Industry and the Environment

 Industry

The word 'industry' probably makes you imagine big factories emitting smoke. Though industry also includes certain kinds of services and trades or businesses (for example, the music industry or the film industry'), in this article, we will consider exactly what you imagine. We will learn about the places where raw materials are processed and made into finished goods, and look at the impact of these industries on the environment. We will also discuss the steps that can reduce this impact .

The Resources Needed

Resources Needed for the industry

Industries are of many types. They are called large-scale or small-scale on the basis of how big they are. And they are called cottage industries when they are small enough to be run at home. The terms 'heavy' and 'light' are used in the context of industries which make machinery and electrical goods. Heavy industries make big things, like boilers and generators, while light industries make small machines , equipment  and machine parts . There are other ways of categorising industries too . some of these are mentioned Below :

Some Types of Industries

Type	things Produced
Large - scale	Automobiles , cement , iron and steel , etc.
Small - scale	Gas stoves , machine parts , utensils etc .
Cottage	Plastic goods, toys , handicraft , tailoring etc .
heavy	Boilers , generators
Light	Medical and laboratory equipment , machine parts , etc .
Agro And Rural	Khadi , coir goods , honey etc.
Chemical	Various types of chemicals
Metallurgical	Processing and Refining Metals
Rubber Goods	Tyres , tubes , sports goods etc .

Raw  materials

 Every industry needs raw materials. For example, the

 paper industry needs pulp, the textile

 industry needs fibres, and the cement Industry needs

 limestone . We get these raw materials 

at an environmental cost. Say, an industry needs

 steel to make machines. Steel is made

 from iron, which has to be mined.

 Mining degrades huge areas of land. Similarly, the cotton

 used in the textile industry is grown

 on hectares of land, which is degraded by the use

 of heavy machinery, fertilisers and 

pesticides .

Passing on the environmental cost

Sometimes, the environmental cost of producing raw

 materials is passed on from one nation

 to another For example, there is a great demand for 

beef and dairy products in the food

 industries of the USA and many European countries

 This demand is met by cattle farms

 in South American and Central American countries, which

 pay the environmental cost. 

Millions of hectares of forests and woodlands in these 

countries have been converted

 into pastures and cattle farms in recent years .

Energy

Industries need energy in the form of electricity and fossil

 fuels. Most of the electricity

 generated in our country comes from the energy

 of fossil fuels or flowing water.

 The extraction, processing and burning of fossil fuels

 pollutes land, air and water.

 You have already learnt about the environmental and

 social costs of

 hydroelectricity-destruction of habitats, loss of biodiversity,

 displacement of people, and

 so on .

Water

Industries need water for processing 

and other

 activities. They draw this water from

 water bodies

 or from under the ground. This can 

aggravate the

 problem of water shortage in dry areas .

Environmental impact

So far, we have considered the environmental

 cost

 of supplying raw materials to

 industries, But that

 is not the end of the story. There are

 many other

 ways in which industries have an impact

 on the environment.

Transport

Raw materials have to be transported to the industries

 from fields, mines, forests, and so on. And the 

finished goods have to be transported from industries. 

This means the burning of fossil fuels, which causes

 pollution. Then there is the pollution caused by the

 extraction and processing of fossil fuels, and the

 ultimate cost of the depletion of fossil fuel resources.

Production

All industrial production processes generate waste 

and cause pollution. Some, like iron and steel and

 chemical industries, produce toxic wastes, which

 accumulate on land and in water bodies. Others, like

 the cement, mining and food industries, pollute

 the air with particulates, or small particles. The

 burning of coal in industries and thermal power

 stations produces tonnes of flyash which, essentially,

 is unburnt particles. The disposal of flyash requires

 huge amounts of water and large areas of land, which

 gets degraded in the process. The burning of fossil

 fuels produces oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, which

 pollute the air Petroleum refineries produce toxic

 waste, and release particulates and oxides of sulphur 

and nitrogen. And all this is under normal

 circumstances. The environmental cost of an

 accident, which can occur any time, is much

 greater, as the below story convey 

About the Bhopal Gas Tragedy .

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy

The chemicals used in the production of pesticides

 are highly toxic, so industries producing these take 

a lot of care to see that these substances do not 

pollute the environment. They also take care to 

protect their own workers from the harmful effects 

of these chemicals. At least that is what they should 

do. Still, accidents do occur. In one such disaster

 in Bhopal, in December 1984, 40 tonnes

 of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas was released

 accidentally from the Union Carbide pesticide

 plant. Some 4000 people died of respiratory

 problems, thousands were affected and about

 200,000 fled the city. Even now, many are

 suffering from the effects of their exposure

 to the gas that night.

Packaging

After goods are produced in factories, they have

 to be packaged. This harms the environment in two

 ways-spending of natural resources and the

 generation of waste. Packaging is becoming more

 and more elaborate. For example, biscuits may be

 packed in a cardboard carton with a wrapper

 around it. Inside the carton, there may be corrugated

 paper and a plastic covering. Similarly, chocolates

 or sweets may be
individually wrapped and put into a plastic tray,

 which may be packed in a carton that is wrapped

 in a plastic sheet . 

Reducing the environmental impact

Industries are necessary for the development of 

a country and the well-being of its people. Yet, they

 harm the environment, threaten the health of the

 people and cause other problems. What
can we do then? We cannot stop the growth of

 industries, but we can take some precautions to

 reduce their impact on the environment.

Choosing a location

Industries that cause a lot of pollution should

 (never be located in densely populated areas ).

This protects people from pollution and any accident 

that may occur. If the pesticide factory in Bhopal had

 been located in a less populated place, so many

 people would not have been affected by the leakage

 of the poisonous gas .

Polluting industries should also not be located near

 ecologically sensitive areas, such as coral reefs, 

parks, sanctuaries, mangroves, and the breeding

 grounds of fish and other aquatic animals. Such

 places are called ecologically sensitive because 

any damage to them can mean the degradation

 of precious ecosystems

 rich in biodiversity. Industries should not be allowed

 to come up at the expense natural forests and

 productive agricultural land.

Industrial estates

Industries are often grouped together on the outskirts

 of towns and cities. Such areas, called industrial

 estates, are located far away from densely populated

 residential localities and ecologically sensitive 

areas. There are many advantages of having such

 exclusive estates.

Other than confining industrial pollution to a selected

 area and protecting people from its effects, such 

estates offer advantages to the industries

 themselves. The industries can share the facilities

 they have developed or those developed by the

 government. They can deal with each other

 more easily. Clients and customers can locate 

them more conveniently. The products made by

 one industry can be used as raw material by another

 industry. And they can cooperate with each other

 in waste management .

 Environmental impact assessment 

This is a detailed study made at the early stages 

of planning a very large industry or developmental

 project, such as river valley projects, mining

 schemes, thermal power projects and petroleum

 refineries. This time consuming process takes

 into consideration the likely environmental impact 

of the project or industry. It helps the industrialist

 as well as the government decide which steps to

 take to reduce environmental damage and 

also, whether to go ahead with the project at 

all An important feature of the process is that the 

public must be informed about the environmental 

impact of the project.

Environmental management plan

This is a part of the environmental impact 

assessment. Polluting industries are supposed 

to draw up a plan which spells out the steps

 to be taken to protect the environment. These 

measures are in the spheres of conserving

 resources, management of waste, reducing 

pollution and dealing with accidents.

Environmental laws

Polluting industries are supposed to get clearance, 

or permission, from the government before they 

can start operating. The clearance is based on the

 industry's environment management plan and 

on whether the site chosen for its activity is such

 that it will not cause grave environmental

 damage. After an industry starts functioning, it

 has to abide by certain environmental laws. The

 laws are applicable even at the stage of seeking

 governmental clearance for a project. Some

 of these are mentioned below :

The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,

 which spells out the type and amount of emissions

 that an industry is allowed to release  .

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act
The Hazardous Wastes (Management and
Handling) Rules

The law comes to the rescue of the people

The Bhavani flows through the Coimbatore and Erode

 districts of Tamil Nadu. The paper and pulp unit 

of the South India Viscose company used to release

 its waste Water into this river. The waste water

 had a high amount of organic waste and sulphur

 compounds Over the years, the pollution started

 atfecting the production of groundnut, rice and

 sugarcane in the area. The haul of fish at the 

Bhavani Sagar dam also decreased. A people's

 movement against the unit started in 1994. The

 people demanded action from the district

 authorities Then the water and power supply

 to the unit was stopped, and the company 

filed a case in the Madras High Court. The court, 

however, decided in favour of the people and the

 authorities It ordered the unit not to discharge 

effluents into the river  .

Conserving resources

mills, for example are using bagasse to 

generate electricity for their own use. Bagasse

 is what is left over after the juice has been extracted

 from sugar cane. There are many ways in which

 industries can conservJust as individuals can conserve resources by

 recycling using less, and so on. so can industries. 

An industry that recycles or uses the waste it 

generates is being eco-efficient or environment-friendly. 

Many sugar e resources. An industry

 that makes cosmetics and toiletries, for example,

 can reuse or recycle the containers used to market

 its products. Industries can opt for recycled paper

 for packaging and can reduce packaging. They can

 use solar heaters instead of fossil fuels or use 

technologies that save energy. They can also 

recycle waste water and harvest rainwater .

Using cleaner methods

Waste disposal is a big problem. A way of solving

 this problem is to produce less waste.

This would be especially helpful in the case of toxic

 wastes. If industries reduced the use of toxic 

materials to make their products and adopted 

technologies that reduce the generation of 

waste, it would be a big step towards protecting 

the environment.

The Indian government and governments all over 

the world issue what is called an ecomark certificate

 to industries which make their products in

 an environment-friendly way, or in a way that is

 the least damaging to the environment) Such

 products then carry the ecomark. Consumers

 can swing the scales in favour of the environment

 by choosing to buy products carrying the

 ecomark. However, very few products in India carry it.

Disposal of waste

The methods used to dispose of industrial solid 

waste are not very different from those used for 

other solid waste. The waste is incinerated or

 disposed of in landfills. It is just that industrial

 waste has toxic substances, so disposing of

Gt in landfills can pollute large areas of land and

 contaminate water, especially groundwater. These

 dangers can be reduced by lining the landfill, covering

 each layer of waste with earth, and adding flyash

 to the waste, so that it hardens and does not leak.

Industrial effluent, or waste water, goes through 

many stages of treatment. At least, it should. A lot 

of the time, however, industries just let the waste

 water flow into neighbouring water bodies or the sea .

The first step in the treatment of waste water is the

 removal of particles by screening and settling. The

 suspended solids that settle
in the process are called primary sludge. In the 

second step, microorganisms are allowed to 

decompose the organic matter in the screened

 waste water. The solid that settles at this stage

 is called secondary sludge. The third step is

 a complicated process of chemical treatment to 

remove metals and other harmful substances, The

 real problem with industrial waste water

 management is the disposal of the sludge, which

 often contains toxic and other environmentally

 harmful substances .

Many different methods are used to clean gaseous

 waste. Harmful gases are removed by letting the

 waste pass through a scrubber. A scrubber has

 screens or settling bins containing solvents 

or absorbers, which dissolve or absorb the harmful

 gases. The solvent may just be water which, for

 example, can dissolve ammonia, a harmful gas.

Particles can be removed from gaseous waste

 by allowing them to settle in gravity settling 

chambers. This method makes use of the force

 of gravity, which pulls down particles This is 

somewhat the way dust particles settle after a storm.

In an electrostatic precipitator, particles in a gas

 stream are first charged, then allowed to
enter a chamber which too is electrically charged .
The particles get attracted to the electrodes in the 

chamber and are removed from the gas .

"One man's poison is another man's meat "

The land surrounding industrial waste dumps and

 the water bodies near the dumps often become 

so contaminated that people have to shift from the

 area. The US holds the record for abandoned toxic 

waste disposal sites. It has some 10,000

 such sites, which can be cleaned up only at 

a cost of more than $ 100 billion. European

 countries like the Netherlands, Germany, and

 France also have thousands of such sites .

Japan uses a more environment-friendly method

 of toodie waste disposal. It recycles more than

 half of it. Eco-industrial networking is an approach

 that is becoming very popular for not only recycling

 industrial waste, but also improving productivity 

and increasing profits. In this system, the waste

 generated by one industry can be utilised as

 an input by another industry. For example, the flyash

 produced by a thermal power station can be used

 as raw material by a cement factory .

More About Industry 

Industries  In India

ROLE OF  GOVERNMENT IN THE 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY

 

The Indian leaders were well aware that
 any modern nation needed to have a well 
developed industrial sector
 (especially basic industries like iron 

and steel, and power) if it wanted to be truly

 independent. The government set up several

 public sector undertakings, and some joint

 sector undertakings, like the National Thermal  

 Power Corporation (NTPC), Bharat Heavy 

Electricals Limited (BHEL), Steel Authority 

of India (SAIL), and Gas and Oil Corporation 

of India (GAIL). These corporations were made

 responsible for putting up thermal power

 stations, steel plants, oil rigs, etc. The public

 sector usually covers areas which are deemed 

too important or not profitable enough to

 leave to the market, including such services 

as the railways and the postal system.
In the 1960s and 1970s, India had a shortage

 of foreign exchange. As a result, the government 

severely restricted the import of goods and 

encouraged Indian entrepreneurs to manufacture

 the goods indigenously. This gave Indian goods

 a sheltered market. Initially the quality of goods

 made indigenously was poor. But that soon 

improved with time and experience.
Indian industrialists were encouraged to import 

technical know-how and enter into foreign

 collaboration to manufacture equipment locally

 These policies of the government helped

 several Indian industries to grow and 

thrive, which they would have found impossible

 to do in an atmosphere of free trade.
In 1991, the government announced a new

 industrial policy and several economic reforms.

 The new policy opened up areas like power

 telecommunication and aviation, which were 

traditionally government controlled areas, to 

the private sector. Economic reforms also

 brought foreign competition, and led to an

 expansion in the production of fast-moving

 consumer goods.

One of the steel plant of SAIL

From having barely any industries at the time

 of independence, today India has a strong and

 thriving industrial sector that contributes 

almost 30% of the country's gross domestic 

product (GDP) and employs 17% of the total

 workforce. However, one-third of the people

 in the industrial sector are employed in

 household industries.