Environmental Management Series

Nik Meriam Nik Sulaiman (PhD)

Professor
Chemical Engineering Department
University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
meriam@um.edu.my
 Introduction to Environmental Issues

OBJECTIVES:
i. understand the global environment system
ii. understand the issues & challenges of pollution management
iii. Awareness of current environmental problems
iv. Sustainability in process industries

CONTENTS:
1.1 Interactive Global Environment Systems
1.2 Historical Perspective of Environmental Pollution
1.3 Global Environmental Issues
1.4 Engineering & the Environment
1.5 Sustainable Industrial Production

Unit 1: General Introduction Slide No. 1

Slide No. 1
Anthropocene is a new term, proposed in 2000 by Nobel Prize winning scientist Paul Crutzen.
It defines Earths most recent geologic time period as being human-influenced or anthropogenic
Based on overwhelming atmospheric, geologic, hydrologic, biospheric and other earth system processes
altered by humans

Reference: http://www.anthropocene.info 3
 Some Relevant Definitions

Environment
Surroundings in which an organisation operates, including air, water, land, natural
resources, flora, fauna, communities and their interrelation.

The unabridged Random House dictionary defines environment as:

The aggregate of surrounding things, conditions or influences, especially as affecting the
existence or development of someone or something.

Pollution
Can be defined as an undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological
characteristics of the air, water and land that can harmfully affect the health,
survival or activities of humans or other living organisms

The American Heritage dictionary defines environment as:

The act or process of polluting or being polluted, especially the contamination of soil,
water, or the atmosphere by the discharge of harmful substances.

Unit 1: General introduction

Slide No. 2
INTERACTIVE GLOBAL
ENVIRONMENT
SYSTEMS

Slide No. 3
 Water-Air-Land Interactions

Unit 1: -General Introduction Slide No. 5

Slide No. 4
 HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
POLLUTION

Slide No. 5
 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

Industrial Revolution: 1830 - 1890

General:
Living conditions in urban areas horrify reform minded commissions in
London in the 1840s and America in the 1850s and 60s. Progress is slow
but the common interest in pure drinking water and sanitation is spurred by
epidemics of typhoid and cholera.
Water pollution carried disease, but no one knew exactly why until the
1880s. Some concerned reformers didn't wait for exact knowledge: John
Snow, a London physician, traced a part of the cholera epidemic to a
contaminated water pump in 1855.
Smog episodes begin killing residents of large cities like London.
Demands for conservation of wilderness areas accelerate with the felling of
an enormous redwood, called the "Mother of the Forest" in 1851. The
outrage over the act leads to calls for a national park system.

Source: http://www.runet.edu/~wkovarik/envhist/mother.html Slide No. 6

 Basic causes of pollution

Why does it happen?

irrational use of natural resources

emission/discharges/effluents

Contributing factors:

Urbanisation

Population growth

Modern lifestyle habits, attitudes, consumerism

Industrialisation

Transport systems

Slide No. 9
 Example - Environmental Impacts of Urbanisation
Environmental Population
component (Numbers and Density)
ATMOSPHERE Increasing release of
carbon dioxide, decreased
oxygen production, as
plant colonies are
destroyed by spreading
urban areas
HYDROSPHERE Greater demand on water
resources (both surface
and subsurface)
LITHOSPHERE Increased transformation
of uninhabited agricultural
or utilised land to urban
users
HUMAN IMPACTS Psychological impacts of
high-density living
Urban component
Land use Transportation Services
Increased average Air pollution from Particulates, noxious
temperature for combustion of fuels. fumes from
urbanised areas Creation of incinerators, land-
photochemical smog. fills, sewage
Emission of lead from treatment works, etc.
some engines.
More intense use Rain, surface waters Leaching of
of hydrologic polluted with lead. pollutants from
resources causing Drainage patterns altered landfills. Discharges
increased by infrastructure. from sewage outfalls.
pollution load Pollution from boats.
Complete changes Disruption or Sanitary landfill of
due to disfigurement of urban wastes and
construction, landscape, etc. installation, repairs of
landscaping, etc. services disturb
landscape.
Psychological Increased noise levels.
impacts Health effects of noise,
air pollution.
Slide No. 10
 Example : Environmental side effects of urban sprawl

Alteration of land: More energy consumption:

Loss of agricultural land Depletion of energy sources

Loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitat Increasing air pollution
Loss of biodiversity
Road kill of numerous animals
Hard Surfacing: Upsetting the water cycle

Increasing run-off:
flooding
stream bank erosion
degrading water quality

Decreased infiltration:
depletion of water resources
land subsistence
saltwater intrusion

Unit 1: General Introduction Slide No. 15

Slide No. 11
Example - Urban Growing Pains

An area of inner-city
Baltimore

An area of suburbia
Baltimore

Slide No. 12
 Population growth map

Original data comes from the United Nations Population Division Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision.

Slide No. 13
Waste Cycle Industrialized Society

Slide No. 14
 Map of World

Source: www.mapsofworld.com Slide No. 16

Phases of management of environmental crises

Responses to contemporary pollution

has undergone several phases:
a denial phase,
fatalistic acceptance of pollution as part and parcel of development,
adoption of sustainable development

The denial phase occurred at the end of the last century where the responsibility of
waste disposal has with the local authorities who either did the work themselves or
contract it out to the private sector.

The second phase is also commonly termed the 'end of pipe' (EOP) treatment.
Environmental awareness was little heard of until the 1960s when Rachel Censons
'The Silent Spring' sort of set off the green history of the world. By the middle of the
1970s guidelines for waste management were included in the UN's environmental
policy. The approval taken towards environmental protection is to treat the wastes
after it has been produced. Such an approach frequently do not actually eliminate the
wastes but simply transfer it form one medium to another often in highly diluted form
and frequently results in secondary environmental impacts

Slide No. 20
Phases of management of environmental crises

The third phase involving waste recycling and resource recovery system
from the realisation that regulation and control could not cope with the ever
increasing amounts of wastes. The energy also made the world woke up to
the fact that some resources are not unlimited. However recycling and
recovery of wastes is not always economical and practical.

As a multimedia approach towards environmental protection, pollution

prevention represents two advances beyond the conventional waste
management methods. Firstly it focuses away from control, transfer between
media and waste treatment to proactive generation avoidance. Secondly it
concentrates on reducing both the quantity and toxicity of multimedia
wastes. The present trend in waste management has been since then
geared towards the underlying philosophy of 'prevention is better than cure'.

Slide No. 21
 GLOBAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUES

Slide No. 22
 Environmental Problems of the 21st Century

The most important environmental problems of the next 100 years as seen by 200
experts and scientists of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP)
Climate change 51
Water scarcity 29
Deforestation/desertification 28
Water pollution 28
Loss of biodiversity 23
Waste dumps 20
Air pollution 20
Soil erosion 18
Disruption of ecosystems 17
Chemical pollution 16
Urbanisation 16
Hole in ozone layer 15
Energy consumption 15
Exhaustion of natural resources 11
Collapse of biochemical cycle 11
Industrial emissions 10
Natural disasters 7
Introduction of exotic species 6
Gene technology 6
Marine pollution 6
Over-fishing 5
Change of sea currents 5
Persistant organic polluters 4
El Nino 3
Rise of sea level 3

0 20 40 60 80 100
Percentage

Slide No. 23
Major Problems Highlighted in Global
Environment Outlook, Geo-4

Climate Change Water Water Quality

This problem is a global Priority, Water will become scarcer. Water quality is declining too,
but the report finds a remarkable Irrigation already takes 70% of polluted by microbial pathogens
lack of urgency, and a woefully available water, yet meeting and excessive nutrients. Globally,
inadequate global response. Several reducing global goals on hunger will contaminated water remains the
highly polluting countries have mean doubling food production by greatest single cause of human
refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. 2050. Fresh water is declining by disease and death.
Some industrial sectors that were 2050 water use will rise by 50% in
unfavourable to the Protocol developing countries and 18% in the
managed successfully to undermine developed world. The escalating Fish
the political will to ratify it, says burden of water demand will Consumption more than tripled
Geo-4 become intolerable in water-scarce since 1961 to 2001. Catches have
countries stagnated or slowly declined
since the 1980s. There is excess
fishing capacity, 250% more than
Biodiversity is needed to catch the oceans
sustainable production.
Current biodiversity changes are the fastest in human history. Species are
becoming extinct 100 times faster than the rate shown in the fossil record.
Over 30% of amphibians, 23% of mammals and 12% of birds are threatened. Source: The Star, 12th Nov 2007

Slide No. 28
 Engineering
and the
Environment

Slide No. 31
Social Sciences Engineering Science Humanities and Social Sciences
pollutant Physical
Human Land used, Transport ,chemical Valuation Economic,
pollutant resource & & biological Of Culture,
& economic consumption transformation changes environment value, etc
activity & emissions In air, water in the changes
& soil environment

Technology
development
Political
process

Public policy measures

(Laws, regulation & standard)
Figure 1.2 Mapping of environment topics into traditional undergraduate disciplines
Source: Rubin 5.6 Introduction to engineering & environment

Slide No. 34
 Some examples of environmental changes from human activities

Human Activity Physical Changes Chemical changes Biological Changes

Land & water use Deforestation & other Changes to chemical Changes in the viability
for housing, alterations of constituents of soil & of plant, fish, animals &
agriculture, landscapes sediment microorganism due to
industry, e.g.: changes in terrain e.g. : increase in altered habitat &
transportation & slope acidity & turbidity of chemical constituent or
recreation Alteration of waterways nutrients from soils concentration, possibly
leading to species
e.g.: flooding, dams etc succession, extinction,
migration or disease
Emissions or Changes to the built Increase in the Injury or illness to
discharge of environment concentration of people, plant, and
chemical (e.g. structure such as emitted substances in animals from exposure
substances to air, building) from the air, water & soil: to and/or accumulation
land & water deposition & chemical other chemical of chemicals and their
attack cause by changes resulting derivatives
emission such as soot from 2nd reaction
deposits, acid gases &
liquid chemical

Slide No. 33
 Sources of Environment Impacts

Relate to the engineer who design, analyze and three

categories emerge:-

1. Materials Selection
Choices of the materials will directly affect the environment

2. Manufacturing Processes
Method that turn raw into finished material and product

3. Energy Use
Most important ( quantities & type of energy uses directly affect
environment quality)

Slide No. 35
Source: Rubin 5.6 Introduction to engineering & environment
 Basic Engineering Principles

1. Law of conservation of mass

2. Law of conservation of energy
3. Use of mathematical models

Consist of one or more equations that describe or approximate the

behavior of a system

Mathematical model are formulae from elementary physics

Source: Rubin 5.6 Introduction to engineering & environment Slide No. 36

Whats new ?

Slide No. 31
 Paradigm shifts: From MDGs to SDGs
Gap with MDGs
MDGs specify an outcome
but do not set out the process
which would make it
possible to realize the
objectives.
MDGs are stipulated without
any reference to initial
conditions, but where a
country gets to in any given
time horizon depends at
least, in part, on where it
starts out from.
Goals, targets and indicators
were not consistent with each
other, causing problem in the
issue of measurement and
ownership.
Ownership conflict due to
contradiction between global
goals and national priorities.

Source: MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs)

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/ TIMEFRAME: 15 YEARS
deepak_nayyar_Aug.pdf
28
Paradigm shifts: From MDGs to SDGs

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)

TIMEFRAME: 2016 2030 (15YEARS)
29
 Sustainable Manufacturing

Sustainable Manufacturing intends.

Technological and methodological development in the field of product, process, service and
management which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs for its future orientation of the economical, ecological and
social improvement

Possible Strategies

Extract possibly little resources from the natural environment or

Produce and dump possibly little waste or

Use the extracted resources intensively

Korea National Cleaner Production Center(KNCPC)

Slide No. 41
 So what is
Environmental
Management?

Slide No. 3
Some Definitions of Environmental Management (EM)

An approach which goes beyond natural resources management to

encompass the political and social as well as the natural environment it is
concerned with questions of value and distribution, with the nature of
regulatory mechanisms and with interpersonal, geographic and
intergeneration equity.
Formation of environmentally sound development strategies.
An interface between scientific endeavor and policy development and
implementation.
The process of allocating natural and artificial resources as to make
optimum use of the environment in satisfying basic human needs at the
minimum, and more if possible, on a sustainable basis.
Seeking the best possible environmental option to promote sustainable
development (paraphrased from several 1990s sustainable development
sources).
Seeking the best possible environmental option (BPEO), generally using the
best available technique not entailing excessive cost (BATNEEC) (based on
two widely used EM acronyms).
 Attributes of Environmental Management

It demands a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary or even holistic approach

It has to integrate and reconcile different development viewpoint
It seeks to co-ordinate science, social science, policy making and planning
It is a proactive process
It generally embraces the precautionary principle
It recognizes the desirability of meetings, and if possible exceeding, basic
human needs
The timescale involved extends well beyond the short term, and concern
ranges from local to global
It should identify opportunities as well as address threats and problems
It stresses stewardship, rather than exploitation.
 What motivates environmental management?

Pragmatic reasons fear or common sense makes people or

administrators seek to avoid a problem.
Desire to save costs it may be better to avoid problems or counter
them than suffer the consequences: pollution, species extinction,
human deaths, costly litigation. There may also be advantages in waste
recovery, energy conservation and maintaining environmental quality.
Compliance individuals, local government, companies, states and so
on may be required by laws, national or international agreement to care
for the environment.
Shift in ethics research, the media, individuals or groups of activists
may trigger new attitudes, agreements or laws.
Macro-economics promotion of EM may lead to economic
expansion: a market for pollution control equipment, use of recovered
waste, more secure and efficient energy and raw materials supply; or
there may be advantages in internalizing externalities.
The process and goals of environmental management

Sustaining and, if possible, improving existing resources.

The prevention and resolution of environmental
problems.
Establishing limits.
Founding and nurturing institutions that effectively
support environmental research, monitoring and
management.
Warning of threats and identifying opportunities.
Where possible improving quality of life.
Identifying new technology or policies that are useful.
 Approaches to environmental management

1. Ad hoc approach
2. Problem-solving approach
3. Systems approach
4. Regional approach
5. Specialist discipline approach
6. Strategic environmental approach
7. Voluntary sector approach
8. Commercial approach
9. Political economy or political ecology approach
10. Human ecology approach