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.
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.
Pathogenic organisms,
Oxygen demanding substances,
Plant nutrients,
Toxic organics,
Inorganic chemicals,
Sediment,
adioactive substances,
Heat,
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.
The activated sludge process is a process for
treating sewage and industrial wastewaters
using air and a biological floc composed of
bacteria and protozoa.
Process description
The general arrangement of an activated
sludge process for removing carbonaceous
pollution includes the following items:
Aeration tank where air (or
oxygen) is injected in the mixed
liquor.
 Settling tank (usually referred to as
"final clarifier" or "secondary
settling tank") to allow the
biological flocs (the sludge
blanket) to settle, thus separating
the biological sludge from the clear
treated water.
Treatment of nitrogenous matter or
phosphate involves additional steps where
the mixed liquor is left in anoxic condition
(meaning that there is no residual
dissolved oxygen
The process involves air or oxygen being
introduced into a mixture of screened, and
primary treated sewage or industrial
wastewater (wastewater) combined with
organisms to develop a biological floc
which reduces the organic content of the
sewage. This material, which in healthy
sludge is a brown floc, is largely
composed of saprotrophic bacteria but also
has an important protozoan flora
component mainly composed of amoebae,
Spirotrichs, Peritrichs including
Vorticellids and a range of other filter-
feeding species. Other important
constituents include motile and sedentary
Rotifers. In poorly managed activated
sludge, a range of mucilaginous
filamentous bacteria can develop including
Sphaerotilus natans which produces a
sludge that is difficult to settle and can
result in the sludge blanket decanting over
the weirs in the settlement tank to severely
contaminate the final effluent quality. This
material is often described as sewage
fungus but true fungal communities are
relatively uncommon.
The combination of wastewater and
biological mass is commonly known as
mixed liquor. In all activated sludge plants,
once the wastewater has received
sufficient treatment, excess mixed liquor is
discharged into settling tanks and the
treated supernatant is run off to undergo
further treatment before discharge. Part of
the settled material, the sludge, is returned
to the head of the aeration system to re-
seed the new wastewater entering the tank.
This fraction of the floc is called return
activated sludge (R.A.S.).
The space required for a sewage treatment
plant can be reduced by using a membrane
bioreactor to remove some wastewater
from the mixed liquor prior to treatment.
This results in a more concentrated waste
product that can then be treated using the
activated sludge process.
Many sewage treatment plants use axial
flow pumps to transfer 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). The raw
sewage, the RAS, and the nitrified mixed
liquor are mixed by submersible mixers in
the anoxic zones in order to achieve
denitrification.
Aerated lagoon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An aerated lagoon or aerated basin is a
holding and/or treatment pond provided
with artificial aeration to promote the
biological oxidation of wastewaters.[1][2][3]
There are many other biological processes
for treatment of wastewaters, for example
activated sludge, trickling filters, rotating
biological contactors and biofilters. They
all have in common the use of oxygen (or
air) and microbial action to biotreat the
pollutants in wastewaters.
Types of aerated lagoons
or basins
Suspension mixed lagoons, where
there is less energy provided by the
aeration equipment to keep the
sludge in suspension.[4]
 Facultative lagoons, where there is
insufficient energy provided by the
aeration equipment to keep the
sludge in suspension and solids settle
to the lagoon floor. The
biodegradable solids in the settled
sludge then degrade as in an
anaerobic lagoon.[4]
Suspension mixed lagoons
Suspension mixed lagoons flow through
activated sludge systems where the
effluent has the same composition as the
mixed liquor in the lagoon. Typically the
sludge will have a residence time or sludge
age of 1 to 5 days. This means that the
chemical oxygen demand (COD) removed
is relatively little and the effluent is
therefore unacceptable for discharge into
receiving waters.[4] The objective of the
lagoon is therefore to act as a biologically
assisted flocculator which converts the
soluble biodegradable organics in the
influent to a biomass which is able to settle
as a sludge.[4] Usually the effluent is then
put in a second pond where the sludge can
settle. The effluent can then be removed
from the top with a low COD, while the
sludge accumulates on the floor and
undergoes anaerobic stabilisation. .[4]
Methods of aerating
lagoons or basins
There are many methods for aerating a
lagoon or basin:
Motor-driven submerged or
floating jet aerators
Motor-driven floating surface
aerators
Motor-driven fixed-in-place
surface aerators
Injection of compressed air through
submerged diffusers
Ponds or basins using floating
surface aerators achieve 80 to 90%
removal of BOD with retention
times of 1 to 10 days.[5] The ponds
or basins may range in depth from
1.5 to 5.0 metres.[5]
In a surface-aerated system, the
aerators provide two functions:
they transfer air into the basins
required by the biological
oxidation reactions, and they
provide the mixing required for
dispersing the air and for
contacting the reactants (that is,
oxygen, wastewater and microbes).
Typically, the floating high speed
surface aerators are rated to deliver
the amount of air equivalent to 1 to
1.2 kg O2/kWh. However, they do
not provide as good mixing as is
normally achieved in activated
sludge systems and therefore
aerated basins do not achieve the
same performance level as
activated sludge units.[5]
A trickling filter is a type of wastewater
treatment system first used by Dibden and
Clowes [1] It consists of a fixed bed of
rocks, lava, coke, gravel, slag,
polyurethane foam, sphagnum peat moss,
ceramic, or plastic media over which
sewage or other wastewater flows
downward and causes a layer of microbial
slime (biofilm) to grow, covering the bed
of media. Aerobic conditions are
maintained by splashing, diffusion, and
either by forced-air flowing through the
bed or natural convection of air if the filter
medium is porous.
The terms trickle filter, trickling
biofilter, biofilter, biological filter and
biological trickling filter are often used to
refer to a trickling filter. These systems
have also been described as roughing
filters, intermittent filters, packed media
bed filters, alternative septic systems,
percolating filters, attached growth
processes, and fixed film processes.
Operation
Typically, sewage flow enters at a high
level and flows through the primary
settlement tank. The supernatant from the
tank flows into a dosing device, often a
tipping bucket which delivers flow to the
arms of the filter. The flush of water flows
through the arms and exits through a series
of holes pointing at an angle downwards.
This propels the arms around distributing
the liquid evenly over the surface of the
filter media. Most are uncovered (unlike
the accompanying diagram) and are freely
ventilated to the atmosphere.
Systems can be configured for single-pass
use where the treated water is applied to
the trickling filter once before being
disposed of, or for multi-pass use where a
portion of the treated water is cycled back
and re-treated via a closed loop. Multi-pass
systems result in higher treatment quality
and assist in removing Total Nitrogen
(TN) levels by promoting nitrification in
the aerobic media bed and denitrification
in the anaerobic septic tank. Some systems
use the filters in two banks operated in
series so that the wastewater has two
passes through a filter with a
sedimentation stage between the two
passes. Every few days the filters are
switched round to balance the load. This
method of treatment can improve
nitrification and de-nitrification since
much of the carbonaceous oxidative
material is removed on the first pass
through the filters.
The removal of pollutants from the waste
water stream involves both absorption and
adsorption of organic compounds and
some inorganic species such as nitrite and
nitrate ions by the layer of microbial bio
film. The filter media is typically chosen to
provide a very high surface area to
volume. Typical materials are often porous
and have considerable internal surface area
in addition to the external surface of the
medium. Passage of the waste water over
the media provides dissolved oxygen
which the bio-film layer requires for the
biochemical oxidation of the organic
compounds and releases carbon dioxide
gas, water and other oxidized end
products. As the bio film layer thickens, it
eventually sloughs off into the liquid flow
and subsequently forms part of the
secondary sludge. Typically, a trickling
filter is followed by a clarifier or
sedimentation tank for the separation and
removal of the sloughed film. Other filters
utilizing higher-density media such as
sand, foam and peat moss do not produce a
sludge that must be removed, but require
forced air blowers and backwashing or an
enclosed anaerobic environment.[citation
needed]
A rotating biological contactor or RBC
is a biological treatment process used in
the treatment of wastewater following
primary treatment.[1][2][3][4][5] The primary
treatment process removes the grit and
other solids through a screening process
followed by a period of settlement. The
RBC process involves allowing the
wastewater to come in contact with a
biological medium in order to remove
pollutants in the wastewater before
discharge of the treated wastewater to the
environment, usually a body of water
(river, lake or ocean). A rotating biological
contactor is a type of secondary treatment
process. It consists of a series of closely
spaced, parallel discs mounted on a
rotating shaft which is supported just
above the surface of the waste water.
Microorganisms grow on the surface of the
discs where biological degradation of the
wastewater pollutants takes place.
The rotating packs of disks (known as the
media) are contained in a tank or trough
and rotate at between 2 and 5 revolutions
per minute. Commonly used plastics for
the media are polyethylene, PVC and
expanded polystyrene. The shaft is aligned
with the flow of wastewater so that the
discs rotate at right angles to the flow with
several packs usually combined to make
up a treatment train. About 40% of the disc
area is immersed in the wastewater.
Biological growth is attached to the
surface of the disc and forms a slime layer.
The discs contact the wastewater with the
atmospheric air for oxidation as it rotates.
The rotation helps to slough off excess
solids. The disc system can be staged in
series to obtain nearly any detention time
or degree of removal required. Since the
systems are staged, the culture of the later
stages can be acclimated to the slowly
degraded materials.
The discs consist of plastic sheets ranging
from 2 to 4 m in diameter and are up to
10 mm thick. Several modules may be
arranged in parallel and/or in series to
meet the flow and treatment requirements.
The discs are submerged in waste water to
about 40% of their diameter.
Approximately 95% of the surface area is
thus alternately submerged in waste water
and then exposed to the atmosphere above
the liquid. Carbonaceous substrate is
removed in the initial stage of RBC.
Carbon conversion may be completed in
the first stage of a series of modules, with
nitrification being completed after the 5th
stage. Most design of RBC systems will
include a minimum of 4 or 5 modules in
series to obtain nitrification of waste
water.
Biofilms, which are biological growths
that become attached to the discs,
assimilate the organic materials in the
wastewater. Aeration is provided by the
rotating action, which exposes the media
to the air after contacting them with the
wastewater, facilitating the degradation of
the pollutants being removed. The degree
of wastewater treatment is related to the
amount of media surface area and the
quality and volume of the inflowing
wastewater.
Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket
(UASB) technology, normally referred to
as UASB reactor, is a form of anaerobic
digester that is used for wastewater
treatment.
The UASB reactor is a methanogenic
(methane-producing) digester that evolved
from the anaerobic clarigester. A similar
but variant technology to UASB is the
expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB)
digester.
UASB uses an anaerobic process whilst
forming a blanket of granular sludge which
suspends in the tank. Wastewater flows
upwards through the blanket and is
processed (degraded) by the anaerobic
microorganisms. The upward flow
combined with the settling action of
gravity suspends the blanket with the aid
of flocculants. The blanket begins to reach
maturity at around three months. Small
sludge granules begin to form whose
surface area is covered in aggregations of
bacteria. In the absence of any support
matrix, the flow conditions create a
selective environment in which only those
microorganisms capable of attaching to
each other survive and proliferate.
Eventually the aggregates form into dense
compact biofilms referred to as
"granules".[2]
Biogas with a high concentration of
methane is produced as a by-product, and
this may be captured and used as an energy
source, to generate electricity for export
and to cover its own running power. The
technology needs constant monitoring
when put into use to ensure that the sludge
blanket is maintained, and not washed out SOURCES OF URBAN WASTES
(thereby losing the effect). The heat Urban wastes include the following
produced as a by-product of electricity wastes:
generation can be reused to heat the Domestic wastes containing a variety of
digestion tanks. materials thrown out from homes
The blanketing of the sludge enables a Ex: Food waste, Cloth, Waste paper, Glass
dual solid and hydraulic (liquid) retention bottles, Polythene bags, Waste metals, etc.
time in the digesters. Solids requiring a Commercial wastes: It includes wastes
high degree of digestion can remain in the coming out from shops, markets, hotels,
reactors for periods up to 90 days.[3] offices, institutions, etc.
Sugars dissolved in the liquid waste stream Ex: Waste paper, packaging material, cans,
can be converted into gas quickly in the bottle, polythene bags, etc.
liquid phase which can exit the system in Construction wastes: It includes wastes of
less than a day. construction materials.
UASB reactors are typically suited to Ex: Wood, Concrete, Debris, etc.
dilute waste water streams (3% TSS with Biomedical wastes: It includes mostly
particle size >0.75mm). waste organic materials
Ex: Anatomical wastes, Infectious wastes,
etc.

Classification of urban wastes

Solid waste management
Rapid population growth and urbanization
in developing countries has led to people
generating enormous quantities of solid
waste and consequent environmental
degradation. The waste is normally
disposed in open dumpscreating nuisance
and environmental degradation. Solid
wastes cause a major risk to public health
and the environment. Management of solid
wastes is important in order to minimize
the adverse effects posed by their
indiscriminate disposal.
Types of solid wastes: Depending on the
nature of origin, solid wastes are classified
into
1. URBAN OR MUNICIPAL
WASTES
2. INDUSTRIAL WASTES and
3. HAZARDOUS WASTES
Urban wastes are classified into:
Bio-degradable wastes - Those wastes that
can be degraded by micro organisms are
called bio-degradable wastes
Ex: Food, vegetables, tea leaves, dry
leaves, etc.
Non-biodegradable wastes: Urban solid
waste materials that cannot be degraded by
micro organisms are called non-
biodegradable wastes.
Ex: Polythene bags, scrap materials, glass
bottles, etc.
SOURCES OF INDUSTRIAL WASTES
The main source of industrial wastes are
chemical industries, metal and mineral
processing industries.
Ex:
Nuclear plants: It generated radioactive
wastes
Thermal power plants: It produces fly ash
in large quantities
Chemical Industries: It produces large
quantities of hazardous and toxic
materials.
Other industries: Other industries produce
packing materials, rubbish, organic wastes,
acid, alkali, scrap metals, rubber, plastic,
paper, glass, wood, oils, paints, dyes, etc.
 Converts low-lying, marshy waste-land
EFFECT OF IMPROPER SOLID WASTE into useful areas.
MANAGEMENT Natural resources are returned to soil and
1. Due to improper disposal of recycled.
municipal solid waste on the roads Disadvantages:
and immediate surroundings, Large area is required
biodegradable materials undergo Land availability is away from the town,
decomposition producing foul tansportation costs are high
smell and become a breeding Leads to bad odour if landfill is not
ground for disease vectors. properly managed.
2. Industrial solid wastes are the Land filled areas will be sources of
source for toxic metals and mosquitoes and flies requiring application
hazardous wastes that affect soil of insecticides and pesticides at regular
characteristics and productivity of intervals.
soils when they are dumped on the Causes fire hazard due to formation of
soil methane in wet weather.
3. Toxic substances may percolate
into the ground and contaminate INCINERATION:
the groundwater. It is a hygenic way of disposing solid
4. Burning of industrial or domestic waste. It is suitable if waste contains more
wastes (cans, pesticides, plastics, hazardous material and organic content. It
radioactive materials and batteries) is a thermal process and very effective for
produce furans, dioxins and detoxification of all combustible
polychlorinated biphenyls that are pathogens. It is expensive when compared
harmful to human beings. to composting or land-filling.
Solid waste management involves waste In this method municipal solid wastes are
generation, mode of collection, burnt in a furnace called incinerator.
transportation, segregation of wastes and Combustibe substances such as rubbish,
disposal techniques. garbage, dead organisms and non-
DISCARDING WASTES: combustibe matter such as glass, porcelain
The following methods are adopted for and metals are separated before feeding to
discarding wastes: incinerators. The non-combustible
1. Landfill materials can be left out for recycling and
2. Incineration and reuse. The leftover ashes and clinkers may
3. Composting account for about 10 to 20% which need
LANDFILL: Solid wastes are placed in a further disposal by sanitary landfill or
sanitary landfill in which alternate layers some other means.
of 80 cm thick refuse is covered with
selected earth-fill of 20 cm thickness. The heat produced in the incinerator
After 2-3 years solid waste volume shrinks during burning of refuse is used in the
by 25-30% and land is used for parks, form of steam power for generation of
roads and small buildings. This is the most electricity through turbines. Municipal
common and cheapest cheapest method of solid waste is generally wet and has a high
waste disposal and is mostly employed in calorific value. Therefore, it has to be
Indian cities. dried first before burning. Waste is dried in
Advantages: a preheater from where it is taken to a
It is simple and economical large incinerating furnace called
Segregation of wastes is not required "destructor" which can incinerate about
Landfilled areas can be reclaimed and used 100 to 150 tonnes per hour. Temperature
for other purposes normally maintained in a combustion
chamber is about 700 C which may be Recycling can be done
increased to 1000 C when electricity is to DISADVANTAGES
be generated. Non-consumables have to be disposed
separately
ADVANTAGES The technology has not caught-up with the
Residue is only 20-25% of the original and farmers and hence does not have an
can be used as clinker after treatment assured market.
Requires very little space Energy Recovery from the
Cost of transportation is not high if the Combustion of Municipal Solid
incinerator is located within city limits
Safest from hygenic point of view
Waste (MSW)
Energy recovery from waste is the
An incinerator plant of 3000 tonnes per
conversion of non-recyclable waste
day capacity can generate 3MW of power.
materials into usable heat, electricity, or
fuel through a variety of processes,
DISADVANTAGES
including combustion, gasification,
Its capital and operating cost is high
pyrolization, anaerobic digestion and
Operation needs skilled personnel
landfill gas recovery. This process is often
Formation of smoke, dust and ashes needs
called waste to energy.
further disposal and that may cause air
pollution. Energy Recovery from
COMPOSTING
Combustion
Energy recovery from the combustion of
It is another popular method practiced in
municipal solid waste is a key part of the
many cities in our country. In this method,
non-hazardous waste management
bulk organic waste is converted into
hierarchy, which ranks various
fertilizer by biological action.
management strategies from most to least
Separated compostible waste is dumped in
environmentally preferred. Energy
underground trenches in layers of 1.5m
recovery ranks below source reduction and
and finally covered with earth of 20cm and
recycling/reuse but above treatment and
left for decomposition. Sometimes,
disposal. Confined and controlled burning,
actinomycetes are introduced for active
known as combustion, can not only
decomposition. Within 2 to 3 days
decrease the volume of solid waste
biological action starts. Organic matter is
destined for landfills, but can also recover
destroyed by actinomycetes and lot of heat
energy from the waste burning process.
is liberated increasing the temperature of
This generates a renewable energy source
compost by 75C and the refuse is finally
and reduces carbon emissions by offsetting
converted into powdery brown coloured
the need for energy from fossil sources and
odourless mass called humus that has a
reduces methane generation from landfills.
fertilizing value and can be used in
The Mass Burn Process
agriculture. Humus contains lot of
At an MSW combustion facility, MSW is
Nitrogen essential for plant growth apart
unloaded from collection trucks and placed
from phosphates and other minerals.
in a trash storage bunker. An overhead
ADVANTAGES
crane sorts the waste and then lifts it into a
Manure added to soil increases water
combustion chamber to be burned. The
retention and ion-exchange capacity of
heat released from burning converts water
soil.
to steam, which is then sent to a turbine
This method can be used to treat several
generator to produce electricity.
industrial solid wastes.
The remaining ash is collected and taken
Manure can be sold thereby reducing cost
to a landfill where a high-efficiency
of disposing wastes
baghouse filtering system captures
particulates. As the gas stream travels
through these filters, more than 99 percent
of particulate matter is removed. Captured
fly ash particles fall into hoppers (funnel-
shaped receptacles) and are transported by
an enclosed conveyor system to the ash
discharger. They are then wetted to
prevent dust and mixed with the bottom
ash from the grate. The facility transports
the ash residue to an enclosed building
where it is loaded into covered, leak-proof
trucks and taken to a landfill designed to
protect against groundwater
contamination. Ash residue from the
furnace can be processed for removal of
recyclable scrap metals.
The following are most of the different
possible methods of treating and
disposing of nuclear waste:
Storage
Deep geological repository
Dry cask storage
Ducrete
Ocean floor disposal
Saltcrete
Spent fuel pool
Spent nuclear fuel shipping cask
(transportation)
Synroc
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Deep borehole disposal
Vitrification
Treatment
Nuclear transmutation
Nuclear reprocessing
o PUREX
Sources of Nuclear Pollution:
The sources of radioactivity include both
natural and manmade.
1. Somatic effects:
Somatic effects the function of cells and
organs. It causes damages to cell
membranes, mitochondria and cell nuclei
resulting in abnormal cell functions, cell
division, growth and death.
2. Genetic effects:
Genetic effects the future generations.
Radiations can cause mutations, which are
changes in genetic makeup of cells. These
effects are mainly due to the damages to
DNA molecules. People suffer from blood
cancer and bone cancer if exposed to doses
around 100 to 1000 roentgens.
Instantaneous deaths on exposure in the
event if disasters are many.
Control Measures:
a. Laboratory generated nuclear wastes
should be disposed off safely and
scientifically.
b. Nuclear power plants should be located
in areas after careful study of the geology
of the area, tectonic activity and meeting
other established conditions.
c. Appropriate protection against
occupational exposure.
d. Leakage of radioactive elements from
nuclear reactors, careless use of
radioactive elements as fuel and careless
handling of radioactive isotopes must be
prevented.
e. Safety measure against accidental
release of radioactive elements must be
ensured in nuclear plants.
f. Unless absolutely necessary, one should
not frequently go for diagnosis by x-rays.
g. Regular monitoring of the presence of
radioactive substance in high risk area
should be ensured.
Sources of Noise Pollution:
There are numerous sources but may be
broadly classified into two classes such
as indoor and outdoor:
1. Outdoor:
Industries/factories, vehicular movements
such as car, motor, truck, train, tempo,
motor cycle, aircrafts, trains. Construction
work defence equipments, explosions,
playing of loudspeakers during various
festivals etc. The higher the speed of an air
crafts the greater the noise pollution.
The invention of supersonic air crafts has
added more noise for the persons who live
near aerodromes. Another source of noise
pollution connected with aero planes has
been scaring away of birds. Satellites are
projected into space with the help of high
explosive rockets also contributes to noise
pollution.
2. Indoor:
Loudly played radio or music systems, and
other electronic gadgets etc.
Effects of Noise Pollution:
a. Emotional or psychological effects
irritability, anxiety and stress. Lack of
concentration and mental fatigue are
significant health effects of noise.
b. It has been observed that the
performance of school children is poor in
comprehension tasks when schools are
situated in busy areas of a city and suffer
from noise pollution disturbance.
c. Interferes with normal auditory
communication, it may mask auditory
warning signals and hence increases the
rate of accidents especially in industries.
d. The effects can range in severity from
being extremely annoying to being
extremely painful and hazardous lowers
workers efficiency and productivity and
higher accident rates on the job.
e. Physical damage to the ear and the
temporary hearing loss often called a
temporary threshold shift (TTS). People
suffering from this condition will be
unable to detect weak sounds. However,
hearing ability is usually recovered within
a month of exposure. Permanent loss,
usually called Noise Induced Permanent
Threshold Shift (NIPTS) represents a loss
of hearing ability from which there is no
recovery.
Noise Control Techniques:
1. Reduce Noise at the Source:
a. Make sure that all openings are
acoustically sealed. Noise, lake water
rushes out through any cracks or openings.
Muffling vehicles and machinery to reduce
the noise.
b. In industries, different types of
absorptive material can be used to control
interior noise. Noise reduction can be done
by using rigid sealed enclosures around
machinery lined with acoustic absorbing
material. Isolating machines and their
enclosures from the floor using special
spring mounts or absorbent mounts and
pads and using flexible couplings for
interior pipelines also contribute to
reducing noise pollution at the source.
f. Using efficient flow techniques: for
reducing noise associated with high fluid
velocities and turbulence.
g. Reducing fluid jet velocities: As jet
noise is proportional to the eight power of
jet velocity.
2. Block the path of noise:
Through construction of
temporary/permanent barriers:
a. Planting of trees around houses can also
act as effective noise barriers.
b. Highly absorptive interior finish
material for walls, ceilings and floors can
decrease indoor noise levels significantly.
3. Increasing the path length:
Increasing distance from the noise
source and the recipient offers a passive
means of control:
a. Municipal land- use ordinances
pertaining to the location of airports make
use of the attenuating effect of distance on
sound levels.
4. Protect the recipient:
a. Use of earplugs and earmuffs. Specially
designed earmuffs can reduce the sound
level reaching the eardrum by as much as
40 dB.
Besides these in general making
Legislation, Educating and bringing
awareness in the people is common for
control of any pollution Example: Ban on
loud speakers from 10 pm to 6 pm.