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Radioactive waste management involves the treatment, storage, and disposal of liquid, airborne, and solid effluents from the nuclear industry.

Methods of disposal of radioactive wastes are:

1. Limit generation – Limiting the generation of waste is the first and most important consideration in managing radioactive wastes. 

2. Dilute and disperse – For wastes having low radioactivity, dilution and dispersion are adopted.

3. Delay and decay – Delay and decay is frequently an important strategy because much of the radioactivity in nuclear reactors and accelerators is very short lived.

4. Concentrate and confine process – Concentrating and containing is the objective of treatment activities for longer-lived radioactivity. The waste is contained in corrosion resistant containers and transported to disposal sites. Leaching of heavy metals and radionuclides from these sites is a problem of growing concern.

1. According to the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) there are direct links between noise and health. Heart disease, high blood pressure, stress related illness, sleep disruption, hearing loss (deafness), and productivity loss are the problems related to noise pollution. 

2. Increased stress and tension, nervousness, irritability, anxiety, depression and panic attacks.

3. Peptic ulcer, severe head ache and memory loss. 

4. Marine animals are affected by noise pollution from offshore activities and port activities. 

5. Fire crackers frighten animals. Birds are often affected by increased air traffic.

Slash and Burn agriculture is practised in north-eastern states of India.
In this method the farmers cut down the trees of the forest and burn them and clear a certain area for farming.

The ash is used as manure and the land is used for cultivation of crops or grasses for cattle grazing. ‘After cultivation for a period of time, the land is left free for several years to allow its recovery The farmers move to a different areas in the forest and this process is repeated. This practise is commonly called as Jhum Cultivation.

Man-made sources include nylon and nitric acid production, use of fertilizers in agriculture, manures cars with catalytic converter and burning of organic matter.

Article 48-A and Article 51-A of the Constitution of India, Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000, and Tamil Nadu State Environment Policy 2017 are some of the legal relief from noise pollution. According to Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, the permissible limit of noise in areas categorized as commercial is 65 decibels (dB) during day and 55 dB during night.

Ozone layer depletion can be controlled by

1. Phase down or ban the use of CFCs (CFC free refrigerants). 

2. Minimizing the use of chemicals such as halons and halocarbons. 

3. Creating awareness about ozone depleting agents.

(d) Sulphur dioxide and Nitrogen oxide.

(a) CO₂ 

(b) CFCs 

(c) Methane 

(d) Nitrous oxide

‘Vehicle engines, air horns, audio video systems, trains, low flying aircrafts, factory machines, sirens, motors, drillers and crushers, compressor machines, crackers, explosives and modem supersonic transports are the common sources of noise pollution.

1. Agriculture chemical run off. 

2. Dumping of plastics in water bodies.

1. USEPA : United States Environmental Protection Agency. 

2. MOEFCC : Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

a. C₂H₄ < N₂O < CFC < CO₂

b. Global warming results in rise of atmospheric temperature. This leads to the increased melting of polar ice caps which will cause the rise in sea level and many coastal areas will be submerged.

Joint Forest Management (JFM) is a programme initiated by the Government of India in 1980 where government works closely with the local communities for protecting and managing forests. By this programme forests are conserved by locals in a sustainable manner as locals are also benefited with forest products like fruits, gum, rubber, medicines, etc.

Carbon dioxide is the most abundant (60 per cent) among greenhouse gases. With doubling of concentration growth of plants (carbon dioxide fixing) increases by 30 per cent in shortterm period. At higher concentration of CO₂, stomata close and hence transpiration rate will be reduced.

Non – biodegradable wastes like nitrates, ammonia, phosphates, sodium, calcium.

Discharge of sewage water into a river will increase nutrients and thereby promotes algal growth. This will result in rise of BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) as decomposers will consume more dissolved oxygen in river. If sewage quantity is large, the whole of the dissolved oxygen will be consumed leaving nothing for respiration of fishes and other aquatic organisms. This increases the mortality rate of aquatic creatures.

Anti knocking agent

Pollutants from man’s activities like effluents from the industries and homes can radically accelerate the aging process. This phenomenon has been called Cultural or Accelerated Eutrophication.

Organic fertilizers are better for the soil as they do not cause pollution of soil and water. Chemical fertilizers which drained into the water bodies will cause eutrophication and algal blooms.

They also cause increase in BOD and lead to the destruction aquatic flora & fauna.

Organic fertilizers are cheaper they tend to remain in the soil for long period.

Presence of large-amount of nutrients caused by sewage disposal causes excessive growth of planktonic algae which imparts distinct color & decreases quality of water & increases mortality of fishes.

CPCB – Central Pollution Control Board.

CPCB – Aims for controlling particulate matter in the air. According to CPCB the particulate size 2.5 micrometers or less than in diameter (PM 2.5) are responsible for causing greatest harm to human health.

It is defined as the nutrient enrichment in the water bodies leading to the depletion of oxygen and deadening of the life supporting environment, due to slow ageing of water bodies.

Central Pollution Control Board.

A-algae/planktonic (free floating) algae

B-fish/aquatic animals

Due to excessive loading of nutrients or fertilisers from adjacent agricultural land results increase in nutrients.

Effects: decrease in dissolved oxygen (DO), increase in BOD, fish mortality, unpleasant odour/eutrophication.

UV-B is absorbed by human eye and at high dose it causes inflammation of cornea. This is called snow-blindness cataract.

Carbon dioxide and methane.

(c) Jadav Molai Payeng

(d) all the above

1. Poly blend

2. Bitumen

Green house effect

1. Carbon dioxide and chioro fluoro carbon

2. Measures to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases:

• Cutting down the use of fossil fuels
• Reduce deforestation activities.

(d) lead to accumulation of pesticide residues in body fat

To shopkeeper - either stop keeping polythene bags or given after charging a big amount . I will create awareness among people about non – biodegradable, highly toxic polythenes.

Lichens are very sensitive to air pollution particularly caused by SO₂. Air pollution due to SO₂ destroy lichen population. They do not grow in such a polluted area. Therefore, they are regarded as indicators of pollution.

The lichens are regarded as pollution indicators because they do not grow at the places which are polluted or they start disappearing from the areas as soon as the pollution starts taking place in such areas. Thus the presence of lichens indicates that there is no pollution in that area.

a. Presence of large amounts of nutrients (Nitrogen and Phosphorus) in water causes excessive growth of algae. This growth depletes dissolved oxygen in water and imparts distinct colour to the water bodies. The bloom forming algae are extremely toxic and deteriorates water quality resulting in fish mortality. 

b. Following preventive measures can be carried out: 

i. Treatment of waste water before it reaches the pond. 

ii. Integrated waste water treatment. 

iii. Avoid using NPK fertilisers. 

iv. Use of organic or biodegradable manure or resort to organic farming.

Accelerated eutrophication is nutrient enrichment of water bodies due to human activities like passage of sewage.

Consequences are: 

i. Large amount of nutrients in waters causes excessive growth of planktonic algae (called algal bloom) which impart characteristic colour to water bodies. 

ii. Depletion of oxygen content of water leading to the death of the aquatic organisms.

Radioactive wastes are generated during various operations of the nuclear power plant. Radioactive waste can be in gas, liquid or solid form, and its level of radioactivity can vary. The waste can remain radioactive for a few hours or several months or even hundreds of thousands of years. Depending on the level and nature of radioactivity, radioactive wastes can be classified as Exempt Waste, Low and Intermediate Level Waste and High Level Waste.

Radioactive wastes – Nuclear energy
(source of non-polluting electricity) has 2 important problems

• Accidental leakage (Chernobyl incident);
• safe disposal is a problem for radioactive waste.

Radiations are extremely damaging to organisms, because of its mutations at very high rate. At high doses, it is lethal but at lower doses, creates various disorders like cancer, anomaly, etc. Their disposal is also a serious issue. Low level and intermediate level wastes do not produce – heat and other environment problems, so are safe dumping in process inside proper containers. But high level wastes which release lots of heat and cause environmental problems are put in suitable containers and buried 500 m deep inside rocks inside the earth.

(b) Defunct ships and e-wastes. Defunct ships –

old ships are dismantled to obtain scrap and other useful materials mainly in developing countries , due to less labour charge and low tax. Workers engage in ship breaking are exposed to number of toxicants like asbestos, lead, mercury etc. Coastal area associated with ship breaking yard in also polluted.

e-wastes (electronic wastes) –

They are increasing due o increase use of e – equipments and rapidly changing technologies. From it metals (copper, iron, silicon, nickel, gold) etc. are extracted. Dismantling also exposes them to toxic substances.

(c) Municipal solid wastes –

Domestic waste office wastes, school, public sweeping, sludge from sewage treatment plants, vegetables, fruit markets. They may be bio-degradable or non¬bio-degradable. They consists of paper (40%), food waste (7%), glass, crockery, rubber,- leather, plastics etc. Their disposal is mainly done by: Pig and cattle feeding, salvage, Burning, incineration, land fills, pyrolysis (heat), composting, Biogas plants, Recycling etc.

Chipko Movement: Chipko movement (Hug the Trees Movement) was an organised resistance to the destruction of forests. It started in 1974 in Reni village of Garhwal. A contractor was allowed to cut trees in a forest near the village. When the contractor’s workers appeared, the women of the village reached the forest quickly and clasped the tree trunks with their arms, preventing the workers from cutting down the trees. Mr. Sunder Lal Bahuguna, a Gandhian activist and philosopher was the leader of Chipko Movement.

When sewage is discharged into the river, the oxygen concentration declines sharply because a large amount of oxygen is consumed by aerobic microorganisms in river to decompose the organic matter in river. When the amount of organic matter reduces, the amount of dissolved oxygen again increases.

Harmful wastes from the industrial unit must have entered the trophic levels of food chain causing biomagnification. It must have accumulated in the birds as it can neither be metabolised nor be excreted. High concentration of harmful chemical may disturb calcium metabolism in birds causing thinning of the egg shells and their premature breaking, ultimately causing decline in bird populations.

Realising the significance of participation by local communities, the Government of India in 1980s has introduced the concept of Joint Forest Management (JFM) so as to work closely with “the local communities for protecting and managing forests. In return for their services to the forest, the communities get benefit of various forest products (e.g., fruits, gum, rubber, medicine, etc.), and thus the forest can be conserved in a sustainable manner.

The plant species or plant community acts as a measure of environmental conditions, it is referred as biological indicators or phytoindicators or plant indicators.

E.g: Lichens as SO pollution indicator.

(c) Both statements 1 and 2 are true.

Correct Answer is: (b) CFC’s