Question

A company attached its drainage system with a nearby canal, so that the waste directly goes into the canal without affecting the local area. What values are missing?

Answer 1

Hint: Air or water from industries are treated well before they are released into the atmosphere.Contaminated air from industries undergo further purification before they are released.Moreover water also undergoes certain purification processes before being released into the atmosphere.Thin why these steps are done before answering the question.

Complete answer:
Here in this question,the company has connected its drainage system to a nearby canal. Although this may appear first as a wise idea to save local people from the ill effects of water pollution, it is certainly not so. Effluents from the industries may contain toxic pollutants.This will travel from the canal to the nearby water bodies and seas where it will be harmful for the natural flora and fauna inhabiting there.Toxic substances will also cause ill effects to people using the water from that specific water body.Some toxic chemicals may accumulate the fishes where they will eventually cause biomagnification or bioaccumulation. Nutrients from the industries especially nitrogen and phosphorus are highly nutritious to algae. Growth of algae in lakes and ponds will lead to eutrophication where eventually the natural plants and animals that were present will be replaced by landlike plants. This will lead to dead zones in water bodies.

Note:
One such example of water pollution that caused havoc is the appearance of minamata disease.Methyl isocyanate was released from an Chisso Private Limited which eventually accumulated in fishes and when they people consumed those fishes,they suffered from mercury poisoning that caused symptoms such as ataxia,muscle weakness and damage to vision.