Environmental Chemistry Test - 41

Electroplating is widely used in various industries for coating metal objects with a thin layer of a different metal. The layer of metal deposited has some desired property, which the metal of the object lacks.  Electroplating has wide usage in industries. It is also used in making inexpensive jewellery. 

Rainfall made so acidic by atmospheric pollution that it causes environmental harm, chiefly to forests and lakes. The main cause is the industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels, the waste gases from which contain sulphur and nitrogen oxides which combine with atmospheric water to form acids.
These gases are released by automobiles, industries, power plants etc.

Eutrophication can have serious effects, like algal blooms that block light from getting into the water and harm the plants and animals that need it. If there's enough overgrowth of algae, it can prevent oxygen from getting into the water, making it hypoxic and creating a dead zone where no organisms can survive.

Secondary pollutants: When pollutants in the air mix up in a chemical reaction, they form an even more dangerous chemical. Photochemical smog is an example of this, and is a secondary pollutant.

Wastes which consist of materials those are difficult to biodegrade so that destruction takes a very long time are known as inorganic wastes. Inorganic wastes come from non renewable natural resources such as minerals and petroleum, or from industrial processes. Some inorganic wastes as a whole cannot be explained by nature, while others can only be described in a very long time.

Examples of inorganic wastes- chemical solvents, paints, sandpaper, paper products, industrial by-products, metals, and radioactive wastes, sand, salt, Iron, Calcium and other mineral materials like  Arsenic.

The presence of CFCs in the atmosphere results in the depletion of the ozone layer. They are used as coolants in refrigerators, coolers, etc. The CFCs causes the breaking of the ozone molecule which forms the oxygen radical and O$$_2$$. The depletion of the ozone layer results in the penetration of the harmful UV radiations from the sun into the Earth's atmosphere. The reduction in the use of the CFC molecules will prevent the ozone thinning and have the positive effect on the ozone layer. 

Lead is a major air pollutant.Smelters (metal refineries) and other metal industries; combustion of leaded gasoline in piston engine aircraft; waste incinerators (waste burners), and battery manufacturing.

Classical smog is also called reducing smog as it acts as a reducing agent. The reducing character is due to presence of sulphur dioxide and carbon (soot) particles.

Historic major sources of lead air emissions were motor vehicles and industrial sources. Lead that is emitted into the air can be inhaled or can be ingested, primarily through contact with contaminated soils or other surfaces. Lead is naturally occurring toxic metals and has severe effects on humans and animals.

Minamata disease is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Minamata disease was first discovered in Minamata city in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan, in 1956. It was caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation's chemical factory, which continued from 1932 to 1968. This highly toxic chemical bio accumulated in shellfish and fish in Minamata Bay and the Shiranui Sea, which, when eaten by the local populace, resulted in mercury poisoning.