PROJECT

ON
BUSINESS AND SOCIETY

Sub. By : Cinan Sathar

Chitra Das
Christeena Jose
Sub. To : Asst. Prof . Fr. Joseph Purayidathil
Sub, on : 21 st Aug 2017, Monday
POLLUTION
POLLUTION
“Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that
causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical
systems or living organisms.”

Pollution is "any direct or indirect alteration of the physical, thermal,

biological or radioactive properties of any part of the environment by
discharging, emitting, or depositing wastes or substances so as to affect any
beneficial use adversely, to cause a condition which is hazardous to public
health, safety or welfare, or the animals, birds, wildlife, fish or aquatic life, or to
plants.”

Causes of pollution

1. Industrialisation: It is with industrial revolution that environmental

pollution and other ecological problems became serious. The increasing
in number of industries increased the level and spread of pollution.
Waste water from industrial activities is often contaminated with highly
toxic organic and inorganic substances, some of which are persistent
pollutants and remain in the environment for many years leads to water
pollution.
2. Agriculture: Agricultural activities and practices cause serious ecological
problems due to large scale destruction of forests; soil erosion; and, use
of fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides etc.
3. Transportation: Use of fossil fuels by transportation and other activities is
a major source of air pollution. The worst pollutants of air are carbon
monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and particulates.
When fossil fuels are burnt, the elemental sulfur contained in them also
burns, and forms sulfur oxides which are among the worst pollutants.
Transportation is a major source of noise pollution too. Vehicle emissions
are responsible for about 70% of the county’s air pollution.
4. Urbanisation: Indiscriminate urbanization, by its very nature, is an
important source of water, air, land and noise pollution. Water pollution
caused by municipal sewage is serious problem across the world. This is
 particularly serious in developing countries because of the pitiable state
of waste management. Indian cities do not have adequate modern water
supply and sewage treatment facilities.
5. Mining: Apart from being an important source of water pollution,
contributes significantly to land pollution as well, for it upsets the
ecology with acid wastes, silt and other contaminates. Mining activity
often leads to environmental problems like land degradation, particularly
in opencast mining and land subsidence in underground mining. Open-
cast mining in areas with forest cover causes deforestation.

6. Households : Households are an important source of waste production. A

significant share of the urban pollution is the contribution of households.
The widespread use of plastics and other biologically non-degradable
materials by households and organizations of all types is a serious
environmental problem.

7. Soil Erosion and Pollution: Report of the Ministry of Environment &

Forest, Government of India, points out that soil pollution from heavy
metals due to improper disposal of industrial effluents, along with the
excessive use of pesticides and mismanagement of domestic and
municipal wastes, is becoming a major concern.

8. Air Pollution: The WHO estimates about two million people die
prematurely every year as a result of air pollution, while many more
suffer from breathing ailments, heart disease, lung infections and even
cancer.

9. Acid Rain: Incidences of acid rain have been on the increase. Acid rain is
the direct consequence of air pollution caused by gaseous emissions from
industrial sources, burning of fuels and vehicular emissions.

10.Noise Pollution: Noise has been recognized as a pollutant, not merely a

nuisance.

11.Water Pollution: A report of Environment & Forestpoints out that water

pollution is a serious problem in India as almost 70 per cent of its surface
water resources and a growing percentage of its groundwater reserves are
 contaminated by biological, toxic, organic and inorganic pollutants. In
many cases, these sources have been rendered unsafe for human
consumption as well as for other activities such us irrigation and
industrial needs.

12.Mining Pollution: New Delhi-based Centre for Science and

Environmental(CSE) has revealed that mining was causing displacement,
pollution, forest degradation and social unrest.

13.Population Growth and Pollution: World population is projected to

increase from about 7 billion now to 9 billion by 2050. Almost the entire
increase in will be in developing countries. Such a massive increase in
population will aggregate the already alarming pollution.

Pollution in Developing Countries

Although pollution has much to do with level of economic activities, the

problem of pollution in developing countries is as serious as, sometimes
even more serious than, in the advanced countries because of the
following reasons:

1.Use of obsolete production devices and processes in certain areas.

2.Reluctance on the part of industrialists and other offenders to employ

pollution control devices.

3.Poor maintenance of automobiles.

4.Over-crowindg and congestion in urban areas.

5.Lcak of civic consciousness because of the absence of proper

environmental education.

6.Absence of proper spatial and environmental planning in respect of the

of the location of industries and power and irrigation projects ,urban
development and agricultural operations.

7.Use of improper inputs like low quality fuel, which can cause more
pollution.
 8.Lack of effective legislative measures to control and prevent
environmental destruction.

9.Inefficency in the administration of existing safeguard.

10.Above all, the authorities like municipal corporations, which are

supposed to take effective steps for the protection of the environment,
themselves have become major offenders.

CONTROL OF POLLUTION
The control measures of pollution can be divided into two. They are;

1) Short-term measures : Three important short-term measures are:

a) Direct Regulation
Under this measure the concerned authority passes laws
and regulations specifying anyone or more of the following:
 Maximum level of pollutants that may be legally discharged.
 Types of pollutants that may be discharged
 The type of production process that may be employed
 The type of pollution control techniques or devices that should
be employed.
 Zoning Regulations
 Ban on certain polluting activities
b) Subsidisation
It is the technique in which the demand for pollution control
devices increased by lowering their prices through subsidies.
c) Economic incentives

2) Long-term measures: The important long-term measures are:

a)Control of Population
b)Development of New Technology
c)Relocation of Economic Activities
d)Decentralisation and Dispersal of Industrial Activities
e)Restructuring Tastes and Preferences
Policy Statement on Abatement of Pollution,1992

The policy statement of Abatement of pollution, adopted in 1992,

provides instructions in the form of legislation and regulation, fiscal
incentives, voluntary agreements, educational programmes and
information campaigns to prevent and control pollution

LEGAL MEASURES

The water (Prevention and control of pollution)Act 1978

Air (Prevention and control of pollution)Act 1981
Environment (Protection) Act 1986

OTHER MEASURES

Our environmental board is preparing many other solutions for

controlling air pollution.
Eg: The central pollution control board in consultation with state
pollution control boards has prepared many programs.