Industrial Wastewater and Its Toxic Effects
Jebin Ahmed, Abhijeet Thakur, Arun Goyal
Abstract
The increased population has led to an increase in the demand for goods which in turn has caused rapid industrialization. In turn, the increase in industrial set-ups has led to the increased production of industrial wastes. These industrial wastes cause major environmental havoc by polluting the water, air and soil. The quality and quantity of wastewater generated depends on the type of industry: it can contain non-biodegradable waste such as heavy metals, pesticides, plastic etc. and biodegradable compounds such as paper, leather, wool etc. Industrial wastewater can be toxic, reactive, carcinogenic or ignitable. Therefore, without proper treatment and management strategies, the discharging of the waste into water bodies can pose dreadful environmental and health effects. Several waterborne pathogens proliferate in wastewater and produce toxins, affecting the earth's ecosystem and human health. The toxins in industrial wastewater cause acute poisoning, immune system suppression and reproductive failure. According to the WHO, around 80% of diseases are waterborne. To address the environmental and health issues created by industrial wastewater, it is absolutely necessary to obliterate its toxicity by adequate treatment with physical, chemical and biological means so that it can be recycled for water conservation.