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2010College of Electrical and MechanicalEngineering National University of Science and Technology (NUST)

NS Hammad Nadeem (Roll No. 15) DE

32 Department of Electrical Engineering

[POLLUTION: A

CRISIS FORPAKISTAN ]Lecturer: Lt. Col. Ret. MuhammadFarooq Khan Date of submission: 17thNovember 2009

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I dedicate this

Paper to

my very supportive family….

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Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 3

Introduction ........................................................................................................... 4

Pollution ................................................................................................................ 5

What is pollution? ............................................................................................... 6

Forms of pollution .............................................................................................. 6

Pollution and their Effect on the Environment ....................................................... 8

Air pollution ....................................................................................................... 9

Soil contamination ........................................................................................... 10

Water pollution ................................................................................................. 10

Visual pollution and Noise pollution ............................................................... 11

Economic Effect ................................................................................................ 12

Actions Taken Against Pollution ........................................................................... 13

Measures required to Decrease Pollution ............................................................ 15

Government ..................................................................................................... 16

People .............................................................................................................. 17Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 18

References ....................................................................................................... 19

Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 20

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Introduction

Our environment is a major aspect of our life today. Many of us don't take our 

surroundings seriously and think that as long as pollution doesn't hurt us, we can go

ahead and throw garbage on the ground or spill oil down the drain. Where many

other countries face the main brunt of pollution in the world, Pakistan also faces a

major pollution crisis in the form of air, water and land pollution. Environmental

aspects are counter productive in sustaining the pace of progress in the country.

Lack of public awareness activities to mobilize the people of Pakistan against this

increasing dilemma plays a major role in negligence of this matter and deficient of 

interest to overcome the problem.

The several chapters in this research paper are describing the different types of 

pollution that exist. Further chapters put light on the different pollutions that can be

found in Pakistan and what damage they have caused to the environment. Stating

the actions that have been taken by the government and other organizations against

pollution, we move on to many measures that can still be taken to minimize thepollution and take part in clean and green environment.

The chapters especially lay stress on the lack of interest of government in the cure

of this predicament. Finally giving different solutions, it has also been explained in

great detail the role of government and each individual to ebb this crisis.

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Chapter: 1

 

Pollution

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What is pollution?

The first thing that arises to the mind is what is actually meant by the word ‘pollution.’

The definition of pollution is very vast and it is imperative to understand it completely

before considering its causes, effects and remedies. According to Merriam Webster 

Online dictionary,

‘Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes

instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or 

living organisms.’ (1)

Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat,

or light. Pollutants, the elements of pollution, can be foreign substances or energies,

or naturally occurring; when naturally occurring, they are considered contaminants

when they exceed natural levels.

Forms of pollution

The major forms of pollution include the following:

1.  Air pollution

 Air pollution is the accumulation of hazardous substances into the

atmosphere that danger human life and other living matter.

2. Soil contamination

Soil contamination is pollution of the Earth’s natural land surface by industrial,commercial, domestic and agricultural activities.

3. Water pollution

Water pollution is the introduction of chemical, biological and physical matter 

into large bodies of water that degrade the quality of life that lives in it and

consumes it.

4. Visual pollution

Visual pollution refers to the presence of overhead power lines,

motorway billboards, scarred landforms (as from strip mining), open storageof trash or municipal solid waste.

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5. Noise pollution

Noise pollution encompasses roadway noise, aircraft noise, industrial 

noise as well as high-intensity sonar.

6. Thermal pollution

Thermal pollution is a temperature change in natural water bodies caused by

human influence, such as use of water as coolant in a power plant.

 Along these, there is much other pollution that is present in the society and

contaminates the environment. In Pakistan all these play a pivotal role in defiling the

environment.

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Chapter: 2

 

Pollution and their

Effect on the

Environment

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Air pollution

 According to an article titled Pakistan 'faces pollution crisis' in BBC

News South Asia,

‘Air pollution in Pakistan's major cities is among the highest in the world.’ (2)

The article lists an increase in the demand for energy and an unprecedented growth

in the number of vehicles in Pakistan as the key reasons behind growing levels of air 

pollution.

The number of vehicles on the roads has increased five times in the past 20 years.

The biggest increase in the automobile sector is seen in two-stroke vehicles anddiesel-powered goods Lorries which are among the most polluting in the world.

More over according to Pakistan Economic Survey in 2006,

‘"In the cities, widespread use of low quality fuel, combined with a dramatic

expansion in the number of vehicles on the roads, has led to significant air pollution

problems,"’ (3)

The air pollution has many adverse effects. WHO in its study concluded that the

major childhood death burden lies on pneumonia, which is mainly caused by Indoor 

 Air Pollution problem. Furthermore Huma Naz Sethi in The Envioe\rnment of Pakistan says

‘A survey conduced by Pakistan Medical Research Council found dangerously high

lead levels in the blood of school children. High lead levels can stunt mental

development.’(4)

The air pollution not only causes the health hazards but also hinders the growth of 

different drops. A survey carried out by Department of Botany, University of the

Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam Campus and Department of Biology, Imperial College at

Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire showed the yield of rice and mungbeans by 42% and

47% respectively in the charcoal filtered air in the vicinity of Lahore.

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Soil contamination

With the increase in industrialization, Pakistan faces a major threat of soil

contamination from the industrial waste. Leaching of wastes from landfills or direct

discharge of industrial wastes to the soil causes land to become infertile. The mostcommon chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead

and other heavy metals. This occurrence of this phenomenon is correlated with the

degree of industrialization and intensities of chemical usage.

Ms Huma Naz Sethi in her book The Enviornment of Pakistan says that

‘Huge amount of solid waste are being dumped in different parts of the industrial

cities causing land pollution. This renders the land uncultivable.’(5)

The soil contamination causes major health concerns depending on pollutant type,

pathway of attack and vulnerability of the exposed population. It can

cause congenital disorders, or can cause other chronic health conditions. Not

unexpectedly, soil contaminants can have significant deleterious consequences for 

ecosystems of Pakistan. These changes can manifest in the alteration

of metabolism of endemic microorganisms and arthropods resident in a given soil

environment. The result can be virtual eradication of some of the primary food chain

which has caused many worries to the people of Pakistan.

Water pollution

Similar pollution issues surround the water sector.

 According to the survey, the annual per capita water availability dropped to 1,105cubic metres - just above the 1,000 cubic metre threshold levels. With the presentpopulation growth rate and low rainfall, the scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic metresis expected to be reached by this year.

 According to an article titled Pakistan 'faces pollution crisis' in BBC

News South Asia,

‘A large part of the water scarcity problem has to do with increasing levels of 

pollution in drinking and agricultural water supplies.’(6)

This year in particular, thousands of people across Pakistan have reported falling illafter drinking polluted water.

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Ineffective enforcement of laws regulating industrial effluents has allowed a largenumber of factories to dump their toxic effluents in main water bodies. Diseases likediarrhea and gastro, over the years, have become very chronic and have evencaused deaths of several adults and children. These diseases become evencommon due to lack of pure water in underdeveloped area of Pakistan.

Wikipedia states that

‘As industry has expanded, factories have emitted more and more toxic effluents intothe air and water. The number of  textile and food processing mills in rural Punjabhas grown greatly since the mid-1970s, resulting in pollution of its rivers andirrigation canals. Ground water quality throughout the country has also suffered fromrapidly increasing use of pesticides and fertilizers aimed at promoting more intensivecropping and facilitating self-sufficiency in food production.’(7)

The National Conservation Strategy Report has documented how solid and liquid

excreta are the major source of water pollution in the country and the cause of widespread waterborne diseases. Because only just over half of urban residentshave access to sanitation, the remaining urban excreta are deposited on roadsides,into waterways, or incorporated into solid waste. Additionally, only three major sewage treatment plants exist in the country; two of them operate intermittently.Much of the untreated sewage goes into irrigation systems, where the wastewater isreused, and into streams and rivers, which become sewage carriers at low-flowperiods. Consequently, the vegetables grown from such wastewater have seriousbacteriological contamination. Gastroenteritis, widely considered in medical circles tobe the leading cause of death in Pakistan, is transmitted through waterbornepollutants. The problem is highly signified by the following text

‘Water in Karachi is so contaminated that almost all residents boil it beforeconsuming it. Because sewerage and water lines have been laid side by side inmost parts of the city, leakage is the main cause of contamination. High levelsof lead also have been found in water in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.’(8)

 Visual pollution and Noise pollution

In Pakistan, all the streets and road sides are cramped with billboards used for the

advertisement and adding insult to injury are the unordered arrangement of electric,

phone, cable wires. Visual pollution impairs one's ability to enjoy a vista or view and

destroys the beauty of the neighborhood.

 Another major source of pollution, not mentioned in the National Conservation

Strategy Report, isnoise. The hyper-urbanization experienced by Pakistan since the

1960s has resulted in loose controls for heavy equipment operation in densely

populated areas, as well as in crowded streets filled withbuses, trucks, automobiles,

and motorcycles, which often honk at each other and at the horse-

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drawntongas (used for transporting people) and the horse-drawn rehras (used for 

transporting goods).

The source of most outdoor noise in Pakistan is mainly construction and

transportation systems, including motor vehicle noise, aircraft noise and rail noise.

Poor urban planning in the cities of Pakistan gives rise to noise pollution, since side-by-side industrial and residential buildings can result in noise pollution in the

residential area. In Pakistan most of the major civil air ports lie in heavily populated

areas which further deteriorate the situation.

The recognition of the noise as a serious health hazard as opposed to a nuisance is

a new development and the health effects of the hazardous noise exposure are

increasing rapidly in Pakistan. The situation is getting alarming with tremendous

increase in traffic density on city roads, especially Karachi. But so far no legislation

exists that deals with noise emanating from different sources.

Economic Effect

The availability of natural resources is limited by the dry climate and mountainous

terrain, substantial population growth is increasing pressure on the resource base,

and resource management has suffered from the emphasis on rapid economic

growth and often-unregulated forms of economic productivity. As a result, human

transformation of the environment is manifest in several problems. Population

growth and poor water infrastructure have reduced per capita water availability from

53,000 cubic meters to 1,200 cubic meters, and heavy reliance on firewood has

contributed to the world’s second highest rate of deforestation. Poor agricultural

practices have led to soil erosion, groundwater degradation, and other problems that

have hindered crop output and contributed to health problems for rural communities.

Solid waste burning, low-quality fuels, and the growing use of fuel-inefficient motor 

vehicles have contributed to air pollution that in some cities—such

as Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi—has

exceeded levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization. And Pakistan is

suffering a lot from droughts from the dry climates. 

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Chapter: 3

 

Actions Taken Against

Pollution

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Little attention was paid to pollution and environmental issues in Pakistan until

the early 1990s. Related concerns, such as sanitation and potable water,

received earlier scrutiny. In 1987 only about 6 percent of rural residents and

51 percent of urban residents had access to sanitary facilities; in 1990 a totalof 97.6 million Pakistanis, or approximately 80 percent of the population, had

no access to flush toilets. Greater success has been achieved in bringing

potable water within reach of the people; nearly half the population enjoyed

such access by 1990.  However, researchers at the Pakistan Medical

Research Council, recognizing that a large proportion of diseases in Pakistan

are caused by the consumption of polluted water, have been questioning the

"safe" classification in use in the 1990s. Even the 38 percent of the population

that receives its water through pipelines runs the risk of consuming seriously

contaminated water, although the problem varies by area. In Punjab, for 

example, as much as 90 percent of drinking water comes from groundwater,

as compared with only 9 percent in Sindh.

The central government's Perspective Plan (1988–2003) and previous five-

year plans do not mention sustainable development strategies. Further, there

have been no overarching policies focused on sustainable development and

conservation. The state has focused on achieving self sufficiency in food

production, meeting energy demands, and containing the high rate

of population growth, not on curtailing pollution or other environmentalhazards.

In 1992 Pakistan's National Conservation Strategy Report attempted to

redress the previous inattention to the nation's mounting environmental

problem. Drawing on the expertise of more than 3,000 people from a wide

array of political affiliations, the government produced a document outlining

the current state of environmental health, its sustainable goals, and viable

program options for the future.

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Chapter: 4

 

Measures required to

Decrease Pollution

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Prevention of air pollution can be done in many ways. It is predicament which can

only be reduced by the collective efforts of the people of Pakistan as well as thegovernment.

Government

The most important task that the government should undertake to minimize pollution

is to mobilize the people in acting against this problem. Awareness campaigns

should be set up to alert the people of the consequences if pollution is not controlled.

They should be made aware of the sources, types and impacts of pollution through

discussions, slide shows and activities. Their role to should be highlighted and whatthey can do to reduce pollution should be explained.

In addition reforestation is also very important in reducing pollution. Although

government of Pakistan, on several occasions, have taken an initiative for 

forestation but it was not implemented on a very large scale. A well advertised

scheme should be followed so that people can also play their parts in this effort.

Green zones in cities should be made where plantation should be done and

construction should be avoided.

It is through government regulations that industries should be forced to reduce their 

air pollution and new developments in technology should be created to help

everyone do their part in the prevention of air pollution.

Legislation, such as the Clean Air Act, helps to make sure that the main culprits of 

air pollution are properly regulated and mandatory laws should be in place to ensure

that air pollution prevention is taken seriously. The government also helps by

continuously making regulations stricter and enforcing new regulations that help to

combat any new found source of air pollution. The Pakistan government should set

regulations that prevent individuals and businesses from doing anything that can

cause air pollution if it is not absolutely necessary. These regulations also help

prevention of air pollution in the cases where the polluting activity can not be

avoided.

Urban planning involves designing traffic patterns to flow outside of populated areas.

It also includes working with the design of roadways to prevent congestion and stop

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and go traffic situations. The more a vehicle sits and idles, the more pollution it is

creating. Moreover the agricultural land should be away from any nearby water 

reservoir so that the fertilizers do not leach into it and cause eutrophication. Farmers

should be told to use pesticides when rain is not due so that they don’t get washed

away in lakes. Urgent steps are needed to be taken by the Pakistan government onthe water pollution management front and the flawed policies need to be amended in

order to obtain concrete results. Similarly industries should be asked to remove all

the harmful agents from the waste before passing it to the atmosphere or any river 

or digging it underground.

Technology is one of the greatest tools in preventing air pollution. The creation of 

new vehicles that produce less pollution is a major step towards clean air. With the

advancement in the technology these vehicles can be water shed in this important

issue.

People

People of a Pakistan can prevent air pollution by going eco-friendlier. Use of 

aerosols should be minimizing as it cause damage to ozone. Reduction in smoking

and careful selection of the material to burn for fire can also play a role in decreasing

pollution.

The major source air pollution is traffic. Therefore it is very important to decrease

usage of cars and other vehicles as much as possible. For short distances peopleshould walk or use bicycles which would also help them stay healthy. Public

transport should be relied on as much as possible so that number of vehicles can be

reduced. Car should not be left running idle. Moreover car pooling is a useful tactic

that can be used if more than one person has to go to the same place.

Usage of heaters, A.C.’s should be decreased as much as possible because of the

greenhouse gases that they emit. For heating, double glazed glass and other 

methods should be used so that the power consumption can be decreased as much

as possible. Similarly use hot water efficiently. Use geysers only at the time of urgent

need and thermostat should be set to luke warm rather than hot.

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Conclusion

It has been realized by all the other nations how decisive it is to resolve the

pollution catastrophe because of the damage that it can do to the world. Many

nations have started taking different initiatives to put a stop to pollution and

provide a healthy environment for the growth.

Similarly pollution is problem which poses a threat not only to the environment

of Pakistan but also to the national economy if not dealt properly. It can

cripple our economy singlehandedly and leave this nation craving for 

alternatives. Therefore it is imperative for all to curb this problem before it

becomes a national crisis and haunts the lives of our progeny.

It is very unfortunate that until now no real progress has been made in the

matter regarding this issue by any government in Pakistan or by the people.

No one has ever taken this matter seriously and this has been one of the most

critical factors in the increase of pollution.

Let me leave you with the following excerpts from Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now".

". . . The pollution of the planet is only an outside reflection of an inner psychicpollution: millions of unconscious individuals not taking responsibility for their inner space.""  Are you polluting the world or cleaning up the mess? You are responsible for your inner space; nobody else is, just as you are responsible for the planet.

 As within, so without. If humans clear inner pollution, then they will also ceaseto create outer pollution."

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References

1) Pollution - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary 

2)  Article:  “  Pakistan 'faces pollution crisis'”  by Aamer Ahmed Khanon BBC News, Karachi. Source:

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5048308.stm

3)  Article:  “  Executive Summary of Economic Survey 2006-07”  onDawn the internet edition Source:http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/09/ebr11.htm

4) Huma Naz Sethi, The environment of Pakistan, Peak PublishersLondon UK, 2003, Page No. 124

5) IBID, Page 125

6)  Article:  “  Pakistan 'faces pollution crisis'”  by Aamer Ahmed Khanon BBC News, Karachi. Source:

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5048308.stm

7)  Article: “  Enviornmental Issues in Pakistan” on Wikipedia.org

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_Pakistan8)  Article: “  Enviornmental Issues in Pakistan” on Wikipedia.org  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_Pakistan

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Bibliography

1) Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

2) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5048308.stm

3) http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/09/ebr11.htm

4) Nigel Smith, Book: Pakistan

(History, Culture and Government) For O

a. Levels syllabus 2059/1.Published by Ameena Saiyid, Oxford University

b. Press No.38, sector 15,

korangi Industrial area, P.O. Box 8214, Karachi-

c. 74900, Pakistan.

5) Huma Naz Sethi, The environment of Pakistan, Peak Publishers London UK,

2003

6) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5048308.stm

7) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Env

ironmental_issues_in_Pakistan

8) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution

9) www.yespakistan.com/forpakis

tan/fightpollution.asp

10) http://www.environment.gov.pk

/pro_pdf/NoisePaperGen.pdf 

11) http://www.greenstudentu.com/

encyclopedia/pollution

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12) http://www.oppapers.com/sear 

ch_results.php?action=search&query=pollution

13) http://books.google.com.pk/bo

oks?id=U6iHqyVjLFkC&pg=PT25&dq=pollution+a+problem+for+pak&hl=en&ei=83

kTK_OOsvXcfbjgKEI&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDwQ6

 AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false

14) http://books.google.com.pk/bo

oks?

id=7E7al37aYBEC&pg=PA5&dq=pollution+a+problem+for+pak&hl=en&ei=83-

kTK_OOsvXcfbjgKEI&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFYQ6

 AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false

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