Impact of Industrialization on Environment OVERVIEW Centuries ago, when there was no active expanding of large cities and industries, nature was able to overcome pollution and keep air fairly clean without outside help. The wind and rain in the form of natural rescuers scattered gases and washed away the dust. However, with increasing industrialization and urbanization, the nature’s system cannot cope with pollution and clean the environment naturally. In comparison with volcanoes, hurricanes, forest fires and other natural disasters, people produce much more wastes that pollute the atmosphere.
Thus, the negative impact of industrialization and urbanization processes on the environment is drastic and quite far-reaching. Industrialization in the name of growth has loaded tremendous pressure on environment. Industrialization & environment in the developing countries tries to run hand to hand. But knowingly or unknowingly, industrialization ran faster without caring for environment to win the race. The pace of industrialization has increased several folds in last decade.
Since the beginning of 19th century people have begun to actively use natural resources and intervene in the sector of biosphere – a living part of our planet. Only for the last 100 years, the development of industry has resulted in industrial processes, negative consequences that people could not even predict. Cities with a population of one million or more appeared and their expansion cannot be stopped. This is the result of great inventions and achievements of mankind. Little by little, we have changed our atmosphere and its chemistry.
Nowadays factories are spread around the world and air pollution has become an integral part of our life. Effect: Industrial effluents: Effluent in the artificial sense is in general considered to be water pollution, such as the outflow from a sewage treatment facility or the waste water discharge from industrial facilities. Over 73 million days are lost annually due to water related diseases. An effluent sump pump, for instance, pumps waste from toilets installed below a main sewage line. Waste water treatment a plant, effluent that has been treated is sometimes called secondary effluent, or treated effluent.
This cleaner effluent is then used to feed the bacteria in bio-filters. A thermal power station, the output of the cooling system may be referred to as the effluent cooling water, which is noticeably warmer than the environment. Effluent only refers to liquid discharge. Polluted air: Air pollution refers to the presence of chemical, biological, and particulate matter, and pollutants in the atmosphere around the living spaces. When inhaled, it affects the human biological system, and takes a toll on the quality of life, with the onslaught of a number of respiratory tract disorders.
It is a condition triggered by the presence of air-borne pollutants in the air we breathe. These pollutants could either be the result of chemical emissions or the particulate material from biological waste. The condition has reached alarming proportions in the modern world, with large-scale industrialization and vehicle-emissions being the primary culprits. The pollutants that are air-borne cause a lot of harm to humans and animals, other than permanent damage to the natural environment. Effects of Air Pollution on Humans:
Cardiopulmonary Disease, Pneumonia, Premature Mortality, Heart Attack, Asthma, Difficulty in Breathing, Wheezing and Coughing, Acute Vascular Dysfunction, Thrombosis / Thrombus Formation, Cystic Fibrosis etc. Noise pollution: Due to the growing noise pollution and industrialization, male birds have to change their tune. Basically, to be heard above the noise of modern day living, to communicate with female birds in hopes to get together and procreate, they often have to sing at a higher pitch.
The problem is this is becoming less appealing to the female birds, leaving scientists to worry about what this will eventually do to the mating and population of such birds. Greenhouse gas effect: The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases.
Solar radiation at the frequencies of visible light largely passes through the atmosphere to warm the planetary surface, which then emits this energy at the lower frequencies of infrared thermal radiation. Infrared radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases, which in turn re-radiate much of the energy to the surface and lower atmosphere. The mechanism is named after the effect of solar radiation passing through glass and warming a greenhouse, but the way it retains heat is fundamentally different as a greenhouse works by reducing airflow, isolating the warm air inside the structure so that heat is not lost by convection
As described above, World over, the industries are becoming increasingly concerned about achieving and demonstrating their environmental performance because of the growing compulsions from tough legislations and mounting public pressures. Environmental disasters such as Bhopal tragedy, Rhine pollution , Chernobyl disaster, acid rain damage ,Ozone Layer Depletion has led to growing public pressures on governments all over the world Which started imposing stringent legislation with severe penalties in environmental issues environmental & safety system.
These standards do not lay down specific environmental performance criteria, these are system standards. Which describes the management of environment based on company’s environmental policy , objectives and targets defined on the basis of their significant environmental effects . Industry is becoming increasingly concerned about achieving and demonstrating sound environmental performance because of growing compulsions from stringent legislation and Mounting public pressure. There was a time, not long ago, when the harm caused in environment due to human and industrial activities was no body’s concern.
Pollutants affect not only living environment but also social, cultural, political and aesthetic values. In the recent years there is a growing alertness against this environmental pollution. On the one hand the advancements of science & Technology have added to the human comforts by giving us automobiles, electrical appliance better medicine, better chemical to control harmful insects and pest but on the Approach for Assessing Environment other hand they gave us a very serious problem to face pollution.
The continued increase in the pollution coupled with the industrial revolution has had the vital impact on natural resources. The resultant deterioration of environment and fast depletion of natural resources threaten the sustainability of economic development. One of the most pressing and complex challenges facing by our generation are to search out a workable synthesis between economic development and environmental behavior. So friends we need to compromise our needs to maintain a harmony between these two entities i. e. Industry & Environment.