Thermal pollution - causes, effects and control measures of thermal pollution

Thermal pollution
Thermal pollution is defined as the addition of excess of undesirable heat to water thereby making it harmful to man, animal or aquatic life. Thermal pollution may also cause significant departures from nor activities of aquatic communities.

Sources of Thermal Pollution:
The following sources contribute to thermal pollution.

1. Nuclear power plants
2. Coal fired plants
3. Industrial effluents
4. Domestic sewage
5. Hydro-electric power

1. Nuclear power plants: Nuclear power plants including drainage from hospitals, research institutions, nuclear experiments and explosions, discharge a lot of heat that is not utilized along with traces of toxic radio nuclides into nearby water streams. Emissions from nuclear reactors and processing installations are also responsible for increasing the temperatures of water bodies. The operations of power reactors and nuclear fuel processing units constitutes the major contributor of heat in the aquatic environment. Heated effluents from power plants are discharged at 10 C higher than the receiving waters that affects the aquatic flora and fauna.
2. Coal-fired power plants: Coal fired power plants constitute a major source of thermal pollution. The condenser coils in such plants are cooled with water from nearby lakes or rivers. The resulting heated water is discharged into streams thereby raising the water temperature by 15C.  Heated effluent decreases the dissolved content of water resulting in death of fish and other aquatic organisms. The sudden fluctuation of temperature also leads to "thermal shock" killing aquatic life that have become acclimatized to living in a steady temperature.
3. Industrial effluents: Industries like textile, paper, pulp and sugar manufacturing release huge amounts of cooling water along with effluents into nearby natural water bodies. The waters polluted by sudden and heavy organic loads result in severe drop in levels of dissolved oxygen leading to death of several aquatic organisms.
4. Domestic Sewage: Domestic sewage is discharged into rivers, lakes, canals or streams with minimal treatment or without any treatment. These wastes have a higher organic temperature and organic load. This leads to decrease in dissolved oxygen content in the receiving waters resulting in the set-up of anaerobic conditions causing release of foul and offensive gases in water. Eventually, this leads to development of anoxic conditions resulting in rapid death of aquatic organisms.
5. Hydro-electric power: Generation of hydroelectric power sometimes leads to negative thermal loading in water systems. Apart from electric power industries, various factories with cooling requirement contribute to thermal loading.

Thermal pollution in streams by human activities

1. Industries and power plants  use water to cool machinery and discharge the warm water into a stream
2. Stream temperature rises when trees and tall vegetation providing shade are cut.
3. Soil erosion caused due to construction also leads to thermal pollution
4. Removal of stream side vegetation
5. Poor farming Practices also lead to thermal polloution

Effects of Thermal pollution

1. Reduction in dissolved oxygen: Concentration of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) decreases with increase in temperature.
2. Increase in toxicity: The rising temperature increases the toxicity of the poison present in water. A 10C increase in temperature of water doubles the toxicity effect of potassium cyanide, while 80C rise in temperature triples the toxic effects of o-xylene causing massive mortality to fish.
3. Interference in biological activity: Temperature is considered to be of vital significance to physiology, metabolism and biochemical processes that control respiratory rates, digestion, excretion, and overall development of aquatic organisms. Temperature changes cause total disruption to the entire ecosystem.
4. Interference in reproduction: In fishes, several activities like nest building, spawning,hatching, migration and reproduction depend on optimum temperature.
5. Direct mortality: Thermal pollution is directly responsible for mortality of aquatic organisms. Increase in temperature of water leads to exhaustion of microorganisms thereby shortening the life span of fish. Above a certain temperature, fish die due to failure of respiratory system and nervous system failure.
6. Food storage for fish: Abrupt changes in temperature alters the seasonal variation in the type and abundance of lower organisms leading to shortage of right food for fish at the right time.

 Control measures for thermal pollution
The following methods can be adapted to control high temperature caused by thermal discharges:

1. Cooling towers: Use of water from water systems for cooling systems for cooling purposes, with subsequent return to the water way after passage through a condenser, is called cooling process. Cooling towers transfer heat from hot water to the atmosphere by evaporation. Cooling towers are of two types:
   (i) Wet cooling tower: Hot water coming out from the condenser (reactor) is allowed to spray over baffles. Cool air, with high velocity, is passed from sides, which takes away the heat and cools the water.
   (ii) Dry cooling tower: Here, hot water is allowed to flow in long spiral pipes. Cool air with the help of a fan is passed over these hot pipes, which cools down hot water. This cool water can be recycled. 
2. Cooling ponds: Cooling ponds are the best way to cool thermal discharges. Heated effluents on the surface of the water in cooling ponds maximise dissipation of heat to the atmosphere and minimise the water area and volume. The warm water wedhe acts like a cooling pond.
3. Spray ponds: The water coming out from condensers is allowed to pass into the ponds through sprayers. Here water is sprayed through nozzles as fine droplets. Heat from the fine droplets gets dissipated to the atmosphere.
4. Artificial lakes: Artificial lakes are man made water bodies that offer once-through cooling. The heated effluents can be discharged into the lake at one end and water for cooling purposes may be withdrawn from the other end. The heat is eventually dissipated through evaporation.