Environmental Pollution and Control in Pharmaceutical Industry

Environment includes land, air and water. In pharmaceutical industry, pollution is mainly caused in the manufacturing process, which is due to bulk drug manufacture and fermentation units and even chemical processing in the industry. These processes produce more effluents which have an adverse effect on the environment and safety of the life and property. All the pharmaceutical manufacturing plants are located outside the cities and town. Government of India enacted the Environmental Protection Act in 1986 to avoid or control environmental pollution. Basically there are three types of pollutants:

• Air pollution

• Water pollution

• Noise pollution

Air Pollution

Air pollution occurs when the air contains gases, dust, fumes or odour in harmful amounts. That is, amounts which could be harmful to the health or comfort of humans and animals or which could cause damage to plants and materials. The substances that cause air pollution are called pollutants. Pollutants that are pumped into the atmosphere and directly pollute the air are called primary pollutants. Examples of primary pollutants include carbon monoxide from car exhausts and sulphur dioxide from the combustion of coal. Further, pollution can arise if primary pollutants in the atmosphere undergo chemical reactions. The resulting compounds are called secondary pollutants, for example Photochemical smog.

Some of the sources of pollution include smoke emanated by automobile, gases released due to burning of fuel for light, heat, power and transportation, fumes released from factory chimneys and dust produced due to crushing as in mixing of ingredients in road construction.

Adverse Effects of Air Pollution

Air pollution mainly leads to many adverse effects and impacts the environment and living beings in many ways. Generally, food crops and storage crops need clean air for their growth and development. Leaf damage, stunting of growth, decreased size and yield of fruit and destruction of flowers are some of the effects of air pollution.

Health-related issues

The first effect is the reduction of visibility due to the scattering of light from the surfaces of air borne particles. It also causes optic irritation. Air pollution can result in asthma, tuberculosis, bronchitis, lung carcinoma, change in blood chemistry etc., in human beings.

Air pollution can affect health in many ways with both short-term and long-term effects. Different groups of individuals are affected by air pollution in different ways. Some individuals are much more sensitive to pollutants than are others. Young children and elderly people often suffer more from the effects of air pollution. Children are most affected as their lungs have the highest surface area, and they are more active and breathe in more air. People with health problems such as asthma, heart and lung disease may also suffer more when the air is polluted.

The extent to which an individual is harmed by air pollution usually depends on the total exposure to the damaging chemicals, i.e., the duration of exposure and the concentration of the chemicals must be taken into account.

 Control of Air Pollution

It is as easy as water purification. Air is not self purifying. The problems of the air pollution should be minimised at the source level. In case of cars, trucks, buses and aeroplanes, exhaust is controlled as per Federal Standards. It is difficult to control air pollution in these cases because they are mobile. Therefore, preventive measures should be taken at the source of pollution. In case of thermal power plants and industrial plants, pollution can be prevented by electrostatic precipitators, scrubbers and with many other ways. Inserting air purification equipment in old and new plants, irrespective of the amount of air contamination, can control air pollution. Other measures are raw material substitution, process modification and equipment alterations. Air pollution control equipment is suitable for removing either particulate matter or gaseous pollutants. Air pollution can be controlled by stacks, i.e., pollutants are carried away to some distance or taken to high altitudes. Thus, the concentration of gas gets reduced by diffusion and dilution. Growing green vegetation around the industry can control air pollution. Some of the air pollutants are removed with the help of devices.

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