Page 13 - Guidelines for Training/ Orientation of Faculty on IKS

Unit V. Environmental Pollution and Health

Learning Outcomes
After completing this unit, students would be able to:

• Develop an understanding of pollution and its types.

• Learn about sources of different kinds of pollution.
• Sensitize themselves to adverse health impacts of pollution.

Unit Outline

Understanding pollution: Production processes and generation of wastes; Assimilative capacity of the
environment; Definition of pollution; Point sources and non-point sources of pollution.

Air pollution: Sources of air pollution; Primary and secondary pollutants; Criteria pollutants- carbon
monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, ground-level ozone, particulate matter and sulphur dioxide; Other
important air pollutants- Volatile Organic compounds (VOCs), Peroxyacetyl Nitrate (PAN), Polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Persistent organic pollutants (POPs); Indoor air pollution; Adverse
health impacts of air pollutants; National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Water pollution: Sources of water pollution; River, lake and marine pollution, groundwater pollution;
water quality Water quality parameters and standards; adverse health impacts of water pollution on
human and aquatic life.

Soil pollution and solid waste: Soil pollutants and their sources; Solid and hazardous waste; Impact on
human health.

Noise pollution: Definition of noise; Unit of measurement of noise pollution; Sources of noise pollution;
Noise standards; adverse impacts of noise on human health.

Thermal and Radioactive pollution: Sources and impact on human health and ecosystems.

Suggested Readings

1. Jackson, A. R., & Jackson, J. M. (2000). Environmental Science: The Natural Environment and
Human Impact. Pearson Education.

2. Masters, G. M., & Ela, W. P. (2008). Introduction to environmental engineering and science (No.
60457). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

3. Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S. (2015) Environmental Science. Cengage Learning.

4. Central Pollution Control Board Web page for various pollution standards. https://cpcb.nic.in/
standards/

5. Ahluwalia, V. K. (2015). Environmental Pollution, and Health. The Energy and Resources
Institute (TERI).

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Guidelines and Curriculum Framework for Environment Education at Undergraduate level