Pollution

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Pollution

• PreetiBala Adatiya
• Lecturer
• School of Biotechnology
• DAVV

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When there are some physical, chemical or
biological changes occur in our physical
environment it is known as pollution and the
substances which brings these changes are known
as pollutants. The sources for the pollution can
be natural or man made. Following are the types
of Environmental pollution. 1. Air pollution 2.
Water pollution 3. Soil pollution 4. Noise
pollution 5. Marine pollution 6. Thermal
pollution 7. Nuclear pollution
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• Air pollution is defined as any contamination of
  the atmosphere that disturbs the natural
  composition and chemistry of the air. This can be
  in the form of particulate matter such as dust or
  excessive gases like carbon dioxide or other
  vapors that cannot be effectively removed through
  natural cycles, such as the carbon cycle or the
  nitrogen cycle.
• Air pollution comes from a wide variety of
  sources. Some of the most excessive sources
  include
• Vehicle or manufacturing exhaust
• Forest fires, volcanic eruptions, dry soil
  erosion, and other natural sources
• Building construction or demolition
• Depending on the concentration of air pollutants,
  several effects can be noticed. Smog increases,
  higher rain acidity, crop depletion from
  inadequate oxygen, and higher rates of asthma.
  Many scientists believe that global warming is
  also related to increased air pollution.

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• Water pollution involves any contaminated water,
  whether from chemical, particulate, or bacterial
  matter that degrades the water's quality and
  purity. Water pollution can occur in oceans,
  rivers, lakes, and underground reservoirs, and as
  different water sources flow together the
  pollution can spread.
• Causes of water pollution include
• Increased sediment from soil erosion
• Improper waste disposal and littering
• Leaching of soil pollution into water supplies
• Organic material decay in water supplies
• The effects of water pollution include decreasing
  the quantity of drinkable water available,
  lowering water supplies for crop irrigation, and
  impacting fish and wildlife populations that
  require water of a certain purity for survival.

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• Soil, or land pollution, is contamination of the
  soil that prevents natural growth and balance in
  the land whether it is used for cultivation,
  habitation, or a wildlife preserve. Some soil
  pollution, such as the creation of landfills, is
  deliberate, while much more is accidental and can
  have widespread effects.
• Soil pollution sources include
• Hazardous waste and sewage spills
• Non-sustainable farming practices, such as the
  heavy use of inorganic pesticides
• Strip mining, deforestation, and other
  destructive practices
• Household dumping and littering
• Soil contamination can lead to poor growth and
  reduced crop yields, loss of wildlife habitat,
  water and visual pollution, soil erosion, and
  desertification

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• Noise pollution refers to undesirable levels of
  noises caused by human activity that disrupt the
  standard of living in the affected area.
• Noise pollution can come from
• Traffic
• Airports
• Railroads
• Manufacturing plants
• Construction or demolition
• Concerts
• Some noise pollution may be temporary while other
  sources are more permanent. Effects may include
  hearing loss, wildlife disturbances, and a
  general degradation of lifestyle.

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• Radioactive Pollution
• Radioactive pollution is rare but extremely
  detrimental, and even deadly, when it occurs.
  Because of its intensity and the difficulty of
  reversing damage, there are strict government
  regulations to control radioactive pollution.
• Sources of radioactive contamination include
• Nuclear power plant accidents or leakage
• Improper nuclear waste disposal
• Uranium mining operations
• Radiation pollution can cause birth defects,
  cancer, sterilization, and other health problems
  for human and wildlife populations. It can also
  sterilize the soil and contribute to water and
  air pollution.

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• Thermal pollution is excess heat that creates
  undesirable effects over long periods of time.
  The earth has a natural thermal cycle, but
  excessive temperature increases can be considered
  a rare type of pollution with long term effects.
  Many types of thermal pollution are confined to
  areas near their source, but multiple sources can
  have wider impacts over a greater geographic
  area.
• Thermal pollution may be caused by
• Power plants
• Urban sprawl
• Air pollution particulates that trap heat
• Deforestation
• Loss of temperature moderating water supplies
• As temperatures increase, mild climatic changes
  may be observed, and wildlife populations may be
  unable to recover from swift changes.

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Light Pollution Bright lighting in functions,
big cities, etc. causes Light Pollution.
Excessive light on the retina causes extreme
discomfort in the eyes, especially in dim
conditions like during night time. Bright lights
strain the eyes and also give headaches and
migraines. If we observe, light pollution,
thermal pollution and noise pollution all are
types of pollution that are caused by the
different forms of energy
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Marine pollution Human being has polluted the
oceans by adding the oil and waste disposal in
it. The main causes of marine pollution are shore
based industries, off-shore drilling, wrecked oil
tankers and transport activities. Also the waste
discharged into the rivers that flows to the
ocean is the main reason of marine pollution.
Marine pollution has adversely affected the sea
life. Major sources Transport, oil tankers and
industries.
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Measurements of pollution Use of Biosensor to
detect pollution Biosensors are biophysical
devices which can detect the presence of specific
substances e.g. sugars, proteins, hormones,
pollutants and a variety of toxins in the
environment. They are also capable of measuring
the quantities of these specific substances in
the environment Technically a Biosensor is
defined as an analytical device containing an
immobilized biological material (which could be
an enzyme, or antibody, or nucleic acid, or
hormone, or an organelle/whole cell), which can
specifically interact with an analyte and produce
physical, chemical or electrical signals that can
be measured. An analyte is the compound (e.g.
glucose, urea, drug, pesticide) whose
concentration has to be measured. Biosensors
basically involve the quantitative analysis of
various substances by converting their biological
actions into measurable signals. Generally the
performance of the biosensors is mostly dependent
on the specificity and sensitivity of the
biological reaction, besides the stability of the
enzyme.
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A biosensor or an enzyme or an antibody is
associated with microchip devices which is used
for quantitative estimation of the substance. A
biosensor equipment has the following components
a) a biological component - enzyme, cell etc,
b) a physical component-a device for measuring
the quantity of this product, thus indirectly
giving an estimate of the substrate e.g.
transducer, amplifier etc. The biosensors are
being used in the area of medicine, industry etc.
however their use in environmental monitoring is
of great benefit. Special kits have been designed
to identify the specific pollutants in the
environment. E.g. special cost effective
enzymatic tests are available which can detect
pesticide contamination in water.
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Principle of a biosensor The biological
material in use (e.g. an enzyme) is immobilized
by conventional methods like physical or membrane
entrapment, non-covalent or covalent binding. A
contact is made between the immobilized
biological material and the transducer. The
analyte binds to the biological material to form
a bound analyte which in turn produces the
electronic response that can be measured.
Sometimes the analyte is converted to a product
which could be associated with the release of
heat, gas (oxygen), electrons or hydrogen ions.
The transducer then converts the product linked
changes into electrical signals which can be
amplified and measured.
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Some of the important biosensors used in
environmental pollution monitoring are a) Gas
biosensors- In order to detect gases such as
sulphur dioxide, (SO2), methane, carbon dioxide
etc, microbial biosensors have been developed.
Thiobacillus-based biosensors can detect the
pollutant SO2, whereas methane (CH4) can be
detected by immobilized Methalomonas. A
particular strain of Pseudomonas is used to
monitor carbon dioxide levels.b) Immunoassay
biosensors- Immunoelectrodes as biosensors are
used to detect low concentrations of pollutants.
Pesticide specific antibodies can detect the
presence of low concentrations of triazines,
malathion and carbamates, by using immunoassay
methods.
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c) BOD biosensor- Biological oxygen demand (BOD)
is widely used as a test to detect the levels of
organic pollution. This requires five days of
incubation but a BOD biosensor using the yeast
Trichosporon cutaneum with oxygen probe takes
only 15 minutes to detect organic pollution. d)
Miscellaneous biosensors- A graphite electrode
with Cynobacterium and Synechococcus has been
developed to measure the degree of electron
transport inhibition during the photosynthesis
due to certain pollutants e.g. herbicides. To
detect phenol, phenol oxidase enzyme obtained
from potatoes and mushrooms is used as a
biosensor. Biosensors for the detection of
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated
hydrocarbons and certain other organic compounds
have also been developed. Biosensors employing
acetylcholine esterase which can be obtained from
bovine RBC can be used for the detection of
organophosphorus compounds in water.
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