Environmental Pollution form Petrochemicals :
Petrochemical industries have a wide range of environmental pollution starting from the raw material to finish products. A great number of pollutants are being emitted in large quantities. Some of the typical pollutants are shown in Table 2.
Environment Impact Assessment :
Environment impact assessment is an activity design to identify and predict the impact on the biogeophysical environment and man's health. It was evolved as a tool to assess in advance the various likely impacts - both beneficial and adverse - of a proposed development project to help take visibly well informed and enlightened decisions. Also to assure the communities like environmentalists, conservationalists etc. that environmental issues have been adequately examined and appropriate measures to protect environment have been incorporated in the decisions related to the said project.
Major issues in the EIA processes are:
Identification of projects requiring EIA
Identification of impacts to be assessed
Assessment of impacts.
The EIA should contain determination of initial reference stage, estimate of future state without action and estimate of future state with action.
Impact Methodology:
Several purposes are served by impact analysis method. One is to ensure that all environmental factors that need to be considered are included in the analysis. This purpose is relevant since the environment is a complex system of physical-chemical, biological, cultural and socio-economic resources, and various types of actions can create complex impacts and interrelationship on these resources. Methods whose approach to considering environmental factors is systematic are desirable.
Classification
Warner (1973) and Warner and Bromley (1974) divided impact methodologies into five main categories.
Ad hoc procedures
Overlay technique
Checklists
Matrices
Networks
Ad hoc procedures involve assembling a team of specialists to identity impacts in their areas of expertise, with minimal guidance beyond the requirements of government guidelines.
Overlay technique describes well-developed approaches used in planning and landscape architecture. These techniques are based on the use of a series of overlay maps depicting environmental factors or land features. It cannot be used to quantify impacts or to identify secondary and tertiary interrelationships.
Checklist approaches present types of impacts typically associated with particular categories of projects, even the master list of environmental factors and / or environmental impacts. Impact statements are prepared, selected and evaluated - those impacts expected for the particular alternative under consideration.
Matrix methods are basically generalized checklists in which possible project activities are established along the axis, with potentially impacted environmental characteristics or conditions along the other axis. Usage differs from a checklist in that an attempt is made to identify various casual factors (project actions) producing specified impacts.
Network approaches expand the concept of a matrix by introducing an indirect effects network that allows identification of cumulative or indirect effects' not adequately explained through simple cause-effect sequences represented by matrices.
Environmental Setting & Base-line Studies:
One of the most important steps in the environmental assessment process is to describe the environmental setting for the project study area. This description provides base line data against which prediction and assessment of the impacts of the proposed action. It is useful in describing the environmental setting to consider arranging the various factors into the following categories.
Physical-Chemical
Biological
Cultural
Socio-economic.
Purpose for defining the environmental setting: There are several purposes for defining the environmental setting as follows:
To form a basis for assessment for the environmental impact of the proposed action of petrochemical plants and alternatives, including the no action alternative.To provide sufficient information so that decision-makers and reviewers unfamiliar with the general location can develop an understanding of the project need as well as the environmental characteristics of the study area.
To define whether the project involves construction of a highway, reservoir or sewage treatment plant, expansion or modification of an airport facility or development of industrial park.
In a more general case, it is necessary to prepare a description of environmental setting in order to comply with the general intent of Ministry of Environment and Forest.
Prediction & Assessment of Environment:
To properly predict and assess the impact of a proposed action, it is necessary to describe the future environmental setting in the area without the project. Various techniques are available for projecting current conditions into the future based on historical trends. Less quantitative approaches are also available for predicting alternative futures based on management decision without the convenience of historical trends.
Environment Management Plan:
Since a wide variety and large quantity of pollutants are emitted into the environment due to action, a sound environmental management plan (EMP) needs to be made in order to control the emission through internal-external correction measures and preserve the environment. A typical EMP of petrochemical complex is shown in Figure 2.
Disaster Management Plan :
Petrochemicals are considered most hazardous chemicals due to their hazardous properties like flammability, reactivity and toxicity. The possible accidents include toxic release, fire, explosion, and cascading domino effect. All these accidents are classified under man-made disasters.
After the incidents of Flixboroush (1974) and Bhopal (1984), more and more awareness has been generated, while at the time of installation, there was no provision for plans like disaster management plan (DMP) and emergency plan. For industrial disaster, two types of emergency plans are to be prepared to combat any sort of industrial disaster on-site emergency plan and off-site emergency plan.
On-site emergency plan:
It is restricted to only the premises at the industrial unit. It enables an industry to combat disaster with its own resources.
Off-site emergency plan:
In this plan, there is invariable a spread of originally on-site disaster, outside the industry's premises and/or the combat needs resources from outside as industry own ones are often either non-existent or inadequate.
A typical DMP is shown in Figure 3.
Green Belts & Forest Management Plan :
Provision of an adequate and appropriate green belt and forest is considered as essential component of environmental management for large industrial units. Yet there is very little material on how to design such an adequate and appropriate green belt. In the reference of large industrial complexes the green belt should be considered to include the sum total of all vegetation in the premises of the complex and should be desired to serve a number of functions including the following:
Control and abatement of residual environmental pollution and the impact thereof in respect of noise, thermal pollution, air emission, liquid effluents and solid wastes and sluges.
Providing a pleasant environment
Conservation of nature and natural habitat.
Enviornmental Protection Acts, Rules & Various Amendments
The Water (Preservation and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and its amendment up to 1988.
The Water (Preservation and Control of Pollution) Rules, 1975.
The Water (Preservation and Control of Pollution) Act, 1978.
The Air (Preservation and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, as amended by Amendment Act 1987.
The Air (Preservation and Control of Pollution) Rules 1982.
The Air (Preservation and Control of Pollution) (Union Territories) Rules 1983.
The Enviornmental (Protection) Act, 1986.
The Enviornmental (Protection) Rules, 1986.
Enviornmental Impact Assessment of Developments.
Hazardous Wastes (Management &Handling) Rules, 1989.
Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989.
Manufacture, Use, Storage, Export And Import of Hazardous Microorganism Genetically Engineered Organism or Cells Rules, 1989.
Scheme of labeling of environment-friendly products (Eco-MARKS).
The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991.
The Public Liability Insurance Rules, 1991.
CONCLUSION:
In spite of its significant contribution in meeting the basic needs of mankind, petrochemicals industries have significant impact on environment through generation of a wide variety of pollutants. Only some of them are beneficial, whereas others are detrimental. Thus, industries must take external and in-plant mitigation measures to conserve our environmental resources. As a part of sustainable development, exact and through EIA methodology should be applied to different alternatives before giving green signal to any new project or expansion of existing plant. Sound and comprehensive EMP, DMP and FMP are needed for Indian petrochemical industries.
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