EFFECTS OF INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION

Effects of Industrial Pollution

1. Water pollution: the effects of industrial pollution are far reaching and liable to affect the ecosystem for many years to come. Most industries require large amounts of water for their work. When involved in a series of processes, the water comes into contact with heavy metals, harmful chemical, radioactive waste and even organic sludge.

These are either dumped into open oceans or rivers. As a result, many of our water sources have high amount of industrial waste in them which seriously impacts the health of our eco-system. The same water is then used by farmers for irrigation purpose which affects the quality of food that is produced.

Water pollution has already rendered many ground water resources useless for humans and wildlife. It can at best be recycled for further usage in industries. Water pollution affects the air we breathe, water is vital to our survival. We need clean water to drink, to irrigate our crops and the fish we eat live in the waters. We play in rivers, lakes and streams. It’s a precious resource that can easily be polluted and the contamination can be transferred to us and in turn affect our health.

-diseases such as amoebiasis, typhoid and hookworm are caused by polluted drinking water.

- Water polluted by chemicals such as heavy metals, lead, pesticides and hydrocarbon can cause hormonal and reproductive problems, damage to the nervous system, liver and kidney damage and cancer to name a few. Being exposed to mercury causes Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and death.

- A polluted beach causes rashes, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, encephalitis, stomach aches and vomiting.

- Water pollution affects marine life which is one of our food sources. We live in an ecosystem where the action of one has the potential to affect  many. This can be a good or a bad thing, depending on what the action is. Our mistakes has polluted the environment that we live in and we are waking up and owning to the fact. We are trying to reverse the damage. The good news is that every positive action counts. The small efforts you make towards a greener environment can yield a positive effect. We may still save what is left of our natural resources and make the world a better place to live in for our future generation.

2. Soil pollution: this creates problems in agriculture and destroying local vegetation. It also causes chronic health issues to the people that come in contact with such soil on a daily analysis.

3. Air pollution: this has led to a steep increase in various illness and it continues to affect us on a daily basis. With so many small, medium and large scale industries coming up, air pollution has taken toll on the health of the people and the environment.

We release a variety of chemicals into the atmosphere when we burn the fossil fuels we use every day. We breathe air to live and what we build has a direct effect on our health.

- Breathing polluted air puts you at risk of asthma and other respiratory diseases.

- When exposed to ground ozone for 6 to 7 hours, scientific evidence show that healthy people’s lung function decreased and they suffered from respiratory inflammation.

- Air pollutants are mostly carcinogens and living in a polluted area can put people at risk of cancer.

- Coughing and wheezing are common symptoms observed on city folks.

- Damages the immune system, endocrine and reproductive systems.

- High levels of particle pollution have been associated with higher incidents of heart problems.

- The burning of fossils fuels and the release of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are causing the Earth to be warmer.

- The chemicals released into the air settle into plants and water sources. Animals eat the contaminated plants and drink the water. The poison then travels up the food chain to us.

4. Wildlife extinction: by and large, the issue of industrial pollution shows us that it causes natural rhythms and patterns to fail, meaning that the wildlife is getting affected in a severe manner. Habitats are being lost, species are becoming extinct and it is harder for the environment to recover from each natural disaster. Major industrial accidents like oil spills, fires, leak of radioactive material and damage to property are harder to clean-up as they have a higher impact in a shorter span of time.

5. Global warming: with the rise in industrial pollution, global warming has been increasing at a steady pace. Smoke and greenhouse gases are being released by industries into the air which causes increase in global warming. Melting of glaciers, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes are few of the effects of global warming.

The issue of industrial pollution concerns every nation on the planet. As a result, many steps have been taken to seek permanent solutions to the problem. Better technology is being developed for disposal of waste and recycling as much polluted water in the industries as possible. Organic methods are being used to clean the water and soil, such as using microbes that naturally uses heavy metals and waste as feed. Policies are being pushed into place to prevent further misuse of land. However, industrial pollution is still rampant and will take many years to be brought under control.

6. Oil pollution is an increasing problem, mainly devastating to coastal wildlife. Small quantities of oil extend hastily across long distances to form deadly oil slicks. The chief sources of water pollution can be classified as municipal, industrial and agricultural. Municipal water pollution consists of waste water from homes and business establishments.

For several years, the most important goal for treating municipal wastewater was simply to diminish its substance of suspended solids, oxygen-demanding materials, dissolved inorganic compounds and harmful bacteria. In current years, nevertheless, more stress has been placed on humanizing means of discarding of the solid residues from the municipal management process. The important methods of treating municipal wastewater fall into three stages: primary treatment; as well as grit removal, screening, grinding and sedimentation; secondary treatment, which entails corrosion of dissolved organic matter by resources of using biologically active sludge, which is then filtered off; and tertiary treatment, in which complex biological methods of nitrogen removal and chemical and physical methods such as granular filtration and activated carbon assimilation are working.

The management and removal of solid residues can account for 25 to 50 % of the funds and operational costs of a management plant. The distinctiveness of industrial waste waters can fluctuate significantly both within and among industries. The shock industrial discharges depends not only on their combined characteristics, such as biochemical oxygen demand and the amount of suspended solids, but also on their substance of specific inorganic and organic substances. Three options are accessible in controlling industrial wastewater. Control can take place at the point of cohort in the plant; wastewater can be pre-treated for expulsion to municipal treatment sources; or wastewater can be treated entirely at the plant and either reused or discharged straight into receiving waters.

7. Agriculture; as well as profitable livestock and poultry farming are the starting place of many organic and inorganic pollutants in surface waters and groundwater. These contaminants take account of both residues from wearing away cropland and compounds of phosphorus and nitrogen that somewhat originate in animal wastes and viable fertilizers. Animal wastes are high in oxygen challenging material, nitrogen and phosphorous, and they over and over again harbour pathogenic organisms. Wastes from viable feeders are controlled and predisposed of on land; their main threat to natural waters, as a result, is from runoff and leakage. Control many entail settling, basins for liquid, some degree of biological treatment in aerobic or anaerobic lagoons, and a range of other methods.