Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity. It includes any material that is made useless during a manufacturing process. Some examples of industrial wastes are chemical solvents, sludge, metals, ash, paints, paper products, industrial by-products, metals, and various others.
Industries are important for the economic growth and development of a society, but it can also be harmful to the environment. Industrial process can cause pollution to air, water and soil, health issues, extinction of species, and more. Disposing of waste has huge environmental impacts and can cause serious problems like:
Air-Emissions
Industry is a major cause of air pollution, as it results in the emission of pollutants, including organic solvents, respirable particles, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX). These pollutants can both harm public health and damage the environment in ways like the greenhouse effect, ozone hole.
Wastewater
The sources of effluent- treated or untreated wastewater that is discharged into surface waters - are many and varied. Untreated wastewater can cause environmental problems including: pollution of groundwater reservoirs, damage of transport and wastewater treatment systems, and degradation of treated wastewater and sludge such that it would disqualify them from being used for agricultural purposes.
Land-Pollution
Leakage from the fuel and energy industries, as well as industries involving hazardous materials, is the main causes of land contamination. Soil contamination is caused by direct exposure to the pollutant, leakage of toxic gases into buildings, and groundwater pollution. The properties of soil result in pollutants remaining in the soil long after the pollution incident. It is taken up by various plants and then it is consumed by humans, causing various health effects.
Hazardous-Materials
Hazardous materials are widely used by almost all the industries. If not properly treated, stored, or dealt with, hazardous materials can cause damage to human health, environment and property.
Radiation
Human and the environment are at-risk from exposure to both ionizing radiation (sources include radioactive materials, x-ray machines, and accelerators) and nonionizing radiation (from electrical installations, mobile broadcasting centers and lasers).
These harmful radiations can cause many health hazards like skin cancer, cataract, destruction of plants, etc.
