| About Pollution Control
Pollution control is necessary due to two
reasons:
- Polluted air and water are harmful to
life. Air pollution creates problems for healthy living beings, plants
and also material. Water pollution also creates problems for all living
beings, agriculture, water bodies, all plants and animals living in
water, land fertility etc. Thus, one’s consciousness should always
attempt to generate means to control pollution of any type.
- Most of the governments all over the
world have laws by which no one is suppose to exceed creating pollution
in air or water beyond prescribed limits. Law breakers often face
punishments to the tune of heavy fines and even stoppage of work.
Bhopal, India gas tragedy is the best
example to explain the necessity to take adequate measures to control
pollution. Thousands of people were affested due to lack of adequate
measures. The managing director of the company Union carbide, India was
arrested and a warrant issued against the name of Union carbide USA till
he lived.
Another example is the BSES plant at Dahanu,
India. While preparation of the feasibility report, plant designers had
not considered the low sulphonation plant while starting the unit. With
more than 10 years of litigation, it has surfaced now that the court had
to order stoppage of work or take necessary steps.
The above examples should be enough to make
one understand the need to take measures to control pollution. Steps taken
initially, would benefit in the long run. This is the reason we say
‘Pollution Control Pays Back – Earn while you Clean’
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Main causes of
Industrial Air Pollution
|
In factories and industrial plants, the main
culprit is the process adopted to manufacture chemicals etc. Manufacturing
an item is required, but equally necessary is the necessity to control the
pollutants created during this manufacturing process as byproducts.
If a system is well designed to produce,
chances of pollution are remote. However, many of the plant
designers do not have the concept of pollution control in their minds
while designing plants. They normally have the objective to design to
manufacture the right product at low capital and power costs. Pollution is
considered as optional.
Due to this
approach, most of the industrial plants generate large quantities of
pollutants in air, mostly in form of gases.
Another reason of this is the dearth of pollution control
consultants. Each and every unit has to be doubly checked with in-house
consultants to ensure that problems do not arise later.
The main products polluting air are acid
vapors, sulphur-di-oxide, chlorine, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide,
ammonia, particulates, benzene byproducts etc. These products are not
supposed to be released in the atmosphere. Also, as these products are
expensive, prevention of these products also provides the owner some
gains.
Faulty pipes, duct
joint openings are the main source from which these products
escape.
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Steps to prevent
Industrial Air Pollution
|
For existing plants, thorough study should
be made to locate the sources. Pressures, Temperatures etc. should be
adjusted so that the leakages are minimum. At a level when reduction is
not possible, steps should be taken to collect the same and then provide
treatment.
Plants designed 10 years
or before or by lowly equipped designs are sure cases for detailed
study.
For prevention generous use
of scrubbers & filters will be necessary.
It is said that a routine check will reduce 10%, a
minor modification will reduce 15-20% and a thorough overhauling of the
system will reduce more than 30% of power consumption and pollution
creation.
 |
Industrial Water
Pollution |
When various byproducts are released in
drains they travel to the common drains. The washing of the equipment also
adds water to this. These are the main causes of contamination of
water.
At present all the
chemicals and water are collected at one place. This is subjected to
effluent treatment. This is a compulsion for all units. Due to the running
costs, medium and small scale unit owners try to circumvent this without
realizing the folly. A restudy by an experienced pollution control advisor
can reduce the costs
substantially. |
Pollution Audit