Environment And Ecology Part 5 – Free PDF Download

Q) Fly Ash can be used in which of the following applications?

Concrete production
Embankments
As a substitute for Brick production

Select the correct answer using code given below:

2 only
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3

Fly Ash

The National Green Tribunal has recently directed thermal power plants to take prompt steps toward the scientific disposal of fly ash.
Popularly known as pulverised fuel ash, it is a coal combustion product
Composed of the particulates that are driven out of coal-fired boilers together with the flue gases
All fly ash includes substantial amounts of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and calcium oxide (CaO).
Minor constituents include: arsenic, beryllium, boron, cadmium, chromium, hexavalent chromium, cobalt, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, thallium, and vanadium, along with very small concentrations of dioxins.
It also has unburnt carbon

Fly Ash Uses

Concrete production, as a substitute material for Portland cement, sand.
Fly-ash pellets which can replace normal aggregate in concrete mixture.
Embankments and other structural fills.
Cement clinker production – (as a substitute material for clay).
Stabilization of soft soils.
Road subbase construction.
As aggregate substitute material (e.g. for brick production).
Agricultural uses: soil amendment, fertilizer, cattle feeders, soil stabilization in stock feed yards, and agricultural stakes.

Loose application on rivers to melt ice.
Loose application on roads and parking lots for ice control.

Policy Measures

Central Electricity Authority (CEA) on behalf of Ministry of Power has been monitoring the fly ash generation and its utilization in the country at coal/ lignite based thermal power stations since 1996-97.
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) issued the first directive for promoting fly ash utilisation in 1999. It was subsequently amended with notifications issued in 2003, 2009 and 2016.

Policy Measures

A mobile app for ash management-ASH TRACK was created to help establish a link between fly ash users and power plant executives
At state level, Maharashtra became first state to adopt Fly Ash Utilisation Policy in

Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009

The Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 is being blamed for contributing to the air pollution over Delhi and surrounding areas.
The law aimed at conserving groundwater by mandatorily delaying the transplanting of paddy to beyond June 10, when the most severe phase of evapotranspiration (transfer of water from land to the atmosphere through evaporation from the soil and plant transpiration) is over.
Farmers were forbidden from sowing paddy before May 10, and transplanting it before June 10.

Why?

The law led to the sowing and transplantation of the summer paddy crop to be delayed by about a fortnight, and moved the harvesting season to end-October and early November — a time when the moist air and largely inactive wind systems cause particulate matter and gases from burning paddy stubble to hang in the atmosphere.
This air is carried by northwesterly winds towards Delhi, which lies to the southeast of Punjab

Stubble Burning

Stubble burning results in emission of harmful gases such carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide along with particulate matter.
Advantages of stubble burning:

It quickly clears the field and is the cheapest alternative.
Kills weeds, including those resistant to herbicide.
Kills slugs and other pests.
Can reduce nitrogen tie-up.

Policy Response to tackle Crop Stubble Burning

National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned crop residue burning in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.
The Air Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1981; The Environment Protection Act, 1986; The National Tribunal Act, 1995; and The National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997 have provisions pertaining to crop residue burning.
Ministry of Agriculture recently developed a National Policy for Management of Crop Residue (NPMCR), 2014 to ensure prevention of burning of crop residues.

Policy Response to tackle Crop Stubble Burning

Central Sector Scheme on ‘Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi’ for the period from 2018-19 to 2019-20 has been launched to address air pollution and to subsidize machinery required for in-situ management of crop residue

Torrefaction

India is testing this Swedish technology that can convert rice stubble into ‘bio- coal’.
The technology involves heating up straw, grass, saw- mill residue and wood biomass to 250°C – 350°C.
This changes the elements of the biomass into ‘coal-like’ pellets. These pellets can be used for combustion along with coal for industrial applications like steel and cement production.

Single-use plastic

They are disposable plastics meant for use-and-throw.
These comprise polythene bags, plastic drinking bottles, plastic bottle caps, food wrappers, plastic sachets, plastic wrappers, straws, stirrers and Styrofoam cups or plates
(India is in process of giving statutory definition to single use plastic).
India aims to get rid of single-use plastics by 2022.

Government measures in place:

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme was introduced in the Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, 2011, and was largely redefined in PWM 2016, wherein producers, importers and brand owners were asked to take primary responsibility for collection of used multi-layered plastic sachets or pouches or
Swachhata Hi Seva India Plog Run- To propagate the idea of shunning plastics, the Fit India Plog Run has been launched.
Plogging involves picking up litter while jogging
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) had declared the theme for World
Environment Day 2018 as ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.
G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastics Litter which is aimed at facilitating further concrete action on marine waste, though on a voluntary basis.
UN Environment launched #CleanSeas campaign to eliminate major sources of marine litter, microplastics in cosmetics and the excessive, wasteful usage of single-use plastic by the year 2022.
The Honolulu Strategy: It is a framework for a comprehensive and global collaborative effort to reduce the ecological, human health, and economic impacts of marine debris worldwide.

Microplastics

Microplastics or Microbeads are plastic pieces or fibre, which is very small, generally measuring less than 1mm. They enter water bodies they accumulate as act as carriers for other pollutants. They carry carcinogenic chemical compounds in the food chain.
Microplastics are present in a variety of products, from cosmetics to synthetic clothing to plastic bags and bottles

Plasticrust: New Kind of Pollution

Researchers have found a new type of rock formation: a thin coating of plastic that’s growing on the rocks at sea shore. It is being called ‘Plasticrust’.
Analysis of the crust indicated that it’s composed of polyethylene, which is the most commonly used plastic, often found in food and product packaging.

Q) At which of the following sites India’s first e-waste clinic is set to be established?

Mumbai
Bhopal
Chennai
Mathura

India’s First E-waste Clinic

Recently, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have signed an agreement to set up the country’s first e- waste clinic in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
It would enable segregation, processing and disposal of waste from both household and commercial units
The clinic is a three-month pilot project. If it would be a success, then the same would be replicated throughout the country.
Electronic waste will be collected door-to-door or could be deposited directly at the clinic in exchange for a fee.
The CPCB will provide technical support at the unit.
The clinic is being conceived in compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016

Central Pollution Control Board

It is statutory organization constituted under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
Further, it was entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
It provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Green Crackers

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed green crackers, which are new and improved formulations of the previous sound- emitting crackers and other fireworks.
Green logo as well as a Quick Response (QR) coding system has been developed for differentiation of green crackers from conventional crackers.

What are green crackers?

They are less harmful and less dangerous than the conventional ones. They are the crackers with reduced emission and decibel level. They are known as ‘green’ firecrackers because they have a chemical formulation that produces water molecules, which substantially reduces emission levels and absorbs dust.
It promises a reduction in particulate matters and harmful gases, like nitrous oxide and sulfur oxide, by 30- 35 per cent.
The green crackers will be 25-30 per cent cheaper to manufacture and manufacturers would not have to make any changes in their facilities.

PESO

Any kind of fire crackers are regulated by Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO).
It is a regulatory authority with autonomous status under Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ)

Recently, Supreme Court lifted the ban on construction, industrial activities and felling of trees in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ).
Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) is a defined area of 10,400 sq km around the Taj Mahal to protect the monument from pollution.
It is an ‘eco-sensitive area’ having three world heritage sites namely Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.
It is spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.

India Largest Emitter Of Sulphur Dioxide In The World

India is the largest emitter of anthropogenic sulphur dioxide in the world, as per the data released by environmental NGO Greenpeace on August 19, 2019.
Anthropogenic sulphur dioxide is produced from burning of coal and it is known to largely contribute to air pollution.
SO2 hotspots across the world have been mapped.
The SO2 hotspots were detected by the OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument)
India has over 15 percent of all anthropogenic sulphur dioxide (SO2) hotspots in the world.
The main SO2 hotspots in India include Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, Korba in Chhattisgarh, Talcher and Jharsuguda in Odisha, Neyveli and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Kutch in Gujarat, Ramagundam in Telangana and Chandrapur and Koradi in Maharashtra.
Norilsk smelter complex in Russia is the largest SO2 emission hotspot in the world