Environmental Control and Management
Regulating air and water quality
Recently, air and water pollution has drawn the attention of environmentalists in Bangladesh. Air and water are crucial for the survival of all living organisms on earth and the most vital of natural resources. They are needed for human health, breathing, drinking, agriculture use, wildlife, aquatic life, and ecosystem etc. They are vital components of the environment, interlinked with other components and the quality of the environment. Water plays many roles in the biosphere, including being a habitat for millions of species and a part of the hydrological cycle. The environment, economic growth and development of Bangladesh are highly influenced by water -- its regional and seasonal availability, and the quality of surface and groundwater.
However, air and water quality both deteriorate due to human activities and natural causes. In Bangladesh, air is polluted by two major sources, vehicular emissions and industrial emissions, which are mainly concentrated in the cities, whereas water is polluted due to industrial effluent, waste, agrochemicals, fecal pollution, ship breaking, discharge of oil and lube spillage during normal refueling of ships at sea and river ports, and low water flow in the river systems in the dry season, and also by substances such as arsenic in ground water.
Air and water pollution affect air and water quality, harm human health, hinder neurological development of children, cause high blood pressure and heart attack, cause respiratory problems and chest pain, asthma, eye irritation, cardiovascular and lung disease, bronchitis, premature mortality, affect plant quality and growth, corrode building materials, disturb ecosystem, increase fish fingerling mortality, despoil fish habitats and aquatic life, reduce of soil fertility, and increase risk from air and waterborne diseases etc. Therefore, we need to ensure air and water quality.
Air quality means the composition of air with respect to quantities of pollution, and is routinely compared with a standard of maximum acceptable pollutant concentration. It is defined in terms of the presence of five common pollutants -- sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), suspended particulates, and ground level ozone (03) -- and is related with a government mandated regulation that specifies the maximum contamination concentration, beyond which the quality is considered to be unacceptable. For example, in Japan, annual average air quality standard for SO2 is 0.26mg/m3, daily average air quality standard for NO2 is 0.04-0.06 mg/m3, and daily average air quality standard for particulates is 0.1 mg/m3 (source: World Bank, 2007).
On the other hand, water quality is a term that relates to the composition of water as affected by human activities and natural processes. It depends not only on its chemical conditions, but also on its biological, physical and radiological condition. The quality of water is also related to specific use, and is usually measured in terms of constituent concentrations such as chlorobenzene, nitrate, iron, arsenic, microorganisms etc. The standard levels of water quality are established for water used by municipalities, industries, agriculture etc. by EU and WHO. In the EU, the standard the amount of Pb, As, Se is 0.1 mg/l, 0.5mg/l, and 0.01mg/l, respectively, for drinking water.
Regulations are needed to maintain air and water quality. Without regulations they are easily polluted by human activities. Air and water quality regulations are a body of sate and federal statutes intended to protect the environment, wildlife, land and beauty, and prevent pollution and over-cutting of forests, save endangered species, conserve water, develop and follow general plans and prevent damaging practices. These regulations often give individuals and groups the right to bring legal actions or seek court orders to enforce protection, or demand revisions of private and public activity which may have detrimental effects on the environment. Therefore, the air and water quality regulations are necessary for governing or conducting certain activities to protect the quality of air and water.
Some of the main reasons for having regulations for air and water quality are: to protect human health and safety; protect the environment; address cultural concerns; provide people adequate information, and meet national and international trade and other obligations. Through air and water quality regulations maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) and treatment techniques (TTs) etc. are stated. The air and water must meet these regulations. For example, in the USA, air and water regulations are water quality standard, wetlands regulations, sewage collection and treatment regulations, clean air plan, transport emission regulations etc. So, air and water quality regulations are very important for the management and control of the environment.
Environmental management means management of the environmental and natural resources systems in such a way as to ensure the sustainability of development efforts on a long-term basis by effective and active measures taken for the protection, conservation and presentation of the environment, heritage and natural resources for which a government, organisation, or individual is responsible. On the other hand, environmental control means removal of risk factors from the environment. There are four steps in environmental management and control: plan, do, check and act.
Under the plan step, environmental policy, environmental aspects, legal requirements, objectives and targets, and environmental management programs are considered. The do step includes structure, responsibilities, training, communication, environmental management documentation, document control, operational control, and emergency preparedness. The check step looks at monitoring/measurement, non-conformance, corrective/preventive action, records and audits. The act step considers management review. Without air and water regulations, there will no protection for air and water quality. As a result, they will get polluted, which will eventually affect other environmental components and human health.
Air and water quality regulations regulate the quantity and nature of the impact of human activities. For example, setting allowable levels of pollution, and preventing and seeking to assess the possible impact before human activities can occur in air and water. Air and water regulations have proven a critical means of promoting environmental management for sustainable development in the developed countries. Therefore, they are very important for environmental management and control in the developing countries also. Environmental management and control is the function of air and water and other environmental components quality regulation.
Mathematically we can say EMC=F (AQR, WQR and OECQR), where EMC=Environmental management and control, AQR=Air quality regulations, WQR=water quality regulations, and OECQR=Other environmental components quality regulations. Air and water regulations address the air and water related environmental issues as an imperative environmental management and control objectives and defined our fundamental ideas for achieving the objectives. Air and water quality protects public health, the environment, or aesthetic properties of the environment.
Every nation needs a sensible and dynamic set of rules and regulations to control and manage air and water quality as well as other components of environment. In Bangladesh, the air and water quality regulations are still in the form of a draft. For betterment of the people of Bangladesh and sustainable development, the government of Bangladesh should immediately implement air and water quality regulations, which must follow international standards.
Byomkesh Talukder is a Faculty Member of Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre, now doing MSc in Environmental Policy at Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University, Japan.
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