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Air Pollution

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What is Air Pollution?

Air pollution is theintroduction into theatmosphere of chemicals,particulates, or biological

materials that causediscomfort, disease, or deathto humans, damage otherliving organisms such as foodcrops, or damage the natural

environment or builtenvironment.

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Causes:

Emissions from industries andmanufacturing industries.

Manufacturing companies andpower plants emit high levels of

carbon monoxide, variousorganic and toxic gases into theair. Petroleum refineries alsorelease lots of hydrocarbons intothe air. This happens almost

everywhere that people live.

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Causes:

Burning fossil fuels :

Emissions from automobile enginescontent both primary and secondary

pollutants which is created byburning of fossil fuels and is themajor cause of air pollution.

Household and farming chemicals:

Crop dusting, pest killers, fertilizers,

house hold cleaning products orpainting supplies emits variousharmful chemicals into the air andcause pollution.

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Main sources of air pol lution

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Effects:

Acidification:

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Effects:

Eutrophication:

Rain can carry and deposit nitrogen in some pollutants on rivers and soils. This

will adversely affects the nutrients in the soil and water bodies.

Ground Level Zone:

Chemical reactions involving air pollutants create a poisonous gas ozonewhich is very harmful for human beings and vegetation present onearth.

Particulate Matter:

Air pollutants can be in the form of particulate matter which is veryharmful for our health. This level is mainly depends on the time ofexposure and concentration of chemicals.

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Effects on human health:

Short term effects:

It includes irritation to eyes, throatand nose and upper respiratory

infections such as bronchitis andpneumonia. Also like headache andallergic reactions.

Long term effects:

It can include chronic respiratorydisease, lung cancer, heart cancerand even damage to the brain,kidney, liver and nerves.

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Prevention:

Reduce the use of vehicles either by resorting to public transport for dailytransportation or switching over from vehicles to other means - such ascycling or walking.

If the use of vehicle is inevitable, make sure that you use it efficiently - drive

within the speed limit recommended by the manufacturer, turn the engine offon red light and make sure that you maintain your vehicle.

Buying fuel efficient vehicles is yet another option that you have. Several carmanufacturers are using advanced technology to roll out vehicles whichminimize emissions.

Implement practices such as 'car pool', wherein you take turns to use yourvehicles, in your neighborhood or workplace. Simple, but effective measurewhen it comes to vehicle pollution.

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Prevention:

Though indirectly, saving energy by resorting to energy saving appliancesand not wasting electricity will also help in curbing air pollution. Lesser theenergy requirement, lesser will be produced and this in turn, will lessen theamount of air pollution caused by power plants.

Do not burn the waste generated in your homes, instead resort to other

means of garbage disposal. The same rule implies when it comes to disposalof your garden waste. A better way out is to opt for traditional methods suchas composting.

You can also resort to technologically advanced air pollution controlequipment systems such as use of filters to remove dust particles and use of

wet scrubbers to remove acid gases in the atmosphere. And lastly, follow all the rules and regulations meant to stop environmental

pollution, and do try to spread awareness about such environmental hazards.

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Nuclear Hazards

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Introduction:

The first controlled fission of anatom was carried out inGermany in 1938, but UnitedStates was the first country todevelop an atomic bomb.

Naturally occurring uraniumcontains only 0.7% offissionable U-235, which is nothigh enough for most types of

reactors. So it is necessary toincrease the amount of U-235by enrichment, although it is adifficult and expensive process.

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Introduction:

As fission occurs, theconcentration of U-235 atomsdecreases.These rods are amajor source of radioactive

waste material produced by anuclear reactor.

At each step in the cycle,there is a danger of exposureto harmful radiation and

poses several attendant healthand environmental concerns.

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Accidents:

To date, there have been five serious accidents in the world since 1970(one at Three Mile Island in 1979; one at Chernobyl in 1986; and threeat Fukushima-Daiichi in 2011), corresponding to the beginning of theoperation of generation II reactors.

At least 57 accidents have occurred since the Chernobyl disaster, andover 56 nuclear accidents have occurred in the USA.

Even today many people suffer from illnesses they feel are related totheir exposure to the fallout from Chernobyl. a spurt in geneticanomalies as doctors began observing clusters of children born

displaying monoadactyly (fingers fused together to form a paddle) andpolydactyly (more than 5 digits on the hands and feet). A similarphenomena has also been observed in the villages and towns around

the Kalpakkam Nuclear Station, south of Chennai.

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Accidents:

The world's nuclear fleetcreates about 10,000 metrictons of high-level spentnuclear fuel each year. High-

level radioactive wastemanagement concernsmanagement and disposal ofhighly radioactive materialscreated during production of

nuclear power.

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Prevention:

Initially, it was thought that spent fuel rods could bereprocessed, not only to provide new fuel but also to reducethe amount of nuclear waste.

High-level radioactive waste requires sophisticatedtreatment and management to successfully isolate it from the

biosphere. This usually necessitates treatment, followed by along-term management strategy involving permanentstorage, disposal or transformation of the waste into a non-

toxic form.

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Set of safety standards:

Operators must plan for events beyond design bases.

More stringent standards for protecting nuclearfacilities against terrorist sabotage.

A stronger international emergency response.

International reviews of security and safety.

Binding international standards on safety and

security.

International co-operation to ensure regulatoryeffectiveness.

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Thank you.