Advances in environmental hygiene

1. ADVANCES IN ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE By: Abdulrahman Mohammed (L-2012-V-21-D ) School Of Public Health and Zoonoses , GADVASU, Ludhiana

2. Definitions Environmental Hygiene : is that branch of public health that is concerned with the control of all those factors in man’s surroundings or physical environment which may have deleterious effect on human health and wellbeing Alternatively , it could be defined as all those aspects of public health that are determined by physical, chemical, biological, social and psychological factors in the environment . It also includes theories and practices of assessing, correcting, controlling and preventing the factors present in the environment that can potentially affect the health of present and future generations. Environmental sanitation : refers to interventions to reduce people’s and animals’ exposure to disease by providing a clean environment in which to live and these measures break the cycle of disease.

3. Objectives of Environmental Hygiene P revention and control of: Biological hazards Chemical hazards Physical hazards Sociological hazards and psychological hazards .

4. S cope of Environmental Hygiene Water supply Waste-water treatment and water pollution control Solid waste management Vector control Prevention and control of soil pollution Food hygiene Air pollution control Radiation pollution control Noise pollution control Occupational health

5. Scope of Environmental Hygiene cont.… Housing with particular reference to public health aspects Urban and regional planning Environmental health aspects of air, sea or land transport Accident prevention Public recreation and tourism Sanitation measures during epidemics, emergencies, disaster and population migration Wildlife and forest conservation Preventive measures to ensure freedom from health risk of the general environment .

6. Advances in environmental hygiene includes: Carbon sequestration Bioremediation Rain water harvesting and artificial recharge Echo-friendly technologies in India

7. Carbon sequestration Also known as “carbon capture” A geoengineering technique for the long-term storage of carbon dioxide (or other forms of carbon) for the mitigation of global warming More than 33 billion tons of carbon emissions (annual worldwide) Ways that carbon can be stored (sequestered): In plants and soil “ terrestrial sequestration ” (“carbon sinks”) Underground “ geological sequestration ” Deep in ocean “ ocean sequestration ” As a solid material (still in development)

8. Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration

9. Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration The process through which Co 2 from the atmosphere is absorbed naturally through photosynthesis & stored as carbon in biomass & soils. Tropical deforestation is responsible for 20% of world’s annual Co 2 emissions, though offset by uptake of atmospheric Co 2 by forests and agriculture. Ways to reduce greenhouse gases: avoiding emissions by maintaining existing carbon storage in trees and soils increasing carbon storage by tree planting or conversion from conventional to conservation tillage practices on agricultural lands

10. Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration (continued) Carbon seq. rates differ based on the species of tree, type of soil, regional climate, topography & management practice Pine plantations in SE United States can accumulate almost 100 metric tons of carbon per acre after 90 years (~ 1 metric ton : 1 year ) Carbon accumulation eventually reaches saturation point where additional sequestration is no longer possible (when trees reach maturity, or when the organic matter in soils builds back up to original levels before losses occurred) After saturation, the trees or agricultural practices still need to be sustained to maintain the accumulated carbon and prevent subsequent losses of carbon back to the atmosphere

11. Geological Sequestration Storing of CO 2 underground in rock formations able to retain large amounts of CO 2 over a long time period Held in small pore spaces (have held oil and nat. gas for millions of years) Layers shown: Coal, brine aquifer, gas bearing sandstone, gas bearing shale

12. Geological Sequestration (case study) Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (Illinois Basin) assess geological carbon sequestration options in the 60,000 square mile Illinois Basin (Within the Basin are deep, noneconomic coal resources, numerous mature oil fields and deep saline rock formations with potential to store CO2) Feb 2009: Successfully completed 8,000 ft deep injection well By 2013, a total of one million metric tons of carbon dioxide (roughly the annual emissions of 220,000 automobiles) is expected to be stored within the formation.

13. Ocean Sequestration

14. Ocean Sequestration Carbon is naturally stored in the ocean via two pumps, solubility and biological, and there are analogous man-made methods, direct injection and ocean fertilization, respectively. Eventually equilibrium between the ocean and the atmosphere will be reached with or without human intervention and 80% of the carbon will remain in the ocean. The same equilibrium will be reached whether the carbon is injected into the atmosphere or the ocean. The rational behind ocean sequestration is simply to speed up the natural process.

15. Ocean Sequestration Carbon sequestration by direct injection into the deep ocean involves the capture, separation, transport, and injection of CO2 from land or tankers   1/3 of CO2 emitted a year already enters the ocean Ocean has 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere

16. Current Status Carbon Sequestration At the global level, the IPCC Third Assessment Report estimates that ~100 billion metric tons of carbon over the next 50 years could be sequestered through forest preservation, tree planting and improved agricultural management. Offset 10-20% of estimated fossil fuel emissions Carbon Sequestration is not yet viable at a commercial level Small scale projects demonstrated (lab experiments) but CS is still a developing technology Concern with injecting carbon dioxide into ground or ocean because fear of leaks into water table or escape of CO 2 into a massive bubble that can potentially suffocate humans and animals

17. Bioremediation Biodegradation - the use of living organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and plants to degrade chemical compounds Bioremediation – process of cleaning up environmental sites contaminated with chemical pollutants by using living organisms to degrade hazardous materials into less toxic substances

18. Bioremediation: Purpose Initiative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) To counteract careless and even negligent practices of chemical dumping and storage, as well as concern over how these pollutants might affect human health and the environment To locate and clean up hazardous waste sites

19. Bioremediation Environmental Genome Project Purpose is to study and understand the impacts of environmental chemicals on human disease Why use bioremediation? Most approaches convert harmful pollutants into relatively harmless materials such as carbon dioxide, chloride, water, and simple organic molecules Processes are generally cleaner

20. Biotechnological approaches Biotechnological approaches are essential for Detecting pollutants Restoring ecosystems Learning about conditions that can result in human diseases Converting waste products into valuable energy

21. Bioremediation Basics What needs to be cleaned up? Soil, water, air, and sediment Pollutants enter environment in many different ways Tanker spill, truck accident, ruptured chemical tank at industrial site, release of pollutants into air Location of accident, the amount of chemicals released, and the duration of the spill impacts the parts of the environment affected

22. Bioremediation Basics

23. 9.2 Bioremediation Basics Chemicals in the Environment Carcinogens Mutagens Cause skin rashes, birth defects Poison plant and animal life

24. Fundamentals of Cleanup Reactions Microbes convert chemicals into harmless substances by either Aerobic metabolism (require oxygen) or anaerobic metabolism (do not require oxygen)

25. Fundamentals of Cleanup Reactions Aerobic and Anaerobic Biodegradation

26. Stimulating Bioremediation Nutrient enrichment (fertilization) – fertilizers are added to a contaminated environment to stimulate the growth of indigenous microorganisms that can degrade pollutants Bioaugmentation (seeding) –bacteria are added to the contaminated environment to assist indigenous microbes with biodegradative processes

27. Cleanup Sites and Strategies Soil Cleanup Ex situ bioremediation Slurry phase bioremediation Solid phase bioremediation Composting Land farming Biopiles In situ bioremediation Bioventing – pumping either air or hydrogen peroxide into the contaminated soil

28. Cleanup Sites and Strategies

29. Cleanup Sites and Strategies Bioremediation of Water Wastewater treatment Groundwater cleanup

30. Cleanup Sites and Strategies

31. Cleanup Sites and Strategies

32. Applying Genetically Engineered Strains to Clean Up the Environment Petroleum-Eating Bacteria Created in 1970s Isolated strains of pseudomonas from contaminated soils Contained plasmids that encoded genes for breaking down the pollutants

33. Applying Genetically Engineered Strains to Clean Up the Environment E. coli to clean up heavy metals Copper, lead, cadmium, chromium, and mercury Biosensors – bacteria capable of detecting a variety of environmental pollutants Genetically Modified Plants and Phytoremediation Plants that can remove RDX ( Research Department Explosive) and TNT ( Trinitrotoluene )

34. Shrishti Eco-Research Institute, Pune, INDIA Develops eco-friendly technologies to control pollution of water, air and soil . Soil Scape Filter Stream Ecosystem Hydrasch Succession Pond Phytofiltration and Biox Process Green lake technologies Green bridge technologies Some of the Ecotechnological installations afre described below

35. It is the simulation of natural filtration of water or wastewater through the well developed soils and fragmented rock materials below which give purified water in the form of groundwater. Soil filter contains layers of bio-active (i.e. biologically activated) soil. Soil Scape Filter

36. It involves the use of the natural slopes of the polluted drains, beds, banks of streams or ponds to enhance the aerobic activity in water by generating turbulence and providing shallow depths to allow sun– light to reach the bottom Stream Ecosystem

37. It is an application of ecological succession of aquatic plants depending on characteristics of incoming effluents. Various green plants including invasive species are successfully employed in these phytofiltration and phytoremediation processes with ecoremediation to treat organic and inorganic pollution. Hydrasch Succession Pond

38. It involves the use of plant fibres , roots to remove suspended solids from wastewater effectively in well designed tank . Some of the installations are solids by biosorption methods Phytofiltration and Biox Process

39. uses floating, submerged or food web help in the purification process . These can be termed as macrophyte ponds also . Macrophytes are capable to absorb large amounts of inorganic nutrients such as N and P, and heavy metals such as Cd, Cu, Hg Zn etc and to engineer the growth of microbes to facilitate the degradation of organic matter and toxicants. Green lake technologies

40. Green bridge technologies uses filtration power of biologically originated cellulosic / fibrous material in combination with sand and gravels and root systems of green plants.

41. Ecotechnological Applications for the Control of Pollution in India

42. Efficacy of Green Bridge and Green Lake treatment systems

43. RAIN WATER HARVESTING (RWH) RWH refers to collection and storage of rainwater and also other activity such as harvesting surface water extracting ground water , prevention of loss through evaporation and seepage. PURPOSES OF RWH Stored for ready use in containers ground or below ground Charged into the ground for withdrawal later

44. BENEFITS OF RWH Rainwater harvesting prevents flooding of lowlying areas Rain water harvesting replenishes the ground water table and enables our dug wells and bore wells to yield in a sustained manner It helps in the availability of clean water by reducing the salinity and the presence of iron salts. RHH TECHNIQUES STORAGE OF RAINWATER ON SURFACE FOR FUTURE USE RECHARGE TO GROUND WATER

45. 1 . SUBSURFACE DAMS

46. 2 . CHECK DAMS

47. 3. ROOF TOP CATCHMENTS

48. 4 . FARM PONDS

49. RECHARGE TO GROUND WATER Recharge bore pit Recharge well Spreading basins Ditches Hand pumps

50. RECHARGE BORE PIT

51. RECHARGE WELL

52. DITCHES

53. HAND PUMPS

54. SPREADING BASINS

55. References Sengupta , M. and Dalwani , R. (Editors). 2008. Ecotechnological Applications for the Control of Lake Pollution. Proceedings of Taal 2007 : The 12th World Lake Conference: 864-867 Sherikar A.T, Bachhil V.N and Thaplyal D.C. 2001.Textbook of elements of veterinary public health. ICAR, New Delhi. Chu,S.C and Liaw,C.H 1995-1997 study of industrial rainwater catchment systems(I)-(III). Final Report of Indus. Tech.Res.Inst Liaw,S.C and Tsai,Y.L.2002. Application of rainwater retardation and retention for a healthy water envirnoment in urban areas.Journal of water resources management Liaw,C.H ., Chen,H.K , Chang, K.c . and Tsai, Y.l . 2000. Feasibility analysis of rainwater catchment systems in taiwan,proc . East Asia 2000 Rainwater utilization symposium:131-144, oct.1,2000,Taipei,Taiwan. http ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_sequestration http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/carbon_seq/index.html http://www.princeton.edu/~chm333/2002/fall/co_two/oceans/

56. THINK GREEN THANK YOU FOR LISTENING