Industrial Pollution
Industrial pollution is an additional term that means a huge amount of waste
is discharged from various categories of industrial plants (Red, Orange-A,
Orange-B). Industrial waste or pollutants is generated from manufacturing or
industrial processes. Industrial pollution is generally referred to the
undesirable outcome when factories (or other industrial plants) emit harmful
by-products and waste into the environment such as emissions to air or
water bodies (water pollution), deposition on landfills etc. (land pollution) or
emission of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere (air pollution).
Causes of Industrial Pollution
1. Lack of Policies to Control Pollution: Lack of effective policies and poor
enforcement drive allowed many industries to bypass laws made by pollution
control board which resulted in mass scale pollution that affected lives of many
people.
2. Unplanned Industrial Growth: In most industrial townships, unplanned
growth took place wherein those companies disobeyed rules and norms and
polluted the environment with both air and water pollution.
3. Use of Out-dated Technologies: Most industries still rely on old technologies to
produce products that generate large amount of waste. To avoid high cost and
expenditure, many companies still make use of traditional technologies to produce
high end products.
4. Presence of Large Number of Small Scale Industries: Many small scale
industries and factories that don’t have enough capital and rely on government
grants to run their day-to-day businesses often escape environment regulations and
release large amount of toxic gases in the atmosphere.
5. Inefficient Waste Disposal: Water pollution and soil pollution are often caused
directly due to inefficiency in disposal of waste. Long term exposure to polluted air
and water causes chronic health problems, making the issue of industrial pollution
into a severe one. It also lowers the air quality in surrounding areas which causes
many respiratory disorders.
6. Leaching of Resources from Our Natural World: Industries require large
amount of raw material to make them into finished products. This requires
extraction of minerals from beneath the earth. The extracted minerals can cause
soil pollution when spilled on the earth. Leaks from vessels can cause oil spills that
may prove harmful for marine life.
Effects of Industrial Pollution
Industrial pollution contaminates natural resources of usable water such as rivers,
seas, etc., releases harmful airborne toxins and destroys the soil quality affecting
the agriculture sector. Major environmental disasters have been triggered due to
some of the most common industrial wastage mishaps and carelessness. Now let’s
individually examine the major harmful effects industrial pollution tends to put on
our environment is detail.
1. Water Pollution:
The effects of industrial pollution are potent enough to affect our eco-system for
many upcoming years. Today water is a huge asset in almost all of the industrial
and manufacturing work. During the industrial process, water comes into contact
with heavy metals, radioactive elements waste, toxic chemicals and even organic
sludge.
2. The resultant product is disposed in water bodies:
As a result the amount of this industrial waste in our daily use is high enough to
affect our health immune system and eco-system negatively. The same water is
also used for fertilization and agricultural purposes by farmers that tend to generate
natural eatables which are rather toxic. However water pollution can be minimized
as the industrial wastewater treatments processes are capable enough to recycle the
water for further industrial uses.
3. Air Pollution:
It is extremely difficult not to get caught in air pollution and the harm it poses
especially for those residing in urban areas. Polluted air we inhale every second
contains harmful carbon, nitrogen and sulfur oxide gases and other organic
compounds that affects our lungs and nervous system. With more and more
industries opening on every scale of operation, the impact of air pollution is raising
its concentration in the atmosphere all the time.
4. Soil Pollution:
Soil pollution has a direct impact on agriculture by decaying the essential soil
nutrients and land. This pollution is especially chronic for people who come in
direct contact with their exposed hands such as farmers.
5. Wildlife Endangerment:
Apart from affecting the natural mechanisms and lifestyle of human beings,
industrial pollution also rips off wildlife from their normal habitat severally.
Animal diets are getting contaminated resulting in the extinction or endangerment
of some species as it is getting harder to pull environment back up after each
natural disaster. Critical accidents like oil spills, radioactive waste leakage, wild
fires pouring harmful gases in atmosphere, are very difficult to clean up as their
impact on environment is quite high to be removed in a short time.
6. Global Warming:
With industrial pollution on constant rise, the impact is proportional to the steady
rise of global warming. The increase is facilitated by the release of smoke and
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Melting of arctic glaciers and ice, extinction
of aquatic animals such as polar bears, natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, and
tsunamis are some of the many effects of global warming.
7. Health Issues:
Air and waterborne diseases are easily carried by industrial pollution. It comes to
no surprise how many people today get affected from pneumoconiosis, silicosis,
tuberculosis, skin diseases, etc. from polluted intakes rather than from natural
causes.
Controlling Measure for Industrial Pollution
1. Recycle
2. Export waste to more waste recycling locations
3. Contact with industries to reycle their wastes
4. Small Industry waste recycle
5. Zero waste discharge policy
6. Compliance of pollution guidelines
7. Allocate remote locations for industries
8. Terminate the loopholes in the system
9. Reduce public demands by reducing and the wastage and utilization of resources
