Effect of industrial pollution on the benthic communities of a tropical estuary

Cochin backwaters, a tropical barbuilt estuary is well known for its prawn, molluscan and demersal fisheries. Also it formed the dumping area for sewage,235 retting of husks and discharge of effluents from industries located on either side of it. As a result the fishery is being gradually dwindled year after year due to the lowering of the water quality. The effect of industrial polution on the benthic community of this tropical estuary was worked out. An area extending over 21 km from the mouth of the estuary to upstream of industrial belt was selected. Temporal and spatial variations of 16 environmental parameters at 9 stations along the area were monitored monthly during 1981. Benthic fauna of these 9 stations consisted of amphipods , polychaetes, isopods, tanaidaceans, molluscs and other crustaceans (Decapods, Acetes, Alpheids, Balanus, insect larvae, chironomid larvae, cumacea and some fresh water forms ). Apart from these, sea anemone, flat worms, nematodes, sipunculoids, echinoderms and fishes were also encountered. 75 species belonging to 31 faunal groups were identified. Of these 31 groups, amphipods, polychaedes, isopods, tanaidaceans and molluscs were numerically abundant. Rest of the 26 groups (including 13 riverine forms) were found less significant due to their rare occurrence/low numerical abundance. Polychaetes and molluscs were the only major groups present at all the stations.

Studies on the effects of selected trace metals on Matapenaeus Dobsoni (MIERS)

This thesis is an attempt by the author to assess the suitability of Metapenaeus dobsoni (Miers), an economically important crustacean species as a sentinel organism of trace metal pollution. The results of detailed investigations on seasonal variation, bioassay, accumulation and depuration of three metals viz., mercury, copper and zinc are presented and discussed. The importance of trace metals in the aquatic environment and their present status in the study area - Cochin backwaters, the significance of crustacean fisheries, the species M. dobsoni and the objectives of the present studies are described in Chapter 1. The methodology adopted during the investigation is given in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 delineates the seasonal variation of Hg, Cu and Zn in the edible and non-edible parts of M. dobsoni collected from Cochin backwaters for a period of one year (June 1984-May 1985). The results of bioassay experiments are given in Chapter 4. Kinetics of accumulation ,retention and depuration of trace metals, their biological half-life, the influence of size group and environmental factors are given in Chapter 5. The effect of these metals on the physiological response of M. dobsoni viz. oxygen consumption is included in Chapter 6. A summary and list of references are also appended.

Studis on the climatological aspects of air pollution potential over trivandrum

The deteriorating air quality especially in urban environments is a cause of serious concern. In spite of being an effective sink, the atmosphere also has its own limitations in effectively dispersing the pollutants being dumped into it continuously by various sources, mainly industries. Many a time, it is not the higher emissions that cause alarming level of pollutants but the unfavourable atmospheric conditions under which the atmosphere is not able to disperse them effectively, leading to accumulation of pollutants near the ground. Hence, it is imperative to have an estimate of the atmospheric potential for dispersal of the substances emitted into it. This requires a knowledge of mixing height, ventilation coefficient, wind and stability of the region under study. Mere estimation of such pollution potential is not adequate, unless the probable distribution of concentration of pollutants is known. This can be obtained by means of mathematical models. The pollution potential coupled with the distribution of concentration provides a good basis for initiating steps to mitigate air pollution in any developing urban area. In this thesis, a fast developing industrial city, namely, Trivandrum is chosen for estimating the pollution potential and determining the spatial distribution of sulphur dioxide concentration. Each of the parameters required for pollution potential is discussed in detail separately. The thesis is divided into nine chapters.

Paper industry in Kerala: An evaluation of labour absorption,capacity utilisation, and environmental pollution

Paper industry is one of the oldest and largest industries in Kerala. Despite the developments in the industry in terms of growth in output , value added and employment generation, many of the units face grave problems. Irrespective of the size of the plant, the problems of the industry are general in nature. The problems are galore in the supply, not the demand side. Amomg the problems, the important ones are: raw material scarcity, energy deficiency and obsolete technology. Further, the industry is subject to many controls by the Government — price control, product control and raw materials control — which result in the dwindling of profits and investments. Equally important are the reservations against the industry for polluting the environment byeffluent disposal on the one hand and affecting ecological balance by depleting the existing forest on the other. Apart from the large, medium and small pulp and paper mills, there are about 30 hand made paper units in Kerala which can be categorised as village and cottage industry. Almost all of these units began at the initiative and support of Khadi and Village Industries Commission. The primary purpose of these units is employment generation, and not profit making. Currently many of these units are in the red and many others are on the verge of closure. Therefore, a separate analysis of the growth performance, and problems and prospects of the hand made paper industry has also been attempted. It is analysed separately because of the very small size of the hand made paper units

Biochemical and molecular studies of cadmium resistance and metal biosorption in bacterial species isolated from cochin environment

Cochin, commercial capital of Kerala, located on the west-coast of South India has a large number of chemical and sea food industries. Earlier studies in the past indicated that these industries contribute to heavy metal pollution, particularly mercury, copper, and cadmium, in Cochin backwater. Hence, in the present study, it was desired to isolate cadmium resistant bacteria from effluent discharged by chemical industry with a view to develop an ideal bioremediation process for safe discharge of industrial effluent in to the nearby aquatic environment. Effluent from three industries, located in the industrial belt of Cochin, were collected from the discharge point and cadmium resistant bacteria were screened using standard microbiological techniques

Retting Of Coconut Husk - A Unique Case Of Water Pollution On The South West Coast Of India

The extensive backwaters of Kerala are the sites for a flourishing cottage industry - the coir industry. This enterprise almost exclusively located along the 590 km coastal belt of Kerala, provides direct employment to over half a million people in the state and produces nearly 90% of the total coir goods in the world. The shallow bays and lagoons of the 30 backwater systems of the state are traditional areas for the retting of coconut husk for the production of the coir fibre. The paper examines the environmental status of the retting grounds in Kerala, in relation to the biotic communities. The study revealed that retting activity has caused large scale organic pollution along with the mass destruction of the flora and fauna, converting sizeable sections of the backwaters into virtual cesspools of foul smelling stagnant waters. High values of hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, BOD5 associated with anoxic conditions and low community diversity of plankton, benthic fauna, fish, shell fish, wood boring and fouling organisms were the outstanding feature of the retting zones.

Indian Law on Control of Vessel Sourced Pollution in Maritime Ports

Maritime ports are inevitable for India’s economic development. The very existence and sustainable development of ports depend on clean port environment. There is a notion that shipping is an over regulated industry. But in India, it is being operated under sub- standard conditions, raising crucial issues of environmental pollution in the country’s ports. The negative impacts of vessel sourced pollution on the eco-fragile coastal peninsula can be detrimental to the living conditions, health and interests of the coastal population. It can disturb marine life and imbalance the aquatic ecosystem. The present study analyses control of vessel sourced pollution in Indian ports from an economic and ecological perspective. The study investigates legal reasons behind the weak control, regulation and monitoring over vessel sourced pollution in Indian ports. The loopholes in the legal system are identified and suggestion made to implement stronger enforcement. Unless, vessel operations are properly regulated in ports, the trade and economic prospects of India will be jeopardized.

Water Resource Pollution and Impacts on the local livelihood: A case study of Beas River in Kullu District, India

The rivers are considered as the life line of any country since they make water available for our domestic, industrial and recreational functions. The quality of river water signifies the health status and hygienic aspects of a particular region, but the quality of these life lines is continuously deteriorating due to discharge of sewage, garbage and industrial effluents into them. Thrust on water demand has increased manifolds due to the increased population, therefore tangible efforts to make the water sources free from pollution is catching attention all across the globe. This paper attempts to highlight the trends in water quality change of River Beas, right from Manali to Larji in India. This is an important river in the state of Himachal Pradesh and caters to the need of water for Manali and Kullu townships, besides other surrounding rural areas. The Manali-Larji Beas river stretch is exposed to the flow of sewage, garbage and muck resulting from various project activities, thereby making it vulnerable to pollution. In addition, the influx of thousands of tourists to these towns also contributes to the pollution load by their recreational and other tourist related activities. Pollution of this river has ultimately affected the livelihood of local population in this region. Hence, water quality monitoring was carried out for the said stretch between January, 2010 and January, 2012 at 15 various locations on quarterly basis, right from the upstream of Manali town and up to downstream of Larji dam. Temperature, color, odor, D.O. , pH, BOD, TSS, TC and FC has been the parameters that were studied. This study gives the broad idea about the characteristics of water at locations in the said river stretch, and suggestions for improving water quality and livelihood of local population in this particular domain.

Nonpoint source pollution, space, time and asymetric information - a deposit refund approach

The incorporation of space allows the establishment of a more precise relationship between a contaminating input, a contaminating byproduct and emissions that reach the final receptor. However, the presence of asymmetric information impedes the implementation of the first-best policy. As a solution to this problem a site specific deposit refund system for the contaminating input and the contaminating byproduct are proposed. Moreover, the utilization of a successive optimization technique first over space and second over time enables definition of the optimal intertemporal site specific deposit refund system

Effects of Air Pollution Control on Climate

Urban air pollution and climate are closely connected due to shared generating processes (e.g., combustion) for emissions of the driving gases and aerosols. They are also connected because the atmospheric lifecycles of common air pollutants such as CO, NOx and VOCs, and of the climatically important methane gas (CH4) and sulfate aerosols, both involve the fast photochemistry of the hydroxyl free radical (OH). Thus policies designed to address air pollution may impact climate and vice versa. We present calculations using a model coupling economics, atmospheric chemistry, climate and ecosystems to illustrate some effects of air pollution policy alone on global warming. We consider caps on emissions of NOx, CO, volatile organic carbon, and SOx both individually and combined in two ways. These caps can lower ozone causing less warming, lower sulfate aerosols yielding more warming, lower OH and thus increase CH4 giving more warming, and finally, allow more carbon uptake by ecosystems leading to less warming. Overall, these effects significantly offset each other suggesting that air pollution policy has a relatively small net effect on the global mean surface temperature and sea level rise. However, our study does not account for the effects of air pollution policies on overall demand for fossil fuels and on the choice of fuels (coal, oil, gas), nor have we considered the effects of caps on black carbon or organic carbon aerosols on climate. These effects, if included, could lead to more substantial impacts of capping pollutant emissions on global temperature and sea level than concluded here. Caps on aerosols in general could also yield impacts on other important aspects of climate beyond those addressed here, such as the regional patterns of cloudiness and precipitation.

Multi-isotopic and compositional exploration of factors controlling nitrate pollution

In Catalonia, according to the nitrate directive (91/676/EU), nine areas have been declared as vulnerable to nitrate pollution from agricultural sources (Decret 283/1998 and Decret 479/2004). Five of these areas have been studied coupling hydro chemical data with a multi-isotopic approach (Vitòria et al. 2005, Otero et al. 2007, Puig et al. 2007), in an ongoing research project looking for an integrated application of classical hydrochemistry data, with a comprehensive isotopic characterisation (δ15N and δ18O of dissolved nitrate, δ34S and δ18O of dissolved sulphate, δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon, and δD and δ18O of water). Within this general frame, the contribution presented explores compositional ways of: (i) distinguish agrochemicals and manure N pollution, (ii) quantify natural attenuation of nitrate (denitrification), and identify possible controlling factors. To achieve this two-fold goal, the following techniques have been used. Separate biplots of each suite of data show that each studied region has a distinct δ34S and pH signatures, but they are homogeneous with regard to NO3- related variables. Also, the geochemical variables were projected onto the compositional directions associated with the possible denitrification reactions in each region. The resulting balances can be plot together with some isotopes, to assess their likelihood of occurrence

Modelling of Mercury’s surface composition and remote detection from the orbit with the BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter

It can be assumed that the composition of Mercury’s thin gas envelope (exosphere) is related to the composition of the planets crustal materials. If this relationship is true, then inferences regarding the bulk chemistry of the planet might be made from a thorough exospheric study. The most vexing of all unsolved problems is the uncertainty in the source of each component. Historically, it has been believed that H and He come primarily from the solar wind, while Na and K originate from volatilized materials partitioned between Mercury’s crust and meteoritic impactors. The processes that eject atoms and molecules into the exosphere of Mercury are generally considered to be thermal vaporization, photonstimulated desorption (PSD), impact vaporization, and ion sputtering. Each of these processes has its own temporal and spatial dependence. The exosphere is strongly influenced by Mercury’s highly elliptical orbit and rapid orbital speed. As a consequence the surface undergoes large fluctuations in temperature and experiences differences of insolation with longitude. We will discuss these processes but focus more on the expected surface composition and solar wind particle sputtering which releases material like Ca and other elements from the surface minerals and discuss the relevance of composition modelling

Pollution and conservation.

Analiza las causas de polución y algunas de las acciones que han tomado los gobiernos para la conservación del medio ambiente. Ofrece tres experimentos con explicaciones paso a paso para el aprendizaje por descubrimiento. Los experimentos hacen hincapié en la necesidad del niño de investigar. Hay glosario, bibliografía y direcciones de páginas webs para ampliar información.

Pollution solution? : pollution.

Combina historias de ficción y no ficción acerca de la contaminación. De qué manera afecta nuestra vida, cómo agua aire y suelo pueden verse afectadas y cómo se está tratando de resolver los problemas de contaminación tóxica en todo el mundo. Las preguntas abiertas estimulan a los estudiantes a reflexionar sobre estas cuestiones que afectan a las personas en diferentes partes del mundo y a formar sus propias opiniones.

Case-Crossover Analysis of Air Pollution Health Effects: A Systematic Review of Methodology and Application

Case-crossover is one of the most used designs for analyzing the health-related effects of air pollution. Nevertheless, no one has reviewed its application and methodology in this context. Objective: We conducted a systematic review of case-crossover (CCO) designs used to study the relationship between air pollution and morbidity and mortality, from the standpoint of methodology and application.Data sources and extraction: A search was made of the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases.Reports were classified as methodologic or applied. From the latter, the following information was extracted: author, study location, year, type of population (general or patients), dependent variable(s), independent variable(s), type of CCO design, and whether effect modification was analyzed for variables at the individual level. Data synthesis: The review covered 105 reports that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of these, 24 addressed methodological aspects, and the remainder involved the design’s application. In the methodological reports, the designs that yielded the best results in simulation were symmetric bidirectional CCO and time-stratified CCO. Furthermore, we observed an increase across time in the use of certain CCO designs, mainly symmetric bidirectional and time-stratified CCO. The dependent variables most frequently analyzed were those relating to hospital morbidity; the pollutants most often studied were those linked to particulate matter. Among the CCO-application reports, 13.6% studied effect modification for variables at the individual level.Conclusions: The use of CCO designs has undergone considerable growth; the most widely used designs were those that yielded better results in simulation studies: symmetric bidirectional and time-stratified CCO. However, the advantages of CCO as a method of analysis of variables at the individual level are put to little use