Introduction to Pollution:

Air Pollution
 What is Pollution?

Noise Pollution Land Pollution Water Pollution Air Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of waste matter and surplus energy into the environment, which directly or
indirectly causes damage to man and the environment.
These are classified as Noise Pollution, Land Pollution, Water Pollution and Air Pollution.
 Study of Air Pollution
 Air pollution is “Presence of contaminants in the outdoor atmosphere like dust, smoke, gases, mist, vapour, odour,
in quantities, with characteristics and of such duration as to be injurious to human, plant or animal life or to
property or which reasonably interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life.” It is that type of pollution on
which man cannot have control on once the pollutants are released.
 Air pollution is caused by either Stationary Sources like chimneys used in industries or by Mobile Sources like
vehicles which consume fossil fuels.
 Classification of Air Pollutants
 Any substance in air, in high enough concentration, can harm animals, humans, vegetation, and/or materials.
Such pollutants may be present as solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases.
 Air pollutants are classified as Primary Pollutants and Secondary Pollutants.

 Primary Pollutants: These are the pollutants which are directly emitted from identifiable sources. These
pollutants include nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide (CO), halogens, hydrocarbons,
particulates etc.
 Secondary Pollutants: These pollutants are created by the reaction between two or more primary
pollutants in the atmosphere. These pollutants include ground-level Ozone, acid rains, smog, nutrition
enrichers (eutrophication) etc.

Smog in a city Water hyacinth formed due to enrichment of water

Eroded paint
 Causes and Sources of Air Pollution
 The source of air pollution are both Natural and Man-made, although man-made pollution is the primary cause of
harm.
 Both sources release pollutants like CO, SOx, NOx, hydrocarbons, fluorides, organic vapours, dust, smoke, mist etc.

 Natural Sources: These include volcanic activities, natural weathering process, emission of natural gases,
microbial/bacterial activities, forest fires caused due to rise in temperature, electrical discharge due to storms,
natural change in weather conditions and seasons etc.
 Man-made Sources: These include industrial processes like processing of iron, steel, petroleum, paper making
etc. Combustion of coal is a major source of air pollution and consists of release of 74% of all pollutants. It also
includes consumption of natural oil and gas. Transportation can be considered a prime source of release of all
pollutants in the atmosphere. Burning for heating during cold weathers is also a source.
Forest fires caused due to lightning Release of pollutants due to volcanic activities
Forest fire caused due to high temperature

Natural weathering of rock formations

Utah, USA
 Smoke from a coal factory
A wood burner used for heating during winters

Natural gas flaring

Smoke released by vehicles
 Effects of Air Pollution
In general, air pollution has many ill effects on both natural environment and man-made structures. It especially causes
severe harm to living beings and vegetative life.
Effects on Human Beings:
 Irritation of eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory tract.
 Aggravated respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis etc.
 Increase in mortality rate and fatal diseases such as cancer
Effects on Vegetation:
 Bleaching of leaves resulting in colour change.
 Premature aging and supressed growth.
Effects on Materials and Structures:
 Increased corrosion rate due to acid rains.
 Decreased life of structure due to chemical attacks.
 Pitting and yellow spots on the structure.
Bleaching of leaf Healthy plant vs. Affected plant

Corrosion of bridge
How Taj Mahal is supposed to look like
How it actually looks like: yellowing of marble due to pollution
Green House Gases, Green House Effect and Global Warming:
 This term is used to indicate heat trapping phenomenon caused due to CO2 and water vapour.
 This term originated from greenhouses, where solar radiations are deliberately trapped for growth of plants.
 Green house gases are transparent to incoming to incoming solar radiations but the re-emitted infrared radiations
cannot penetrate through them.
 This is a main cause of concern as the concentration of CO2 and other green-house gases is increasing due to
burning of fossil fuels, methane and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
 Due to rise of green-house gases, more and more solar radiations are getting trapped in the atmosphere, increasing
earth’s temperature.
 This is causing Global Warming, a serious global phenomenon which is practically impossible to control.
 It is causing change in global climatic conditions, which include longer summers, warmer winters, and untimely
precipitation.
 Due to global warming, the earth’s temperature is rising at a rate of 0.2 to 0.5 °C, which can go as high as 4.5 °C by
the year 2050
 This causes adverse effects on ecosystems and agricultural cycles.
 Another serious ill effect is rising sea level. Due to global warming, melting of polar ice is seen which causes rise in
sea level.
 The general rise in sea level is estimated to be 5 cm-20 cm per decade, which can go up to 140 cm by the
year 2050.
 The effects of global warming vary according to the latitudes, altitudes and climatic conditions.
Acid Rain
 The literal meaning of the term is presence of excessive acids in precipitation.
 It is a side effect caused due to rise in green-house gases. It’s main causes are industrialization, use of fossil fuels
and rise of SOx and NOx.
 Acids like H2SO4 and 2HNO3 are involved in acid rains.
 These acids can drop pH level of pure rain water from 7 to as low as 2.0.
 Due to this, the acidity of water bodies like lakes and ponds increase.
 This can have adverse effects like decrease in variety and population of aquatic species.
 Various important blue-green algae and essential bacteria are affected which can cause imbalance in ecological
cycles.
 Living beings which consume this water are also affected.
 In animals and humans, damage in nervous system, respiratory and digestive systems is seen.
 In plants, reduced rate of photosynthesis is seen, causing reduced agricultural yield. It also causes retardation in
growth of plants like radish, potato, spinach etc.
 Man-made structures are also harmed due to corrosion of metals, bleaching of colour of monuments and statues due
to presence of harmful chemicals in precipitation.
 Damaged caused to trees because of acid rains, Lutsen Mountains, Bavaria

Lake closed off due to polluted water

How Acid Rain works
Ozone Depletion
 The amount of ozone in the atmosphere is generally constant due to consistent production and destruction.
 However, due to industrialization and rise of pollutants in the air, this balance has been disturbed.
 Increase in pollutants like chlorine and bromine in the stratosphere has increased the rate at which ozone is
destroyed. The rate at which ozone is naturally produced cannot keep up with the rate at which ozone is destroyed.
 Due to this, the ozone layer has started thinning, up to the extent that ‘ozone holes’, which are regions of extremely
thin ozone layer, are formed.
 The most prime example of this is the hole on Antarctica, where the hole was a disturbing 110 DU (Dobson Units)
thickness in 1988, less than half of the minimum desired thickness (250 DU.)
 Certain miniature ozone holes were observed in Arctic, Australia and lower parts of South America.
 Although due to efforts taken by international unions have shown positive effects and the ozone holes have started
healing, it will take more than 50 years for it to completely recover.
 Reduction of ozone causes higher amount of UV rays to reach earth’s surface, which are carcinogenic and harmful
to vegetation and materials like plastic.
‘Ozone Hole’, September 1988 ‘Ozone Hole’, September 2016

(1 DU= 0.01mm thick layer of pure ozone)

 Remedial Measures to Abate Air Pollution
 Adopting more environmental friendly manufacturing processes in industries.
 Using hybrid vehicles, preferring public transport.
 Using cleaner fuels like unleaded petrol, or switching to electric or CNG vehicles.
 Completely avoiding products that contain CFCs.
 Using equipment that prevents escape of pollutants in industries and vehicles.
 Using methods like absorption, adsorption, condensation etc. to control gaseous pollutants.
 Enforcing strict laws regarding air pollution and providing proper guidelines for controlling the same, like The Air
Act, 1981.
 Presented by Rajat Kokane
 Created by Rajat Kokane, Nilesh Patil, Rohan Lohar, Chandan Singh, Akash Pinate (Group 3) of FE Div. C,
DYPCOE 2018-19

 Professor: Ankit Rasane Sir

 References:
 http://eschooltoday.com/pollution/air-pollution/effects-of-air-pollution.html
 https://discoveringantarctica.org.uk/oceans-atmosphere-landscape/atmosphere-weather-and-climate/the-ozone-hole/
 https://ecoursesonline.iasri.res.in/mod/page/view.php?id=25940
 Basic Civil & Environmental Engineering FE Semester I Textbook by Tech-Max Publications