ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM ASSESMENT IN WARD 13 OF NAGROOR GRAMA PANCHAYAT

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM ASSESMENT IN WARD 13 OF          NAGROOR GRAMA PANCHAYAT

 

Submitted by: Group Nimbus

And   Group Raindrops

Aneeshma

Sruthi

Sreejit

Abhijit

Arunima

Rubiya

IMK Senate House Campus Palayam

 

The problem discussed here is of Nagroor a small village in Thiruvananthapuram district.

The main issues in the area are:

(1) Rubber plantation resulting in breeding ground for mosquitoes.

(2) The granite quarry.

(3) Bad condition of roads.

With the arrival of monsoon in Kerala the state gets engulfed with fever. The climatic condition of the state as well as the plethora of breeding grounds make the disease carrying mosquitoes to multiply and thus creating panic among people each year. The state got affected by Chikungunya twice in 2006 and in 2007. Earlier the coastal areas of Kerala were affected but later the attack was extensive and was extended to the plantation areas also. The vector of the disease is Aedes albopictus with lineage to African genotype.

The tapping is suspended during the rainy season and the water accumulated in the containers thus becomes a breeding site for mosquitoes. The plantation were tapping were conducted with the help of rain guard also have water in the sap collecting cups thus also helping mosquitoes to breed. Also the water while making rubber sheets if not drained properly will cause the mosquitoes to breed.

The granite quarry operating in the village results in the release of large amount of dust and increased level of radon gases. Both result in increased risk of lung cancer and including silicosis and mesothelioma.  The noises from the quarry and the trucks used to carry these to other places also have a serious environmental impact. Also the water bodies nearby are also getting contaminated due to waste from the mining activities.

The panchayat road which is the main path for connectivity for all is in a very bad condition. The rainy season made it worst as people cannot even walk through it sides. Also due to the bad condition of roads there is wastage of fuels moreover its affects the environment badly. The dust arising from road causes problem to houses which are close to the road.

We met the member of Grama panchayat Smt. Sheeba G and cited these problems to her. We suggested the solutions for the above mentioned problems and she assured us the problems will be addressed at the earliest.

 

The breeding grounds of mosquitoes are to be destroyed to check the population of these disease carrying organisms. An awareness class is to be conducted and pamphlets containing various preventive measures are to be distributed. The water used while making the rubber sheets are to be properly discharged to ground and not allowing it to get stagnated. Also the traps developed by ICMR are to be made available so that the breeding of mosquitoes can be checked. It would be able to prevent breeding because of the “simple engineering work” done with regard to the mesh, netting, slider and gauge. The cost of this trap would be just around Rs.100 and materials used would be familiar to plantation workers.

The quarry should be operated with strict norms as per the various laws made by the government. The level of randon gases should be tested and should be kept under the permissible limits.  The techniques like water-jet cutting can be used to extract the granite which is environment friendly as it reduces noise and dust. Also it reduces hazards on the workers. The vehicles which use to carry out granites from the quarry should be restricted during school and office going times.

The road is important for development of an area and the ill-effects of it here should be addressed quickly. Before the tarring the soil should be hardened and as there would be lot of waste pieces of granite it should be first laid with cement and then tarred over it. Also soil stabilizing agents like Fujibeton which can used with cement or Terrazyme which is a natural Terrazyme is a natural, non-toxic; environmentally safe, bio-enzyme product that improves qualities of soil reduces ruts and potholes resulting in more durable and longer lasting roads can be used before tarring. These products are suitable for all climatic condition and thus monsoon in Kerala won’t affect it. Thus the durability of roads will increase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES CAUSED BY PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS – BY OASIS

BY OASIS

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES CAUSED BY   PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS

by Volga R, Fathima Shahanas K, IMK Palayam

INTRODUCTION:

One of the most common items in our modern world is the ubiquitous plastic grocery bag. Highly convenient, strong and inexpensive, plastic grocery bags are appealing to both customers and businesses as a reliable way to deliver goods from the store to home. However, there are several issues associated with the production, use, and disposal of plastic grocery bags which may not be initially apparent to most users, but which are nonetheless extremely important. By assessing the lifecycle of plastic grocery bags, we can better understand the full ecological footprint of the plastic bag, and find more effective means of dealing with the associated negative impacts. This report will outline the ecological footprint of plastic grocery bags by looking at the immediate impacts associated with their manufacturing, followed by impacts created by their use and disposal, with a final discussion concerning waste management and recycling.

MANUFACTURING OF PLASTIC GROCERY:

• Energy

The lifecycle of a plastic grocery bag begins with the extraction and processing of raw materials. The process of manufacturing plastic grocery bags requires significant quantities of both energy and raw materials. Two plastic bags require 990 kJ (kilojoules) of natural gas, 240 kJ of petroleum, and 160 kJ of coal . Additionally, there are large amounts of energy used to acquire oil, such as the large, fuel-burning heavy machinery, and most of the electricity used in the process of manufacturing the actual bags comes from coal-fired power plants.

• Ingredients

The key ingredients in plastic bags are petroleum and natural gas and the manufacturing of plastic bags accounts for 4 per cent of the world’s total oil production. Components of oil or natural gas are heated in a cracking process, which creates hydrocarbon monomers. In the manufacturing process, hydrocarbon monomers are biogeochemically manipulated, resulting in the creation of hydrocarbon polymers, which are essentially large molecules made up of repeated units of hydrocarbon monomers. Different groupings of monomers make polymers with different characteristics.

• Types of Polyethylene

Grocery bags are made from high-density polyethylene, also known as HDPE. Polyethylene is a non-renewable resource made from ethylene which takes hundreds of years to break down. Polyethylene is appealing to manufacturers because it can be manipulated into any shape, size, form or color. There are two other types of polyethylene, other than HDPE, used to make plastic bags: low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). LLDPE makes up thicker, glossy bags, such as carrier bags used by businesses in shopping malls, and LDPE is used to make very thin, filmy bags, such as dry-cleaning bags. The main difference between the three types of polyethylene (HDPE, LDPE, and LLDPE) is the branching of the polymer chain of molecules; the more branched out the molecules are, the thinner the plastic . Plastic grocery bags are made of HDPE, which has more branched molecules and consequently lower tensile strength and crystalline form.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS:

• Impacts of Energy Requirements

The energy used to make one high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic bag is 0.48 mega joules (MJ). To give this figure perspective, a car driving one kilo meter is the equivalent of manufacturing 8.7 plastic bags. This study illustrates the immense environmental impacts to be made through a cultural shift to more ecologically responsible choices. The societal acceptance of plastic shopping bags is an integral part of the entire ecological footprint.

• Air and Water Pollution

Air pollution caused by the emission of toxic chemicals and CO2 during the manufacturing of plastic bags is a significant part of the environmental impact of this product. The manufacturing of two plastic bags produces 1.1 kg of atmospheric pollution, which contributes to acid rain and smog. Acid rain is recognized as a serious threat to natural and human-made environments, particularly in regions which have historically relied heavily on coal. Smog is also a well-documented and significant problem, particularly concerning human health. Additionally, the manufacturing of two plastic grocery bags produces 0.1 g of waterborne waste, which has the capability of disrupting associated ecosystems, such as waterways and the life that they support. To exacerbate the problems of air and water pollution, most plastic shopping bags are made in countries with few environmental regulations.

• Shipping and Transportation

The plastic grocery bags are subsequently shipped all over the world. Container ships used to transport these bags to each consumer country use fuels which produce high levels of pollutants, such as Sulphur. Annual trips multiply this environmental damage as manufacturers try to accommodate the increasing demand to numerous countries.

• Health Impacts

Toxic emissions produced during the extraction of materials for the production of plastic grocery bags, their manufacturing, and their transportation contribute to acid rain, smog, and numerous other harmful effects associated with the use of petroleum, coal, and natural gas, such as health conditions of coal miners and environmental impacts associated with natural gas and petroleum retrieval.

 USE AND IMMIDIATE DISPOSAL OF PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS

Plastic grocery bags have been a part of daily life in developed countries and in more recent years, their use has spread to many developing countries. Unfortunately, the most common final resting place for garbage bags is the garbage bin, resulting in countless numbers of bags filling landfills and spilling over onto essentially every other surface of the planet. It is the very prevalence of these bags that result in several critical environmental and social impacts associated with their use and immediate disposal.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

• Land Pollution

Due to many factors, not the least of which is their ready availability, 96 per cent of all grocery bags are thrown into landfills. The plastic bags decompose very slowly. In fact, a bag can last up to 1000 years, inhibiting the breakdown of biodegradable materials around or in it. Light weight plastic grocery bags are additionally harmful due to their propensity to be carried away on a breeze and become attached to tree branches, fill roadside ditches or end up in public waterways, rivers or oceans.

• Impacts on Wildlife

Most distressing, over a billion seabirds and mammals die annually from ingestion of plastics. In Newfoundland, 1,00,000 marine mammals are killed each year by ingesting plastic. However, the impact of plastic bags does not end with the death of one animal; when a bird or mammal dies in such a manner and subsequently decomposes, the plastic bag will again be released into the environment to be ingested by another animal.

SOCIAL IMPACTS

• Impacts on Human Health

Impacts on human health are perhaps the most serious of the effects associated with plastic grocery bags, ranging from health problems associated with emissions, to death. City officials blamed the destructive floods on plastic bags which clogged gutters and drains, preventing the rainwater from leaving the city through underground systems bags. By clogging sewer pipes, plastic grocery bags also create stagnant water; stagnant water produces the ideal habitat for mosquitoes and other parasites which have the potential to spread a large number of diseases, such as encephalitis and dengue fever, but most notably malaria.

• Impacts on Livelihood

Loss of livelihood is another major social impact connected to the use of plastic grocery bags; two primary examples are the loss of livestock and impacts on tourism. Concerning livestock, plastic grocery bags are often caught in trees or along fences, where they are mistakenly eaten by animals, leading to suffocation or blockage of digestive tracts, and eventually death. Plastic grocery bags also have the potential to leach their chemical components and toxins into soil and water sources, which can be passed on to humans, resulting in health dangers such as neurological problems and cancers. This industry is also impacted by plastic grocery bags, both in terrestrial and marine environments.

• Impacts on Government and Politics

The production and use of plastic grocery bags have several important political impacts. However, this is far from the case in developing nations where waste management is not well established or is non-existent. The effects of plastic bags are most severely felt in poor and rural areas, where shopping bags are dispensed and used widely but not disposed of properly. The footprint of plastic grocery bags also includes high civic costs to governments, most of which are incurred through clean-up efforts. Plastic bags can litter roads, sewers and waterways, making litter collection and disposal difficult and costly. High costs are being shouldered by governments and taxpayers, which results in the loss of funds from other services offered by the government. Because of this myriad of problems, many governments have banned plastic grocery bags entirely, or imposed levies on their use.

WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING

• MANAGING WASTE

Although plastic bags can be used over and over again, particularly in comparison to a paper bag, they are most commonly thrown into the garbage once they are no longer useful since recycling services for plastic bags are not yet widely available. The recycling rates for plastic bags are extremely low, only 1-3 per cent, primarily attributed to three reasons. First, plastics are made from many different resins, and because they cannot be mixed, they must be sorted and processed separately. Most plastics also contain stabilizers and other chemicals that must be removed before recycling. Second, recovering individual plastic resins does not yield much material because only small amounts of any given resin are used per product. Third, the price of oil used to produce petrochemicals for making plastic resins is so low that the cost of virgin plastic resins is much lower than that of recycled resins. As a result, recycling is not a simple solution to lessen the ecological footprint of the plastic grocery bag.

• RECYCLING AND INCINERATION

In all stages of a plastic bag’s life, from manufacturing to disposal, negative social and environmental impacts are evident. The planet’s environment, including its soil, water and air, is affected directly in numerous ways, beginning with the extraction and use of fossil fuels during the manufacturing process of plastic bags. Emissions resulting from this process are also very harmful to both humans and the physical environments, and the transportation of plastic bags from their origin to their place of use also contributes significantly to the environmental footprint of this product. Further negative impacts are found during the use and immediate disposal of plastic bags, particularly in non-industrial nations where waste management services are not well-developed. In these regions, plastic bags are found everywhere, from remote tourist destinations to city streets where they can clog drain pipes, contributing to massive flooding which has already cost thousands of lives. Plastic bags are also problematic to concerning the livelihoods of local people and national governments, both in terms of the loss of agricultural potential and impacts on tourism, in addition to the high cost of cleanup which falls to local and national governments. Reducing the economic footprint through recycling and therefore reducing the use of landfills, incinerators, and raw materials is not as important as the other benefits of recycling, which reveal how the net economic, health, and environmental benefits far outweigh the costs. Correcting our faulty economic system in which the market price of a product does not include the harmful environmental health costs associated during its life cycle could reveal the true costs of plastic bag consumption.

The question of plastic bags ultimately comes down to the issue of use. If people are willing and able to use environmentally-friendly alternatives, such as reusable cloth or plastic bags, the decreasing use of plastic bags will reduce their overall footprint. However, without educating the public concerning the impacts of plastic grocery bags or constructing barriers to their use, business will continue as usual. Many governments have chosen the route of taxes or levies on plastic bags, to great success. Perhaps in a culture where convenience often comes before environmental concern, speaking to consumers’ pocketbooks may be the only way to effectively deal with this ever-increasing problem.

• THE ECONOMICS OF DISPOSAL

Whether recycling makes economic sense depends on how you look at the benefits and costs of recycling. According to conventional economics, recycling does economically efficient if it costs more to recycle materials than to send them to landfills or incinerators. Many critics also point out that recycling is often not needed to save landfill space because many areas are not running out of it. The largest problem is the fact that the recycling plastic grocery bags will not “pay for itself”. Nevertheless, conventional garbage disposal systems are paid for by charges to households and businesses. It is hard to understand why recycling is held to a different standard and thus forced to cover its own costs. As a result, a responsible economic system that takes account the true costs of plastic could reveal to society how the choices they make impact the environment and society.

CONCLUSION

In all stages of a plastic bag’s life, from manufacturing to disposal, negative social and environmental impacts are evident. The planet’s environment, including its soil, water and air, is affected directly in numerous ways, beginning with the extraction and use of fossil fuels during the manufacturing process of plastic bags. Emissions resulting from this process are also very harmful to both humans and the physical environments, and the transportation of plastic bags from their origin to their place of use also contributes significantly to the environmental footprint of this product. Further negative impacts are found during the use and immediate disposal of plastic bags, particularly in non-industrial nations where waste management services are not well-developed. In these regions, plastic bags are found everywhere, from remote tourist destinations to city streets where they can clog drain pipes, contributing to massive flooding which has already cost thousands of lives. Plastic bags are also problematic to concerning the livelihoods of local people and national governments, both in terms of the loss of agricultural potential and impacts on tourism, in addition to the high cost of cleanup which falls to local and national governments. Reducing the economic footprint through recycling and therefore reducing the use of landfills, incinerators, and raw materials is not as important as the other benefits of recycling, which reveal how the net economic, health, and environmental benefits far outweigh the costs. Correcting our faulty economic system in which the market price of a product does not include the harmful environmental health costs associated during its life cycle could reveal the true costs of plastic bag consumption. The question of plastic bags ultimately comes down to the issue of use. If people are willing and able to use environmentally-friendly alternatives, such as reusable cloth or plastic bags, the decreasing use old plastic bags will reduce their overall footprint. However, without educating the public concerning the impacts of plastic grocery bags or constructing barriers to their use, business will continue as usual. Many governments have chosen the route of taxes or levies on plastic bags, to great success. Perhaps in a culture where convenience often comes before environmental concern, speaking to consumers’ pocketbooks may be the only way to effectively deal with this ever-increasing problem.

ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD – By Phoenix

By Phoenix

ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

By Divya CM

Divya Sudarsanan

Ratheesh Krishnan

IMK Palayam

 pond is a small area of still, fresh water. It is different from a river or a stream because it does not have moving water and it differs from a lake because it has a small area and is no more than around 1.8m deep. Some ponds are formed naturally, filled either by an underwater spring, or by rainwater – sometimes known as ‘dewponds’; other ponds are man-made.

Ponds which where once habitat to great variety of both animal and plant life have now become a place of waste disposal and other anti social activities. These ponds which once added to the serene beauty of the place got surrounded by weeds, marsh and wastes. The water lilies which added color and tranquil beauty to the pond’s shallows got replaced by the water weeds, a threat to the animals in it. There are two principal problems related to the ponds are:

• The ponds endlessly accumulate pollution, as there is no mechanism to remove pollution permanently. Only biomass or sediment removal will do this.

• The other problem is weed control in these ponds as they are typically shallow around their perimeter. This encourages weeds

Other major issues are:

• Increased population of mosquitoes due to the decline in the population of frogs.

• Diseases due to the unhygienic conditions prevailing.

• Pollution due to waste disposal.

• Foul smell from the waste heaps which leads to air pollution and many other diseases.

• Roads getting flooded during rainy season due to overflow of water from the pond.

• Anti-social activities near the pond since the area being secluded by other locals.

Serious discussions took place between the housing colony members and the problem was brought into the co-corporations notice. The authorities concerned after studying the locality and the problems faced by the people living there decided to clean the pond along with the surrounding. The following decisions where taken by the corporation:

• Biomass removal

  • Using Floating Wetland rafts to grow aquatic plants on the surface of the pond. The rafts are easily pulled to shore for biomass harvesting. This harvesting removes the nutrients contained in the biomass from the pond. If the plant material stays in the pond, it will only recycle back into the water at the end of its growing season as nutrient.

• Weeds removal from the pond’s border

  • Replanting the moist border with grasses and wildflowers. Once established, the grassy-wildflower border will prevent other weed seeds from taking root. We also install Wetland Carpets.

• Pollution problem and the weed problem

  • Plant non-invasive hybrid water lilies to add color and tranquil beauty to the pond’s shallows. Also plant the lilies in distinct island groupings in order to preserve a goodly portion of the reflective surface around the pond’s perimeter.

• Plant moisture loving specimen perennials, bushes and trees to create a lush, vertical background to frame the pond and to reflect in the pond’s surface.

• Construct wall around the pond to ensure that no more land encroachment takes place.

• Drainage system running through out the lane ending to a lake to avoid flooding of the roads during heavy rain falls.

• Pavements to be laid along the length of the pond.

• Proper street lighting was ensured to have a clear view of the pond and the surroundings so as to prevent anti-social activities.

All the above initiatives were successfully completed and the pond and the surroundings were made neat. But a new problem arises. The construction work of the drainage system and the laying of big pipes from the pond leading to the lake destroyed the well laid road of about 2kms. This worsened the situation; the gutters being deeper ones made transportation more or less impossible for the two wheelers and three wheels. To add on to this people again started dumping their waste in front of the pond and the waste heaps diameter being extended to the road.

Waste heaps along with gutters have made not only life but also transportation difficult in the area. Articles along with photographs of the road were published in news papers so as to make the authorities concerned do the necessary at the earliest. But all those efforts were worth less. As a result the housing colony associations

• Filled the gutters with stones and mud to level the road so as to make it good for transportation.

• Cleared the waste heaps from the pond frontage and posted boards warning waste disposal.

• Created awareness among the people about the advantages of vermin compost and bio gas plants.

• Installed either vermin compost or bio gas plants in houses depending on the financial position of the house owners.

Through the above initiatives along with the help of KUDUMBA SHREE units the waste disposal issues have been solved to an extend but not completely. But condition of the roads is the same and it becomes worse during the rainy season. The authorities need to do the necessary at the earliest. Local bodies along can not make major changes in the society. If all stakeholders (government, private sector and local residents) are involved, it will help to reduce the waste disposal and other problems and consequently improve environmental quality. Therefore, any progressive strategy must be inclusive, fully integrated with economic and social practices, and incorporate all sectors of society, i.e. a wide range of social groups and actors must be actively involved.

WASTE MANAGEMENT IN A HOTEL- BY POSEIDON

WASTE MANAGEMENT IN A HOTEL-  BY POSEIDON

ANU LEKSHMI

ADITH MOHAN

IMK Senate House Campus ,Palayam

WASTE MANAGEMENT IN A HOTEL

Industrial activities generate waste, some of which fall under hazardous category. Continuous and proper disposal of hazardous waste is necessary for sustaining future industrial activities. There are a large number of Restaurants and Hotels in India. These hotels contribute substantially to the generation of waste .Hotel and restaurant waste contributes to around 25-30 % of the total waste generated.

For the hospitality industry, the waste created by daily operations is an ongoing challenge. In addition to incurring the costs of waste disposal, hotels need to also allocate valuable back-of-the house space for waste to be stored and sorted. There are other concerns as well, namely the health and safety of those coming into contact with the waste, and the noise created by waste compaction and collection.

Much of the waste created in hotels is generated from within the kitchen (organic food waste, packaging, aluminum cans, glass bottles, corks and cooking oils), or from the housekeeping department (cleaning materials and plastic packaging). Waste is not only created in guest rooms but also in public areas, hotel gardens (engine oils, pesticides, paints and preservatives to grass and hedge trimmings) and offices (toner cartridges, paper and cardboard waste). And refurbishment and renovation projects undertaken at the hotel contribute further to the waste generated by the property. Hotels must meet all of the following seven criteria: Waste minimization Reuse/recycling Energy Efficiency Conservation and management Waste management Hazardous materials management Environmentally and socially sensitive purchasing policies Freshwater resource management

Types of Hotel waste:

Hotel waste comprises of two components, Biodegradable (Wet) waste and Non biodegradable (Dry) waste. The wet waste comprises of food, vegetable and non veg waste whereas the dry waste comprises of plastic bottles, papers, plastic wrappers, HDPE, LLDPE bags etc.

Present System of disposal of Hotel Waste :

 At present Hotel waste generated by small restaurants is disposed off directly by the hotels at nearby collection spots. The substantial quantity of food waste dumped at these collection spots gets mixed with all the other kinds of dry and wet waste and gives an ugly look to the collection spots with lot of dirt and stink.

 In case of large four and 5 star hotels, the hotel waste is disposed off directly by the hotels through private contractors to the dumping ground.

 Some private contractors charges Trade Refuse Charge (TRC) to the hotels for the waste generated by the hotels. The TRC is charged in multiples of license fees which is directly based on the area of the hotel and the grade.  The grade one hotels are generally bars and permit rooms which do peak business during evening hours. The waste generated by the restaurants with bars and permit rooms is much less as compared to that generated by the food restaurants. However the TRC charged for the bars and restaurants is much higher than that charged for the ordinary restaurants which generate much more quantity of waste.

 As per our observations of the hotel waste generated by hotels in a few wards, around 70 to 75 % of the hotel waste is biodegradable and gets mixed with all the other type of waste when dumped at the collection spots. Also the waste which is collected directly by the private contractors gets mixed with all the other type of non biodegradable waste at the dumping ground.

Suggested Action Points

 Management of waste generated by all the 3,4 and 5 star hotels and restaurants generating over one tonne of waste by themselves : These hotels can look at options of in-situ composting, installation of small biomethanation plants in the premises etc.

At present, hotel Orchid, Rhodas and Lotus suites are manging their waste quite well and can set an example for other hotels.

Some methods for management

 Bio Sanitizer by Excel Industries : Excel Industries Ltd. supplies machines of capacity 500kg, per day, 1 tonne per day and 3 tonnes per day machines along with biosanitizer. This machines can crush the food waste to 1/3^rd of the original volume and odourless compost produced can be used as manure after curing.

 Biomethanation : Biomethanation Plants of capacities 100 -500 kg per day can be installed in the premises of hotels if adequate space is available. Gas generated can be used for cooking.

 Composting/ Vermicomposting – Options of composting/vermicomposting could be explored.

 1.Duty of care Regulations:

 All waste removed from the premises is covered by the Duty of Care regulations. These regulations specify that all commercial waste (either for disposal or recycling) must be removed by registered waste carriers; and transfer notes should be completed and retained on file. Any waste contractors used, including the council, should provide the company with a transfer note on a yearly basis. Transfer notes must be retained on file for a minimum of two years.

 2.Recycling:

 Recycling is good for the environment because it significantly lowers the amount of waste going to landfill, and can reduce waste costs if fewer collections are needed for general waste. Recycling will save money on waste costs as less collections for general waste will be needed.

 CONCLUSION

 For hotels, a good waste management strategy not only results in greater operational efficiencies, it also helps conserve energy and water. Waste elimination at source and recycling help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the manufacturing stage; these practices also keep waste out of the landfill, thus reducing landfill methane emissions as well. Recycling one tonne of office paper creates 95 percent less air pollution and uses about 60 percent of the energy needed to produce the same amount of paper from trees. Recycling one aluminium can saves enough energy to run a television set for three hours.

As the industry is able to better assess its environmental impact, hotels are likely to come up with more creative solutions for waste reduction. We also expect to see hotels increasingly lean toward suppliers/vendors who provide environmentally friendly materials and equipment, and to whom the hotels can hand back dry waste for recycling.

Environmental issues caused by HOSPITAL WASTE- BY SPRING

Environmental issues caused by  HOSPITAL WASTE

– BY SPRING

AMAL SASIDHARAN

JUBI.M.F

MALINI.S

IMK Senate House Campus

introduction

Hospital is a place of almighty, a place to serve the patient. This was prepared on the basis of information collected from a reputed hospital in Kochi. Since beginning, the hospitals are known for the treatment of sick persons but we are unaware about the adverse effects of the garbage and filth generated by them on human body and environment. Now it is a well established fact that there are many adverse and harmful effects to the environment including human beings which are caused by the “Hospital waste” generated during the patient care. Hospital waste is a potential health hazard to the health care workers, public and flora and fauna of the area. Hospital acquired infection, transfusion transmitted diseases, rising incidence of Hepatitis B, and HIV, increasing land and water pollution lead to increasing possibility of catching many diseases. Air pollution due to emission of hazardous gases by incinerator such as Furan, Dioxin, Hydrochloric acid etc. have compelled the authorities to think seriously about hospital waste and the diseases transmitted through improper disposal of hospital waste.

A modern hospital is a complex, multidisciplinary system which consumes thousands of items for delivery of medical care and is a part of physical environment. All these products consumed in the hospital leave some unusable leftovers i.e. hospital waste. The last century witnessed the rapid mushrooming of hospital in the public and private sector, dictated by the needs of expanding population. The advent and acceptance of “disposable” has made the generation of hospital waste a significant factor in current scenario.

What is hospital waste?

Hospital waste refers to all waste generated, discarded and not intended for further use in the hospital. Hospital waste is some of the most dangerous waste that exists. A hospital is filled with sick individuals, thus any waste produced in a hospital could contain dangerous bacteria or viruses

Classification of hospital waste

(1)        General waste: Largely composed of domestic or house hold type waste. It is non-hazardous to human beings, e.g. kitchen waste, packaging material, paper, wrappers, plastics.

(2)        Pathological waste: Consists of tissue, organ, body part, human foetuses, blood and body fluid. It is hazardous waste.

(3)        Infectious waste: The wastes which contain pathogens in sufficient concentration or quantity that could cause diseases. It is hazardous e.g. culture and stocks of infectious agents from laboratories, waste from surgery, waste originating from infectious patients.

(4)        Sharps: Waste materials which could cause the person handling it, a cut or puncture of skin e.g. needles, broken glass, saws, nail, blades, scalpels.

(5)        Pharmaceutical waste: This includes pharmaceutical products, drugs, and chemicals that have been returned from wards, have been spilled, are outdated, or contaminated.

(6)        Chemical waste: This comprises discarded solid, liquid and gaseous chemicals e.g. cleaning, housekeeping, and disinfecting product.

(7)        Radioactive waste: It includes solid, liquid, and gaseous waste that is contaminated with radionuclide’s generated from in-vitro analysis of body tissues and fluid, in-vivo body organ imaging and tumour localization and therapeutic procedures.

 

Biomedical waste

Any solid, fluid and liquid or liquid waste, including its container and any intermediate product, which is generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunisation of human being or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or testing of biological and the animal waste from slaughter houses or any other similar establishment. All biomedical waste are hazardous. In hospital it comprises of 15% of total hospital waste.

How does hospital waste affect us?

If hospital waste is not managed properly it proves to be harmful to the environment. It not only poses a threat to the employees working in the hospital, but also to the people surrounding that area. Infectious waste can cause diseases like Hepatitis A & B, AIDS, Typhoid, Boils, etc.A common practice in Pakistan is the reuse of disposable syringes. People pick up used syringes from the hospital waste and sell them. Many drug addicts also reuse the syringes that can cause AIDS and other dangerous and contagious diseases. If a syringe, previously used by an AIDS patient, is reused, it can affect the person using it. So, the hospital staff should dispose off the syringes properly, by cutting the needles of the syringes with the help of a cutter, so that the needle ca not be reused.
When waste containing plastics are burnt, Dioxin is produced, which can cause Cancer, birth defects, decreased psychomotor ability, hearing defects, cognitive defects and behavioral alternations in infants. Flies also sit on the uncovered piles of rotting garbage. This promotes mechanical transmissions of fatal diseases like Diarrhea, Dysentery, Typhoid, Hepatitis and Cholera. Under moist conditions, mosquitoes transmit many types of infections, like Malaria and Yellow fever. Similarly, dogs, cats and rats also transmit a variety of diseases, including Plague and Flea born fever, as they mostly live in and around the refuse. A high tendency of contracting intestinal, parasitic and skin diseases is found in workers engaged in collecting refuse.

 

Approach for hospital waste management

Based on Bio-medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 1998, notified under the Environment Protection Act by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (Government of India).

1. Segregation of waste

Segregation is the essence of waste management and should be done at the source of generation of Bio-medical waste e.g. all patient care activity areas, diagnostic services areas, operation theaters, labour rooms, treatment rooms etc. The responsibility of segregation should be with the generator of biomedical waste i.e. doctors, nurses, technicians etc. (medical and paramedical personnel). The biomedical waste should be segregated as per categories mentioned in the rules.

2. Collection of bio-medical waste

Collection of bio-medical waste should be done as per Bio-medical waste (Management and Handling) Rules. At ordinary room temperature the collected waste should not be stored for more than 24 hours.

3. Transportation

Within hospital, waste routes must be designated to avoid the passage of waste through patient care areas. Separate time should be earmarked for transportation of bio-medical waste to reduce chances of its mixing with general waste. Desiccated wheeled containers, trolleys or carts should be used to transport the waste/plastic bags to the site of storage/ treatment.

Trolleys or carts should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected in the event of any spillage. The wheeled containers should be so designed that the waste can be easily loaded, remains secured during transportation, does not have any sharp edges and is easy to clean and disinfect. Hazardous biomedical waste needing transport to a long distance should be kept in containers and should have proper labels. The transport is done through desiccated vehicles specially constructed for the purpose having fully enclosed body, lined internally with stainless steel or aluminium to provide smooth and impervious surface which can be cleaned. The drivers compartment should be separated from the load compartment with a bulkhead. The load compartment should be provided with roof vents for ventilation.

4. Treatment of hospital waste

Treatment of waste is required:

• to disinfect the waste so that it is no longer the source of infection.
• to reduce the volume of the waste.
• make waste unrecognizable for aesthetic reasons.
• make recycled items unusable.

5. Safety measures

5.1   All the generators of bio–medical waste should adopt universal precautions and appropriate safety measures while doing therapeutic and diagnostic activities and also while handling the bio-medical waste.

5.2   It should be ensured that:

• drivers, collectors and other handlers are aware of the nature and risk of the waste.
• written instructions, provided regarding the procedures to be adopted in the event of spillage/ accidents.
• protective gears provided and instructions regarding their use are given.
• workers are protected by vaccination against tetanus and hepatitis B.

6. Training

• each and every hospital must have well planned awareness and training programme for all category of personnel including administrators (medical, paramedical and administrative).
• all the medical professionals must be made aware of Bio-medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 1998.
• to institute awards for safe hospital waste management and universal precaution practices.
• Training should be conducted to all categories of staff in appropriate language/medium and in an acceptable manner.

7. Management and administration

Heads of each hospital will have to take authorization for generation of waste from appropriate authorities as notified by the concerned State/U.T. Government, well in time and to get it renewed as per time schedule laid down in the rules. Each hospital should constitute a hospital waste management committee, chaired by the head of the Institute and having wide representation from all major departments. This committee should be responsible for making Hospital specific action plan for hospital waste management and its supervision, monitoring and implementation. The annual reports, accident reports, as required under BMW rules should be submitted to the concerned authorities as per BMW rules format.

8. Measures for waste minimization

As far as possible, purchase of reusable items made of glass and metal should be encouraged. Select non PVC plastic items. Adopt procedures and policies for proper management of waste generated, the mainstay of which is segregation to reduce the quantity of waste to be treated. Establish effective and sound recycling policy for plastic recycling and get in touch with authorised manufactures.

9. Coordination between hospital and outside agencies

• Municipal authority : As quite a large percentage of waste (in India upto 85%), generated in Indian hospitals, belong to general category (non-toxic and non-hazardous), hospital should have constant interaction with municipal authorities so that this category of waste is regularly taken out of the hospital premises for land fill or other treatment.
• Co-ordination with Pollution Control Boards: Search for better methods technology, provision of facilities for testing, approval of certain models for hospital use in conformity with standards ‘aid down.
• To search for cost effective and environmental friendly technology for treatment of bio-medical and hazardous waste. Also, to search for suitable materials to be used as containers for bio-medical waste requiring incineration/autoclaving/ microwaving.

CONCLUSION

Medical waste is directly relevant to the practice of medicine, as it represents a misuse of resources that could otherwise be spent on patient care. Operating rooms produce a disproportionately large portion of total hospital waste. Much more can and should be done to better manage supply and drug waste resulting from surgical procedure.

 

Sewage a haunting problem in the city- [by OZONE group]

Sewage a haunting problem in the city

[by OZONE group]

Anand

Arjun

Aswathy

IMK Palayam

 

Sewage problems in Thiruvanathapuram

In Thiruvananthapuram Corporation area covered by the underground sewerage system is only 30%. The system was installed 25 to 35 year ago. The system services a total of 75,000 connections. The households in the remaining areas depends on various on-site systems namely, septic tanks, borehole latrine TUDP and community toilets with 8% of the population do not having access to safe sanitation disposal. The sewage farm is the only existing sewage treatment facility, which is receiving very limited sewage quantity (maximum up to 50 MLD). It was originally designed for only 8 MLD in 1938 and was commissioned in 1945.The quantity of sewage waste generated in Thiruvananthapuram is increasing and will continue to do so due to the additional water supply augmentation being

implemented under the JBIC aided project. Infiltration from the sewage farm area has caused

widespread ground water pollution in and around the sewage farm and along the down stream canal

alignments.

Drainage system in the city

Thiruvananthapuram receives a very high rainfall. The average annual rainfall for the city is over 1,800 mm. The city has undulating topography, with ground level rising from MSL to 75m. The city has a large network of storm water canals and drains, (722 km- only 290 km of these drains are

covered). However, the storm water drains and canals carry treated/untreated sewage and large

amounts of solid waste.

Though the natural topography of the city has adequate slope to drain storm water, poor maintenance

of major drainage outlets and frequent blockages of primary drains cause local flooding and water

logging. Normally, water logging takes place during the period of high intensity and/or for extended

duration rains. During the monsoon season, water logging in low-lying areas occurs 5-6 times and

water levels rise from 0.6m to 1.2m. Water logging persists for 12 to 24 hours in the central part of

Thiruvananthapuram, and for 3 to 4 days in the southern part of the city.

Drainage Infrastructure. In a socio-economic survey carried out in the city was  reported that drainage is perceived as one of the major environmental problems in the urban area and  vulnerable/poor population are the most affected by localized flooding.

The key issues and challenges with respect to sewerage network in the city are:

 

• The existing sewerage network is very old and requires urgent rehabilitation, since frequent

overflows are common.

• Sewage overflow from the unsewered areas of the city and adjoining areas into the water body

creates nuisance and unhygienic conditions.

• The existing sewage farm at Valiyathura is overloaded, resulting in overflow and seepage to the

Parvathy Puthanar Canal and surrounding water bodies in the area and results in pollution of the

water bodies. This envisages the need for a modern Sewage Treatment Plant at Valiyathura.

• New development areas need to be brought under the sewerage network.

Treatment Plant, to treat the sewage being pumped to Muttathara. The total sewage load of the

extended Corporation area is 250 Mld. Full fledged Sewage Treatment Plants are also to be constructed

to cater to the requirement of outgrowths of Kazhakkuttom, Sreekaryam, Kudappanakkunnu,

Vattiyoorkavu and Kovalam and the anticipated sewage load is 60 Mld. A Sewage Treatment Plant of

10Mld is proposed to be constructed for the benefit of Medical College Campus, and a 15Mld Sewage

Treatment Plant is proposed to cater to the need of Container Terminal Area at Vizhinjam.

 

STORM WATER DRAINAGE

The drainage network of the city consists of two major rivers, few canals, their feeders and lakes. The two major rivers are Karamana and Killi which flow through the city area. There are a number of drains and leading drains in the city area like Pazhavangadi thodu, Uloor thodu, Pattom thodu, Kannanmoola thodu (Amayizhanjan thodu), Thekkenekara canal, Kariyil Thodu, and natural drains like Tettiyar thodu, Pangappara thodu, Kaimanam-Azhamkal thodu, Amathara thodu, Koori thodu, Vattakkayal Thodu. Other  important drains contributing to storm water drainage to the city canals are Choozhampala thodu, Anathanathodu, Edanada thodu, Arayalloor Ela thodu and Thiruvallom Pallathukadavu thodu.

Water Conservation is another important area that needs immediate attention. Inspite of abundant water

resources, the city is facing water scarcity. Hence conservation of water is needed to restore the water for  future needs. The developing areas surrounding the city are witnessing lot of construction activities where  large scale filling of wet lands has resulted in blockage of natural drains and reduction in ground water  recharge.

Key Issues 

• The condition of existing rivers as natural drainage for storm water is deteriorating. Dumping of domestic wastes and non domestic waste from slaughter houses, markets, hotels, etc., discharge of  sewages directly into the rivers and unscientific and indiscriminate methods of sand mining are resulting  in the erosion of river bed and its banks.

• Due to reduced cross sectional area of rivers, flash floods have become common during down pour.

• Recurrent floods as a result of insufficient drainage are the perpetual problem faced by

Thiruvananthapuram city since several years. Thampanoor and East Fort areas are the worst affected with tremendous water logging.

• Transitory measures to prevent water logging is tried from time to time to ease the graveness of the situation.  However, an abrupt rain of high intensity disrupts the city life considerably. A permanent solution to the problem is to be found.

• Regular stagnation of water results in environment and health hazards.

• The reclamation of water bodies and low lying areas or encroachments for development is the main reason for water logging. Most of the flood moderation zones inside the city have already been converted into concrete dwellings and apartments resulting in excessive run off.

• Improper maintenance of the already existing drains coupled with excessive run off is the root cause of flooding inside the city. In-depth study of the present status of the drains, their carrying capacity, anticipated flood discharge and the probable routing / rerouting may be devised and implemented for restoring / enhancing the status of drainage network inside the city to solve the issue to a significant extent.

Pollution in rivers

Killi River

 

Lack of sufficient leading drains to take storm water to the river constantly erodes the river

Bunds. To tackle this issue, surface drains are to be constructed along the bund on the land

side to take the storm water for a length 5 km on either side at the required locations along with

inlets structure

Pollution in the surface water bodies:

The three main surface water bodies in Thiruvananthapuram are the Karamana River, Killi River and the Parvathy Puthanar, a man made canal. The Kerala State Pollution Control Board is continuously monitoring all the three water bodies. All these water bodies are contaminated with coliform indicating the contamination due to sewage. The quality of water in the lower reaches of the rivers is particularly not satisfactory.

Why does sewage pollution get so bad after rain?

The sewerage system has overflow points that act as safety valves. They are designed to protect public health by preventing sewage backing up into people’s homes if a problem occurs in the system.

In wet weather, overflows may be caused by rainwater getting into the sewer through faults in pipes or illegal connections, exceeding the capacity of the system. Overflows may also occur in dry weather due to problems such as a blocked pipe.

Why is sewage pollution a problem?

Sewage pollution carries

• Pathogenic protozoa such as Giardia and Cryptosporium that are a risk to human health
• Nutrients that can cause algal blooms and encourage weeds to grow and can kill native vegetation
• Chemicals such as detergents
• increased dissolved solids.

Testing for Sewage Pollution

A number of indicators are used to test levels of sewage pollution in creeks and rivers. An indicator is something that is easily tested to show that sewage pollution is present. The indicator does not tell you where the pollution came from (ducks, dogs, sewage system)

Faecal coliform are a bacteria that live in the guts of all warm blooded animals. They are not harmful to human health but are used to indicate the possibility of sewage pollution, which could mean the presence of more harmful bacteria and viruses. Methods of identifying viruses and bacteria directly are complicated and expensive, which is why indicators like faecal coliform or enteracocci are used.

Levels of faecal coliforms greater than 1,000 cfu/100 mL exceed the national guideline for secondary-contact recreational use of waterways (eg canoeing, paddleboats).

Ammonia is another substance monitored as an indicator of leakage from the system. Like faecal coliforms, this substance is found at high concentrations in raw sewage. While no specific guidelines are set for total ammonia, levels of 1 mg/L help target areas for investigation.

 

How can your help to reduce sewer overflows?

1. CRACKED PIPES

Tree roots can invade even the smallest cracks in pipes. As the roots grow, so does the size of the cracks. This lets in rainwater. Tree roots can also block the pipes causing sewers to backup and overflow. Cracked pipes have to be repaired or replaced. Careful thought needs to be given to the location of thirsty trees.

2. BROKEN PIPES

Broken pipes can occur in both Sydney Waters and householders systems. Sydney Water is responsible for inspecting, maintaining and repairing the mains system, and property owners are responsible for sewer pipes and downpipes on their land. Broken sewer pipes not only let stormwater in, they can also allow untreated waste to enter the soil and create unhealthy conditions. If you suspect broken pipes, have your system inspected by a licensed plumber.

3. BOUNDARY TRAPS

Many, but not all, properties have a boundary trap. This acts as an inspection point on the sewerage system. It also stops sewer odours from reaching the property. If the boundary trap is set below ground level and it’s lid or concrete rim is damaged, stormwater can get in. There can also be a problem if the vertical riser is cracked.

4. DIRECT CONNECTION

Stormwater downpipes are not allowed to be connected to the sewerage system. All water from your roof should be connected to the local councils stormwater system. Sometimes direct connection to the sewerage system may seem easier. The effect of doing so is overflows of diluted raw sewage further down the system.

 

5. INSPECTION HOLES

Poorly fitting cracked or broken inspection holes on the mains sewer system can let water into the sewerage system.

6. LOW-LYING GULLIES

A gully is an open pipe which is covered with a grille and found just outside your building. It is there to release any backflow from blocked sewer pipes and make sure it doesn’t overflow inside the house. If the ground around the gully is built up too high, it can let stormwater into the sewerage system. A plumber can lift the gully or lower the ground around it.

 

On-site versus off-site sanitation?

On-site sanitation is often (and should be) the first option when considering a sanitation intervention. Such systems have very distinct advantages, not least because they are individual systems, so the disposal of faecal material is dispersed over a wide area, and not centralized as with a conventional sewage treatment works. One of the main disadvantages with centralized facilities is that when they go wrong, the resulting problems can be very acute. From a health point of view, there is not much difference between any of the different options for sanitation (either on or off-site) — so long as they are all functioning properly. It is largely a question of convenience; an off-site system where wastes are flushed off the owner’s property is more convenient as it gets rid of the problem from the owner’s property. Off-site sanitation is usually much more expensive than on-site. There are instances, however, where off-site sanitation is deemed necessary— because of unsuitable ground or housing conditions for on-site systems,

or because of a community’s commitment to an off-site system. There is a certain amount of prestige in having an off-site connection; peer pressure is often a significant motivating force. Once the decision has been made to implement an off-site system, sewers become a necessity. Water has a large dispersion, dilution and carriage capacity, and is, therefore, used as the carriage medium in most sewer systems. Usually, potable water is supplied to the house and is used for flushing toilets, and as much as 40 percent of household water use may be used for this purpose. Some countries do use dual supply systems where no portable water (often sea water) is used for toilet flushing, but such a system requires more infrastructure and has obvious capital cost implications. Therefore, most sewer systems are

heavy users of precious potable water supplies, which should be a factor when considering their implementation, especially in water-poor areas.

Re-use, recovery

Traditionally, sewage has been seen as a problem requiring treatment and disposal. Most conventional sewage treatment options are based on approaches to Northern countries’ problems, which has usually meant a reduction in biodegradable organic material and suspended solids, plus perhaps some nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous). Treatment has involved the ‘removal’ of these pollutants, but removal is usually conversion to another product, usually sludge. The disposal of sewage sludge is a major consideration in many locations, and it is often seen as an offensive product which is either

dumped or burned.

The priorities in developing countries are often different from those in developed countries. Often the main issue is how to control pathogenic material, and any form of sanitation (on or off-site) should have this as its main objective. There are treatment options which can remove pathogenic material, notably waste-stabilization ponds.

Indian Railway Contaminating & Polluting the Environment:- “Due to discarding untreated human Excreta into the open environment”-By team Albatross

Indian Railway Contaminating &   Polluting the Environment:-

“Due to discarding untreated human Excreta into the open environment”

 

By Albatross-

Aswin Vijayan

Prasanth Sasidharan

Jiju Justin

IMK Senate House Campus, Palayam

 

Preface

 

“Since all three of us in the group are regular commuters of Indian Railway (IR) ,  the first thing that got into our mind with respect to the assignment was that of the contamination & pollution of the environment by Indian Railway due to the discarding of untreated human waste or excreta into the open environment. Which we have tried to brief up, otherwise the topic will end up like an epic”.

Introduction

The National Railways of India, a statutory body and is a ministry under the Government of India. As on today it holds a monopoly in the business of railways in the country. Its railway lines spin a web through the length and breadth of the country spanning over 63,940 km. It has over 216,717 wagons, 39,936 coaches and 7,339 locomotives and runs a total of 14,244 trains daily, including about 8,702 passenger trains and transports around six billion passengers annually across twenty-seven states and three union territories. A passenger train carries 1728passengers at a time all of whom require food, water and Lavatory facilities. Most of these passenger coaches have 4 toilets 2 each on either side of the coach the defecated Human Excreta from these toilets are directly discharged into the open tracks. The human excreta or the sewerage produced by these coaches are neither collected nor treated before they are dumped into the open environment.

Problems

 

It is now well established in Medical Science and in general knowledge as to the hazardous nature of human excreta and the health implications of its unguarded disposal into the open environment. Human excreta always contain large number of germs, which cause diarrhea, Cholera, Typhoid, Hepatitis A, other water borne diseases and parasitic infections. The numerous parasites like the Hookworm, Tapeworm, Roundworm, and Pinworm etc which are extremely dangerous are spread mainly through human excreta and which results in communicable diseases.

Most of the passenger coaches have four toilets. The human waste from these toilets is directly discharged onto the open tracks; the unhindered dumping of waste is resulting in unhygienic conditions that cause the spread of disease.

The seemingly innocent actions of the Railways contaminate the environment and promote unsanitary conditions, the very small strides made in sanitation & community health, magnify the propensity to spread diseases including Dengue and Chikungunya, the threat of which is very real on the State of Kerala and even the whole country. The action of the Indian Railways in dumping human excreta and sewerage into the open environment is patently illegal and a direct infringement of the right to life of the People of Kerala and all over the country. Germs from human waste can find their way into food and water, carried over by insects or animals, by runoff from the tracks during the rains or because waste falls directly into rivers and streams the trains pass over. So, a sick passenger can potentially spread the disease over a large area.

The railways appear to be aware of this problem as they have put up notices in some coaches requesting passengers not to use the toilets or throw any waste when the train is stationary.

All polluters are bound by law to dispose off toxic wastes. The Indian Railways should meet standards adopted by other railways across the world and install necessary pollution control and waste disposal mechanisms.

{The railway’s action flouts the Environmental Protection Act, 1986, Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Indian Penal Code, 1860

The right to live in a pollution-free environment has been declared a fundamental right flowing directly from Article 21 of the Constitution of India, it said, claiming the railways build train compartments using outmoded technology and was unwilling to adopt modern practices.}

Suggestions / Solutions

Why not treat all that human excreta and food scraps through composting facilities,chemical retention tank Or a bio-digesters? Recycling could pay for the process, replacing a polluting wasteful practice with a sustainable economical system

Composting toilet

Some trains may also be fitted with composting toilet tanks, which use bacterial action to break down solid and liquid waste before releasing it to the track-bed by way of a chlorine sanitizing tank.

Chemical retention tank

Chemical retention tanks are usually present aboard in newer carriages and railcars in wealthier and more densely populated parts of the world. One issue is that the tanks need to be regularly emptied, usually when being attended at a terminal station or prolonged stop-over. If a train is required in service again within too short a period, the tanks may not get emptied. In this case, toilets may back up, which can result in toilets being closed. Another point of note is that carriages may have less “in service” time if fitted with chemical retention tanks

 

Bio-digesters

The bio-digesters use a special form of bacteria to treat the human waste in zero discharge toilets.. The regular cleaning with phenyl, soap, Kerosene etc will not kill these specially developed bacteria’s. The bio digesters do not require any septic Tank, Sewage Tank connectivity. (21 biodigesters have been installed under a pilot scheme in Lakshadweep). The waste treatment by the bio-digester is colourless and odourless, but, produces inflammable biogas (methane). . In zero discharge toilets, the effluent will be recycled for flushing purpose.

Conclusion

 

Indian Railway has initiated cleanliness activities in trains and stations but their efforts have not even reached grassroots level effectively.

The responsibility of maintenance of cleanliness on railway premises rests with a number of departments like, commercial, medical, engineering, mechanical, electrical etc, and the inefficiency is a result of poor coordination and co-operation between them. Inadequate infrastructure and resources and shortage of manpower in coach yards, inadequate number of dustbins and toilets in trains and improper maintenance are only some of the problem areas in managing solid waste in the IR.

Railways should expedite the process of providing ‘controlled discharge toilet system / zero discharge toilet system’ toilets in coaches to improve hygiene,” IR needs to lay down strict quality parameters for performance and pesticides used by the contracted agencies to ensure effective pest control.

To adapt the bio-digester for passenger trains, the Railways and the DRDO (Defense Research Development Organization) recently signed a MoU to co-develop a bio-digester; DRDO claims that the bio digesters are economically viable.

“Indian Railways should strive to enhance the level of user awareness on a large scale and to initiate effective means of harnessing user perception to bring about improvements in the system.”

 

–>>*!*<<–

THE CASE OF WATERWAYS OF TRIVANDRUM -Group Falcon

ENVIRONMENTAL DEGADATION IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD-THE CASE OF WATERWAYS OF TRIVANDRUM

Group Falcon

Rahesh R

Ganesh R Chandran

IMK Senate House Campus, Palayam

INTRODUCTION

This report titled ‘environmental degradation in our neighborhood’ discusses briefly various issues which the group members have experienced from their own neighborhoods and gives a thorough analysis into the various factors affecting directly and indirectly the given problem. The whole discussion begins at a point when everybody becomes aware of the threats to the sustainability of the present way of life.

THE POLLUTION IN THE ‘EX’-WATERWAYS OF TRIVANDRUM

The issue which we will be concentrating in this report will be the extreme pollution occurring in the old waterways of Trivandrum. These waterways were once the symbol of pride and posh lifestyle in the kingdom of Travancore. Now it carries nothing but dirt and disease. The canal begins from the famous tourist destination Kovalam. The canal is a reason of isolation for people residing between sea and the canal which flows parallel to the sea. Besides the accumulated dirt in these areas by dumped waste, especially by hoteliers, illegal sand mining also is rampant. People live here in the middle of water, but long que’s are seen in front of village pipes for fresh water. Near Panathura, the solid waste accumulates, blocking flow of water making it a breeding site of mosquitoes and fleas.

Now let us come to the issue of the Karamana River which satisfies a large portion of the city’s water demand. Owing to the use of the river for various washing related activities, studies show massive levels of coli form bacteria in the river water. Killi river and vellayani lake joins the karamana river near pallathukadavu and madhupalam respectively. It is near the famous parasuram temple in thiruvallom, where the condition of river is quite pathetic. Karaman river , there called Idayar joins the poonthura ‘pozhi’ crossing through both sides of the idayar island. The parvathi putthanar which carry the whole of city’s waste joins the idayar at moonnatumukku.  A temporary check dam at the west of the island stops the puthanar and thereby cause problems to the locals there. During high tide, the rosen water spread the waste entirely in the area making the place uninhabitable. The solution proposed by the local representatives is to create a channel which takes the waste directly to the offshore waters (a method adopted some parts of Maldives), they say this would also not harm the interests of  fisher folk living there.

The Parvati Puthanar commissioned by HH Rani Parvati bhai of Travancore, is a waterway made for transport of goods and people. The quality of water in this river was so good that people used it to drink and bathe. But the condition of the river now is far worse than pathetic. Today it carries the whole sewage of the city, causing irreversible damage even to the ground water reserves. All government measures have been ineffective or inappropriate to solve the mess of Parvati Puthanar.

CONCLUSION

It is highly essential to clean and protect the water ways of Trivandrum as it can make the city clean and far more attractive. The Central Govt had plans to upgrade the 74 km long kovalam- Kollam Waterway. The national waterways network which begins from kollam if extended upto kovalam will create new opportunities in the tourism industry. But the main stunning block for this project to kick off is the present condition of the Parvati Puthanar. This renovation if done with the help of people and government will pave way for new developments in the area. With the Trivandrum international airport only 500m away from the Parvati Puthanar, an experience which club the natural beauty of Kerala and the easiness to travel facilities will definitely raise bucks for the area.

SOIL DEGRADATION IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD-BY TEAM RAINBOW

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

 

SOIL DEGRADATION IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

            RAINBOW

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Akhila K S

                                                                   Geethu  Gopal

                                                                                                                                          Saima  K R

IMK Senate House Campus, Palayam

Soil degradation means When plants (trees & shrubs) are cleared from a site, soil is exposed to sunlight and the eroding effects of wind and water. Soil aeration is increased and the rate of weathering increases.Apart from erosion, the proportion of organic matter in the soil gradually decreases, through the action of microbes in the soil which use it as a source of energy ‑ unless the new land use provides some replacement

TYPES OF SOIL DEGRADATION

A number of major soil related problems occur include:

• Loss of soil fertility (see lesson on nutrition)
• Erosion
• Salinity
• Soil compaction
• Soil acidification
• Build up of dangerous chemicals.

Now we consider the soil degradation in our neighbourhood- Neyyattinkara Municipality.

first we will give a brief history about our  place neyyattinkara

Neyyattinkara is municipality in Thiruvananthapuram district in the Indian state of Kerala. The name Neyyattinkara in Malayalam literally means the shore (kara) of Neyyar River. Neyyar River flows from Agasthyarkoodam , the highest peak (1868m above MSL) in southern end of the Western Ghats. The taluk has a total population of 858,991 with 88.6% classified as rural. Most of the urban population lies within the municipality area which is densely occupied.

The municipality of Neyyattinkara is the major town on the banks of Neyyar River. Neyyattinkara lies 18 km to the south of Thiruvananthapuram city on the National Highway 47 to Kanyakumari. The rapidly growing Thiruvananthapuram city has almost reached its outskirts. Aruvippuram, the holy land of Sree Narayana Guru is an important pilgrim centre near Neyyattinkara. Neyyar Dam is another popular picnic spot near Neyyattinkara at Kallikkadu panchayath of Neyyattinkara Taluk. Neyyattinkara and the neighbouring areas has many cottage industries and handloom. The Balaramapuram Handloom Industry is known worldwide for its fine hosiery.

The main large scale manufacturing industry is the Kerala Automobiles Ltd. at Aralummoodu. It is a much sought after brand in the developing ASEAN nations for good quality three-wheelers.^[1]

Agasthyarkoodam, the highest peak in southern kerala is located in Neyyattinkara taluk. It is a pilgrim spot and popular trekking place. The mountain got its name from sage Agasthyar who is considered one of the seven Rishis (Saptarishi) of Hindu mythology. A statue of Agasthyar stands on top of the peak where the devotees can render their prayers. The mountain forms a part of the Agasthyarkoodam biosphere reserve which is home to many endemic flora and fauna.

Now a days our place facing lot of environmental problem like soil degradation, soil pollution and land degradation. The photos of some of the problems are given below

Soil pollution is defined as the build-up in soils of persistent toxic compounds, chemicals, salts,radioactive materials, or disease causing agents, which have adverse effects on plant growth and animalhealth.Soil is the thin layer of organic and inorganic materials that covers the Earth’s rocky surface.

The organic portion, which is derived from the decayed remains of plants and animals, is concentrated in the dark uppermost topsoil. The inorganic portion made up of rock fragments, was formed over thousands of years by physical and chemical weathering of bedrock. Productive soils are necessary for

agriculture to supply the world with sufficient food.

There are many different ways that soil can become polluted, such as:

• Seepage from a landfill

• Discharge of industrial waste into the soil

• Percolation of contaminated water into the soil

• Rupture of underground storage tanks

• Excess application of pesticides, herbicides or fertilizer

• Solid waste seepage

The most common chemicals involved in causing soil pollution are:

• Petroleum hydrocarbons

• Heavy metals

• Pesticides

• Solvents

Types of Soil Pollution

• Agricultural Soil Pollution

i) pollution of surface soil

ii) pollution of underground soil

• Soil pollution by industrial effluents and solid wastes

i) pollution of surface soil

ii) disturbances in soil profile

• Pollution due to urban activities

i) pollution of surface soil

ii) pollution of underground soil

Causes of Soil Pollution

Soil pollution is caused by the presence of man-made chemicals or other alteration in the naturalsoil environment. This type of contamination typically arises from the rupture of underground storagelinks, application of pesticides, percolation of contaminated surface water to subsurface strata, oil and fuel dumping, leaching of wastes from landfills or direct discharge of industrial wastes to the soil. Themost common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead and otherheavy metals. This occurrence of this phenomenon is correlated with the degree of industrialization andintensities of chemical usage.A soil pollutant is any factor which deteriorates the quality, texture and mineral content of thesoil or which disturbs the biological balance of the organisms in the soil. Pollution in soil has adverseeffect on plant growth.Pollution in soil is associated with

• Indiscriminate use of fertilizers

• Indiscriminate use of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides

• Dumping of large quantities of solid waste

• Deforestation and soil erosion

Indiscriminate use of fertilizers

  Soil nutrients are important for plant growth and development. Plants obtain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen from air and water. But other necessary nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur and more must be obtained from the soil. Farmers generally use fertilizers to correct soil deficiencies. Fertilizers contaminate the soil with impurities, which come from the raw materials used for their manufacture. Mixed fertilizers often contain ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), phosphorus as P2O5, and potassium as K2O. For instance, As, Pb and Cd present in traces in rock phosphate mineral get transferred to super phosphate fertilizer. Since the metals are not degradable, their accumulation in the soil above their toxic levels due to excessive use of phosphate fertilizers, becomes an indestructible poison for crops. The over use of NPK fertilizers reduce quantity of vegetables and crops grown on soil over the years. It also reduces the protein content of wheat, maize, grams, etc., grown on that soil. The carbohydrate quality of such crops also gets degraded. Excess potassium content in soil decreases Vitamin C and carotene content in vegetables and fruits. The vegetables and fruits grown on overfertilized soil are more prone to attacks by insects and disease. Indiscriminate use of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides

Plants on which we depend for food are under attack from insects, fungi, bacteria, viruses, rodents and other animals, and must compete with weeds for nutrients. To kill unwanted populations living in or on their crops, farmers use pesticides. The first widespread insecticide use began at the end

of World War II and included DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and gammaxene. Insects soon became resistant to DDT and as the chemical did not decompose readily, it persisted in the environment. Since it was soluble in fat rather than water, it biomagnified up the food chain and disrupted calcium metabolism in birds, causing eggshells to be thin and fragile. As a result, large birds of prey such as the brown pelican, ospreys, falcons and eagles became endangered. DDT has been now been banned in most western countries. Ironically many of them including USA, still produce DDT for export to other developing nations whose needs outweigh the problems caused by it. The most important pesticides are DDT, BHC, chlorinated hydrocarbons, organophosphates, aldrin, malathion, dieldrin, furodan, etc. The remnants of such pesticides used on pests may get adsorbed by the soil particles, which then contaminate root crops grown in that soil. The consumption of such crops causes the pesticides remnants to enter human biological systems, affecting them adversely. An infamous herbicide used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War called Agent Orange (dioxin), was eventually banned. Soldiers’ cancer cases, skin conditions and infertility have been linked to exposure to Agent Orange. Pesticides not only bring toxic effect on human and animals but also decrease the fertility of the soil. Some of the pesticides are quite stable and their bio- degradation may take weeks and even months. Pesticide problems such as resistance, resurgence, and heath effects have caused scientists to seek alternatives. Pheromones and hormones to attract or repel insects and using natural enemies or sterilization by radiation have been suggested.

Dumping of solid wastes

In general, solid waste includes garbage, domestic refuse and discarded solid materials such as those from commercial, industrial and agricultural operations. They contain increasing amounts of paper, cardboards, plastics, glass, old construction material, packaging material and toxic or otherwise hazardous substances. Since a significant amount of urban solid waste tends to be paper and food waste, the majority is recyclable or biodegradable in landfills. Similarly, most agricultural waste is recycled and mining waste is left on site. The portion of solid waste that is hazardous such as oils, battery metals, heavy metals from smelting industries and organic solvents are the ones we have to pay particular attention to. These can in the long run, get deposited to the soils of the surrounding area and pollute them by altering their chemical and biological properties. They also contaminate drinking water aquifer sources. More than 90% of hazardous waste is produced by chemical, petroleum and metal-related industries and small businesses such as dry cleaners and gas stations contribute as well.

Solid Waste disposal was brought to the forefront of public attention by the notorious Love Canal case in USA in 1978. Toxic chemicals leached from oozing storage drums into the soil underneath homes, causing an unusually large number of birth defects, cancers and respiratory, nervous and kidney diseases.

Deforestation

 

Soil Erosion occurs when the weathered soil particles are dislodged and carried away by wind or water. Deforestation, agricultural development, temperature extremes, precipitation including acid rain, and human activities contribute to this erosion. Humans speed up this process by construction, mining, cutting of timber, over cropping and overgrazing. It results in floods and cause soil erosion. Forests and grasslands are an excellent binding material that keeps the soil intact and healthy. They support many habitats and ecosystems, which provide innumerable feeding pathways or food chains to all species. Their loss would threaten food chains and the survival of many species. During the past few years quite a lot of vast green land has been converted into deserts. The precious rain forest habitats of South America, tropical Asia and Africa are coming under pressure of population growth and development (especially timber, construction and agriculture). Many scientists believe that a wealth of medicinal substances including a cure for cancer and aids, lie in these forests. Deforestation is slowly destroying the most productive flora and fauna areas in the world, which also form vast tracts of a very valuable sink for CO2.

Effects of Soil Pollution

Agricultural

•  Reduced soil fertility
• Reduced nitrogen fixation
• Increased erodibility
•  Larger loss of soil and nutrients
• Deposition of silt in tanks and reservoirs
• Reduced crop yield

• Imbalance in soil fauna and flora

Industrial

• Dangerous chemicals entering underground water

• Ecological imbalance

• Release of pollutant gases

• Release of radioactive rays causing health problems

• Increased salinity

• Reduced vegetation

After affecting the soil pollution issues they decided to control soil pollution and they give more attention to the waste management plans and they spent a portion of their income to the municipal waste management .The Hindu newspaper report about neyyattinkara municipality is given below which shows how they manage their soil problems. Why do we adopt this types of  changes in our nation?

 Neyyattinkara municipality turns to natural farming

The Neyyattinkara municipality plans to launch a novel project to promote natural farming for the cultivation of organic vegetables.

The project, to be implemented in association with Agriculture Department and NIMS Medicity, is based on the Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) technology propagated by agriculturist Subhash Palekar.

ZBNF is an emerging trend in agriculture that propagates use of natural manure and nutrients for farming instead of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Unlike organic farming, this method of farming focusses on using things that are naturally available inside or around the farm so that nothing is purchased from outside.

“Most prominently, it focusses on the use of dung and urine of local breeds of cows that are considered to be the best source of nutrients and microbes for cultivation. This method has been successfully tested in Palakkad district and has proven to give high yield in vegetable cultivation,” Neyyattinkara municipality secretary G. Sudhakaran said.

Municipality chairman S.S. Jayakumar said a detailed project report would be submitted to the government soon. “NIMS Medicity has consented to give six acres of land for implementing the project. The idea is to involve Kudumbasree workers for doing the cultivation at the farm. The municipality is also planning to open an outlet at the farm itself for marketing the vegetables. We expect to launch the project within two months,” he said.

Control Techniques

Numerous soil erosion control techniques, including the best management practices (BMPs), have been developed in many advanced countries. These techniques are basically based on the control of the major factors affecting soil erosion and have greatly contributed in cutting down soil erosion to meet the allowable soil erosion (or tolerable soil loss, T-value) criterion. Korea has not established the allowable soil erosion standard but the USA has set up the allowable soil erosion of 11 t/ha/yr in the 1960s (Mutchler et al. 1994). It is based on the assumption of an average 1 mm sheet erosion of a soil surface. However, the allowable soil erosion can be adjusted by a local government to meet the local water quality criteria. For example, Hudson (1981, quoted from Shin and Kim 2001 and reference not listed) proposed the allowable soil loss of 2 t/ha/yr for common agricultural fields and 1 t/ha/hr for water quality-sensitive area by NPS pollution.

A few guidelines for soil erosion control in Korea have been proposed. In the province of Jeju, land use is grouped into three categories: absolute conservation area, moderate conservation area, and sustainable development area (Table 3). The moderate conservation area is again subgrouped into three classes. It is based on the soil loss from 50 m-long sloped field (Yoon et al. 1997). Ha et al. (2004) proposed a general guideline based on the size of soil erosion and compared with OECD standards .These are only guidelines and have no legal binding authority. The allowable soil erosion standard that has legal binding authority is the most powerful and effective tool to enforce and persuade farmers to adopt the erosion control techniques.

Soil erosion control techniques are theoretically simple and easy but practically dirty, tough, time-consuming, laborious, controversial, and costly. Also, soil erosion techniques are very much site-specific. One technique can be successfully applied to reduce the soil erosion on a site but success cannot be guaranteed on another site if it is not modified to reflect site-specific characteristics. Soil erosion control strategies can be approached in three ways: administrative system approach, public relations and training, and technical approach.

Administrative System Approach

Administrative system approach is a key to the success of soil erosion control in Korea. The system should be well organized and supported by laws and the members of the system should well understand the soil erosion processes and the factors affecting soil erosion as well as hydrology and hydraulics. Also, the government should set up the allowable soil erosion criterion in terms of the amount of sediment discharge at the edge of a field. It is believed that the local administrative offices in Korea are well established and they provide excellent public services to the local citizens for general and routine affairs. But because the office personnel is mostly composed of non-engineers who do not understand engineering principles and practices related to soil erosion control, there may be many trials and errors in developing and implementing policies to reduce soil erosion and muddy runoff from the uplands. As a matter of fact, the policies have not been satisfactory.

Many measures must be carried out to successfully control soil erosion in Korea. One of the most urgent measures for the Korean government to carry out is the education of public domain workers who practically execute the government budget in planning and performing soil erosion control projects. Also, private consultants and construction engineers who are willing to design and perform soil erosion control projects must take soil erosion control training courses offered by workshops and institutions that have a specialty in soil erosion control. Because government budgets have been executed by the two groups who do not understand soil erosion control techniques, the soil erosion plans by local administrative offices could not be carried out satisfactorily.

Setting up of the allowable sediment at the edge of a field is also one of the most urgent tasks. Based on the allowable sediment, BMPs can be effectively chosen and practiced. If the set of BMPs to reduce soil erosion from a field cannot meet the allowable sediment discharge, the field can be forced to change the land use to produce less soil erosion. For example, land uses of vegetation cultures to row crop cultures and eventually to grassland or forest can be forced. In this case, farmers or landowners must be compensated for their losses by the land use changes by the government.

Soil erosion control projects must be continuously supported by a large government budget. In most cases, soil erosion control structures are not permanent ones and may be destroyed, buried, lost, or damaged by runoffs and floods caused by severe storm events. Those soft and hard soil erosion control structuresshould be continuously reinforced and repaired to maintain the designed purposes. Minor maintenance operations need to be done primarily by farmers and landowners. And if the maintenance works are beyond the landowner’s ability, local construction engineers may be hired by the local administration to fix the problem. Land purchase or lease for the soil erosion structures, regular and irregular maintenance works, and incentives to farmers for the loss of land productivity and the cooperation of maintenance works need money, not small but large budget every year. The Korean government announced a comprehensive plan to reduce soil erosion and muddy runoff from the alpine uplands by the end of October 2004. More than 2.2 million US dollars will be invested from 2006, for 10 years, according to the plan. The success of the plan is largely dependent on the conditions described above.

Public Relations and Training

Theories, principles, and techniques to cut down soil erosion and muddy runoff from sloping uplands have been well established in environmentally advanced countries. However, adoption of these techniques is dependent on the citizens’ support and the decision makers’ intentions. When the general public asks its government to reduce sediment and other NPS pollutants to protect and conserve water quality, a decision maker can easily adopt the techniques and allocate the necessary budget. Other important variables for the successful implementation of sediment and muddy runoff reduction policies are the farmers and landowners. Unless they are willing to accept the soil erosion control techniques on their lands and in their agricultural management practices, no policies and techniques can be successful. Farmers can voluntarily accept the techniques only when they understand the impacts of sediment and muddy runoff from their lands on a receiving water body, when they feel a strong responsibility for the degradation of water quality, and when they are sincerely motivated to stop soil erosion in their lands. Hefty incentives to farmers can greatly help them decide to adopt the necessary soil erosion control techniques.

By providing various free incentives, low interest loans, and other benefits without any conditions, the Korean government has been helping farmers. However, it is strongly recommended that the government must ask farmers to take certain soil erosion control classes before they apply for government incentives. It is an easy way to educate and train farmers. Korea has a well-established agricultural extension service system. Extension service personnel generally have agricultural backgrounds but are not familiar with soil erosion control techniques. It is also strongly recommended that the extension service personnel be trained about the soil erosion control techniques so that they can discuss and educate farmers at the site. It should be kept in mind that the voluntary participation of farmers in the soil erosion reduction campaign is the best way, technically and economically, to achieve the goal of long-term soil erosion control.

Technical Approach

Soil erosion control techniques are very much site-specific. It means that a technique may be successful on a site but may not work on other sites. Although numerous soil erosion techniques have been developed in many advanced countries, these techniques may not be directly applicable to agricultural fields in Korea because of the differences in soil, slope, crop, customary agricultural management, rainfall, and so on. However, because the basic theories, principles, and practices of soil erosion control techniques are the same, some of these can be applied in Korea with minor modifications and after verification experiments. Verification experiments are complex, laborious, and costly in most cases. Only a few researchers and institutions have been conducting these experiments in Korea.

BMPs for soil erosion control for plain and mild-sloped fields are not much different from those of other countries. However, BMPs for steep-sloped uplands in Korea may be quite different from those of other countries. The emphasis of this paper is placed on the soil erosion control techniques for the steep-sloped uplands in the alpine belts of 400 m above the mean sea level in the Korean Peninsula.

It is known that the dominant factors affecting soil erosion are land slope and length, amount of land cover, inherent erodibility of the soil, and rainfall characteristics. The alpine uplands in Korea unfortunately have more than sufficient conditions to meet the worst combination of the dominant factors. The slope and the length of the uplands are generally very steep and long, the sandy soil is very much erodible, the surface is never covered by residues, and rainfall is very intensive. It is no wonder that the uplands dump a huge amount of sediment and muddy runoff into receiving waters. As described earlier, a 5 m x 30 m runoff plot with 28% slope and 54 mm rainfall in 40 minutes produced about 72 t/ha of sediment. Controlling soil erosion is not a matter of improving soil quality by increasing organic matter content. It is a matter of controlling runoff. So, erosion control strategies must be directed to reduce or bypass surface runoff by all means.

The following BMPs are mainly focused on the reduction or the bypass of runoff and the removal of sediment during conveyance to a receiving water. Sediment basin and trap, terrace, drainage channel, check dam, weir (e.g., concrete drop structure and chute, gabion), and wetland are considered as hard BMPs. Surface cover, vegetative filter strip, tillage method and mark (e.g., no till, reduced till, contour till) are considered as soft BMPs. The hard and soft BMPs must be functionally combined to get the best results. These BMPs for soil erosion control can be schematically developed as shown in Fig. 1.

Soft BMPs. Surface cover and tillage method and mark are the two main BMPs to reduce runoff and erosion at the source. It is proven that the tillage mark of contour does not significantly reduce soil erosion. Contour tillage mark can work well to reduce runoff and erosion if rainfall is small. However, if rainfall is large enough to fill the furrow, the ridge is destroyed, the water in the furrow suddenly flushes downslope, consequently destroying the ridges downstream to form large rills and gullies, resulting in a huge sediment discharge. Therefore, contour tillage mark practices are not very effective when a large rainfall is expected.

Reduced till and no-till practices can be good alternatives to reduce erosion from the steep-sloped uplands if grain crops such as corn, soybean, wheat, and barley were cultivated. But the major crops in the high mountain alpine fields are potato, Chinese cabbage, radish, carrot, and other vegetables. These crop cultures need conventional tillage and the surface is completely disturbed before transplanting or seeding is made every year, making the soil soft and easily erodible.

The last alternative left to reduce runoff and erosion at the source is surface cover. As shown in Table 1, the 100% covered sandy soil plots did not produce runoff while the bare plots released runoff of 71.8% of the provided rainfall. Soil retention and groundwater runoff also showed a large difference between the covered and the bare soil plots. The problem is that surface cover with the vegetable cultures is not easy and may not be economical. It is well proven that the source control of NPS pollution is the best both technically and economically. If so much soil is eroded every monsoon season and the water quality of the receiving water is sensitive, it is well worth applying the surface cover method. Loose rice straw mats can be used to cover the surface.

A vegetative filter strip (VFS) is an alternative to retain sediment in runoff. VFS can work well in the uplands where the slope is mild, and runoff does not form large rills. However, where the land size is small and concentrated runoff occurs like in the alpine uplands, VFS may not work well to remove sediment in the runoff. Munoz-Carpena and Parsons (2005) developed the VFSMOD-W that could estimate filter length, width, slope, and vegetation to meet a sediment reduction. But they recommended that the model be applied to smooth slopes, typically less than 10%. In the USA, VFS is required to remove 75% of sediment to meet the total maximum daily load (TMDL) criterion. Considering that a 5 m x 30 m runoff plot on 28% sandy loam soil produced sediment up to 72 t/ha/event, it could easily be imagined that no VFS could stand the sediment load. Before a VFS is made on a field, it is strongly recommended that it undergo the experiments on the width and VFS vegetation if it would be installed at the edge of steep-sloped uplands.

There are many other soft alternatives to reduce soil erosion from the uplands. One of them is the coir net that is woven with palm tree fiber. It takes 3-4 years for the net to decay in the wild environment. Various types and forms of coir net products are placed at the edge of a field and mulched on a slope to minimize soil erosion.

Adding huge amounts of soil has become customary in some uplands where crop rotation is not practiced and soil sickness is experienced. The depth of fresh soil layer added is sometimes deeper than 20 cm. Weathered granite soil (sandy or sandy loam soil) that contains practically no nutrients is usually quarried from a mountain and placed on the existing field. If soil is continually added, the elevation of a field becomes higher than the adjacent roads. In this case, rainfall runoff may be drained through the roads and the roadside soil may be severely eroded. To prevent these from eroding, a 20-30 cm-high concrete sill may be made along the roadside.

Hard BMPs. Terrace, sediment basin and trap, drainage ditch and channel, diversion and catch drain, grassed waterway, tile drain, grade stabilization (drop or chute) structure, and constructed wetland are some of the examples of hard BMPs that can be applied on steep-sloped uplands in Korea. The basic concept of these BMPs is the safe drain of surface runoff so that it does not form rills and gullies. If no rills and no gullies were formed, soil erosion would decrease drastically. Therefore, the BMPs need to be functionally combined to minimize the formation of rills and gullies and to drain the runoff to a channel where it can be discharged into the drainage system. This job may involve so much work and so many farmers and local engineers who do not have soil erosion control experiences and may not understand the nature of erosion control works. They may even think of giving up land cultivation altogether. These BMPs are not easy to do but they have to be done to stop erosion. Otherwise, the land uses may have to be changed to less erodible uses such as grassland or forest.

Terrace is a good alternative to remove sediment in runoff and safely drain surface runoff through drain pipes. A terrace in small-sized lands is similar to a small sediment basin that is mainly made of a small dry pool. A dry pool can be placed at the end or in the middle of a field where concentrated runoff passes or discharges. The dry pool receives runoff from the upper field and the runoff is drained directly or through drain pipe(s) to a drainage channel or nearby stream. While the runoff passes the pool, velocity is drastically reduced, and much of the sediment in the runoff, except the clayey particles, is deposited. The sediment removal rate of the small pool is amazingly high in sandy soil fields.

Catch drain, diversion, drainage channel, and sediment basin or trap can play key roles as a system in controlling sediment discharges. The slope of these waterways must be mild enough to decrease runoff velocity and to deposit the sediments in runoff in the waterway. If a slope is too steep and the water velocity is too high to deposit sediments, drop, chute or grade stabilization structures must be constructed to make the slope smooth. Where a concentrated flow flows into the waterway, a section of the waterway must be enlarged to accommodate the depositing sediments. It is because the runoff velocity decreases where it meets the waterway and the runoff sediments may suddenly block the waterway. Sediments do not evenly deposit over the wide area but they immediately settle down where the runoff losses its transport capacity as the velocity decreases. The enlarged section may be called a sediment trap or basin. It is believed that the waterway system of catch drain, diversion, drainage channel, and sediment basin can functionally work well and remove much of the runoff sediment. The author’s experiment proved the sediment removal of more than 95% with a small sediment basin. One of the disadvantages of this approach was the need to remove and empty the basin and waterway after every severe rainfall event that produced a large sediment volume.

A drainage channel system in the upland area is not well established in Korea. The construction of catch drain, diversion, drainage channel, and sediment basin systems may require a large land size, farmer’s agreement, and considerable budget. However, it also is understood that without the system, the reduction of sediment and muddy runoff from sloping uplands may not satisfy the water quality standards.

Sediment basin itself can remove sediment effectively if it is properly constructed and maintained. Because of intensive land uses in Korea, it is not desirable and economical to build a large sediment basin. But it is recommended that a sediment basin be built at the mouth of a field where runoff is concentrated and discharged. The size of the sediment basin may be designed to hold the sediment volume that can be discharged by two to three large rainfall events. After each sediment discharge event, the basin must be emptied for the next storm event. The design and construction manual of a sediment basin for upland cultures has not been established in Korea. However, references on simple and easy methods of designing a sediment basin are available (Ohio Department of Natural Resources 1996).

A favored design is the tile drain where interflow seeps to the surface during the monsoon season. Grassed waterway may be a good alternative to remove sediment in runoff while safely draining runoff. But because it takes a relatively large area and needs careful maintenance, it may not be accepted by farmers. Paddy as a constructed wetland may be an alternative if it is functionally combined with a drainage system that is composed of catch drain, diversion, drain channel, and sediment basin. An upland watershed is divided into small sub-watersheds. And at the mouth of each sub-watershed, a paddy or a cascade of paddies is prepared to accept the runoff from the drainage system. The paddy then further settles down the fine particles in runoff from the drainage system.

 

POLLUTION IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD-DESTRUCTION OF HILLS FOR LAND FILLING- from Team HORNBILL

POLLUTION IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD-

DESTRUCTION OF HILLS FOR LAND FILLING

Team  HORNBILL

Deepak Shankar               Gayathri S                        Sreena Sreedhar R

IMK Senate House Campus, Palayam

 

Nowadays land filling and destruction of hills are major environmental issues faced by many of the villages in Kerala, especially in Thiruvananthapuram. The issue that we are trying to discuss is happening in Kazhakootam. Techno Park the IT hub of capital city is situated at Kazhakootam. Ten years back when Techno Park started its functioning near Kazhakootam, it was a normal village with paddy fields, ponds and a lot of plants and thick vegetation which gave shelter to a lot of creatures and particularly to snakes. A village named Attipra includes the major portion of the IT hub, which was full of paddy fields and thick vegetation ten years back.

With the emergence of Techno Park, Kazhakootam also began to develop.The nearby lands also began to develop with buildings, mainly by developers and constructors to build flats. The number of developers invested in land near Techno Park simply shows how profitable the business is. When the land available for construction began to decrease they started concentrating on agricultural land and destruction of hills.Hilly places which contained thick vegetation were destructed to find out soil for filling agricultural land and to level the land to makes it suitable for building construction.

These activities are major sources of pollution and environmental degradation. Destruction of hills and filling of paddy fields is affecting the ground water level of the whole area. It is also affecting the ability of soil to absorb rain water. The land which was once dense by thick vegetation is now dense with buildings. Since the vegetation is lost many creatures including snakes lost their dwellings and they began to enter houses and roads and as a result people started killing these snakes.

In order to crush the hill for soil, they make use of compactors, compressors, crushers, drills etc.These machines have high horse power which creates damage to the nearby houses. These machines cause sound pollution. The dust particles and silica particles are a source of air pollution. After these destructions started, the cases of respiratory diseases, skin diseases and allergy have increased in the locality. The dust particles also affected plants by closing the stomata, the small openings in the leaves.

These problems are not just confined to the areas where the soil is crushed. Same problems are also there in the areas where the soil is being filled. Carriage of soil to the outbound is also causing air pollution and sound pollution during its whole path.

During the starting phase of these problems there were protests from the nearby people and activists and it was said that they were against development. A team from the geological department came to study the environmental impact of these activities but they were not able to complete it. Later on the protests become feeble and the destruction is still continuing.

Many of the local people here are still not aware about the results of these encroachment and land filling. Awareness has to be made in them more seriously so that they realize the need to protest against destruction of hills and land filling. Government has made laws against filling of agricultural lands and destruction of hills but maintaining these laws must have to be made stricter. The authorities and officials also have to work for this .Also people have to report such cases immediately.

In order to maintain the water table and to avoid the scarcity of water in the area in future we have to start rain water harvesting techniques in each house and in public places.

The health problems may be avoided to some extent my using masks or silica absorbers but it is not a permanent solution. Illegal mining of soil and land filling must have to be stopped to maintain the remaining ecosystem as such.