Source, Impacts, Monitoring and Control the Pollution of Iron and Steel Production - Term Paper Example

Running head: Source, Impacts, Monitoring and control the pollution of iron and steel production Majed Ali Alfazari University of Leeds ID #: 200301647 Definition of Pollution Pollution can be defined as an emission of various contaminated sources into the atmosphere, water and many other media where the human life as well as the animal life can be affected. The main idea of pollution is to have contaminated chemicals put into the water or air for the human life to be at risk. There have been a lot of issues of pollution that have come up and there are a number of ways of eradicating them. But there are very few people, unfortunately, who actually agree to change their procedures and the way they produce their material in order to reduce pollution in the world. There are a number of kinds of pollution that will be described within this paper. The first kind is that of air pollution. Air pollution means having harmful emissions mix with the gases in the air in such a proportion that these harmful emissions become part of the breathing system of any human being. It is known that a human being inhales oxygen. With this oxygen, the human can also inhale a number of other harmful gases if the air pollution is reached to its maximum. The next most harmful kind of pollution is that of water pollution. This is caused when the emissions are added with the water in the sea or the lake. The sea and the lake are usually the normal sources of drinking water for any human being. However, with the fumes of such emissions mixed with the water, they can produce a harmful combination and can then deteriorate the health of a human over the years. The other three kinds of pollution consist of noise, light and visual pollution. Each of these kinds of pollution are usually faced by developing countries where the proper measures to reduce them have not been taken. The first kind of noise pollution means that there may be a loud noise or the moving of trucks and trailers with such noise that the human may be affected mentally by the sound. The human may be affected because the sound may be too loud for the human to bear. The next is the light pollution which also can affect the human emotionally. The light is a very sensitive medium and it must be used carefully for any human. The intensity of light can damage a human greatly if it placed uncomfortably before him / her. The light pollution would mean anything that emits so much light that the human can not resist against it and hence, may have sudden headaches and many other symptoms. The visual pollution is just a simple understanding of what the human sees. As the human can get affected by what he hears, in the same a human can get affected by what he sees. There are a number of ways in which visual pollution can occur. For instance, there could be a number of useless billboards that are hanging on the road and that could cause disturbance to the human while passing through that area. The main idea against pollution is that it does not keep a human at peace, but rather keeps his mind working in the wrong way and this could affect him greatly. Iron and Steel Production Steel and iron are two of the core materials that are prepared and used most frequently all over the world. The production of steel and iron are almost in sequence and this is due to the fact that iron is used in the production of steel. Iron and steel when produced have the highest consumption rate in respect to the number of factories and the number of residential sites that are being built up in various countries. “Steel is manufactured by the chemical reduction of iron ore, using an integrated steel manufacturing process or a direct reduction process.” (World Bank Group, 1998) The traditional techniques of producing steel have now been changed to a new technology. Previously, the steel was being created from iron ore that was converted to steel in a BOF which is also known as basic oxygen furnace. The procedure has now been shifted to an electric air furnace where steel is produced from either steel that ahs been crude and not produced completely or even from the core iron that is used usually with the old technique. The two techniques may have advantages over one another; however, there is a situation where each technique is used by any steel producing company. The traditional procedure is used by those companies that want to produce steel with a high tonnage or a high density. Whereas, those companies that want to produce steel at a lower density can sue the recent technology to do so. There are a number of pollutants that add in to this process and this is why it is of such concern to the world to reduce the proportion with which steel and iron production is adding in pollution to the air and the environment around the human and animal life. These pollutants will be discussed further in the paper where their sources, impacts, monitoring and control procedures will also be discussed in detail. First Pollutant: Furnace Slag Sources The first kind of pollutant that is emitted from iron and steel production is that of furnace slag. Furnace slag is defined as the residue that remains after the process has been completed such as the remaining part of the furnace with all the waste material in it. The slag is emitted in the form of air emissions and this increases air pollution. The slag is emitted from the gas lines because there is a residue of certain chemicals that is left during the process in gaseous form. The factories usually have outlets for such gases where they are directed towards the air and then the intoxicants mix with the air in order to create harmful combinations. These combinations may not only be emitted from the production of iron and steel but there are a number of other processes that follow the same procedures and hence, have the same emissions. The reason for these emissions is because the iron and steel products are made at high temperatures and this causes the chemicals to vaporize from the area where the production is taking place. Impacts Furnace slag is considered to be a problem to be resolved because it increases air pollution. Air pollution has a great impact on human life because the air that they breathe would be consisting of dangerous gases. The air that is breathed in by the humans may be a mixture of various gases that were first emitted into the air by the iron and steel production and then it is further taken in by the humans. Once the humans inhale such a composition of air, there are a great number of chances that they may face respiratory and lung problems. There is a great impact of air pollution on humans because the air may affect them through air as a whole or through the crops that they eat. The respiratory problems, when developed once in humans, can cause a lot of pain and could be fatal as well if the air pollution goes to a high composition. Air pollution also has an effect on the crops that any human eats. The air is also inhaled by the plants and if there is a high composition of toxicants in the air, there is a great chance that these intoxicants may settle into the metabolism of the plant and eventually travel through the food chain to the end user which is the human eventually. The most dangerous part of air pollution is that when the intoxicants travel through the body and metabolism of each living thing, there is a greater chance of more accumulation of these hazardous chemicals as compared to any other technique. Once an animal eats the plant, there is a chance that he may inhale more intoxicants before the human may get to the animal for food. Air pollution can have a great effect on the babies that have recently been born and have difficulty in breathing. All these issues could lead to a fewer population, which in a way may be accepted by some people and may be condemned completely by others. Hence, it is a debatable issue whether air pollution can be avoided or not and whether there is any fatal consequence to the whole scenario. Monitoring Air pollution must be detected constantly and the reason for this is that there is a great chance that the air may get so polluted that the human life may be at danger. There must be measurement and monitoring bodies that take regular tests of the air and work out the combination of each component in the air. If things go out of hand, it means there is a need for the control body to make new changes and bring in new standards that can be followed by such companies. Control Controlling a certain product or emission from the production would mean that there is the need for reducing the content of the gaseous mixtures in the air. This means that there must be rules and regulations along with standards that can help the companies to reduce the emissions that are left into the air and rather find innovative ways of reducing air pollution. Second Pollutant: Dust Collection Sources The second pollutant is the dust collection that is related to the furnace slag. Whereas furnace slag is in the gas form, dust collection is usually considered as a solid waste. Solid waste is usually the residue of the iron and the steel production process and this is why there is a residue at the end of the process. The solid waste usually consists of a combination of elements along with a certain amount of iron in the waste. Impacts The solid waste is usually not harmful for the outside people who do not work in the factory but instead, it could be harmful for those who do work in the factory. Hence, the human life within the factory must be taken care of and this is why preventive measures must be taken. The employees of the factory face constant danger against the pollutants because they may cause a lot of problems for the human life. There is a possibility that the solid waste may be dumped into the water or any other area that could also cause harm to humans outside the factory. This means that there is a chance that the solid waste could affect the lives of those who do not work at the factory but rather may work some place else. It is widely known that the waste products are usually dumped in an awkward manner in many areas. The solid waste, if left for a number of days idol without anyone attending to it, there is a chance that the waste may hold chemical reactions with the air and this would in turn cause more emissions in the air to produce. Hence, if the solid waste goes into the water then that can harm the life of humans greatly. Hence, it is necessary that the air pollution and the water pollution are not increased due to the land pollution. Every kind of pollution may lead to another kind and this continues to be a cyclical chain where the human life is at risk by default. The company and the controlling bodies need to find new methods for reducing such problems in the country and in the atmosphere that they breathe in. Monitoring The solid waste must be monitored in such a manner that the quantity be kept to a minimum. This means that the solid waste from the procedures must be minimum production of residue from the processes so that there is lesser chance of the pollution increasing by a large percentage. There should be assurance that the companies follow the correct way of diffusing the waste rather than throwing it into the water or any other technique that could cause harm to human life. Control The control for such wastes has been suggested by a number of people who had studied the waste closely. They said that the solid waste from the production of steel and iron usually consists of iron and this means that this material is not really a waste. The concept of recycling comes into this pollutant because the waste can now be used again within the procedures for production so that more steel and iron can be received. The main idea of recycling is that the waste can be reused in such a manner that it may benefit the company and that would help the company to reduce their overall waste. The company can use the material in the waste as its raw material in the next procedure and this c\would improve the procedure greatly and reduce costs. Third Pollutant: Waste Water Sources The source of waste water also comes from the production of iron and steel. The iron and steel pollutants have a great impact on the life in the water that is, on fish and other sea animals. The reason for this will be discussed further. However, waste water usually is created from all the mixtures and chemicals that are sued in the process and then the emissions of intoxicants that are not sent out of the factory in the form of gases either remain as water or as solid. The liquid is the waste water which is uusally sent through a pipe to the sea water. Impacts The impact of waste water is great on the water life because the waste water is dumped into the sea water. This water has many sea animals living within it and this could cause the sea animals to die. The water can also be drunk by humans hence, for the end result of any kind of pollution; the greatest impact is on the humans. The sea water can either by drunk by humans or the fish can be eaten by humans. Hence, the intoxicants that have been left to dissolve in the sea water can be harmful for the human life. Because once the intoxicants enter the human body, there is a greater chance that they may get control over the metabolism of the humans and hence, lead to a number of diseases. Monitoring The monitoring body should consider checking the sea water for it composition and in what concentration are the intoxicants. The main idea is to reduce the overall composition of such chemicals into the sea water so that the sea animals can be safe and live a longer, normal life rather than being killed artificially. Control The control for such wastes has been suggested by a number of people who had studied the waste closely. They said that the waste water from the production of steel and iron usually consists of iron and this means that this material is not really a waste. The concept of recycling comes into this pollutant as well because the waste can now be used again within the procedures for production so that more steel and iron can be received. This means that there must be rules and regulations along with standards that can help the companies to reduce the dumping of waste in the water. Works Cited Wikipedia. Pollution. Retrieved on November 21, 2006 from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution World Bank Group. Iron and Steel Manufacturing. Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook Read More