pollution in urban systems

1. Nature and causes of pollution in urban systems; CBD, industrial
systems residential areas. Detection and monitoring pollution.
HGG 1003: Group 4
TOPIC :

2. POLLUTION

3. Pollution :

4. WHAT IS POLLUTION
•According to Vijaya Menon ,pollution is the
introduction of harmful substances or products
into the environment.
•The action or process of making something
impure or often unsafe or unsuitable for use .
•The process of making land ,water ,air etc dirty
and not safe or suitable to use .

5. NATURE OF POLLUTION
•AIR POLLUTION –the release of chemicals and
particulates into the atmosphere.
•WATER POLLUTION –the introduction of
contaminants into water bodies making the
water unsafe to use .
•NOISE POLLUTION –a form and level of
environmental sound that is generally
considered likely to annoy ,distract or even harm
other people.
•SIGHT /VISUAL POLLUTION –this is the de-

6. URBAN SYSTEMS
•NATURE AND CAUSES OF POLLUTION IN THE
CBD
•AIR POLLUTION
•Burning fossil fuels for example fumes from car
exhausts containing dangerous gases such as
carbon monoxides and hydrocarbons(an organic
compound containing only carbon and nitrogen
and often occuring in petroleum ,natural gas
and coal )
•China ,USA , Russia ,India ,Mexico and Japan

7. NOISE POLLUTION
•The dominant source class is the motor vehicle
producing about 90% of all unwanted noise
worldwide.
•Recreation e.g. discos for example in Barcelona
harmful environmental noise is defined as
daytime ,evening and night time noise levels
exceeding 65-60-55 decibels .
•Hawkers peddling their way e.g. in Harare
•Aircraft noise.

8. LAND POLLUTION
•Domestic waste e.g. litter
•Uncollected garbage
•Stagnant water
•Old unused buildings

9. SIGHT / VISUAL POLLUTION
•Campaign posters for example in Harare
•Billboards
•Old unused buildings
•Open storage of trash
•Municipal solid waste

10. NATURE AND CAUSES OF POLLUTION
IN
INDUSTRIAL AREAS

11. NATURE OF POLLUTION IN INDUSTRIAL AREAS
1. AIR POLLUTION
- emission of poisonous gases and water vapour into the atmosphere
- this has taken a toll on the health of the people and the environment
2. WATER POLLUTION
- many industries require large amounts of water for their functions
- when involved in a series of processes, the water comes into contact with heavy metals,
harmful chemicals, radioactive waste and even organic sludge
- these are either dumped into open oceans or rivers
- industrial accidents e.g. oil spills and radioactive leaks destroy aquatic life
3. LAND POLLUTION
- deposition of harmful substances on land
- research and development pave the way for modern fertilisers and chemicals that are
highly toxic and lead to soil contamination
-the toxic chemicals lead to problems of skin cancer and human respiratory system.
- the chemical can reach our bodies through foods and vegetables that we eat as they are
grown in polluted soil

12. 4. AESTHETIC POLLUTION
- destruction in the natural look of the environment
- land fills are unsightly (not pleasing to look at)
- they can be home to rodents e.g. rats
- major industrial accidents like oil spills and fires are harder to clean-
up as they have a higher impact in a shorter span of time
5. SOUND
- heavy manufacturing industries release sound which causes ear
problems
6. THERMAL POLLUTION
- it is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes the
ambient water temperature
- a common cause is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and
industrial manufacturers
- when water used as a coolant is returned to the natural environment
at a higher temperature, the change in temperature decreases oxygen
supply and affects ecosystem composition

13. CAUSES OF INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION
1. LACK OF POLICIES TO CONTROL POLLUTION
- lack of effective policies and poor enforcement drive allows many
industries to bypass laws made by pollution control boards which results
in mass scale pollution that affects lives of many people.
2. UNPLANNED INDUSTRIAL GROWTH
- in most industrial townships , unplanned growth takes place wherein
these companies flout rules and norms and pollute the environment with
both air and water pollution
3. USE OF OUTDATED TECHNOLOGIES
- most industries still rely on old technologies to produce products that
generate large amount of waste
- to avoid high cost and expenditure, many companies still make use of
traditional technologies to produce high end products
4. PRESENCE OF HIGH NUMBER OF SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES
- many small scale industries and factories that don’t have enough capital
and rely on government grants to run their day-to-day businesses often
escape environmental regulations and release large amounts of toxic gases
into the atmosphere

14. 5. INEFFICIENT WASTE DISPOSAL
- water pollution and soil pollution are often caused directly due to
inefficiency in disposal of waste
- long term exposure to polluted air and water causes chronic health
problems , making the issue of industrial pollution into a severe one
- it also lowers the air quality in surrounding areas which causes many
respiratory disorders
6. LEACHING OF RESOURCES FROM OUR NATURAL WORLD
- industries do require large amount of raw material to make them into
finished products
- this requires extraction of minerals from beneath the earth
- the extracted minerals can cause soil pollution when spilled on the
earth
- leaks from vessels can cause oil spills that may prove harmful to marine
life

15. POLLUTION IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS
Nature and causes

16. Air Pollution
Causes
•Indoor pollution: smoke emitted by domestic fires from chimneys
•Open air fires: braais
•Exhaust fumes from vehicles
•Garbage/Dumpsite fires
•Use of organic solvents and insecticides that result in significant
vapor emissions into the atmosphere
•Dust: from home industries and construction vehicles
Impact
Respiratory diseases
Micro-climate warming(greenhouse effect)

17. Water Pollution
Causes
Sewage bursts
Faecal refuse washed from footpaths and driveways by
storm water
Improperly disposed oil and oil leaks from cars
Garden chemicals: e.g. weed killers and fertilisers
Detergents: from car washes and other household
cleaners
Reflectors
Greyish water colour and fowl-run odour
Water-bourne diseases like typhoid and cholera eg
Zimbabwe (2008)

18. Def : This refers to unwanted electromagnetic signals that produce
jarring or displeasing effects and which interfere with human
communication, comfort and health.
Unwanted sound that disrupts communication.
Causes
Operation of garden equipment like lawnmowers
Outdoor parties
Motor vehicles
Use of electricity generators (Enugu City, South Eastern Nigeria)
Noise pollution

19. Visual pollution
Def. : This is the de-beautification of
aesthetic view of the environment
Causes
•Dumpsites: e.g at corner road junctions
•Graffiti
•Dilapidated buildings

20. Detection and Monitoring
What is the meaning of DETECTION?
What is the meaning of monitoring?

21. Definitions
•Detection entails a wide range of actions each tailored to a particular
hazard or a public health concern.
•Monitoring: implies the use of routine measurements to direct changes
in the environment to maintain a desirable optimum state of atmosphere.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTIONS TO MONITOR
•Air pollution
•Water pollution
•Noise pollution
•Vissual pollution
•Land pollution

22. Air pollution
•The cornerstone of the strategy to meet air quality
according to Environmental Act 1995.
•Prediction strategies:
•For any potential environmental hazard one of the
main principles for monitoring and control is to identify
the critical agents, pathways and populations at risk.
•Emission inventories(records of the permitted or
actual level of emission from specific sources)
•Environmental data(measurements of the
concentration of pollutants in the environment.

23. Prediction strategies:
•Bio- monitoring data(measurements of specific agents or their
metabolic products in biological samples)
•Health data
•Routine surveillance data:
•Clinical surveillance(relevant to specific exposed population)
•Relevant health data:
•Infection disease check ups
•Health care utilisation data(hospital admissions, primary care
consultation)
•Cancer registrations
•Mortality statistics
•Epidemiological surveys

24. Monitoring /control measures
•Determining the levels of control needed to keep
exposure below specified thresholds.
•Licencing/banning of specific substances(CFCs)
•Setting of emission control e.g. vehicles exhaust
industrial emissions.
•Enforcement of health and safety protection.(for
workers handling biological agents)
•Setting of guidelines/standards relating to
environmental levels e.g (air pollution monitoring)

25. Water and food
•Quality standards are set for physical, chemical and
biological characteristics of drinking water and
monitored through the water treatment.(Harare
Motorng jeffry)
•AIR POLLUTION
•Information dissemination to the public
•Emission taxes e.g. carbon tax
•Anti-nuclear Act
•NOISE POLLUTION
•The environment, Food and Rural Affairs(DEFRA)
have begun to generate maps to provide an overview
of ambient noise climate in cities e.g England.

26. Presentation by :
M. T. Tsekeni
T. E Bere
Nb: Geographical Information Science and Earth Observations students at the
University of Zimbabwe.

27. Thank You