Environmental parameters

Impacts

Mitigation measures

Physical resources (a) air quality

SPM (dust)

• Human health, respiratory diseases, emphysema, cardiovascular diseases, asthma
• Decrease in plant respiration, change in foliage pattern

• Cyclones, bag filters
• Green belt

SO_x

• Increased mortality, morbidity, bronchitis, and other respiratory diseases
• Chronic plant injury
• Corrosion of material

• Various tail gas cleaning processes
• Dilution through stack

NO_x

• Lung diseases, chronic nephritis
• Factor in causing smog
• Material damage

• Scrubbing processes such as extended absorption using nitric acid, selective catalytic reduction using ammonia
• Dilution through stack

Specific gases: fluorine, ammonia

• Can cause metabolic disorders and mortality in plants
• Increase in levels causes irritation to eyes, nose, throat, damage to respiratory system, rapid asphyxia

• Reactor vapour scrubbing and evaporator vapour scrubbing
• Scrubbing and recycling the resulting ammonium nitrate solution; condensation to liquid form using coolers and chillers

Physical resources (b) water quality

Surface water quality

• Affects aquatic plant and animal life, causes eutrophication

• Take appropriate steps to reduce input of pollutants to the water system

BOD

• Affects aquatic species

• Construct wastewater treatment plants and ensure they function efficiently

COD

• Increase in levels

Dissolved solids

• Increase in levels

Suspended solids

• Along with ammonia causes algal blooms which increases cost of water treatment

Phosphorus

• Causes dental and skeletal fluorosis, affects hatching of eggs in fish

Fluorides

• Toxic to fish and aquatic life, causes fish kills

NH₃, N, etc.

• Eutrophication

Groundwater quality

• Percolation of pollutants from soil and surface water bodies may contaminate groundwater

• Use of liners in landfill sites and proper disposal of solid wastes, especially sludge

Physical resources (c) land quality

Soil

• Weak acid from sulphuric acid plant causes acidification of soils
• Nitric acid formed due to NO₃ in the atmosphere causes acidification

• For mitigation of impacts reduce the discharge of pollutants into water

Land use

• Change in land use
• Loss of agricultural land

• Proper siting of project
• Control of land use activities

Ecological resources

Vegetation (flora)

• Destruction due to construction activities

• Degradation of forests should be as little as possible

Aquatic life

• Condensates from ammonia and urea plants can have a toxic effect
• Purge water from the phosphate industry can be detrimental to fish

• For mitigation of impacts reduce the emission of pollutants into water

Terrestrial wildlife

• Destruction of habitat has adverse effects

• The destruction of the natural habit of endangered/other species should be as less as possible

Quality of life values

• Socio-economic

• Human population displacement
• Change in socio-economic structure
• Induced secondary development including demands on infrastructure

• Selecte alternative site or site layout to avoid displacement
• Find suitable employment opportunities in or around project site
• Provide infrastructure plan
• Construct facilities to meet demands

Cultural

• Changes in demographic patterns and social and cultural values and patterns

• Develop plans to educate workers on sensitive values and patterns

Aesthetics/historical/archaeological/tourism

• Visual impact/modification of historically or archaeologically important structures

• Select alternative site or site layout
• Construct visual buffers (e.g., green belt)

Public health

• All the pollutants affect human health directly or indirectly

• Provision of health-care facilities for workers; proper safety measures and safety equipment for workers; control of emissions; green belt planning

Human use values

Public utility services

• Consumption by the new industries causes pressure on resources

Water

• Increased demand for water

• Recycling of hydroflurosilicic acid in the plant; process condensates; turbine condensates in the ammonia and urea plants can be used as boiler feed water after proper treatment; cooling tower blowdown in the sulphuric acid plant can be recycled again as make up water after proper treatment

Energy

• Consumption by the new industries causes pressure on energy resources

• Efficient waste heat recovery system in the sulphuric acid plant; catalyst developments; improved heat recovery integration; purge gas recovery unit; process evaluation based on optimization of operating parameters, etc., in case of ammonia plants

Accommodation

• Crowding due to arrival of more people

• Provision of proper housing facilities for the newly arrived people as well as local displaced people

Employment

• Increase in employment
• Unemployment of local unskilled displaced people possible

• Proper planning of employment opportunities
• Training of local people