 1956, which aimed to control domestic sources of
smoke pollution by introducing smokeless zones. In addition,
the introduction of cleaner coals led to a reduction in sulphur dioxide pollution.
In the 1940s, severe smog began covering the city of Los Angeles in the USA.
• Relatively little was done to control any type of pollution or to promote
environmental protection until the middle of the 20th century. Today, smoke
and sulphur dioxide pollution in cities is much lower than in the past, as a result
of legislation to control pollution emissions and cleaner emission technology.

Particulate pollution
• Invisible particles, especially fine particles with diameters less than 10 microns
(PM-10) and ultra fine particles with diameter less than 2.5 microns (PM-2.5)
pose a significant health hazard, such particles are emitted by incinerations,
motor vehicles, radial tires, wind erosion, wood burning places, and industrial
power plants. The particulate matter that remains suspended in air is called
suspended particulate matter (SPM)
• Such tiny particles (i) are not effectively captured by modern
air pollution control equipment (ii) are small enough to penetrate the respiratory
system’s natural defenses against air pollution (iii) can bring with them droplets
or other particles of toxic or cancer –causing pollutants that become attached to
their surfaces.Once they are lodged deep within the lungs, these fine particles
can cause chronic irritation that can (i) trigger asthma attack (ii) aggravate other
lung diseases (iii) cause lung cancer (iv) affects the O2 carrying capacity of
blood.

Photochemical smog (Brown air smog)

• Any chemical reaction activated by light is called photochemical reactions.
Photochemical smog is a mixture of primary and secondary pollutants. Formed
under the influence of sunlight.

Photochemical smog formation

• It begins when nitrogen and oxygen in air react at high temperature found inside
automobiles engines and boilers in coal burning industrial power plants to
produce colourless nitric oxide.
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 N2 + O2 → 2 NO
• Then the nitric oxide slowly reacts with the oxygen in the troposphere leads to
the formation of nitrogen dioxide, a yellowish-brown gas with a choking odour.
2 NO + O2 →2 NO2
• The NO2 is responsible for the formation of brownish haze that hangs over
many cities during the afternoons of sunny days. This is the reason why
photochemical smog sometime is called brown air smog.
• Some of the NO2 reacts with water vapour in the atmosphere to form nitric acid
vapour and nitric oxide
3 NO2 + H2O → 2HNO3 + NO.
• When the remaining NO2 is exposed to ultra violet radiation from the sun,
some of it is converted to nitric oxide and oxygen atoms.
NO2 + UV radiation →NO + O
• The highly reactive oxygen atoms then react with O2to produce ozone.
O2 + O → O3
• Both the oxygen atoms and ozone then react with volatile organic compounds
(mostly hydrocarbons released by vegetation, vehicles etc) to produce
aldehydes. In addition hydrocarbons; oxygen, and nitrogen dioxide react to
produce peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs).
Hydrocarbons + O2 + NO2 →PANs
• Collectively, NO2, O3 and PANs are called photochemical oxidants because
they can react with an oxidize certain compounds in the atmosphere.
Photochemical smog can irritate respiratory tract and damage crops stress.

Industrial smog: Gray – air smog

• Fifty years ago in cities such as London, Chicago, during winter, people in such
cities were exposed to industrial smog consisting mostly of (i) sulphur dioxide
(ii) suspended droplets of sulphuric acid (iii) a variety of suspended solid
particles and droplets.

Chemistry of Industrial smog formation

• The carbon in coal and oil is converted to carbon –di- oxide and carbon
monoxide when it is burned.
C + O2 →CO2
2C + O2 → 2 CO
• Some of the unburned carbon also ends up in the atmosphere as suspended
particulate matters (soot).
• The sulphur compounds in coal and oil also react with oxygen to produce
sulphur dioxide, a colourless, suffocating gas.
S + O2 → SO2
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• In the troposphere, some of the sulphur dioxide reacts with oxygen to form
sulphur trioxide,
2SO2 + O2 →2 SO3
• which then reacts with water vapour in the air to produce tiny suspended
droplets of sulphuric acid.
SO3 + H2 O →H2SO4
• Some of these droplets react with ammonia in the atmosphere to form solid
particles of ammonium sulphate.
2 NH3 + H2SO4 →(NH4)2 SO4
• The tiny suspended particles of such salts and carbon(soot) give the resulting
industrial smog, a gray colour, explaining why it is sometimes called gray air-
smog.

Factors influencing the formation of photochemical and industrial smog , the

frequency and severity of smog in an area depend on
• Local climatic and topography.
• Population density
• The amount of industry
• Usage of fuel in industries and transportation

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 Topic 18
Acid rain
• Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, i.e.
elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). It has harmful effects on plants,
aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is mostly caused by emissions of
compounds of sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon which react with the water
molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. However, it can also be caused
naturally by the splitting of nitrogen compounds by the energy produced by
lightning strikes, or the release of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere by
phenomena of volcanic eruptions.
• A major environmental impact of acid deposition is the lowering of pH in lakes
and rivers. Most aquatic life is disrupted as the pH drops. Phytoplankton
populations are reduced, and much common water – dwelling invertebrates,
such as May flies and stone flies, cannot survive when the pH falls below about
6.0. Some sensitive species of fish, including trout and salmon, are harmed
when pH levels fall below 5.5. Acidity has a deleterious effect on the
reproductive cycle of fish; when the pH is less than 4.9, reproduction of most
fish species is unlikely. Acid dead lakes have pH below about 3.5. Acid rain
also causes pitting and corrosion of metals and the deterioration of painted
surfaces, concrete, limestone, and marble in buildings, monuments, works of
art, and other exposed objects.
• Once a body of water contains too much acid, the creatures in the water's food
chain begin to die. Eggs and larvae are sensitive to low pH and unable to
survive. As water becomes more acid, the fertility of eggs is reduced, fewer
hatch, and fish may not grow to adult sizes. Eventually, fish or insects, the fish's
food, may no longer be able to live in water with a low pH.
• The amount of acid in liquids is measured on a scale from 0 to 14. This is called
the "pH" scale. A pH of 7.0 (distilled water) is in the middle of the scale and is
considered neutral - neither acidic nor alkaline. Things below 7.0 such as lemon
juice (pH of 2.0) are acidic. Things above 7.0, like ammonia (pH 11.0) are
alkaline. The pH scale is logarithmic. This means that a pH of 6 is ten times
more acidic than a pH of 7. A pH of 5 is 100 times more acidic than a pH of 7
and a pH of 4 is 1,000 times more acidic than a pH of 7.
• Because carbon dioxide and water found naturally in the atmosphere have a pH
of 5.0 to 5.6. Natural rain is slightly acidic. A natural buffering ability present
in most soils that contain limestone can neutralize acidity. However, several
regions of the country are damaged by acid rain because they have thin soils
and granite bedrock. Granite is low in limestone and cannot neutralize (buffer)
acid precipitation. Acid rain is a worldwide problem because it can be carried in
the atmosphere for great distances before falling back to earth.
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Chemical processes
• Combustion of fuels creates sulfur dioxide and nitric oxides. They are
converted into sulfuric acid and nitric acid.

Gas phase chemistry

• In the gas phase sulfur dioxide is oxidized by reaction with the hydroxyl radical
via an intermolecular reaction
SO2 + OH → HOSO2
• Which is followed by:
HOSO2 + O2 → HO2 + SO3
• In the presence of water, sulfur trioxide (SO3) is converted rapidly to sulfuric
acid:
SO3 (g) + H2O (l) → H2SO4 (l)
• Nitrogen dioxide reacts with OH to form nitric acid:
NO2 + OH → HNO3

Chemistry in cloud droplets

• When clouds are present, the loss rate of SO2 is faster than can be explained by
gas phase chemistry alone. This is due to reactions in the liquid water droplets.

Hydrolysis
• Sulfur dioxide dissolves in water and then, like carbon dioxide, hydrolyses in a
series of equilibrium reactions:
SO2 (g) + H2O SO2 .H2O
SO2H2O H+ + HSO3−
HSO3− H+ + SO32−

Oxidation
• There are a large number of aqueous reactions that oxidize sulfur from S (IV) to
S (VI), leading to the formation of sulfuric acid. The most important oxidation
reactions are with ozone, hydrogen peroxide and oxygen (reactions with oxygen
are catalyzed by iron and manganese in the cloud droplets).

Acid deposition types

a) Wet deposition: Wet deposition of acids occurs when any form of
precipitation (rain, snow, etc.) removes acids from the atmosphere and
delivers it to the Earth's surface. This can result from the deposition of acids
produced in the raindrops or by the precipitation removing the acids either in

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 clouds or below clouds. Wet removal of both gases and aerosols are both of
importance for wet deposition.
b) Dry deposition: Acid deposition also occurs via dry deposition in the
absence of precipitation. This can be responsible for as much as 20 to 60%
of total acid deposition. This occurs when particles and gases stick to the
ground, plants or other surfaces.

Adverse effects acid rain

Surface waters and aquatic animals
• Both the lower pH and higher aluminum concentrations in surface water that
occur as a result of acid rain can cause damage to fish and other aquatic
animals. At pHs lower than 5 most fish eggs will not hatch and lower pHs can
kill adult fish. As lakes and rivers become more acidic biodiversity is reduced.
• Acid rain has eliminated insect life and some fish species, including the brook
trout in some lakes, streams, and creeks in geographically sensitive areas, such
as the Adirondack Mountains of the United States. However, the extent to
which acid rain contributes directly or indirectly via runoff from the catchment
to lake and river acidity (i.e., depending on characteristics of the surrounding
watershed) is variable. The United States Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) website states: "Of the lakes and streams surveyed, acid rain caused
acidity in 75 percent of the acidic lakes and about 50 percent of the acidic
streams".
Soils
• Soil biology and chemistry can be seriously damaged by acid rain. Some
microbes are unable to tolerate changes to low pHs and are killed. The enzymes
of these microbes are denatured (changed in shape so they no longer function)
by the acid. The hydronium ions of acid rain also mobilize toxins such as
aluminium, and leach away essential nutrients and minerals such as magnesium.
• 2 H+ (aq) + Mg2+ (clay) 2 H+ (clay) + Mg2+ (aq)
• Soil chemistry can be dramatically changed when base cations, such as calcium
and magnesium, are leached by acid rain thereby affecting sensitive species,
such as sugar maple (Acer saccharum).
Forests and other vegetation
• Adverse effects may be indirectly related to acid rain, like the acid's effects on
soil or high concentration of gaseous precursors to acid rain. High altitude
forests are especially vulnerable as they are often surrounded by clouds and fog
which are more acidic than rain. Other plants can also be damaged by acid rain,
but the effect on food crops is minimized by the application of lime and
fertilizers to replace lost nutrients. In cultivated areas, limestone may also be
added to increase the ability of the soil to keep the pH stable, but this tactic is
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 largely unusable in the case of wilderness lands. When calcium is leached from
the needles of red spruce, these trees become less cold tolerant and exhibit
winter injury and even death.
Human health
• Scientists have suggested direct links to human health. Fine particles, a large
fraction of which are formed from the same gases as acid rain (sulfur dioxide
and nitrogen dioxide), have been shown to cause illness and premature deaths
such as cancer and other diseases.
Effect of acid rain on statues
• Acid rain can also damage buildings and historic monuments, especially those
made of rocks such as limestone and marble containing large amounts of
calcium carbonate. Acids in the rain react with the calcium compounds in the
stones to create gypsum, which then flakes off.
• CaCO3 (s) + H2SO4 (aq) CaSO4 (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
• The effects of this are commonly seen on old gravestones, where acid rain can
cause the inscriptions to become completely illegible. Acid rain also increases
the oxidation rate of metals, in particular copper and bronze.
Affected areas
• Particularly badly affected places around the globe include most of Europe
(particularly Scandinavia with many lakes with acidic water containing no life
and many trees dead) many parts of the United States (states like New York are
very badly affected) and South Western Canada. Other affected areas include
the South Eastern coast of China and Taiwan.
Potential problem areas in the future
• Places like much of South Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand), Western
South Africa (the country), Southern India and Sri Lanka and even West Africa
(countries like Ghana, Togo and Nigeria) could all be prone to acidic rainfall in
the future

Prevention methods
Technical solutions
• In the United States, many coal-burning power plants use Flue gas
desulfurization (FGD) to remove sulfur-containing gases from their stack gases.
An example of FGD is the wet scrubber which is commonly used in the U.S.
and many other countries. A wet scrubber is basically a reaction tower equipped
with a fan that extracts hot smoke stack gases from a power plant into the
tower. Lime or limestone in slurry form is also injected into the tower to mix
with the stack gases and combine with the sulfur dioxide present. The calcium
carbonate of the limestone produces pH-neutral calcium sulfate that is

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 physically removed from the scrubber. That is, the scrubber turns
sulfur pollution into industrial sulfates.
• In some areas the sulfates are sold to chemical companies as gypsum when the
purity of calcium sulfate is high. In others, they are placed in landfill. However,
the effects of acid rain can last for generations, as the effects of pH level change
can stimulate the continued leaching of undesirable chemicals into otherwise
pristine water sources, killing off vulnerable insect and fish species and
blocking efforts to restore native life.Automobile emissions control reduces
emissions of nitrogen oxides from motor vehicles.

Easy way to reduce acid rain

• Engines should be tuned properly.
• Reduction of NO2 and SO2 at source level

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 Topic 19
Global warming
• Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere
and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's
average surface temperature increased by about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F) with about two
thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades. Warming of
the climate system is unequivocal, and scientists are more than 90% certain
most of it is caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases
produced by human activities such as deforestation and burning fossil fuels.
• These findings are recognized by the national science academies of all the
major industrialized countries. Climate model projections are summarized in
the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC). They indicate that during the 21st century the global
surface temperature is likely to rise a further 1.1 to 2.9 °C (2 to 5.2 °F) for
their lowest emissions scenario and 2.4 to 6.4 °C (4.3 to 11.5 °F) for their
highest. The ranges of these estimates arise from the use of models with
differing sensitivity to greenhouse gas concentrations.
• An increase in global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change
the amount and pattern of precipitation, and a probable expansion of
subtropical deserts. Warming is expected to be strongest in the Arctic and
would be associated with continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea
ice. Other likely effects of the warming include more frequent occurrence of
extreme weather events including heatwaves, droughts and heavy rainfall
events, species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes, and changes in
agricultural yields.
• Warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the
globe, with projections being more robust in some areas than others. In a 4 °C
world, the limits for human adaptation are likely to be exceeded in many parts
of the world, while the limits for adaptation for natural systems would largely
be exceeded throughout the world. Hence, the ecosystem services upon which
human livelihoods depend would not be preserved.
• Energy from the sun drives the earth's weather and climate, and heats the
earth's surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric
greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of
the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a
greenhouse. Without this natural "greenhouse effect," temperatures would be
much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible.
Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earth's average temperature is a more
hospitable 60°F (15.55°C). However, problems may arise when the
atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases.
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 • Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of
carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more
than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%.
These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earth's
atmosphere. Sulfate aerosols, a common air pollutant, cool the atmosphere by
reflecting light back into space; however, sulfates are short-lived in the
atmosphere and vary regionally.

Reasons for increase in greenhouse gases concentration

• The combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary
reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. Plant respiration
and the decomposition of organic matter release more than 10 times the CO2
released by human activities; but these releases have generally been in
balance during the centuries leading up to the industrial revolution with
carbon dioxide absorbed by terrestrial vegetation and the oceans.
• Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are likely to accelerate the rate
of climate change. Scientists expect that the average global surface
temperature could rise 1-4.5°F (0.6-2.5°C) in the next fifty years, and 2.2-
10°F (1.4-5.8°C) in the next century, with significant regional variation.
Evaporation will increase as the climate warms, which will increase average
global precipitation. Soil moisture is likely to decline in many regions, and
intense rainstorms are likely to become more frequent. Some greenhouse
gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, while others result from human
activities. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Certain human activities,
however, add to the levels of most of these naturally occurring gases:
• Carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere when solid waste, fossil fuels
(oil, natural gas, and coal), and wood and wood products are burned.
• Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas,
and oil. Methane emissions also result from the decomposition of organic
wastes in municipal solid waste landfills, and the raising of livestock.
• Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well
as during combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels.
• Very powerful greenhouse gases that are not naturally occurring include
hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), per fluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur
hexafluoride (SF6), which are generated in a variety of industrial processes.
• Each greenhouse gas differs in its ability to absorb heat in the atmosphere.
HFCs and PFCs are the most heat-absorbent. Methane traps over 21 times
more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide absorbs 270
times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide. Often, estimates of
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 greenhouse gas emissions are presented in units of millions of metric tons of
carbon equivalents (MMTCE), which weights each gas by its GWP value,
or Global Warming Potential (GWP).

What Are Sinks?

• A sink is a reservoir that uptakes a chemical element or compound from
another part of its cycle. For example, soil and trees tend to act as natural
sinks for carbon – each year hundreds of billions of tons of carbon in the
form of CO2 are absorbed by oceans, soils, and trees.

Global Warming Potentials (100 Year Time Horizon)

• Global Warming Potential is a number that refers to the amount of global
warming caused by a substance. The GWP is the ratio of the warming caused
by a substance to the warming caused by a similar mass of carbon dioxide.
Thus, the GWP of CO2 is defined to be 1.0. CFC-12 has a GWP of 8,500,
while CFC-11 has a GWP of 5,000. Various HCFCs and HFCs have GWPs
ranging from 93 to 12,100. Water, a substitute in numerous end-uses, has a
GWP of 0.
Sl.No. Gas GWP

1 Carbon dioxide (CO2) 1

2 Methane (CH4)* 21

3 Nitrous oxide (N2O) 310

4 HFC-23 11,700

5 CF4 6,500
Effect of Global warming
• Increase in Earths surface temperature
• Melting of glaciers
• Increase in sea level
• Loss of biodiversity
• Affects marine life
• Sinking of cities in coastal region

Control measures
• Massive afforestation programme
• Reducing GHG emissions

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 Topic 20
Ozone layer & its depletion
• Ozone depletion describes two distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady
decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's
stratosphere (ozone layer) since the late 1970s, and a much larger, but seasonal,
decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions during the same
period. The latter phenomenon is commonly referred to as the ozone hole. In
addition to this well-known stratospheric ozone depletion, there are also
tropospheric ozone depletion events, which occur near the surface in polar
regions during spring.
• The detailed mechanism by which the polar ozone holes form is different from
that for the mid-latitude thinning, but the most important process in both trends
is catalytic destruction of ozone by atomic chlorine and bromine. The main
source of these halogen atoms in the stratosphere is photodissociation of
chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds, commonly called freons, and of
bromofluorocarbon compounds known as halons. These compounds are
transported into the stratosphere after being emitted at the surface. Both ozone
depletion mechanisms strengthened as emissions of CFCs and halons increased.

Ozone layer
• The region of the stratosphere containing the bulk of atmospheric ozone. The
ozone layer lies approximately 15-40 kilometers (10-25 miles) above the Earth's
surface, in the stratosphere. Depletion of this layer by ozone depleting
substances (ODS) will lead to higher UVB levels, which in turn will cause
increased skin cancers and cataracts and potential damage to some marine
organisms, plants, and plastics.

UV: ultraviolet radiation

• Ultraviolet radiation is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with
wavelengths shorter than visible light. The sun produces UV, which is
commonly split into three bands: UVA, UVB, and UVC. UVA is not absorbed
by ozone. UVB is mostly absorbed by ozone, although some reaches the Earth.
UVC is completely absorbed by ozone and normal oxygen.

UVB
• A band of ultraviolet radiation with wavelengths from 280-320 nanometers
produced by the Sun. UVB is a kind of ultraviolet light from the sun (and sun
lamps) that has several harmful effects; particularly effective at damaging
DNA. It is a cause of melanoma and other types of skin cancer. It has also been
linked to damage to some materials, crops, and marine organisms. The ozone
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 layer protects the Earth against most UVB coming from the sun. It is always
important to protect oneself against UVB, even in the absence of ozone
depletion, by wearing hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen.

Ozone (O3)
• A form of oxygen. It is naturally created in the Stratosphere when ultraviolet
radiation breaks down the oxygen molecule (O2) into two individual oxygen
atoms. Each of these atoms combines with an O2 molecule to form ozone.
Essential in one part (stratosphere) and a pollutant in another part of the
atmosphere (troposphere)

Ozone shield
• The stratosphere (layer above the troposphere) is the location of ozone shield.
Ozone in stratosphere forms naturally when oxygen reacts with incoming
ultraviolet (UV) radiation (from sun). Stratospheric ozone blocks much of the
UV from penetrating to Earth's surface - reflects it out; approximately 99% of
all ultraviolet solar radiation is absorbed or screened out in the ozone layer
• Ozone is constantly being produced and destroyed in a natural cycle, as shown
in the above picture. However, the overall amount of ozone is essentially stable.
This balance can be thought of as a stream's depth at a particular location.
Although individual water molecules are moving past the observer, the total
depeth remains constant. Similarly, while ozone production and destruction are
balanced, ozone levels remain stable. This was the situation until the past
several decades.
• The Ozone Layer protects us from the harmful effects of certain wavelengths of
ultra-violet (UV) light from the sun, specifically UV-B. Any significant
decrease in ozone in the stratosphere would result in an increase of UV-B
radiation reaching the earth surface. Increases in levels of UV-B radiation can
result in the increase in skin cancers, suppress the immune system, exacerbate
eye disorders including cataracts and affect plants, animals and plastic
materials.

Ozone-Depleting Substance(s) (ODS)

• A compound that contributes to stratospheric ozone depletion. ODS include
CFCs, HCFCs, halons, methyl bromide, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl
chloroform. ODS are generally very stable in the troposphere and only degrade
under intense ultraviolet light in the stratosphere. When they break down, they
release chlorine or bromine atoms, which then deplete ozone.
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) invented in 1928 found many uses in aerosols,
foams, refrigeration, air conditioners, solvents, fire extinguishers etc. These
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 CFCs are long lived; their emissions reach the stratosphere and cause ozone
depletion. This ozone depletion has been dramatically confirmed through the
Antarctic "Ozone Hole" discovered in 1985 and observations, since then,
of ozone depletion in the middle and higher latitudes by the satellite Nimbus-7.

Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl4)

• A compound consisting of one carbon atom and four chlorine atoms.Carbon
tetrachloride was widely used as a raw material in many industrial uses,
including the production of CFCs, and as a solvent. Solvent use ended when it
was discovered to be carcinogenic. It is also used as a catalyst to deliver
chlorine ions to certain processes. Its ozone depletion potential is 1.2.

Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)
• A compound consisting of chlorine, fluorine, and carbon CFCs are very stable
in the troposphere. They are broken down by strong ultraviolet light in the
stratosphere and release chlorine atoms that then deplete the ozone layer.
CFCs are commonly used as refrigerants, solvents, and foam blowing agents.
The most common CFCs are CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, CFC-114, and
CFC-115. The ozone depletion potential (ODP) for each CFC is, respectively,
1, 1, 0.8, 1, and 0.6.

Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)

• A number that refers to the amount of ozone depletion caused by a substance.
The ODP is the ratio of the impact on ozone of a chemical compared to the
impact of a similar mass of CFC-11. Thus, the ODP of CFC-11 is defined to
be 1.0. Other CFCs and HCFCs have ODPs that range from 0.01 to 1.0. The
halons have ODPs ranging up to 10. Carbon tetrachloride has an ODP of 1.2,
and methyl chloroform's ODP is 0.11. HFCs have zero ODP because they do
not contain chlorine.

Dobson Unit (DU)

• A measurement of column ozone levels. If 100 DU of ozone were brought to
the Earth's surface, it would form a layer 1 millimeter thick. In the tropics,
ozone levels are typically between 250 and 300 DU year-round. In temperate
regions, seasonal variations can produce large swings in ozone levels.

Ozone depletion in the stratosphere

The Cause
• Ozone is broken down by human-made pollutants. Primary cause is
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which are normally used as propellants in aerosol
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 cans, as coolants in air conditioner (AC). and refrigerators, as foam for
insulation and packaging, as sterilizers for hospitals.
• Also caused by halons (in many fire extinguishers), methyl chloroform (used
to degrease metals), and carbon tetrachloride (used to manufacture pesticides
and dyes) contain chlorine
• Oxides of NOx released by super sonic transport system (SST)
• The ozone depletion process begins when CFCs and other ozone-depleting
substances (ODS) are emitted into the atmosphere
• Winds efficiently mix the troposphere and evenly distribute the gases. CFCs
are extremely stable, and they do not dissolve in rain. After a period of several
years, ODS molecules reach the stratosphere, about 10 kilometers above the
Earth's surface
• Strong UV light breaks apart the ODS molecule. CFCs release chlorine atoms,
and halons release bromine atoms
• It is these atoms that actually destroy ozone, not the intact ODS molecule. It is
estimated that one chlorine atom can destroy over 100,000 ozone molecules
before finally being removed from the stratosphere
• Large increases in stratospheric chlorine and bromine, however, have upset
that balance. In effect, they have added a siphon downstream, removing ozone
faster than natural ozone creation reactions can keep up. Therefore, ozone
levels fall.
• Since ozone filters out harmful UVB radiation, less ozone means higher UVB
levels at the surface. The more depletion, the larger the increase in incoming
UVB. UVB has been linked to skin cancer, cataracts, damage to materials like
plastics, and harm to certain crops and marine organisms. Although some
UVB reaches the surface even without ozone depletion, its harmful effects
will increase as a result of this problem

Health Effects due to ozone depletion

• Skin Cancer (melanoma and nonmelanoma)
• Premature aging of the skin and other skin problems
• Cataracts and other eye damage
• Immune system suppression
• Increased eye burning due to photochemical smog in troposphere
• Decreased yield of crops
• Damage to aquatic life and alteration in ocean food webs
• Increased global warming

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Other Skin Damage
• Other UV-related skin disorders include actinic keratoses and premature aging
of the skin. Actinic keratoses are skin growths that occur on body areas
exposed to the sun. The face, hands, forearms, and the "V" of the neck are
especially susceptible to this type of lesion. Although premalignant, actinic
keratoses are a risk factor for squamous cell carcinoma. Look for raised,
reddish, rough-textured growths and seek prompt medical attention if you
discover them.
• Chronic exposure to the sun also causes premature aging, which over time can
make the skin become thick, wrinkled, and leathery. Since it occurs gradually,
often manifesting itself many years after the majority of a person's sun
exposure, premature aging is often regarded as an unavoidable, normal part of
growing older. With proper protection from UV radiation, however, most
premature aging of the skin can be avoided.

Cataracts and Other Eye Damage

• Cataracts are a form of eye damage in which a loss of transparency in the lens
of the eye clouds vision. If left untreated, cataracts can lead to blindness.
Research has shown that UV radiation increases the likelihood of certain
cataracts. Although curable with modern eye surgery, cataracts diminish the
eyesight of millions of Americans and cost billions of dollars in medical care
each year.
• Other kinds of eye damage include pterygium (i.e., tissue growth that can
block vision), skin cancer around the eyes, and degeneration of the macula
(i.e., the part of the retina where visual perception is most acute). All of these
problems can be lessened with proper eye protection from UV radiation.
World Ozone day is being celebrated every year by 16th of September.

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 Topic 21
Biomagnification – Introduction, definition, process and control
• When a living organism cannot metabolize or excrete ingested substance that
substance gradually accumulates in the organisms. This phenomenon, called
biological accumulation (or bioaccumulation), refers to the process by which a
substance first enters into a food chain. The extent to which bioaccumulation
will occur depends on an organism’s metabolism and on the solubility of the
substance first enters a food chain. If the substance is soluble in fat, it will
typically accumulate in the fatty tissues of the organism. Bioaccumulation is of
particular concern when the substance being concentrated is a toxic
environmental pollutant and the organism is of a relatively low trophic level in
a food chain.
• When many contaminated organisms are consumed by second organism that
can neither metabolize nor excrete the substance, the concentration of the
substance will build to even higher levels in the second organism. This effect is
magnified at each successive trophic level, and the process is called biological
magnification (or biomagnification) or bioamplification, In other words,
biomagnification is the steadily increasing concentration of a substance as it
moves from one level of a food chain to the next (for example, from plankton to
fish to birds or to humans). Biomagnification is of particular importance when
chemicals are concentrated to harmful levels in organisms higher up in the food
chain. Even very low concentrations of environmental pollutants can eventually
find their way into organisms in high enough doses to cause serious problems.
• Biomagnifications occurs only when the pollutants are environmentally
persistent (last a long time before breaking down into simpler compounds),
mobile, and soluble in fats. If they are not persistent, they will not last long
enough in the environment to be concentrated in the food chain (persistent
substances are generally not biodegradable). If they are not mobile, that is, not
easily transported or moved from place to place in the environment, they are not
likely to be consumed by many organisms. Finally, if they are soluble in water
rather than fatty tissue, they are much more likely to be excreted by the
organism before building up to dangerous levels.

Impact of DDT
• The incidence of mercury poisoning in people who consumed contaminated fish
in the Minamata Bay region of Japan in the 1950s is just one example of the
detrimental effects of biomagnification. Another classic example involves
DDT, an abbreviation for the organic chemical dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane.
• It is a type of chemical known as chlorinated hydrocarbon, and it takes a long
time to break down in the environment. With a “half-life” of 15 years, if 10 kg
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 of DDT were released into the environment in the year 2000, 5 kg would still
persist in the year 2015, about 2.5 kg would remain in 2030, and even after 100
years had elapsed, in the year 2100, more than 100 g of the substance would
still be detected in the environment. Of course, long before that time span
elapsed, some of the DDT could be inadvertently consumed by living
organisms as they forage for food, and thereby enter a food chain.
• DDT is toxic to insects, but not very toxic to humans. It was much used in
World War II to protect U.S. troops from tropical mosquito – borne malaria as
well as to prevent the spread of lice and lice-borne disease among civilian
populations in Europe. After the war, DDT was used to protect food crops from
insects as well as to protect people from insect-borne disease. As one of the first
of the modern pesticides, it was overused, and by the 1960s, the problems
related to biomagnifications of DDT became very apparent.
• Many other substances in addition to mercury and DDT exhibit
bioaccumulation and biomagnification in an ecosystem. These include copper,
cadmium, lead, and other heavy metals, pesticides other than DDT, cyanide,
selenium and PCBs.Although sometimes used interchangeably with
'bioaccumulation,' an important distinction is drawn between the two, and with
bioconcentration, it is also important to distinct between sustainable
development and overexploitation in biomagnification.
• Bioaccumulation occurs within a trophic level, and is the increase in
concentration of a substance in certain tissues of organisms' bodies due to
absorption from food and the environment.
• Bioconcentration is defined as occurring when uptake from the water is greater
than excretion (Landrum and Fisher, 1999)
• Thus bioconcentration and bioaccumulation occur within an organism, and
biomagnification occurs across trophic (food chain) levels.

Substances that biomagnify

• There are two main groups of substances that biomagnify. Both are lipophilic
and not easily degraded. Novel organic substances are not easily degraded
because organisms lack previous exposure and have thus not evolved specific
detoxification and excretion mechanisms, as there has been no selection
pressure from them. These substances are consequently known as 'persistent
organic pollutants' or POPs.
• Metals are not degradable because they are elements. Organisms, particularly
those subject to naturally high levels of exposure to metals, have mechanisms to
sequester and excrete metals. Problems arise when organisms are exposed to
higher concentrations than usual, which they cannot excrete rapidly enough to
prevent damage. These metals are transferred in an organic form.
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Novel organic substances
• DDT
• PCBs
• Toxaphene
• Monomethylmercury

Inorganic substances
• Arsenic
• Cadmium
• Mercury

Persistent organic pollutant

• Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that are resistant to
environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic
processes. Because of this, they have been observed to persist in the
environment, to be capable of long-range transport, bioaccumulate in human
and animal tissue, biomagnify in food chains, and to have potential significant
impacts on human health and the environment.Many POPs are currently or
were in the past used as pesticides. Others are used in industrial processes and
in the production of a range of goods such as solvents, polyvinyl chloride, and
pharmaceuticals. Though there are a few natural sources of POPs, most POPs
are created by humans in industrial processes, either intentionally or as
byproducts.

Compounds
• In May 1995, the United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council
(GC) decided to begin investigating POPs, initially beginning with a short list
of the following twelve POPs, known as the 'dirty dozen': aldrin, chlordane,
DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, polychlorinated
biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans,
and toxaphene.Since then, this list has generally been accepted to include such
substances as carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and
certain brominated flame-retardants, as well as some organometallic
compounds such as tributyltin (TBT).The groups of compounds that make up
POPs are also classed as PBTs (Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic) or
TOMPs (Toxic Organic Micro Pollutants.)

Chemical properties
• Some of the chemical characteristics of POPs include low water solubility, high
lipid solubility, semi-volatility, and high molecular masses. POPs with
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 molecular weights lower than 236 g/mol are less toxic, less persistent in the
environment, and have more reversible effects than those with higher molecular
masses. POPs are frequently halogenated, usually with chlorine. The more
chlorine groups a POP has, the more resistant it is to being broken down over
time. One important factor of their chemical properties such as lipid solubility
results in the ability to pass through biological phospholipid membranes and
bioaccumulate in the fatty tissues of living organisms.

Long-range transport
• POPs released to the environment have been shown to travel vast distances
from their original source. Due to their chemical properties, many POPs are
semi-volatile and insoluble. These compounds are therefore unable to transport
directly through the environment. The indirect routes include attachment to
particulate matter, and through the food chain. The chemicals' semi-volatility
allows them to travel long distances through the atmosphere before being
deposited. Thus POPs can be found all over the world, including in areas where
they have never been used and remote regions such as the middle of oceans and
Antarctica.
• The chemicals' semi-volatility also means that they tend to volatilize in hot
regions and accumulate in cold regions, where they tend to condense and stay.
PCBs have been found in precipitation.The ability of POPs to travel great
distances is part of the explanation for why countries that banned the use of
specific POPs are no longer experiencing a decline in their concentrations; the
wind may carry chemicals into the country from places that still use them.

Health concerns
• POP exposure can cause death and illnesses including disruption of the
endocrine, reproductive, and immune systems; neurobehavioral disorders; and
cancers possibly including breast cancer. Exposure to POPs can take place
through diet, environmental exposure, or accidents.
• A study published in 2006 indicated a link between blood serum levels of POPs
and diabetes. Individuals with elevated levels of persistent
organic pollutants (DDT, dioxins, PCBs and Chlordane, among others) in their
body were found to be up to 38 times more likely to be insulin resistant than
individuals with low levels of these pollutants, though the study did not
demonstrate a cause and effect relationship. As most exposure to POPs is
through consumption of animal fats, study participants with high levels of
serum POPs are also very likely to be consumers of high amounts of animal
fats, and thus the consumption of the fats themselves, or other associated factors
may be responsible for the observed increase in insulin resistance.
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• Another possibility is that insulin resistance causes increased accumulation of
POPs. Among study participants, obesity was associated with diabetes only in
people who tested high for these pollutants. These pollutants are accumulated in
animal fats, so minimizing consumption of animal fats may reduce the risk of
diabetes. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, type 2 diabetes
is on the list of presumptive diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange
(which contained 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin) in the Vietnam War.

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 Topic 22
Sewage water source, characteristics, sewage treatment process
• Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of
removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff
(effluents) and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological
processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants. Its
objective is to produce a waste stream (or treated effluent) and a solid waste or
sludge suitable for discharge or reuse back into the environment. This material
is often inadvertently contaminated with many toxic organic and inorganic
compounds.

Origins of sewage
• Sewage is created by residences, institutions, and commercial and industrial
establishments. Raw influent (sewage) includes household waste liquid from
toilets, baths, showers, kitchens, sinks, and so forth that is disposed of via
sewers. In many areas, sewage also includes liquid waste from industry and
commerce. The separation and draining of household waste into greywater and
blackwater is becoming more common in the developed world, with greywater
being permitted to be used for watering plants or recycled for flushing toilets.
• A lot of sewage also includes some surface water from roofs or hard-standing
areas. Municipal wastewater therefore includes residential, commercial, and
industrial liquid waste discharges, and may include storm water runoff. Sewage
systems capable of handling storm water are known as combined systems or
combined sewers. Such systems are usually avoided since they complicate and
thereby reduce the efficiency of sewage treatment plants owing to their
seasonality.
• The variability in flow also leads to often larger than necessary, and
subsequently more expensive, treatment facilities. In addition, heavy storms
that contribute more flows than the treatment plant can handle may overwhelm
the sewage treatment system, causing a spill or overflow. It is preferable to have
a separate storm drain system for storm water in areas that are developed with
sewer systems.
• As rainfall runs over the surface of roofs and the ground, it may pick up various
contaminants including soil particles and other sediment, heavy metals, organic
compounds, animal waste, and oil and grease. Some jurisdictions require storm
water to receive some level of treatment before being discharged directly into
waterways. Examples of treatment processes used for storm water include
sedimentation basins, wetlands, buried concrete vaults with various kinds of
filters, and vortex separators (to remove coarse solids).

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Process overview
• Sewage can be treated close to where it is created (in septic tanks, biofilters or
aerobic treatment systems), or collected and transported via a network of pipes
and pump stations to a municipal treatment plant. Sewage collection and
treatment is typically subject to local, state and federal regulations and
standards. Industrial sources of wastewater often require specialized treatment
processes.
• Conventional sewage treatment may involve three stages, called primary,
secondary and tertiary treatment. Primary treatment consists of temporarily
holding the sewage in a quiescent basin where heavy solids can settle to the
bottom while oil, grease and lighter solids float to the surface. The settled and
floating materials are removed and the remaining liquid may be discharged or
subjected to secondary treatment. Secondary treatment removes dissolved and
suspended biological matter. Secondary treatment is typically performed by
indigenous, water-borne micro-organisms in a managed habitat.
• Secondary treatment may require a separation process to remove the micro-
organisms from the treated water prior to discharge or tertiary
treatment. Tertiary treatment is sometimes defined as anything more than
primary and secondary treatment. Treated water is sometimes disinfected
chemically or physically (for example by lagoons and microfiltration) prior to
discharge into a stream, river, bay, lagoon or wetland, or it can be used for the
irrigation of a golf course, green way or park. If it is sufficiently clean, it can
also be used for groundwater recharge or agricultural purposes.
• Pre-treatment: Pre-treatment removes materials that can be easily collected
from the raw wastewater before they damage or clog the pumps and skimmers
of primary treatment clarifiers.
• Screening: The influent sewage water is strained to remove all large objects
carried in the sewage stream. This is most commonly done with an automated
mechanically raked bar screen in modern plants serving large populations,
whilst in smaller or less modern plants a manually cleaned screen may be
used. The raking action of a mechanical bar screen is typically paced
according to the accumulation on the bar screens and/or flow rate. The solids
are collected and later disposed in a landfill or incinerated.
• Grit removal: Pretreatment may include a sand or grit channel or chamber
where the velocity of the incoming wastewater is carefully controlled to allow
sand, grit and stones to settle.

Primary treatment
• In the primary sedimentation stage, sewage flows through large tanks,
commonly called "primary clarifiers" or "primary sedimentation tanks". The
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 tanks are large enough that sludge can settle and floating material such as
grease and oils can rise to the surface and be skimmed off. The main purpose
of the primary sedimentation stage is to produce both a generally
homogeneous liquid capable of being treated biologically and a sludge that
can be separately treated or processed.
• Primary settling tanks are usually equipped with mechanically driven scrapers
that continually drive the collected sludge towards a hopper in the base of the
tank from where it can be pumped to further sludge treatment stages. Grease
and oil from the floating material can sometimes be recovered for
saponification.

Secondary treatment
• Secondary treatment is designed to substantially degrade the biological content
of the sewage such as are derived from human waste, food waste, soaps and
detergent. The majority of municipal plants treat the settled sewage liquor using
aerobic biological processes. For this to be effective, the biota require both
oxygen and a substrate on which to live. There are a number of ways in which
this is done. In all these methods, the bacteria and protozoa consume
biodegradable soluble organic contaminants (e.g. sugars, fats, organic short-
chain carbon molecules, etc.) and bind much of the less soluble fractions into
floc. Secondary treatment systems are classified as
a) Fixed-film or
b) Suspended-growth.
• Fixed-film or attached growth system treatment process including trickling
filter and rotating biological contactors where the biomass grows on media and
the sewage passes over its surface.
• In suspended-growth systems, such as activated sludge, the biomass is well
mixed with the sewage and can be operated in a smaller space than fixed-film
systems that treat the same amount of water. However, fixed-film systems are
more able to cope with drastic changes in the amount of biological material and
can provide higher removal rates for organic material and suspended solids than
suspended growth systems.
• Roughing filters are intended to treat particularly strong or variable organic
loads, typically industrial, to allow them to then be treated by conventional
secondary treatment processes. Characteristics include typically tall, circular
filters filled with open synthetic filter media to which wastewater is applied at a
relatively high rate. They are designed to allow high hydraulic loading and a
high flow-through of air. On larger installations, air is forced through the media
using blowers. The resultant wastewater is usually within the normal range for
conventional treatment processes.
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 a) Activated sludge
b) Surface-aerated basins
c) Filter beds (oxidizing beds)
d) Trickling filter
e) Biological aerated filters
f) Membrane bioreactors

Secondary sedimentation
• The final step in the secondary treatment stage is to settle out the biological floc
or filter material and produce sewage water containing very low levels of
organic material and suspended matter.
• Rotating biological contactors

Tertiary treatment
• The purpose of tertiary treatment is to provide a final treatment stage to raise
the effluent quality before it is discharged to the receiving environment (sea,
river, lake, ground, etc.). More than one tertiary treatment process may be used
at any treatment plant. If disinfection is practiced, it is always the final process.
It is also called "effluent polishing".

Filtration
• Sand filtration removes much of the residual suspended matter. Filtration over
activated carbon removes residual toxins.

Lagooning
• Lagooning provides settlement and further biological improvement through
storage in large man-made ponds or lagoons. These lagoons are highly aerobic
and colonization by native macrophytes, especially reeds, is often encouraged.
Small filter feeding invertebrates such as Daphnia and species of Rotifera
greatly assist in treatment by removing fine particulates.

Constructed wetlands
• Constructed wetlands include engineered reedbeds and a range of similar
methodologies, all of which provide a high degree of aerobic biological
improvement and can often be used instead of secondary treatment for small
communities. One example is a small reedbed used to clean the drainage from
the elephants' enclosure at Chester Zoo in England.

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Nutrient removal
• Wastewater may contain high levels of the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus.
Excessive release to the environment can lead to a buildup of nutrients, called
eutrophication, which can in turn encourage the overgrowth of weeds, algae,
and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). This may cause an algal bloom, a rapid
growth in the population of algae. The algae numbers are unsustainable and
eventually most of them die.
• The decomposition of the algae by bacteria uses up so much of oxygen in the
water that most or all of the animals die, which creates more organic matter for
the bacteria to decompose. In addition to causing deoxygenation, some algal
species produce toxins that contaminate drinking water supplies. Different
treatment processes are required to remove nitrogen and phosphorus.

Nitrogen removal
• The removal of nitrogen is effected through the biological oxidation of nitrogen
from ammonia (nitrification) to nitrate, followed by denitrification, the
reduction of nitrate to nitrogen gas. Nitrogen gas is released to the atmosphere
and thus removed from the water.Nitrification itself is a two-step aerobic
process, each step facilitated by a different type of bacteria. The oxidation of
ammonia (NH3) to nitrite (NO2−) is most often facilitated by Nitrosomonas
spp. (nitroso referring to the formation of a nitroso functional group). Nitrite
oxidation to nitrate (NO3−), though traditionally believed to be facilitated by
Nitrobacter spp. (nitro referring the formation of a nitro functional group), is
now known to be facilitated in the environment almost exclusively
by Nitrospira spp.
• Denitrification requires anoxic conditions to encourage the appropriate
biological communities to form. It is facilitated by a wide diversity of bacteria.
Sand filters, lagooning and reed beds can all be used to reduce nitrogen, but the
activated sludge process (if designed well) can do the job the most easily. Since
denitrification is the reduction of nitrate to dinitrogen gas, an electron donor is
needed. This can be, depending on the wastewater, organic matter (from
faeces), sulfide, or an added donor like methanol.
• Sometimes the conversion of toxic ammonia to nitrate alone is referred to as
tertiary treatment. Many sewage treatment plants use axial flow pumps to
transfer the nitrified mixed liquor from the aeration zone to the anoxic zone for
denitrification. These pumps are often referred to as Internal Mixed Liquor
Recycle pumps (IMLR pumps).

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Phosphorus removal
• Phosphorus removal is important as it is a limiting nutrient for algae growth in
many fresh water systems. It is also particularly important for water reuse
systems where high phosphorus concentrations may lead to fouling of
downstream equipment such as reverse osmosis.Phosphorus can be removed
biologically in a process called enhanced biological phosphorus removal. In this
process, specific bacteria, called polyphosphate accumulating organisms
(PAOs), are selectively enriched and accumulate large quantities of phosphorus
within their cells (up to 20% of their mass). When the biomass enriched in these
bacteria is separated from the treated water, these biosolids have a high
fertilizer value.
• Phosphorus removal can also be achieved by chemical precipitation, usually
with salts of iron (e.g. ferric chloride), aluminum (e.g. alum), or lime. This may
lead to excessive sludge productions as hydroxides precipitates and the added
chemicals can be expensive. Chemical phosphorus removal requires
significantly smaller equipment footprint than biological removal, is easier to
operate and is often more reliable than biological phosphorus removal. Once
removed, phosphorus, in the form of a phosphate rich sludge, may be stored in a
land fill or resold for use in fertilizer.

Disinfection
• The purpose of disinfection in the treatment of wastewater is to substantially
reduce the number of microorganisms in the water to be discharged back into
the environment. The effectiveness of disinfection depends on the quality of the
water being treated (e.g., cloudiness, pH, etc.), the type of disinfection being
used, the disinfectant dosage (concentration and time), and other environmental
variables.
• Cloudy water will be treated less successfully since solid matter can shield
organisms, especially from ultraviolet light or if contact times are low.
Generally, short contact times, low doses and high flows all militate against
effective disinfection. Common methods of disinfection include ozone,
chlorine, or ultraviolet light. Chloramine, which is used for drinking water, is
not used in wastewater treatment because of its persistence.
• Chlorination remains the most common form of wastewater disinfection in
North America due to its low cost and long-term history of effectiveness. One
disadvantage is that chlorination of residual organic material can generate
chlorinated-organic compounds that may be carcinogenic or harmful to the
environment. Residual chlorine or chloramines may also be capable of
chlorinating organic material in the natural aquatic environment. Further,
because residual chlorine is toxic to aquatic species, the treated effluent must
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 also be chemically dechlorinated, adding to the complexity and cost of
treatment.Ultraviolet (UV) light can be used instead of chlorine, iodine, or other
chemicals. Because no chemicals are used, the treated water has no adverse
effect on organisms that later consume it, as may be the case with other
methods. UV radiation causes damage to the genetic structure of bacteria,
viruses, and other pathogens, making them incapable of reproduction.
• The key disadvantages of UV disinfection are the need for frequent lamp
maintenance and replacement and the need for a highly treated effluent to
ensure that the target microorganisms are not shielded from the UV radiation
(i.e., any solids present in the treated effluent may protect microorganisms from
the UV light). In the United Kingdom, light is becoming the most common
means of disinfection because of the concerns about the impacts of chlorine in
chlorinating residual organics in the wastewater and in chlorinating organics in
the receiving water. Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, Canada also use UV light
for their effluent water disinfection.
• Ozone O3 is generated by passing oxygen O2 through a high voltage potential
resulting in a third oxygen atom becoming attached and forming O3. Ozone is
very unstable and reactive and oxidizes most organic material it comes in
contact with, thereby destroying many pathogenic microorganisms. Ozone is
considered to be safer than chlorine because, unlike chlorine which has to be
stored on site (highly poisonous in the event of an accidental release), ozone is
generated onsite as needed. Ozonation also produces fewer disinfection by-
products than chlorination. A disadvantage of ozone disinfection is the high
cost of the ozone generation equipment and the requirements for special
operators.

Odour removal
• Early stages of processing will tend to produce smelly gasses, hydrogen sulfide
being most common in generating complaints from nearby areas. Large process
plants in urban areas will often contain a foul air removal tower, comprised of
air circulators, a contact media with bio-slimes, and circulating fluids to
biologically capture and metabolize the obnoxious gasses previously contained
by reactor enclosures.

Sludge treatment and disposal

• The sludges accumulated in a wastewater treatment process must be treated and
disposed of in a safe and effective manner. The purpose of digestion is to
reduce the amount of organic matter and the number of disease-causing
microorganisms present in the solids. The most common treatment options

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 include anaerobic digestion, aerobic digestion, and composting. Incineration is
also used albeit to a much lesser degree.
• Choice of a wastewater solid treatment method depends on the amount of solids
generated and other site-specific conditions. However, in general, composting is
most often applied to smaller-scale applications followed by aerobic digestion
and then lastly anaerobic digestion for the larger-scale municipal applications.

Anaerobic digestion
• Anaerobic digestion is a bacterial process that is carried out in the absence of
oxygen. The process can either be thermophilic digestion, in which sludge is
fermented in tanks at a temperature of 55°C, or mesophilic, at a temperature of
around 36°C. Though allowing shorter retention time (and thus smaller tanks),
thermophilic digestion is more expensive in terms of energy consumption for
heating the sludge.
• Anaerobic Digestion is the most common (mesophilic) treatment of Domestic
Sewage in Septic Tanks, which normally retain the sewage, from one day to
two days, reducing the B.O.D. by about 35 to 40%. This reduction can be
increased by a combination of anaerobic and aerobic by installing '[Aerobic
Treatment Units]' (ATUs) in the Septic Tank. One major feature of anaerobic
digestion is the production of biogas, which can be used in generators for
electricity production and/or in boilers for heating purposes.

Aerobic digestion
• Aerobic digestion is a bacterial process occurring in the presence of oxygen.
Under aerobic conditions, bacteria rapidly consume organic matter and convert
it into carbon dioxide. The operating costs used to be characteristically much
greater for aerobic digestion because of the energy used by the blowers, pumps
and motors needed to add oxygen to the process. However, since the recent
advent of stone fibre filter technology which uses natural air currents for
oxygenation, this no longer applies. Aerobic digestion can also be achieved by
using jet aerators to oxidize the sludge.

Composting
• Composting is also an aerobic process that involves mixing the sludge with
sources of carbon such as sawdust, straw or wood chips. In the presence of
oxygen, bacteria digest both the wastewater solids and the added carbon source
and, in doing so, produce a large amount of heat.
• Incineration
• Sludge disposal
• Treatment in the receiving environment
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 Topic 23
Hazardous Waste
• Hazardous Waste is a "solid waste" which because of its quantity,
concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may:
• Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the
environment when improperly treated, stored or disposed of, or otherwise
mismanaged; or
• Cause or contribute to an increase in mortality, or an increase in irreversible
or incapacitating illness.
• A "solid waste" is defined as any discarded material that is abandoned by
being disposed of, burned or incinerated, recycled or considered "waste-like."
A solid waste can physically be a solid, liquid, semi-solid, or container of
gaseous material. A waste is classified as a hazardous waste if it has a
hazardous characteristic listed below or is listed as a hazardous waste in
EPA's page with the list of identifies hazardous wastes. Hazardous
Characteristics:

Ignitable Hazardous Waste

• A liquid waste which has a flash point of less than or equal to 140 degrees F
(60 degrees C) as determined by an approved test method.
• A non-liquid waste which, under standard conditions, is capable of causing a
fire through friction, absorption of moisture or a spontaneous chemical
change and when ignited, the waste burns so vigorously and persistently that
it creates a hazard.
• An ignitable compressed gas or oxidizer.

Corrosive Hazardous Waste

• An aqueous waste with a pH of less than or equal to 2 or greater than or
equal to 12.5 is considered to be a corrosive hazardous waste.
• A liquid waste that corrodes steel at a minimum rate of .25 inch per year as
determined by an approved test method.
• Reactive Hazardous Waste
• A solid waste that is normally unstable, reacts violently with water, or
generates toxic gases when exposed to water or other materials.

Toxic Hazardous Waste

• A waste that contains certain substances determined to be harmful at or in
excess of the maximum concentration. Some of those substances include lead,
arsenic, and mercury.

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 • Many things that are thrown out in the rubbish, like some household batteries,
car oil, or old paint, can contain harmful chemicals that damage the
environment. Find out how to dispose safely of domestic hazardous waste.

What is hazardous waste?

• Waste is hazardous when it has properties that might make it harmful to human
health or the environment. The term 'hazardous' does not always mean that
such waste is immediately harmful, though some can be.

What types of waste are hazardous?

Domestic wastes that may be hazardous include:
• Asbestos
• Pesticides
• Fluorescent tubes
• Oils
• Some paints
• Some household and car batteries
• Discarded electrical equipment such as TVs and computer monitors, fridges
and freezers

Disposal methods
• Incineration is a waste treatment technology that involves the combustion of
organic materials and / or substances. Incineration and other high temperature
waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment". Incineration of
waste materials converts the waste into incinerator bottom ash, flue gases,
particulates, and heat, which can in turn be used to generate electric power.
The flue gases are cleaned of pollutants before they are dispersed in the
atmosphere.
• Incineration with energy recovery is one of several waste-to-energy (WtE)
technologies such as gasification, Plasma arc gasification, pyrolysis and
anaerobic digestion. Incineration may also be implemented without energy and
materials recovery.
• In several countries there are still expert and local community concerns about
the environmental impact of incinerators. In some countries, incinerators built
just a few decades ago often did not include a materials separation to remove
hazardous, bulky or recyclable materials before combustion. These facilities
tended to risk the health of the plant workers and the local environment due to
inadequate levels of gas cleaning and combustion process control. Most of
these facilities did not generate electricity.

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• Incinerators reduce the mass of the original waste by 80–85 % and the volume
(already compressed somewhat in garbage trucks) by 95-96 %, depending
upon composition and degree of recovery of materials such as metals from the
ash for recycling. This means that while incineration does not completely
replace land filling, it reduces the necessary volume for disposal significantly.
• Garbage trucks often reduce the volume of waste in a built-in compressor
before delivery to the incinerator. Alternatively, at landfills, the volume of the
uncompressed garbage can be reduced by approximately 70% with the use of a
stationary steel compressor, albeit with a significant energy cost. In many
countries simpler waste compaction is a common practice for compaction at
landfills.
• Incineration has particularly strong benefits for the treatment of certain waste
types in niche areas such as clinical wastes and certain hazardous wastes where
pathogens and toxins can be destroyed by high temperatures. Examples include
chemical multi-product plants with diverse toxic or very toxic wastewater
streams, which cannot be routed to a conventional wastewater treatment plant.
• Waste combustion is particularly popular in countries such as Japan where land
is a scarce resource. Denmark and Sweden have been leaders in using the
energy generated from incineration for more than a century, in localized
combined heat and power facilities supporting district heating schemes. In
2005, waste incineration produced 4.8 % of the electricity consumption and
13.7 % of the total domestic heat consumption in Denmark. A number of other
European Countries rely heavily on incineration for handling municipal waste,
in particular Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Germany and France.
• Pyrolysis is the chemical decomposition of condensed substances by heating
that occurs spontaneously at high enough temperatures. The word is coined
from the Greek-derived elements pyro "fire" and lysys
"decomposition".Pyrolysis is a special case of thermolysis, and is most
commonly used for organic materials, being then one of the processes involved
in charring. The pyrolysis of wood, which starts above 300 °C, occurs for
example in fires or when vegetation comes into contact with lava in volcanic
eruptions. In general, pyrolysis of organic substances produces gas and liquid
products and leaves a solid residue richer in carbon content. Extreme pyrolysis,
which leaves mostly carbon as the residue, is called carbonization.
• This chemical process is heavily used in the chemical industry, for example, to
produce charcoal, activated carbon, methanol and other chemicals from wood,
to convert ethylene dichloride into vinyl chloride to make PVC, to produce
coke from coal, to convert biomass into syngas, to turn waste into safely
disposable substances, and for transforming medium-weight hydrocarbons
from oil into lighter ones like gasoline. These specialized uses of pyrolysis
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 may be called various names, such as dry distillation, destructive distillation,
or cracking.
• Pyrolysis also plays an important role in several cooking procedures, such as
baking, frying, grilling and caramelizing. It is also a tool of chemical analysis,
for example in mass spectrometry and in carbon-14 dating. Indeed, many
important chemical substances, such as phosphorus and sulfuric acid, were first
obtained by this process. Pyrolysis has been assumed to take place during
catagenesis, the conversion of buried organic matter to fossil fuels. It is also
the basis of pyrography.
• Pyrolysis differs from other high-temperature processes like combustion and
hydrolysis in that it does not involve reactions with oxygen, water, or any other
reagents. However, the term has also been applied to the decompositon of
organic material in the presence of superheated water or steam (hydrous
pyrolysis), for example in the steam cracking of oil.
• Deforestation is the permanent destruction of indigenous forests and
woodlands. The term does not include the removal of industrial forests such as
plantations of gums or pines. Deforestation has resulted in the reduction of
indigenous forests to four-fifths of their pre-agricultural area. Indigenous
forests now cover 21% of the earth's land surface.

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 Topic 24
Deforestation
What are forests and woodlands?
• In a forest the crowns of individual trees touch to form a single canopy. In a
woodland, trees grow far apart, so that the canopy is open.Of great concern is
the rate at which deforestation is occurring. Currently, 12 million hectares of
forests are cleared annually. Almost all of this deforestation occurs in the moist
forests and open woodlands of the tropics. At this rate all moist tropical forest
could be lost by the year 2050, except for isolated areas in Amazonia, the Zaire
basin, as well as a few protected areas within reserves and parks. Some
countries such as Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Costa Rica, and Sri Lanka are likely to
lose all their tropical forests by the year 2010 if no conservation steps are
taken.

How does it happen?

• Deforestation is an environmental problem that is happening in many places,
and affecting the whole world. Deforestation is the destruction or removal of
rainforests. Trees are cut down for logging companies, for animals to have land
to graze and so farmers have land for their crops. The removal of the forests
may seem like it affects only the immediate surroundings, but it really affects
the world as a whole. In regions where deforestation occurs there is an influx
in the temperature extremes. There is no shade during the day, and no
insulation during the night. Once the trees and shade are gone, the once moist
soil soon becomes dry and cracked. This leads to flooding and erosion. There
is nothing to absorb the rainfall and no roots to hold the soil in place. Another
huge problem of deforestation is its contribution to the greenhouse effect.
• The greenhouse effect is when gases in the atmosphere trap the sun's heat
causing global warming. Since trees are half carbon, all of that carbon is
released into the atmosphere when they are burned. Unfortunately carbon
dioxide is one of the gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Since three
quarters of the deforestation is due to the burning of the forests, the burning of
trees accounts for a quarter of the carbon dioxide that is released into the
atmosphere each year.There is really no easy solution to deforestation. One
possible solution is recycling.
• If more people recycle, there will be less dependence on disposable products
like paper plates and paper towels. If there is no demand for these products
there would be a decrease in the need for logging in the rainforests. Another
possible solution to deforestation is the increase in the number of tree
plantations. The rainforests destroyed by logging could also be replaced by
new trees. In South America, the main area where deforestation occurs, there
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 are currently no laws about deforestation. There are talks about a set of laws,
but nothing is currently in place. If a law was made requiring loggers to plant
new trees in place of the ones they cut down it would help the problem of
deforestation

Consequences of Deforestation
Deforestation is brought about by the following:
• Conversion of forests and woodlands to agricultural land to feed growing
numbers of people;
• Development of cash crops and cattle ranching, both of which earn money for
tropical countries;
• Commercial logging (which supplies the world market with woods such as
meranti, teak, mahogany and ebony) destroys trees as well as opening up
forests for agriculture;
• Felling of trees for firewood and building material; the heavy lopping of
foliage for fodder; and heavy browsing of saplings by domestic animals like
goats.
• To compound the problem, the poor soils of the humid tropics do not support
agriculture for long. Thus people are often forced to move on and clear more
forests in order to maintain production.

Consequences of Deforestation
Alteration of local and global climates through disruption of:
a) The carbon cycle
• Forests act as a major carbon store because carbon dioxide (CO2) is taken up
from the atmosphere and used to produce the carbohydrates, fats, and
proteins that make up the tree.
• When forests are cleared, and the trees are either burnt or rot, this carbon is
released as CO2. This leads to an increase in the atmospheric CO2
concentration. CO2 is the major contributor to the greenhouse effect.
• It is estimated that deforestation contributes one-third of all CO2 releases
caused by people.
b) The water cycle
• Trees draw ground water up through their roots and release it into the
atmosphere (transpiration). In Amazonia over half of all the water
circulating through the region's ecosystem remains within the plants. With
removal of part of the forest, the region cannot hold as much water. The
effect of this could be a drier climate.
• Soil erosion with the loss of a protective cover of vegetation more soil is
lost.
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 • Silting of water courses, lakes and dams This occurs as a result of soil
erosion.
• Extinction of species which depend on the forest for survival. Forests
contain more than half of all species on our planet - as the habitat of these
species is destroyed, so the number of species declines.
• Desertification The causes of desertification are complex,
but deforestation is one of the contributing factors

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 Topic 25
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India
• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India, statutory
organisation, was constituted in September, 1974 under the Water
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Further, CPCB was
entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and
Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
• It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the
Ministry of Environment and Forests of the provisions of the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986. Principal Functions of the CPCB, as spelt out in the
Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981,
(i) To promote cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of the
States by prevention, control and abatement of water pollution, and
(ii) To improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate
air pollution in the country.
• Air Quality Monitoring is an important part of the air quality management.
The National Air Monitoring Programme (NAMP) has been established with
objectives to determine the present air quality status and trends and to
control and regulate pollution from industries and other source to meet the
air quality standards. It also provides background air quality data needed for
industrial siting and towns planning.
• Besides this, CPCB has an automatic monitoring station at ITO Intersection
in New Delhi. At this station Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter
(RSPM), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2),
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) are being
monitored regularly. This information on Air Quality at ITO is updated
every week.
• Fresh water is a finite resource essential for use in agriculture, industry,
propagation of wildlife & fisheries and for human existence. India is a
riverine country. It has 14 major rivers, 44 medium rivers and 55 minor
rivers besides numerous lakes, ponds and wells which are used as primary
source of drinking water even without treatment. Most of the rivers being
fed by monsoon rains, which are limited to only three months of the year,
run dry throughout the rest of the year often carrying wastewater discharges
from industries or cities/towns endangering the quality of our scarce water
resources.
• The parliament of India in its wisdom enacted the Water (Prevention and
Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 with a view to maintaining and restoring
wholesomeness of our water bodies. One of the mandates of CPCB is to
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 collect, collate and disseminate technical and statistical data relating to water
pollution. Hence, Water Quality Monitoring (WQM) and Surveillance are of
utmost importance.

Functions of the Central Board at the National Level

• Advise the Government of India on any matter concerning prevention and
control of water and air pollution and improvement of the quality of air.
• Plan and cause to be executed a nation-wide programme for the prevention,
control or abatement of water and air pollution;
• Co-ordinate the activities of the State Board and resolve disputes among
them;
• Provide technical assistance and guidance to the State Boards, carry out and
sponsor investigation and research relating to problems of water and
air pollution, and for their prevention, control or abatement;
• Plan and organise training of persons engaged in programme on the
prevention, control or abatement of water and air pollution;
• Organise through mass media, a comprehensive mass awareness programme
on the prevention, control or abatement of water and air pollution;
• Collect, compile and publish technical and statistical data relating to water
and air pollution and the measures devised for their effective prevention,
control or abatement;
• Prepare manuals, codes and guidelines relating to treatment and disposal of
sewage and trade effluents as well as for stack gas cleaning devices, stacks
and ducts;
• Disseminate information in respect of matters relating to water and
air pollution and their prevention and control;
• Lay down, modify or annul, in consultation with the State Governments
concerned, the standards for stream or well, and lay down standards for the
quality of air; and
• Perform such other function as may be prescribed by the Government of
india.

Functions of the Central Board as State Boards for the Union Territories
• Advise the Governments of Union Territories with respect to the suitability
of any premises or location for carrying on any industry which is likely to
pollute a stream or well or cause air pollutions; Lay down standards for
treatment of sewage and trade effluents and for emissions from automobiles,
industrial plants, and any other polluting source; Evolve efficient methods for
disposal of sewage and trade effluents on land; develop reliable and

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 economically viable methods of treatment of sewage, trade effluent and
air pollution control equipment;
• Identify any area or areas within Union Territories as air pollution control
area or areas to be notified under the Air (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act, 1981; Assess the quality of ambient water and air, and inspect
wastewater treatment installations, air pollution control equipment, industrial
plants or manufacturing process to evaluate their performance and to take
steps for the prevention, control and abatement of air and water pollution.
• As per the policy decision of the Government of India, the CPCB has
delegated its powers and functions under the Water (Prevention and Control
of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess
Act, 1977 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 with
respect to Union Territories to respective local administrations. CPCB along
with its counterparts State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) are responsible
for implementation of legislations relating to prevention and control of
environmental pollution

National Air Quality Monitoring Programme

• Central Pollution Control Board is executing a nation-wide programme of
ambient air quality monitoring known as National Air Quality Monitoring
Programme (NAMP). The network consists of three hundred and forty two
(342) operating stations covering one hundred and twenty seven (127)
cities/towns in twenty six (26) states and four (4) Union Territories of the
country.
• The objectives of the N.A.M.P. are to determine status and trends of ambient
air quality; to ascertain whether the prescribed ambient air quality standards
are violated; to Identify Non-attainment Cities; to obtain the knowledge and
understanding necessary for developing preventive and corrective measures
and to understand the natural cleansing process undergoing in the
environment through pollution dilution, dispersion, wind based movement,
dry deposition, precipitation and chemical transformation
of pollutants generated.
• Under N.A.M.P., four air pollutants viz ., Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Oxides of
Nitrogen as NO2, Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respirable
Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM / PM10) have been identified for
regular monitoring at all the locations. The monitoring of meteorological
parameters such as wind speed and wind direction, relative humidity (RH)
and temperature were also integrated with the monitoring of air quality.

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 • The monitoring of pollutants is carried out for 24 hours (4-hourly sampling
for gaseous pollutants and 8-hourly sampling for particulate matter) with a
frequency of twice a week, to have one hundred and four (104) observations
in a year. The monitoring is being carried out with the help of
Central Pollution Control Board; State Pollution Control
Boards; Pollution Control Committees; National Environmental Engineering
Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur.
• CPCB co-ordinates with these agencies to ensure the uniformity, consistency
of air quality data and provides technical and financial support to them for
operating the monitoring stations. N.A.M.P. is being operated through
various monitoring agencies. Large number of personnel and equipments are
involved in the sampling, chemical analyses, data reporting etc. It increases
the probability of variation and personnel biases reflecting in the data, hence
it is pertinent to mention that these data be treated as indicative rather than
absolute

Water quality
• CPCB in collaboration with concerned SPCBs/PCCs established a nationwide
network of water quality monitoring comprising 1019 stations in 27 States and
6 Union Territories.
• The monitoring is done on monthly or quarterly basis in surface waters and on
half yearly basis in case of ground water. The monitoring network covers 200
Rivers, 60 Lakes, 5 Tanks, 3 Ponds, 3 Creeks, 13 Canals, 17 Drains and 321
Wells. Among the 1019 stations, 592 are on rivers, 65 on lakes, 17 on drains,
13 on canals, 5 on tanks, 3 on creeks, 3 on ponds and 321 are groundwater
stations.
• Presently the inland water quality-monitoring network is operated under a
three-tier programme i.e. Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS),
Monitoring of Indian National Aquatic Resources System (MINARS) and
Yamuna Action Plan (YAP).
• Water samples are being analysed for 28 parameters consisting of 9 core
parameters, 19 other physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters apart
from the field observations. Besides this, 9 trace metals and 22 pesticides are
also analysed in selected samples. Biomonitoring is also carried out on
specific locations.
• In view of limited resources, limited numbers of organic pollution related
parameters are monitored i.e. micro pollutants (Toxic Metals & POPs) are
analysed once in a year to assess the water quality. The water quality data are
reported in Water Quality Status Year Book.

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National Water Quality
Monitoring Network National Water Quality at a Glance
• The water quality data on rivers, lakes, ponds, tanks and groundwater locations
being monitored under the network is evaluated against the water quality
criteria and the monitoring locations in exceedence with respect to one or more
parameters are identified as polluted, which requires action for restoration of
water quality. The locations on rivers, lakes, ponds, tanks and groundwater not
meeting the criteria are summarized ahead.

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 Topic 26
Prevention and control of pollution – technological and sociological measures
and solution, Indian and global efforts. Environmental act, law, policy and
legislation in india
• Man has drawn so much from nature for the satisfaction of his needs, desires
and ambitions resulting in the immediate need for proper environmental
management.
• The proper environmental management requires that society and man’s
demands should be so regulated that natural environment is able to sustain the
need for development.
• The question of environmental protection would essentially be a question of
re-allocation of priorities among various needs and choosing among diverse
means for meeting them. The environmental protection is the concern of
everyone.
• The fundamental question before the world today is whether we can allow the
destruction of the environment leading to the destruction of all life on the
earth. Hence protection of environment is of paramount importance.

Environmental laws of India

Major legislations directly dealing with the protection of environment in India
are
1. The wild life protection Act, 1972.
2. The water (Prevention and control of pollution) Act, 1974.
3. The forest conservation Act, 1980.
4. The air (Prevention and control of pollution) Act, 1981.
5. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
6. The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991.
7. The National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995.
• The wild life protection Act, 1972 provides for rational and modern wildlife
management, while the forest protection Act, 1980 has been enacted to check
indiscriminate deforestation and diversion of forest land for non-forest
purposes. The water and air Acts are the major instruments for the control of
water and air pollution and these have provided for the establishment of the
Central and State Pollution Control Boards

Environmental protection under Indian constitution

• The 42nd Amendment to the constitution brought about in the year 1974
inserted two new Articles namely.

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 • Art. 48-A under Directive principles of State Policy, making it the
responsibility of the State Government to protect and improve the
environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.
• Art. 51-A (g) under Fundamental duties of citizens; making it the fundamental
duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment including
forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.
• The Environment (Protection) act, (EPA) 1986 is a landmark legislation
which provides for a single focus in the country for the protection of
environment and aims at plugging the loopholes in the existing legislation. It
is a comprehensive legislation to deal with water, air and land pollution and
hazardous wastes and handling, storage and transportation of hazardous
chemicals and wastes.

Important sections of EPA, 1986

• Section2: define the terms, environment, environmental pollutant,
environmental pollution and hazardous substance.
• Section 3: Power of Central Government to take measures to protect and
improve environment.
• Section 4: Appointment of officers and their powers and functions for the
purpose of this Act.
• Section 5: Power to give directions to the closure, prohibition or regulation of
industry, operation or process; or stoppage or regulation of the supply of
electricity or water or any other service.
• Section 6: Rules to regulate environmental pollution. Rules in respect of
• Standards of quality of air, water or soil for various areas and purposes;
• Maximum allowable limits of concentrations of
environmental pollutants (including noise) for different areas;
• Procedures and safeguards for handling hazardous substances.
• Prohibition and restriction on the handling of hazardous substances in
different areas.
• Prohibition and restriction on the location of industries and carrying on of
processes and operations in different areas;
• Procedures and safeguards for the prevention of accidents which may cause
environmental pollution and for providing for remedial measures for such
accidents.
• The Public liability Insurance Act, 1991, provides for mandatory insurance for
the purpose of providing immediate relief to the persons affected by accidents
occurring while handling any hazardous substance.

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 • The National Environmental Tribunal Act, 1995, seeks to constitute a tribunal
with Benches to award compensation for damage to persons, property and the
environment arising out of any activity involving hazardous substances.
• All these Acts are amended from time to time to rationalize and expand their
scope, coverage and penal provisions.

Indian Environmental of laws and legislation

• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, as amended up to
1988
• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules, 1975
• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) (Procedure for Transaction of
Business) Rules, 1975
• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977, as amended
by Amendment Act, 1991
• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Rules, 1978
• The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, as amended by
Amendment Act, 1987
• The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules,1982
• The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) (Union Territories) Rules, 1983
• The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
• The Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986
• Environmental impact Assessment of Development Projects
• Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989
• Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989
• Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Micro-Organisms
Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells rules, 1989
• Scheme of Labelling of Environment Friendly Products (ECO-MARKS)
• Restricting certain activities Range in special Specified area of Aravalli
• Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998
• The National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995
• The National Environmental Appellat Authority Act, 1997
• The Environment (Protection) (Second Amendment Rules), 1999 - Emission
Standards for New Generator Sets
• The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991
• The Public Liability Insurance Rules, 1991
• National Forest Policy, 1988
• Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
• Forest (Conservation) Rules, 1981
• The Eco Sensitive Zone - Pachmarhi, Notification, 1998
• Re-cycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999
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• 2-T Oil (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 1998
• Coastal Regulation Zone - Notifications
• Environment (Siting for Industrial Projects) Rules, 1999 - Notification
• Taj Trapezium Zone Pollution (Prevent and Control) Authority - Order
• Dumping and Disposal of Flyash - Notification
• Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000
• Municipal Solid Wastes (Management & Handling) Rules, 1999 - Notification
• Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation) Rules, 2000 - Draft Notification

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 Topic 27
Environment Protection Act, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,
Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, Wildlife Protection Act,
Forest Conservation Ac

The Environment (Protection) Act

• An Act to provide for the protection and improvement of environment and for
matters connected there with: Whereas the decisions were taken at the United
Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at Stockholm in June,
1972, in which India participated, to take appropriate steps for the protection
and improvement of human environment; And whereas it is considered
necessary further to implement the decisions aforesaid in so far as they relate to
the protection and improvement of environment and the prevention of hazards
to human beings, other living creatures, plants and property; Be it enacted by
Parliament in the thirty-seventh year of the Republic of India as follows:

Chapter i: Preliminary
Short title, extend and commencement
• This Act may be called the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• It extends to the whole of India.
• It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be
appointed for different provisions of this Act and for different areas.
Definitions
• In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--
• "Environment" includes water, air and land and the inter- relationship which
exists among and between water, air and land, and human beings, other living
creatures, plants, micro-organism and property;
• "Environmental pollutant" means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present
in such concentration as may be, or tend to be, injurious to environment;
• "Environmental pollution" means the presence in the environment of any
environmental pollutant;
• "handling", in relation to any substance, means the manufacture, processing,
treatment, package, storage, transportation, use, collection, destruction,
conversion, offering for sale, transfer or the like of such substance;
• "hazardous substance" means any substance or preparation which, by reason of
its chemical or physico-chemical properties or handling, is liable to cause harm
to human beings, other living creatures, plant, micro-organism, property or the
environment;

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• "Occupier", in relation to any factory or premises, means a person who has,
control over the affairs of the factory or the premises and includes in relation to
any substance, the person in possession of the substance;
• "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act.
Chapter ii: General powers of the central government
Chapteriii: Prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution
Chapter IV: Miscellaneous

The Air (Prevention and control of pollution) act

• An Act to provide for the prevention, control and abatement of air pollution,
for the establishment, with a view to carrying out the aforesaid purposes, of
Boards, for conferring on and assigning to such Boards powers and functions
relating thereto and for matters connected therewith. Whereas decisions were
taken at the United Nations Conference on the Hum an Environment held in
Stockholm in June, 1972, in which India participated, to take appropriate steps
for the preservation of the natural resources of the earth which, among other
things, include the preservation of the quality of air and control of
air pollution; And whereas it is considered necessary to implement the
decisions aforesaid in so far as they relate to the preservation of the quality of
air and control of air pollution; Be it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-
second Year of the Republic of India as follows :-
Chapter I: Preliminary
• Short title, extent and commencement.
• This Act may be called the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,
1981.
• It extends to the whole of India.
• It shall come into force on such datel as the Central Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
Definitions
• In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
• "Air pollutant" means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance 2[(including
noise)] present in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be
injurious to human beings or other living creatures or plants or property or
environment;
• "Air pollution" means the presence in the atmosphere of any air
• "Approved appliances" means any equipment or gadget used for the bringing of
any combustible material or for generating or consuming any fume, gas of
particulate matter and approved by the State Board for the purpose of this Act;
• "Approved fuel" means any fuel approved by the State Board for the purposes
of this Act;
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• "Automobile" means any vehicle powered either by internal combustion engine
or by any method of generating power to drive such vehicle by burning fuel;
• "Board" means the Central Board or State Board;
• "Central Board- means the [Central Board for the Prevention and Control of
Water Pollution] constituted under section 3 of the Water (Prevention and
Control of Pollution) Act, 1974;
• "Chimney" includes any structure with an opening or outlet from or through
which any air pollutant may be emitted,
• "Control equipment" means any apparatus, device, equipment or system to
control the quality and manner of emission of any air pollutant and includes any
device used for securing the efficient operation of any industrial plant;
• "Emission" means any solid or liquid or gaseous substance coming out of any
chimney, duct or flue or any other outlet;
• "Industrial plant" means any plant used for any industrial or trade purposes and
emitting any air pollutant into the atmosphere;
• "Member" means a member of the Central Board or a State Board, as the case
may be, and includes the Chairman thereof,
• "Occupier", in relation to any factory or premises, means the person who has
control over the affairs of the factory or the premises, and includes, in relation
to any substance, the person in possession of the substance.
• "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act by the Central
Government or as the case may be, the State government;
• In relation to a State in which the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution)
Act, 1974, is in force and the State Government has constituted for that State a
5[State Board for the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution] under section
4 of that Act, the said State Board; and
• In relation to any other State, the State Board for the Prevention and Control of
Air Pollution constituted by the State Government under section 5 of this Act.
Chapter ii: central and state boards for the prevention and control of air pollution
Chapter iii: Powers and functions of boards
Chapter iv: Prevention and control of air pollution
Chapter v: Fund, accounts and audit
Chapter vi: Penalties and procedure
Chapter vii: Miscellaneous

The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act

• The objective of the Act is to prevent and control of water pollution and to
maintain or restore wholesome of water. Central and State Governments have
constituted Boards for the Act. The Boards composition, terms and conditions
of services of members are defined in Section. 3-12. In some States air and
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 water boards are joint boards. The Boards advises the government on any
matter concerning the prevention and control of water pollution.
• It is coordinating the activities and providing technical assistance and guidance.
It runs national and state programmes through a mass media. It is collecting,
compiling and publishing technical and statistical data, lay down the standard of
different constituents of water, management of sewage and trade effluents and
giving direction to any pollution units, industry, or person to stop such activity.
• The Government have power to restrict any unit, and to take samples of
effluents and to get them analysed in Central or State laboratories. Whoever
fails to comply with any provision of this Act is punishable with the
imprisonment or with fine or with both. Second or third time breaking of the
law is further punishable. Under the provision of this Act
Central Pollution Control Board was established to fulfill its object.

Wildlife Protection Act

• The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 refers to a sweeping package of
legislation enacted in 1972 by the Government of India. Before 1972, India
only had five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act
established schedules of protected plant and animal species; hunting or
harvesting these species was largely outlawed.
• The Act provides for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants; and for
matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto. It extends to the
whole of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir which has its own
wildlife act. It has six schedules which give varying degrees of
protection. Schedule I and part II of Schedule II provide absolute protection -
offences under these are prescribed the highest penalties. Species listed
in Schedule IV are also protected, but the penalties are much lower.
Enforcement authorities have the power to compound offences under
this Schedule (i.e. they impose fines on the offenders).
Definitions under the Act (Section 2)
• "Animal" includes amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, and their young,
and also includes, in the cases of birds and reptiles, their eggs.
• "Animal article" means an article made from any captive or wild animal, other
than vermin, and includes an article or object in which the whole or any part of
such animal has been used and an article made therefrom.
• "Hunting" includes
(a) Capturing, killing, poisoning, snaring, or trapping any wild animal, and
every attempt to do so
(b) Driving any wild animal for any of the purposes specified in sub clause

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 (c) Injuring, destroying or taking any body part of any such animal, or in the
case of wild birds or reptiles, disturbing or damaging the eggs or nests of
such birds or reptiles.
• "Taxidermy" means the curing, preparation or preservation of trophies.
• "Trophy" means the whole or any part of any captive or wild animal (other
than vermin) which has been kept or preserved by any means, whether
artificial or natural. This includes:
• Rugs, skins, and specimens of such animals mounted in whole or in part
through a process of taxidermy
• Antler, horn, rhinoceros horn, feather, nail, tooth, musk, eggs, and nests.
• "Uncured trophy" means the whole or any part of any captive animal (other
than vermin) which has not undergone a process of taxidermy. This includes a
freshly killed wild animal, ambergris, musk and other animal products.
• "Vermin" means any wild animal specified in Schedule V.
• "Wildlife" includes any animal, bees, butterflies, crustacean, fish and moths;
and aquatic or land vegetation which forms part of any habitat.
• Hunting (Section 9): This section describes what constitutes hunting and the
intent to hunt.Ownership (Section 40 & 42): Regarding ownership issues and
trade licenses. Penalties (Section 51): Penalties are prescribed in section 51.
Enforcement can be performed by agencies such as the Forest Department, the
Police, the Customs and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Chargesheets can be filed directly by the Forest Department. Other
enforcement agencies, often due to the lack of technical expertise, hand over
cases to the Forest Department.

Forest (Conservation) Act

• An Act to provide for the conservation of forests and for matters connected
therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto. Be it enacted by Parliament in the
Thirty-first Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
Short title, extent and commencement.
• This Act may be called the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
• It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 25th day of October, 1980.
Restriction on the de-reservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest
purpose.
• Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force
in a State, no State Government or other authority shall make, except with the
prior approval of the Central Government, any order directing-

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• That any reserved forest (within the meaning of the expression "reserved forest"
in any law for the time being in force in that State) or any portion thereof, shall
cease to be reserved;

• That any forest land or any portion thereof may be used for any non-forest
purpose;
• That any forest land or any portion thereof may be assigned by way of lease or
otherwise to any private person or to any authority, corporation, agency or any
other organization not owned, managed or controlled by Government;
• That any forest land or any portion thereof may be cleared of trees which have
grown naturally in that land or portion, for the purpose of using it for
afforestation.
Explanation-
• For the purpose of this section, "non-forest purpose" means the breaking up or
clearing of any forest land or portion thereof for-
• The cultivation of tea, coffee, spices, rubber, palms, oil-bearing plants,
horticultural crops or medicinal plants;
• Any purpose other than afforestation
• but does not include any work relating or ancillary to conservation,
development and management of forests and wildlife, namely, the
establishment of check-posts, fire lines, wireless communications and
construction of fencing, bridges and culverts, dams, waterholes, trench marks,
boundary marks, pipelines or other like purposes.

Constitution of Advisory Committee

• The Central Government may constitute a Committee consisting of such
number of persons as h may deem fit to advise that Government with regard to-
• The grant of approval. under Section 2; and
• Any other matter connected with the conservation of forests which may be
referred to h by the Central Government.
a) Penalty for contravention of the provisions of the Act- Whoever
contravenes or abets the contravention of any of the provisions of Section 2,
shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a period which may
extend to fifteen days.
b) Offences by the Authorities and Government Departments
• Where any offence under this Act has been committed
• By any department of Government, the head of the department; or
• By any authority, every person who, at the time the offence was committed,
was directly in charge of, and was responsible to, the authority for the
conduct of the business of the authority as well as the authority;
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 • Shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be
proceeded against and punished accordingly: Provided that nothing
contained in this sub-section shall render the head of the department or any
person referred to in clause (b), liable to any punishment if he proves that the
offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due
diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
• Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence
punishable under the Act has been committed by a department of
Government or any authority referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) and
it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or
connivance of; or is attributable to any neglect on the part of any officer,
other than the head of the department, or in the case of an authority, any
person other than the persons referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1),
such officer or persons shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and
shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
c) Power to make rules
• The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, makes
rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
• Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is
made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total
period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or
more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session
immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both
Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree
that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in
such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that
any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity
of anything previously done under that rule.
d) Repeal and saving
• The Forest (Conservation) Ordinance, 1980 is hereby replaced.
• Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the
provisions of the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or
taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act.

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 Topic 28
International voluntary agencies mandates and activities in environmental
conservation

• There are a number of international and national organizations, agencies and

programmes involved in different areas of environment, forestry, wildlife and
other relevant aspects. Some of the important bodies are as follows.

International Bodies
• Earth scan: An agency, founded by UNEP in 1976 that commissions original
articles on environmental matter and sells them as features to newspapers and
magazines, especially in developing countries.
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES): An
international forum, whose membership for agreement is open to all countries.
For India, the Ministry of Environment and Forests functions as nodal agency
for participation in international agreements.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): This is an independent Federal
Agency of the U.S. Government established in 1970. It deals with protection
of environment by air, water, solid wastes, radiation, pesticides noise etc.
• European Economic Community (EEC): It is community of 12 European
nations with sound political, economic and legal base. The community has
joint agricultural and scientific programmes. It has programmes of framing
and implementation of coordinated policy for environmental improvement and
conservation of natural resources. CPCB, India has taken up projects on air
quality monitoring with assistance of EEC.
• Human Exposure Assessment Location (HEAL): The project is a part of
the Health Related Monitoring Programme by WHO in co-operation with
UNEP. This project has three components, viz., (i) air monitoring (ii) water
quality monitoring and (iii) food contamination monitoring on a global basis.
• International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU): A non-government
organization based in Paris, that encourages the exchange of scientific
information, initiates programmes requiring international scientific
cooperation and studies and reports on matters related to social and political
responsibilities in treatment of scientific community.
• International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
(IUCN): An autonomous body, founded in 1948 with its Headquarters at
Morges, Switzerland, that initiates and promotes scientifically based
conservation measures. It also cooperates with United Nations and other
intergovernmental agencies and sister bodies of World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF).
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 • International Marine Consultative organization (IMCO): It regulates the
operation of ship in high seas, from marine water pollution viewpoint.
• South Asia co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP): This has
been recently set up for exchange of professional knowledge and expertise on
environmental issues among member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Iran, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO). An United Nations agency, found in 1945 to support and
implement the efforts of member states to promote education, scientific
research and information, and the arts to develop the cultural aspects of world
relations. It also holds conferences and seminars, promotes research and
exchange of information and provides technical support. Its Headquarters are
in Paris. Independently as well as in collaboration with other agencies like
UNEP, it supports activities related to environmental quality, human
settlements, training to environmental engineers and other socio-cultural
programmes related to environment.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): A UN agency,
responsible for co-operation of inter-governmental measures for
environmental monitoring and protection. It was set up in 1972. There is a
voluntary United Nations Environment Fund to finance environmental
projects. There is an Environmental Coordination Board, to coordinate the
UNEP programmes. Its Headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya. UNEP was
founded to study and formulate international guidelines for management of
the environment. UNEP is assisting many such programmes in India.
• World Commission on environment and Development (WCED): This is a
23 member commission, set up in 1984 in pursuance to a UN General
Assembly resolution in 1983 to re-examine the critical environmental and
development issues and to formulate proposals for them. This is a call for
political action to manage better environmental resources to ensure human
progress and survival. The commission makes an assessment of the level of
understanding and commitment of individuals, voluntary organizations and
governmental bodies on environmental issues.
• Earthwatch Programme: A world wide programme, established in 1972
under the terms of the Declaration on the Human Environment. It monitors
trends in the environment, based on a series of monitoring stations. Its
activities are coordinated by UNEP.
• Project Earth: Developed in collaboration with UNEP to inspire and educate
young people worldwide on the crucial issues facing the Earth's Environment.

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 • Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB): The programme is the outcome of
International Biological Programme (IBP) that has already concluded its
activities. MAB was formerly launched by UNESCO in 1971.
• MAB is the outcome of the experience of those involved in the International
Biological Programme (IBP). It was realized that several problems require
collaboration of natural and social scientists, planners and managers and the
local people. MAB was conceived at the International Biosphere Conference
of UNESCO in 1968 and was officially given shape by General Conference at
its 16th Session in 1970. The programme was formally launched by UNESCO
in November 1971, when the MAB International Coordinating Council held
its first session and identified 13 project areas of cooperative research. One
more project area was added in 1974.

Green peace international

• Green peace is a non-profit organization, with a presence in 40 countries
across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. To maintain its
independence, Green peace does not accept donations from governments or
corporations but relies on contributions from individual supporters and
foundation grants. As a global organization, Green peace focuses on the most
crucial worldwide threats to our planet's biodiversity and environment. Head
quarters of green peace situated in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Website
www.greenpeace.org Green peace campaign to:
a) Stop climate change
b) Protect ancient forests
c) Save the oceans
d) Stop whaling
e) Say no to genetic engineering
f) Stop the nuclear threat
g) Eliminate toxic chemicals
h) Encourage sustainable trade

Indian voluntary agencies mandates and activities in environmental

conservation
1. National Organizations: There are a number of governmental as well as non-
governmental organizations, agencies and programmes engaged in
environmental studies. A number of non-governmental, voluntary
organizations have been doing good job in this area. Most of the governmental
bodies involved in environmental studies are either put under the
administrative control of, or assisted by the Department of Environment,

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 Forests and Wildlife in the Ministry of Environment Forests, Government of
India.
2. Department of Environment, Forests and Wildlife of India: Department of
Environment was set up in 1980 to serve as the local point in the
administrative structure of the Government for planning, promotion and
coordination of environmental programmes. The present integrated
Department of Environment, Forests and Wildlife in the Ministry of
Environment and Forests was created in September 1985. The Ministry serves
as the local point in the administrative structure of the Central Government of
the planning, promotion and coordination of environmental and forestry
programmes. The Ministry's main activities are, the survey and conservation
of flora, forests and wildlife, prevention and control of pollution, afforestation
and regeneration of the degraded areas of the environment.

Other National Organization

• There are other governmental and non-governmental organizations / agencies
involved in environmental issues. Some of the important ones are as follows:
• Advisory Board on Energy (ABE)
• Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)
• Central Forestry Commission (CFC)
• Department of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (DNES)
• Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC)
• National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI)
• National Natural Development Board
• National Natural Research Management System
• National Wetland Management Committee
• State Pollution Control Board (SPCB)
• Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI)
• Several Research Institutes under I.C.A.R. including I.G.F.R.I., Jhansi,
Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal.

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 Topic 29
Important global treaties, agreements & conventions on the environment

• Some of the important global treaties, agreements and conventions on the

environment are as follows
• 1946 International Whaling Commission (1946 Whaling Convention)
• 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
• 1956 Plant Protection Agreement for the South East Asia and Pacific Region
• 1969 Civil Liability Convention, including 1976 Protocol
• 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
• 1971 Ramsar Convention
• 1971 Fund Convention
• 1972 Stockholm conference
• 1972 London Convention on Ocean Dumping
• 1972 World Heritage Convention - Web Table of Contents
• 1972 World Heritage Convention
• 1973/78 MARPOL Convention on Prevention of Pollution from Ships
• 1973 CITES Text
• 1973 CITES
• 1976 Convention on Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific
• 1979 South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency Convention
• 1979 Convention on Migratory Species
• 1979 Migratory Species Convention
• 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention
• 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea
• 1982 World Charter for Nature
• 1985 South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty
• 1985 Ozone Convention
• 1985 Ozone Convention - Montreal Protocol
• 1986 Protocol Concerning Co-operation in Combating Pollution Emergency
in the South Pacific Region [under SPREP]
• 1986 Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and
Environment of the South Pacific Region (SPREP)
• 1987 Agreement on Implementation of US-South Pacific Treaty on Fisheries
• Montreal Protocol , 1987
• 1989 Convention for the Prohibition of Fishing with Long Driftnets in the
South Pacific
• 1989 Basel Convention
• 1990 Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response & Cooperation Convention
• 1992 Niue Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance in South Pacific
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 • 1992 Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC)
• 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
• 1992 UNCED Agenda 21 , Earth Summit
• 1992 UNCED Forest Principles
• 1992 Protocol to the 1969 Civil Liability Convention
• 1992 Protocol to the 1971 Fund Convention
• 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity
• 1992 Biodiversity Convention
• 1992 Climate Change Convention - Kyoto Protocol
• 1993 Agreement establishing SPREP as an Intergovernmental Organization
• 1994 Draft Declaration - Human Rights and the Environment
• 1994 Convention to Combat Desertification
• 1995 Implementation Agreement on Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish
Stocks
• 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and Compliance
Agreement
• 1995 Washington Declaration on Land-Based Marine Pollution
• 1995 GPA on Land-Based Marine Pollution
• 1996 Protocol to the 1972 London Convention
• 1996 HNS Convention
• 1997 Kyoto Protocol
• 1997 Programme for Further Implementation of Agenda 21
• 1997 UN Convention on Non-Navigational Uses of International
Watercourses

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 Topic 30
International conferences, convention and summits – major achievements of
Montreal protocol, Earth summit

• The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (a

protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is
an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the
production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for ozone
depletion. The treaty was opened for signature on September 16, 1987, and
entered into force on January 1, 1989, followed by a first meeting in Helsinki,
May 1989. Since then, it has undergone seven revisions, in 1990 (London),
1991 (Nairobi), 1992 (Copenhagen), 1993 (Bangkok), 1995 (Vienna), 1997
(Montreal), and 1999 (Beijing). It is believed that if the international
agreement is adhered to, the ozone layer is expected to recover by 2050. Due
to its widespread adoption and implementation it has been hailed as an
example of exceptional international co-operation with Kofi Annan quoted as
saying that "perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date
has been the Montreal Protocol".

Terms and purposes of this treaty

• The treaty is structured around several groups of halogenated hydrocarbons
that have been shown to play a role in ozone depletion. All of these ozone
depleting substances contain either chlorine or bromine (substances containing
only fluorine do not harm the ozone layer). For each group, the treaty provides
a timetable on which the production of those substances must be phased out
and eventually eliminated.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) Phase-out Management Plan

• The stated purpose of the treaty is that the signatory states: Recognizing that
worldwide emissions of certain substances can significantly deplete and
otherwise modify the ozone layer in a manner that is likely to result in adverse
effects on human health and the environment, Determined to protect the ozone
layer by taking precautionary measures to control equitably total global
emissions of substances that deplete it, with the ultimate objective of their
elimination on the basis of developments in scientific knowledge.
Acknowledging that special provision is required to meet the needs of
developing countries.
Shall accept a series of stepped limits on CFC use and production,
including:From 1991 to 1992 its levels of consumption and production of the

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 controlled substances in Group I of Annex A do not exceed 150 percent of its
calculated levels of production and consumption of those substances in 1986;
• From 1994 its calculated level of consumption and production of the
controlled substances in Group I of Annex A does not exceed, annually,
twenty-five percent of its calculated level of consumption and production in
1986.
• From 1996 its calculated level of consumption and production of the
controlled substances in Group I of Annex A does not exceed zero.
• There is a slower phase-out (to zero by 2010) of other substances (Halon
1211, 1301, 2402; CFCs 13, 111, 112, etc) and some chemicals get individual
attention (Carbon tetrachloride; 1,1,1-trichloroethane). The phasing-out of the
less active HCFCs started only in 1996 and will go on until a complete
phasing-out is achieved in 2030.

Hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) Phase-out Management Plan (HPMP)

• Under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer,
especially Executive Committee (ExCom) 53/37 and ExCom 54/39, Parties to
this Protocol agreed to set year 2013 as the time to freeze the consumption and
production of HCFCs. They also agreed to start reducing its consumption and
production in 2015. The time of freezing and reducing HCFCs is then known as
2013/2015.
• The HCFCs are transitional CFCs replacements, used as refrigerants, solvents,
blowing agents for plastic foam manufacture, and fire extinguishers. In term of
Ozone Depleting Potential (ODP), in comparison to CFCs that have ODP 0.6 –
1.0, this HCFCs ODP have less ODP, i.e. 0.01 – 0.5. Whereas in term of Global
Warming Potential (GWP), in comparison to CFCs that have GWP 4,680 –
10,720, HCFCs have less GWP, i.e. 76 – 2,270. There are a few exceptions for
"essential uses", where no acceptable substitutes have been found (for example,
in the metered dose inhalers commonly used to treat asthma and other
respiratory problems) or Halon fire suppression systems used in submarines and
aircraft (but not in general industry).
• The substances in Group I of annex A are
a) CFCl3 (CFC-11)
b) CF2Cl2 (CFC-12)
c) C2F3Cl3 (CFC-113)
d) C2F4Cl2(CFC-114)
e) C2F5Cl (CFC-115)
• The provisions of the Protocol include the requirement that the Parties to the
Protocol base their future decisions on the current scientific, environmental,

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 technical, and economic information that is assessed through panels drawn
from the worldwide expert communities
• To provide that input to the decision-making process, advances in
understanding on these topics were assessed in 1989, 1991, 1994, 1998 and
2002 in a series of reports entitled Scientific assessment of ozone
depletion. Several reports have been published by various governmental and
non-governmental organizations to present alternatives to the ozone depleting
substances, since the substances have been used in various technical sectors,
like in refrigerating, agriculture, energy production, and laboratory
measurements.

History
• In 1973 Chemists Frank Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina, then at the
University of California, Irvine, began studying the impacts of CFCs in the
Earth's atmosphere. They discovered that CFC molecules were stable enough
to remain in the atmosphere until they got up into the middle of the
stratosphere where they would finally (after an average of 50–100 years for
two common CFCs) be broken down by ultraviolet radiation releasing a
chlorine atom.
• Rowland and Molina then proposed that these chlorine atoms might be
expected to cause the breakdown of large amounts of ozone (O3) in the
stratosphere. Their argument was based upon an analogy to contemporary
work by Paul J. Crutzen and Harold Johnston, which had shown that nitric
oxide (NO) could catalyze the destruction of ozone. (Several other scientists,
including Ralph Cicerone, Richard Stolarski, Michael McElroy, and Steven
Wofsy had independently proposed that chlorine could catalyze ozone loss, but
none had realized that CFCs were a potentially large source of chlorine.)
Crutzen, Molina and Rowland were awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize for
Chemistry for their work on this problem.
• The environmental consequence of this discovery was that, since stratospheric
ozone absorbs most of the ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation reaching the surface
of the planet, depletion of the ozone layer by CFCs would lead to an in
increase in UV-B radiation at the surface, resulting in an increase in skin
cancer and other impacts such as damage to crops and to marine
phytoplankton.
• But the Rowland-Molina hypothesis was strongly disputed by representatives
of the aerosol and halocarbon industries. The chair of the board of DuPont was
quoted as saying that ozone depletion theory is "a science fiction tale...a load
of rubbish...utter nonsense". Robert Abplanalp, the president of Precision
Valve Corporation (and inventor of the first practical aerosol spray can valve),
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 wrote to the Chancellor of UC Irvine to complain about Rowland's public
statements (Roan, p. 56.)
• After publishing their pivotal paper in June 1974, Rowland and Molina
testified at a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives in December
1974. As a result significant funding was made available to study various
aspects of the problem and to confirm the initial findings. In 1976, the U.S.
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a report that confirmed the
scientific credibility of the ozone depletion hypothesis. NAS continued to
publish assessments of related science for the next decade.Then, in 1985,
British Antarctic Survey scientists Farman, Gardiner and Shanklin shocked the
scientific community when they published results of a study showing an ozone
"hole" in the journal Nature showing a decline in polar ozone far larger than
anyone had anticipated.
• That same year, 20 nations, including most of the major CFC producers, signed
the Vienna Convention, which established a framework for negotiating
international regulations on ozone-depleting substances.But the CFC industry
did not give up that easily. As late as 1986, the Alliance for Responsible CFC
Policy (an association representing the CFC industry founded by DuPont) was
still arguing that the science was too uncertain to justify any action. In 1987,
DuPont testified before the US Congress that "we believe that there is no
immediate crisis that demands unilateral regulation."

Ratification and Ozone-depleting gas trends

• As of September 16, 2009, all countries in the United Nations have ratified the
original Montreal Protocol, Timor-Leste being the last country to ratify the
agreement. Fewer countries have ratified each consecutive amendment. Only
154 countries have signed the Beijing Amendment. In the United States, the
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (P.L. 101-549) contain provisions for
implementing the Montreal Protocol, as well as explicit, separate authority for
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate ozone depleting
chemicals.

Ozone-depleting gas trends

• Since the Montreal Protocol came into effect, the atmospheric concentrations of
the most important chlorofluorocarbons and related chlorinated hydrocarbons
have either leveled off or decreased . Halon concentrations have continued to
increase, as the halons presently stored in fire extinguishers are released, but
their rate of increase has slowed and their abundances are expected to begin to
decline by about 2020. Also, the concentration of the HCFCs increased
drastically at least partly because for many uses CFCs (e.g. used as solvents or
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 refrigerating agents) were substituted with HCFCs. While there have been
reports of attempts by individuals to circumvent the ban, e.g. by smuggling
CFCs from undeveloped to developed nations, the overall level of compliance
has been high.
• In consequence, the Montreal Protocol has often been called the most
successful international environmental agreement to date. In a 2001 report,
NASA found the ozone thinning over Antarctica had remained the same
thickness for the previous three years. However in 2003 the ozone hole grew to
its second largest size. The most recent (2006) scientific evaluation of the
effects of the Montreal Protocol states, "The Montreal Protocol is working:
There is clear evidence of a decrease in the atmospheric burden of ozone-
depleting substances and some early signs of stratospheric ozone
recovery."Unfortunately, the hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs, and
hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, are now thought to contribute to
anthropogenic global warming. On a molecule-for-molecule basis, these
compounds are up to 10,000 times more potent greenhouse gases than carbon
dioxide.
• The Montreal Protocol currently calls for a complete phase-out of HCFCs by
2030, but does not place any restriction on HFCs. Since the CFCs themselves
are equally powerful as greenhouse gases, the mere substitution of HFCs for
CFCs does not significantly increase the rate of anthropogenic global warming,
but over time a steady increase in their use could increase the danger that
human activity will change the climate.

Earth summit
• The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED),
also known as the Rio Summit, Rio Conference, Earth Summit (Portuguese:
Eco '92) was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from
June 3 to June 14, 1992.
Overview
• 172 governments participated, with 108 sending their heads of state or
government. Some 2,400 representatives of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) attended, with 17,000 people at the parallel NGO "Global Forum",
who had Consultative Status.
The issues addressed included:
a) Systematic scrutiny of patterns of production particularly the production
of toxic components, such as lead in gasoline, or poisonous waste
including radioactive chemicals
b) Alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil fuels which are
linked to global climate change
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 c) ew reliance on public transportation systems in order to reduce vehicle
emissions, congestion in cities and the health problems caused by
polluted air and smog
d) The growing scarcity of water
• An important achievement was an agreement on the Climate Change
Convention which in turn led to the Kyoto Protocol. Another agreement was
to "not carry out any activities on the lands of indigenous peoples that would
cause environmental degradation or that would be culturally
inappropriate".The Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for
signature at the Earth Summit, and made a start towards redefinition of money
supply measures that did not inherently encourage destruction of natural eco
regions and so-called uneconomic growth
• Twelve cities were also honoured by the Local Government Honours Award
for innovative local environmental programs. These included Sudbury,
Ontario in Canada for its ambitious program to rehabilitate environmental
damage from the local mining industry, Austin, Texas in the United States for
its green building strategy, and Kitakyushu in Japan for incorporating an
international education and training component into its
municipal pollution control program.

The Earth Summit resulted in the following documents

a) Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
b) Agenda 21
c) Convention on Biological Diversity
d) Forest Principles
e) Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
f) Both Convention on Biological Diversity and Framework Convention on
Climate Change were set as legally binding agreements.
g) Critics, however, point out that many of the agreements made in Rio have
not been realized regarding such fundamental issues as fighting poverty
and cleaning up the environment.The Green Cross International was
founded to build upon the work of the Summit.

Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD)

• CSD has served as the UN high-level forum for sustainable development
issues since 1992, when it was established by the UN General Assembly to
ensure effective follow-up to the Rio Summit. CSD meets annually at UN
Headquarters; its focus themes for 2006/2007 are energy for sustainable
development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere and climate
change.
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Earth Summit
• The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro was unprecedented for a UN conference,
in terms of both its size and the scope of its concerns. Twenty years after the
first global environment conference, the UN sought to help Governments
rethink economic development and find ways to halt the destruction of
irreplaceable natural resources and pollution of the planet.
• Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life were drawn into the
Rio process. They persuaded their leaders to go to Rio and join other nations
in making the difficult decisions needed to ensure a healthy planet for
generations to come.
• The Summit’s message — that nothing less than a transformation of our
attitudes and behaviour would bring about the necessary changes — was
transmitted by almost 10,000 on-site journalists and heard by millions around
the world.
• The message reflected the complexity of the problems facing us: that poverty
as well as excessive consumption by affluent populations place damaging
stress on the environment.
• Governments recognized the need to redirect international and national plans
and policies to ensure that all economic decisions fully took into account any
environmental impact. And the message has produced results, making eco-
efficiency a guiding principle for business and governments alike.
• Patterns of production — particularly the production of toxic components,
such as lead in gasoline, or poisonous waste — are being scrutinized in a
systematic manner by the UN and Governments alike;
• Alternative sources of energy are being sought to replace the use of fossil
fuels which are linked to global climate change;
• New reliance on public transportation systems is being emphasized in order to
reduce vehicle emissions, congestion in cities and the health problems caused
by polluted air and smog;
• There is much greater awareness of and concern over the growing scarcity of
water.
• The two-week Earth Summit was the climax of a process, begun in December
1989, of planning, education and negotiations among all Member States of the
United Nations, leading to the adoption of Agenda 21, a wide-ranging
blueprint for action to achieve sustainable development worldwide. At its
close, Maurice Strong, the Conference Secretary-General, called the Summit a
“historic moment for humanity”.
• Although Agenda 21 had been weakened by compromise and negotiation, he
said, it was still the most comprehensive and, if implemented, effective
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 programme of action ever sanctioned by the international community. Today,
efforts to ensure its proper implementation continue, and they will be
reviewed by the UN General Assembly at a special session to be held in June
1997.
• The Earth Summit influenced all subsequent UN conferences, which have
examined the relationship between human rights, population, social
development, women and human settlements and the need for
environmentally sustainable development.The World Conference on Human
Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, for example, underscored the right of people
to a healthy environment and the right to development, controversial demands
that had met with resistance from some Member States until Rio.

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 Topic 31
Kyoto Protocol
• The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), aimed at combating global warming.
The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty with the goal of
achieving "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a
level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate
system."
• The Protocol was initially adopted on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and
entered into force on 16 February 2005. As of November 2009, 187 states have
signed and ratified the protocol. Under the Protocol, 37 industrialized countries
(called "Annex I countries") commit themselves to a reduction of four
greenhouse gases (GHG) (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur
hexafluoride) and two groups of gases (hydrofluorocarbons and
perfluorocarbons) produced by them, and all member countries give general
commitments.
• Annex I countries agreed to reduce their collective greenhouse gas emissions by
5.2% from the 1990 level. Emission limits do not include emissions by
international aviation and shipping, but are in addition to the industrial gases,
chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which are dealt with under the 1987 Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
• The benchmark 1990 emission levels were accepted by the Conference of the
Parties of UNFCCC (decision 2/CP.3) were the values of "global
warming potential" calculated for the IPCC Second Assessment Report. These
figures are used for converting the various greenhouse gas emissions into
comparable CO2 equivalents when computing overall sources and sinks.
• The Protocol allows for several "flexible mechanisms", such as emissions
trading, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and joint implementation
to allow Annex I countries to meet their GHG emission limitations by
purchasing GHG emission reductions credits from elsewhere, through financial
exchanges, projects that reduce emissions in non-Annex I countries, from other
Annex I countries, or from annex I countries with excess allowances.
• Each Annex I country is required to submit an annual report of inventories of
all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions from sources and removals from
sinks under UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. These countries nominate a
person (called a "designated national authority") to create and manage its
greenhouse gas inventory.
• Countries including Japan, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, France,
Spain and others are actively promoting government carbon funds, supporting
multilateral carbon funds intent on purchasing carbon credits from non-Annex I
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 countries, and are working closely with their major utility, energy, oil and gas
and chemicals conglomerates to acquire greenhouse gas certificates as cheaply
as possible.
• Virtually all of the non-Annex I countries have also established a designated
national authority to manage its Kyoto obligations, specifically the "CDM
process" that determines which GHG projects they wish to propose for
accreditation by the CDM Executive Board.

Background
• The prevailing international scientific opinion on climate change is that human
activities resulted in substantial global warming from the mid-20th century, and
that continued growth in greenhouse gas concentrations caused by human-
induced emissions would generate high risks of dangerous climate change. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted an average
global rise in temperature of 1.4°C (2.5°F) to 5.8°C (10.4°F) between 1990 and
2100.

Ratification process
• The Protocol was adopted by COP 3 on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. It
was opened on 16 March 1998 for signature by parties to UNFCCC.

Countries which are parties to UNFCCC

• Article 25 of the Protocol specifies that the Protocol enters into force "on the
ninetieth day after the date on which not less than 55 Parties to the Convention,
incorporating Parties included in Annex I which accounted in total for at least
55% of the total carbon dioxide emissions for 1990 of the Annex I countries,
have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession."
• The EU and its Member States ratified the Protocol in May 2002. Of the two
conditions, the "55 parties" clause was reached on 23 May 2002 when Iceland
ratified the Protocol.
• The ratification by Russia on 18 November 2004 satisfied the "55%" clause and
brought the treaty into force, effective 16 February 2005, after the required
lapse of 90 days.As of November 2009, 186 countries and one regional
economic organization (the EC) have ratified the agreement, representing over
63.9% of the 1990 emissions from Annex I countries.
• The most notable non-party to the Protocol is the United States, which is a party
to UNFCCC and was responsible for 36.1% of the 1990 emission levels of
Annex I countries. The Protocol can be signed and ratified only by parties to

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 UNFCCC, (Article 24) and a country can withdraw by giving 12 months notice.
(Article 27)

Objectives
• Kyoto is intended to cut global emissions of greenhouse gases. The objective is
the "stabilization and reconstruction of greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference
with the climate system."The objective of the Kyoto climate change conference
was to establish a legally binding international agreement, whereby all the
participating nations commit themselves to tackling the issue of global
warming and greenhouse gas emissions.
• The target agreed upon was an average reduction of 5.2% from 1990 levels by
the year 2012. Contrary to popular belief, the Protocol will NOT expire in
2012. In 2012, Annex I countries must have fulfilled their obligations of
reduction of greenhouse gases emissions established for the first commitment
period (2008–2012).Proponents also note that Kyoto is a first step as
requirements to meet the UNFCCC will be modified until the objective is met,
as required by UNFCCC Article 4.2(d).

The five principal concepts of the Kyoto Protocol are:

• Commitments to reduce greenhouse gases that are legally binding for annex I
countries, as well as general commitments for all member countries;
• Implementation to meet the Protocol objectives, to prepare policies and
measures which reduce greenhouse gases; increasing absorption of these gases
(for example through geosequestration and biosequestration) and use all
mechanisms available, such as joint implementation, clean development
mechanism and emissions trading; being rewarded with credits which allow
more greenhouse gas emissions at home;
• Minimizing impacts on developing countries by establishing an adaptation
fund for climate change;
• Accounting, reporting and review to ensure the integrity of the Protocol;
• Compliance by establishing a compliance committee to enforce commitment to
the Protocol.

2012 emission targets and "flexible mechanisms"

• 39 of the 40 Annex I countries have ratified the Protocol. Of these 34 have
committed themselves to a reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) produced by
them to targets that are set in relation to their 1990 emission levels, in
accordance with Annex B of the Protocol.

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 • The targets apply to the four greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, and two groups of gases,
hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons. The six GHG are translated into
CO2 equivalents in determining reductions in emissions.
• These reduction targets are in addition to the industrial gases,
chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which are dealt with under the 1987 Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.Under the Protocol,
Annex I countries have committed themselves to national or joint reduction
targets, (formally called "quantified emission limitation and reduction
objectives"- Article 4.1) that range from a joint reduction of 8% for the
European Union and others, to 7% for the United States (non-binding as the
US is not a signatory), 6% for Japan and 0% for Russia. The treaty permits
emission increases of 8% for Australia and 10% for Iceland. Emission limits
do not include emissions by international aviation and shipping.

Annex I countries under the Kyoto Protocol, their 2012 commitments (% of

1990) and 1990 emission levels (% of all Annex I countries)
Australia – 108% Finland – 92% Liechtenstein – Russian Federation
(2.1% of 1990 (0.4%) (0.0015%) 92% – 100% (17.4%)
emissions) France – 92% Lithuania – 92% Slovakia – 92%
Austria – 92% (2.7%) Luxembourg – 92% (0.42%)
(0.4%) Germany – 92% (0.1%) Slovenia – 92%
Belarus – 95% (7.4%) Monaco – 92% Spain – 92% (1.9%)
(subject to Greece – 92% (0.0015%) Sweden – 92%
acceptance by other (0.6%) Netherlands – 92% (0.4%)
parties) Hungary – 94% (1.2%) Switzerland – 92%
Belgium – 92% (0.52%) New Zealand – (0.32%)
(0.8%) Iceland – 110% 100% (0.19%) Turkey
Bulgaria – 92% (0.02%) Norway – 99% Ukraine – 100%
(0.6%) Ireland – 92% (0.26%) United Kingdom –
Canada – 94% (0.2%) Poland – 94% 92% (4.3%)
(3.33%) Italy – 92% (3.1%) (3.02%) United States of
Croatia – 95% Japan – 94% Portugal – 92% America – 93%
Czech Republic – (8.55%) (0.3%) (36.1%) (non-party)
92% (1.24%) Latvia – 92% Romania – 92%
Denmark – 92% (0.17%) (1.24%)
(0.4%)
Estonia – 92%
(0.28%)

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 • Annex I countries can achieve their targets by allocating reduced annual
allowances to major operators within their borders, or by allowing these
operators to exceed their allocations by offsetting any excess through a
mechanism that is agreed by all the parties to the UNFCCC, such as by
buying emission allowances from other operators which have excess
emissions credits. 38 of the 39 Annex I countries have agreed to cap their
emissions in this way, two others are required to do so under their conditions
of accession into the EU, and one more (Belarus) is seeking to become an
Annex I country.
• The Protocol provides for several "flexible mechanisms" which enable Annex
I countries to meet their GHG emission targets by acquiring GHG emission
reductions credits. The credits are acquired by an Annex I country financing
projects that reduce emissions in non-Annex I countries or other Annex I
countries, or by purchasing credits from Annex I countries with excess
credits. The flexible mechanisms are emissions trading, the clean
development mechanism (CDM) and joint implementation.
• In practice this means that non-Annex I countries have no GHG emission
restrictions, but have financial incentives to develop GHG emission reduction
projects to receive "carbon credits" that can then be sold to Annex I
countries, encouraging sustainable development.
• In addition, the flexible mechanisms allow annex I countries with efficient,
low GHG-emitting industries, and high prevailing environmental standards to
purchase carbon credits on the world market instead of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions domestically. Annex I countries typically will want to acquire
carbon credits as cheaply as possible, while non-Annex I countries want to
maximize the value of carbon credits generated from their domestic
greenhouse gas projects.

Details of the agreement

According to a press release from the United Nations Environment
Programme
• "After 10 days of tough negotiations, ministers and other high-level officials
from 160 countries reached agreement this morning on a legally binding
Protocol under which industrialized countries will reduce their collective
emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2%.
• The agreement aims to lower overall emissions from a group of six greenhouse
gases by 2008–12, calculated as an average over these five years. Cuts in the
three most important gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and
nitrous oxide (N2O) – will be measured against a base year of 1990. Cuts in
three long-lived industrial gases – hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
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 perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) – can be measured
against either a 1990 or 1995 baseline."
• National limitations range from 8% reductions for the European Union and
others, to 7% for the US, 6% for Japan, 0% for Russia, and permitted increases
of 8% for Australia and 10% for Iceland.
• The agreement supplements the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in
1992, which did not set any limitations or enforcement mechanisms. All parties
to UNFCCC can sign or ratify the Kyoto Protocol, while non-parties to
UNFCCC cannot.
• The Kyoto Protocol was adopted at the third session of the Conference of
Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 3) in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. Most provisions of
the Kyoto Protocol apply to developed countries, listed in Annex I to
UNFCCC.National emission targets exclude international aviation and
shipping.

Common but differentiated responsibility

• UNFCCC adopts a principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities."
The parties agreed that:
• The largest share of historical and current global emissions of greenhouse
gases originated in developed countries;
• Per capita emissions in developing countries are still relatively low;
• The share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow to
meet social and development needs.
• China, India and other developing countries were not included in any
numerical limitation of the Kyoto Protocol, because they were not main
contributors to the greenhouse gas emissions in the pre-treaty industrialization
period. China has since become the largest greenhouse gas emitter.
• However, even without responsibility under the Kyoto target, developing
countries are also committed to share the common responsibility of all
countries to reduce emissions.The protocol defines a mechanism of
"compliance" as a "monitoring compliance with the commitments and
penalties for non-compliance."

Financial commitments
• The Protocol also reaffirms the principle that developed countries have to pay
billions of dollars, and supply technology to other countries for climate-related
studies and projects. The principle was originally agreed in UNFCCC.

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Emissions trading
• Kyoto provides for a 'cap and trade' system which imposes national caps on the
emissions of annex I countries. On average, this cap requires countries to
reduce their emissions by 5.2% below their 1990 baseline over the 2008 to 2012
period. Although these caps are national-level commitments, in practice, most
countries will devolve their emissions targets to individual industrial entities,
such as a power plant or paper factory. One example of a 'cap and trade' system
is the 'EU ETS'. Other schemes may follow suit in time.
• The ultimate buyers of credits are often individual companies that expect
emissions to exceed their quota, their assigned allocation units, AAUs or
'allowances' for short. Typically, they will purchase credits directly from
another party with excess allowances, from a broker, from a JI/CDM developer,
or on an exchange.
• National governments, some of whom may not have devolved responsibility for
meeting Kyoto obligations to industry, and that have a net deficit of allowances,
will buy credits for their own account, mainly from JI/CDM developers. These
deals are occasionally done directly through a national fund or agency, as in the
case of the Dutch governments ERUPT programmes, or via collective funds
such as the World Bank’s Prototype Carbon Fund (PCF). The PCF, for
example, represents a consortium of six governments and 17 major utility and
energy companies on whose behalf it purchases credits.
• Since allowances and carbon credits are tradeable instruments with a
transparent price, financial investors can buy them on the spot market for
speculation purposes, or link them to futures contracts. A high volume of
trading in this secondary market helps price discovery and liquidity, and in this
way helps to keep down costs and set a clear price signal in CO2 which helps
businesses to plan investments.
• This market has grown substantially, with banks, brokers, funds, arbitrageurs
and private traders now participating in a market valued at about $60 billion in
2007. Emissions Trading PLC, for example, was floated on the London Stock
Exchange's AIM market in 2005 with the specific remit of investing in
emissions instruments.
• Although Kyoto created a framework and a set of rules for a global carbon
market, there are in practice several distinct schemes or markets in operation
today, with varying degrees of linkages among them.Kyoto enables a group of
several annex I countries to create a market-within-a-market together.
• The EU elected to be treated as such a group, and created the EU Emissions
Trading Scheme (ETS). The EU ETS uses EAUs (EU Allowance Units), each
equivalent to a Kyoto AAU. The scheme went into operation on 1 January
2005, although a forward market has existed since 2003.
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• The sources of Kyoto credits are the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
and Joint Implementation (JI) projects. The CDM allows the creation of new
carbon credits by developing emission reduction projects in non-annex I
countries, while JI allows project-specific credits to be converted from existing
credits within annex I countries.
• CDM projects produce Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), and JI projects
produce Emission Reduction Units (ERUs), each equivalent to one AAU.
Kyoto CERs are also accepted for meeting EU ETS obligations and ERUs will
become similarly valid from 2008 for meeting ETS obligations (although
individual countries may choose to limit the number and source of CER/JIs they
will allow for compliance purposes starting from 2008). CERs/ERUs are
overwhelmingly bought from project developers by funds or individual entities,
rather than being exchange-traded like allowances.
• Since the creation of Kyoto is subject to a lengthy process of registration and
certification by the UNFCCC, and the projects themselves require several years
to develop, this market is at this point largely a forward market where purchases
are made at a discount to their equivalent currency, the EUA, and are almost
always subject to certification and delivery (although up-front payments are
sometimes made). According to IETA, the market value of CDM/JI credits
transacted in 2004 was EUR 245 m; it is estimated that more than EUR 620 m
worth of credits were transacted in 2005.
• Several non-Kyoto carbon markets are in existence or being planned, and these
are likely to grow in importance and numbers in the coming years. These
include the New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme, the
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and Western Climate Initiative in the
United States and Canada, the Chicago Climate Exchange and the State of
California’s recent initiative to reduce emissions.
• These initiatives taken together may create a series of partly linked markets,
rather than a single carbon market. The common theme is the adoption of
market-based mechanisms centered on carbon credits that represent a reduction
of CO2 emissions.
• The fact that some of these initiatives have similar approaches to certifying
their credits make it possible that carbon credits in one market may in the long
run be tradeable in other schemes. The scheme would broaden the current
carbon market far more than the current focus on the CDM/JI and EU ETS
domains. An obvious precondition, however, is a realignment of penalties and
fines to similar levels, since these create an effective ceiling for each market.

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Revisions
• The protocol left several issues opens to be decided later by the sixth
Conference of Parties (COP). COP6 attempted to resolve these issues at its
meeting in the Hague in late 2000, but was unable to reach an agreement due to
disputes between the European Union on the one hand (which favoured a
tougher agreement) and the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia on the
other (which wanted the agreement to be less demanding and more flexible).
• In 2001, a continuation of the previous meeting (COP6bis) was held in Bonn
where the required decisions were adopted. After some concessions, the
supporters of the protocol (led by the European Union) managed to get Japan
and Russia in as well by allowing more use of carbon dioxide sinks.COP7 was
held from 29 October 2001 through 9 November 2001 in Marrakech to establish
the final details of the protocol.
• The first Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (MOP1) was held in
Montreal from 28 November to 9 December 2005, along with the 11th
conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP11). The 3 December 2007,
Australia ratified the protocol during the first day of the COP13 in Bali.Of the
signatories, 36 developed C.G. countries (plus the EU as a party in the
European Union)agreed to a 10% emissions increase for Iceland; but, since the
EU's member states each have individual obligations, much larger increases (up
to 27%) are allowed for some of the less developed EU countries. Reduction
limitations expire in 2013.

Enforcement
• If the enforcement branch determines that an annex I country is not in
compliance with its emissions limitation, then that country is required to make
up the difference plus an additional 30%. In addition, that country will be
suspended from making transfers under an emissions trading program

Copenhagen 2009
• In 2012 the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming runs
out. To keep the process on the line there is an urgent need for a new climate
protocol. At the conference in Copenhagen 2009 the parties of the UNFCCC
meet for the last time on government level before the climate agreement need to
be renewed.
• Therefore the Climate Conference in Copenhagen is essential for the worlds
climate and the Danish government and UNFCCC is putting hard effort in
making the meeting in Copenhagen a success ending up with a Copenhagen
Protocol to prevent global warming and climate changes.The Climate

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 Conference will take place in the Bella Center. The conference centre is placed
not far from Copenhagen and near the Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup.
• Governmental representatives from 170 countries are expected to be in
Copenhagen in the days of the conference accompanied by other governmental
representatives, NGO's, journalists and others. In total 8000 people are expected
to Copenhagen in the days of the climate meeting.
• The host of the meeting in Copenhagen is the government of Denmark
represented by Connie Hedegaard, the Danish minister of Climate and Energy
and Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. The official sekretariat is placed in
connection to The Prime Ministers Office in Copenhagen. Originally the
hosting of the climate conference was initiated by the former Prime Minister
Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
• The Danish Government has decided that not only the subject of the conference
should be focused on the climate but also the conference itself. Among other
initiatives the organizers work on mounting of windmill near the Bella Center
to produce climate friendly electricity for the conference.The conference in
Copenhagen is the 15th conference of parties (COP15) in the Framework
Convention on Climate Change. The recent meeting in United Nations Climate
Change Conferences was held in December 2007 in Bali.
• The secretary for the climate conferences is the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC - based in the German city Bonn.An
important part of the scientific background for the political decisions taken on
the conferences is made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPCC, based in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The IPCC is established to provide the decision-makers and others interested in
climate change with an objective source of information about climate change.
IPCC is a scientific intergovernmental body set up by the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) and by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP).
• In 2007 the IPCC received the Nobel Peace Prize).The Climate Conference in
Copenhagen is organized in cooperation between the Ministry of Climate and
Energy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation, Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister's Office.

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 Topic 32
Environmental Impact Issessment (EIA)
• Environmental Impact Issessment (EIA) is a written analysis or process that
describes and details the probable and possible effects of planned industrial or
civil project activities on the ecosystem, resources, and environment.
• The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) first promulgated guidelines
for environmental impact assessments with the intention that the environment
receives proper emphasis among social, economic, and political priorities in
governmental decision-making.
• This act explains the importance of environmental impact assessments for
major federal actions affecting the environment.
• Many states now have similar requirements for state and private activities. Such
written assessments are called Environmental Impact Statements or EIS

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

• EIS is a formal process used to predict how a development project or proposed
legislation will affect such natural resources as water, air, land, and wildlife.
The environmental impact statement was first introduced in 1969 in the United
States as a requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act. Since then,
an increasing number of countries have adopted the process, introducing
legislation and establishing agencies with responsibility for its implementation.
• EISs range from brief statements to extremely detailed multi-volume reports
that require many years of data collection and analysis. In general, the
environmental impact assessment process requires consideration and
evaluation of the proposed project, its impacts, alternatives to the project, and
mitigating strategies designed to reduce the severity of adverse effects. The
assessments are completed by multidisciplinary teams in government agencies
and consulting firms.

The content of the assessments generally follows guidelines in the National

Environmental Policy Act. Assessments usually include the following sections:
• Background information describing the affected population and the
environmental setting, including archaeological and historical features, public
utilities, cultural and social values, topography, hydrology, geology and soil,
climatology, natural resources, and terrestrial and aquatic communities;
• Description of the proposed action detailing its purpose, location, time frame,
and relationship to other projects;
• The environmental impacts of proposed action on natural resources, ecological
systems, population density, distribution and growth rate, land use, and human
health. These impacts should be described in detail and include primary and
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 secondary impacts, beneficial and adverse impacts, short and long term effects,
the rate of recovery, and importantly, measures to reduce or eliminate adverse
effects;
• Adverse impacts that cannot be avoided are described in detail, including a
description of their magnitude and implications;
• Alternatives to the project are described and evaluated. These must include the
"no action" alternative. A comparative analysis of alternative permits the
assessment of environmental benefits, risks, financial benefits and costs, and
overall effectiveness;
• The reason for selecting the proposed action is justified as a balance between
risks, impacts, costs, and other factors relevant to the project;
• The relationship between short and long term uses and maintenance is
described, with the intent of detailing short and long-term gains and losses;
• Reversible and irreversible impacts;\
• Public participation in the process is described;
• Finally, the EIS includes a discussion of problems and issues raised by
interested parties, such as specific federal, state, or local agencies, citizens, and
activists.
• The environmental impact assessment process provides a wealth of detailed
technical information. It has been effective in stopping, altering, or improving
some projects. However, serious questions have been raised about the adequacy
and fairness of the process. For example, assessments may be too narrow or
may not have sufficient depth.
• The alternatives considered may reflect the judgment of decision makers who
specify objectives, the study design, and the alternatives considered. Difficult
and important questions exist regarding the balance of environmental,
economic, and other interests. Finally these issues often take place in a
politicized and highly charged atmosphere that may not be amenable to
negotiation. Despite these and other limitations, environmental impact
assessments help to provide a systematic approach to sharing information that
can improve public decision-making.

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 Topic 33
Socio economic factors responsible for environmental degradation
• Environmental degradation is a result of the dynamic inters play of socio-
economic, institutional and technological activities. Environmental changes
may be driven by many factors including economic growth, population growth,
urbanization, intensification of agriculture, rising energy use and transportation.
Poverty still remains a problem at the root of several environmental problems.

Social Factors
Population
• Population is an important source of development, yet it is a major source of
environmental degradation when it exceeds the threshold limits of the support
systems. Unless the relationship between the multiplying population and the life
support system can be stabilized, development programmes, howsoever,
innovative are not likely to yield desired results.
• Population impacts on the environment primarily through the use of natural
resources and production of wastes and is associated with environmental
stresses like loss of biodiversity, air and water pollution and increased pressure
on arable land. India supports 17 per cent of the world population on just 2.4
per cent of world land area. Its current rate of population growth at 1.85 per
cent continues to pose a persistent population challenge. In view of the linkages
between population and environment, a vigorous drive for population control
need hardly be over emphasized.
Poverty
• Poverty is said to be both cause and effect of environmental degradation. The
circular link between poverty and environment is an extremely complex
phenomenon. Inequality may foster unsustainability because the poor, who rely
on natural resources more than the rich, deplete natural resources faster as they
have no real prospects of gaining access to other types of resources.
• Moreover, degraded environment can accelerate the process of impoverishment,
again because the poor depend directly on natural assets. Although there has
been a significant drop in the poverty ratio in the country from 55 percent in
1973 to 36 percent in 1993-94, the absolute number of poor have, however,
remained constant at around 320 million over the years. Acceleration in poverty
alleviation is imperative to break this link between poverty and the
environment.

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Urbanization
• Lack of opportunities for gainful employment in villages and the ecological
stresses is leading to an ever increasing movement of poor families to towns.
Mega cities are emerging and urban slums are expanding. There has been an
eightfold increase in urban population over 1901-1991. During the past two
decades of 1971-91, India’s urban population has doubled from 109 million to
218 million and is estimated to reach 300 million by 2000 AD.
• Such rapid and unplanned expansion of cities has resulted in degradation of
urban environment. It has widened the gap between demand and supply of
infrastructural services such as energy, housing, transport, communication,
education, water supply and sewerage and recreational amenities, thus
depleting the precious environmental resource base of the cities. The result is
the growing trend in deterioration of air and water quality, generation of
wastes, the proliferation of slums and undesirable land use changes, all of
which contribute to urban poverty.

Economic Factors
• To a large extent, environmental degradation is the result of market failure, that
is, the nonexistent or poorly functioning markets for environmental goods and
services. In this context, environmental degradation is a particular case of
consumption or production externalities reflected by divergence between
private and social costs (or benefits). Lack of well defined property rights may
be one of the reasons for such market failure.
• On the other hand, Market distortions created by price controls and subsidies
may aggravate the achievement of environmental objectives. The level and
pattern of economic development also affect the nature of environmental
problems.
• India’s development objectives have consistently emphasized the promotion of
policies and programmes for economic growth and social welfare. Between
1994-95 and 1997-98, the Indian economy has grown a little over 7 per cent
per annum: the growth of industrial production and manufacturing averaging
higher at 8.4 per cent and 8.9 percent respectively during these years.
• The manufacturing technology adopted by most of the industries has placed a
heavy load on environment especially through intensive resource and energy
use, as is evident in natural resource depletion (fossil fuel, minerals, and
timber), water, air and land contamination, health hazards and degradation of
natural eco-systems.
• With high proportion fossil fuel as the main source of industrial energy and
major air polluting industries such as iron and steel, fertilizers and cement
growing, industrial sources have contributed to a relatively high share in
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 air pollution. Large quantities of industrial and hazardous wastes brought about
by expansion of chemical based industry have compounded the wastes
management problem with serious environmental health implications.
• Transport activities have a wide variety of effects on the environment such as
air pollution, noise from road traffic and oil spills from marine shipping.
• Transport infrastructure in India has expanded considerably in terms of
network and services. Thus, road transport accounts for a major share of
air pollution load in cities such as Delhi. Port and harbor projects mainly
impact on sensitive coastal eco systems. Their construction affects hydrology,
surface water quality, fisheries, coral reefs and mangroves to varying degrees.
• Direct impacts of agricultural development on the environment arise from
farming activities which contribute to soil erosion, land salination and loss of
nutrients. The spread of green revolution has been accompanied by over
exploitation of land and water resources, and use of fertilizers and pesticides
have increased many fold. Shifting cultivation has also been an important
cause of land degradation. Leaching from extensive use of pesticides and
fertilizers is an important source of contamination of water bodies. Intensive
agriculture and irrigation contribute to land degradation particularly salination,
alkalization and water logging.

Institutional Factors
• The Ministry of Environment & Forests (MOEF) in the Government is
responsible for protection, conservation and development of environment. The
Ministry works in close collaboration with other Ministries, State
Governments, Pollution Control Boards and a number of scientific and
technical institutions, universities, non-Governmental organizations etc.
• Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 is the key legislation governing
environment management. Other important legislations in the area include
the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
The weakness of the existing system lies in the enforcement capabilities of
environmental institutions, both at the centre and the state. There is no effective
coordination amongst various Ministries/Institutions regarding integration of
environmental concerns at the inception/planning stage of the project.
• Current policies are also fragmented across several Government agencies with
differing policy mandates. Lack of trained personnel and comprehensive
database delay many projects. Most of the State Government institutions are
relatively small suffering from inadequacy of technical staff and resources.

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Although overall quality of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies and
the effective implementation of the EIA process have improved over the years,
institutional strengthening measures such as training of key professionals and
staffing with proper technical persons are needed to make the EIA procedure a
more effective instrument for environment protection and sustainable development.

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 Topic 34
Human population growth and life style. Environmental education and
awareness overview

Essential Concepts
• Overpopulation is a leading environmental problem,
• exponential population growth and development leads to faster depletion of
resources,
• population grows exponentially,
• why population prediction is difficult,
• Population is not evenly distributed throughout the world.

Lifestyle affects resource use

• The characterization of overpopulation as the cause of many environmental
problems may be an oversimplification. Consumption of natural resources also
plays an important role in straining the environment. On a global scale, it is
probably pretty intuitive to students that the presence of more people in the
world causes a bigger strain on natural resources. What may not be intuitive is
the concept of sustainability. What does sustainability mean?
• Sustainability "the simple principle of taking from the earth only what it can
provide indefinitely, thus leaving future generations no less than we have
access to ourselves." Many other organizations define it in differently;
however, the crux of the definition is the same. Sustainability involves living
within the limits of the resources of the Earth, understanding connections
among economy, society, and environment, and equitable distribution of
resources and opportunities.
• It is the last part of the definition that joins population growth, particularly in
developed countries, and resource use. Developed countries, in general, have
and use more of the Earth's resources. Population growth in developed
countries puts a greater strain on global resources and the environment than
growth in less developed nations. For example, in 1997, the U.S. generated
27.5% of the world's total CO2 emissions; more than five times that of India
(5% of the world's total), a country with 4-5 times the population of that U.S
(Texas A&M's LABB). In fact, the way of life in the United States, on average,
requires approximately 5 times the resources available on Earth today
(Earthday Network). Some of the factors that may modify the birth and death
rates in a region are
• Age structure of the population- the number of women of child bearing age
affects the rate of population growth.

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• Total fertility rate - Total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of
children that each woman will have in her lifetime and affects the birth rate.
• Health care - the quality and availability of health care in an area can affect
both death rate (by increasing average life expectancy) and birth rate (babies
are more likely to survive past childhood). Access to immunizations, family
planning and birth control are also important to the overall picture of
population growth.
• Education- Birth rates tend to fall in countries where the population has access
to education.
• Jobs - Birth rates also fall off when unemployment is low.Standard of living -
Birth rates are lower where standards of living and quality of life are high.
Unfortunately, standards of living are difficult to raise in areas where
population growth is high - this creates a negative feedback loop that is
difficult for some countries to get out of.
• Immigration/emigration - the number of people entering or leaving a country
(area) actually changes the N0 and changes population in a more complex way
than by altering birth rate or death rate.
• Development and industrialization - these two factors alter population
growth in complex ways. They can affect an area's income and, thus, its access
to many of the factors listed above. Higher income/more developed countries
have lower birth and death rates
• Disease- in a given year (or even decade) epidemics of infectious diseases can
increase death rate dramatically, particularly for a specific area. For example,
the bubonic plague decimated Europe in the 14th century - the population of
Europe was cut nearly in half by 1400.War/political upheaval - War and
political upheaval can also increase death rates.
• Climate- Natural disasters such as drought or flooding can affect food
resources and the population will be affected accordingly.

Population status
• World Population [2000 A.D] ; 7 Billion {700 Crore}
• India’s Population[2000 A.D] ; 1 Billion {100 Crore}
• India’s Population[2004] ; 102.8 Crore
• India’s Population is expected to exceed China’s population in 2035.
• Expected Population of India in 2035 ; 146 Crores
• Current Annual Growth Rate ; 1.94

Most populous States in India

• U.P - 166 million
• Maharashtra - 97 million

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 • Bihar - 83 million
• West Bengal - 80 million
• Tamil Nadu - 63 million
• Lakshadweep has the lowest population of 61000
• Literacy Rate in Tamil Nadu - 73.45 %
• Literacy Rate in India - 64.8 %
• CBR in Tamil Nadu - 19/1000population
• As the New Century begins, Natural Resources are under increasing pressure,
threatening Public Health and Development.

Many areas are afflicted by,

• Water shortages
• Soil exhaustion
• Loss of forests
• Air and water pollution
• Degradation of coastlines etc.
• As the world's population grows, improving living standards without
destroying the Environment is a Global challenge. Most developing countries
with rapid population growth face the urgent need to improve living
standards. As we exploit the nature to meet the present needs, we are
destroying the resources needed for the future.

Environment Getting Worse

• In the past decade in every environmental sector, conditions have either failed
to improve, or they are worsening.
Public Health
• Unclean water along with poor sanitation kills over 12 million people each
year. Water pollution is a serious problem everywhere.
• Air pollution kills nearly 3 million people. Air pollution, already a serious
problem in cities, is becoming worse as urban population grown and the
number of motor vehicles rises.
• Heavy metals and other contaminants also causes health problems
Food Supply
• In most developing countries, the population has been growing faster than food
supplies.
• Population pressures have degraded some 2 billion hectares of cultivable land-
an area the size of USA and Canada put together.
Freshwater
• Supply of fresh water is limiting, since the demand is soaring as population
grows and per-capita use rises.
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• By 2025, when world population is projected to be 8 billion, nearly 48 countries
containing 3 billion people will face freshwater shortages
Coastlines and Oceans
• Half of all coastal ecosystems are pressured by high population densities and
urban development
• A tide of pollution is rising in the world's seas
• Ocean fisheries are being overexploited and fish catches are down

Forests
• Nearly half of the world's original forest cover has been lost.
• Each year millions of hectares of forests are cut, bulldozed or burned
• Forests provide over 400 billion US$ to the world economy annually and are
vital to maintaining healthy ecosystems
• Current demand for forest products may exceed the limit of sustainable
consumption by 25%

Bio-diversity
• Earth's biological diversity is crucial to the continued vitality of Agriculture
and Medicine, and perhaps even to life on Earth itself
• Human activities are pushing many thousands of plant and animal Species
into extinction
• Two of every three species is estimated to be in decline

Global climate change

• The Earth's surface is warming due to greenhouse gas emissions, largely from
burning fossil fuels.
• If the global temperature rises as projected, sea levels would rise by several
meters, causing widespread flooding.
• Global warming also cause droughts and disrupt agriculture

Poverty
• During the 1990's the people in poverty increased by about 1 billion
• By 2000 that number had risen to about 3 billion- almost half of the world's
population

Stabilizing Population
• The last four decades have witnessed a profound change in Fertility rates and
world population growth.

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 • Demographic Transition: The transition from high fertility and high mortality
to low fertility and low mortality has been substantially completed in the
developed world and is underway in most of the developing world.
• But in many countries of Africa and Asia, population continues to growing at
2% a year or faster and the average women, bears 4-6 children.
• Even small increases in the fertility rates- which could occur if commitment
to providing family planning services, information, supplies, etc were to
diminish- would mean faster population growth.
• Worries about a "population bomb" may have lessened as fertility rates have
fallen, but the world's population is Projected to continue expanding until the
middle of the century.
• While population growth has slowed, the absolute number of people
continues to increase-by about 1 billion every 13 years.
• Slowing population growth would help improve living standards and would
buy time to protect natural resources.
• In the long run, to sustain higher living standards, world population size must
stabilize.

Environmental education
• Environmental education is a learning process that increases people's
knowledge and awareness about the environment and associated challenges,
develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges, and
fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions
and take responsible action.
• Environmental education embraces all disciplines, and covers all levels and
types of education including life-long learning. It is planned and implemented
through several programmes and Sectors within the organization, notably the
Science Sector and the Education Sector.
• Approach to EE favours enhancement of critical thinking, problem-solving and
effective decision-making skills as well as teaching individuals to make
informed and responsible decisions. For this reason, it is essential to foster links
between EE in the formal curriculum and projects in non-formal education.
Projects such as the establishment of environmental clubs in schools, greening
of school-yards, environmental awards, journalistic activities and others, are
essential to sensitize young people to their immediate environmental as well as
many other complex issues related to sustainable development.
• The environment is an integral part of science and technology education. Thus,
the Section for Science and Technology Education works on concrete societal
issues related to the environment, health and development, focusing on formal
and non formal EE in secondary as well as technical & vocational education,
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 and collaborates with other divisions and Sectors which focus on other levels of
education. Activities are also developed in collaboration with relevant IGOs,
NGOs and governmental organizations.

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