Discuss about the Waste Production in Oil Industry in India for GDP.
Production of oil and gas in India began as early as 1889 where the first oil deposits were discovered in Digboi. In 1960, India started producing gas after gas fields were discovered in Assam (Biswas, 2012). As of 2015 India had a total of 763 million tonnes and 1488 billion cubic meters of oil and natural gas, respectively. The importance of the oil industry in India cannot be gain said. Globally, India is ranked among the top ten consumers of oil in the world. In terms of exports it is ranked number 10. The oil sector has direct and indirect contributions to the economy of India. Some of these contributions include employment creation, supporting automotive industries and service sector, foreign exchange earner and contributes to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Despite the benefits that this industry has on India’s economy, oil production also leads to different negative effects. During production and extraction of oil, wastages normally occur along the chain thus causing pollution (Selvi et al., 2013). The major effect of wastes from oil industry is environmental pollution from oil toxicity. Oil spills also lead to pollution of water bodies which then directly threatens aquatic life. In addition to this, spills on land leads to soil contamination which inhibit production ability of the Indian population. The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of oil industry in India and possible solutions to these effects in India. The paper will specifically focus on the effect of oil on air pollution, soil contamination, and threat to aquatic life due to oil waste disposal and spills from the oil industry.
The oil and gas industry is categorized in class A under the Environmental Impact Assessment Act of India. This shows that the industry potentially contributes to major air pollution. Air pollution is generated from emissions which occurs in every stage of oil production, extraction and consumption. Aerosols, carbon monoxide, and nitrous oxides are some of the air pollutants generated at the extraction phase. These pollutants contribute to adverse effects on human health due to the toxic nature of oil products. Soot in lungs of humans, increased number of pre-mature births, birth of under weight babies, and cancer were found to be more prevalent among residents who lived near oil production sited. More to this, the oil industry is the largest producer of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which contribute to formation of smog that affects the ozone layer. The VOCs generated by oil air pollution normally destroys the ozone layer. Exposure to the ozone layer increases susceptibility to a range of health effects such as, premature deaths and asthma.
Secondly, oil production and exploration have an effect in terms of soil contamination. Soil contamination is mainly caused by presence of xenobiotic chemicals in the soil. Normally, soil contains heavy metals. Oil spillage on soils increases the level of heavy metals in soils hence contaminating it. Soils with high levels of heavy metals are difficult to bioremediate, this is because presence of heavy metals in soils limit the activity of microbes. Offshore drilling and leakages due oil operations also lead to soil contamination. When soil is contaminated, both human and plant health are compromised. Contaminated soil can affect humans mainly when they consume produce from the soil or when they come in contact with this soil. Close to three quarters of soil contaminants are carcinogenic, which increases the chances of cancer among humans exposed to polluted soils. Research has demonstrated that long-term exposure to benzene leads to cancer of the liver and leukemia. Disorders of the nervous system, skin diseases and muscular blockage are also caused by contaminated soil. In terms of plant health, soil contamination can lead to massive economic losses. This happens when crops are rendered unfit for human consumption due to high levels of poison caused by contaminated soils. Further, soils that are heavily contaminated with lead and Sulphur can be sometimes unfit for crop production hence loosing arable land.
Wastes produced during oil production and transportation can sometime spill in water bodies hence leading to pollution of these areas. Oil spillage leads to detrimental effects on the aquatic life. For instance, oil wastes that are produced and spilled in water bodies compromises the ability of sea mammals to bear fur hence increasing their exposure to harsh conditions. In addition to this, oil spills have caused death is some of the aquatic animals in India. In 2017, prawns, turtles, and fish were founded dead on the beaches and were covered in oil.
There are different methods that India can use in reducing the effects of air pollution caused by wastes generated from oil production. There is need to update outdated standards that were set forth in 1985 and 1999. It is also important to advocate for use of clean energy as opposed to oil products. Clean energy will ensure reduction of emissions. Some of the clean energy sources that India can venture into include use of solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, and biomass energy (Narnaware et al., 2015). India is globally renowned for its prowess in solar power energy and how this has adequately helped to reduce the use of oil products. Clean energy has the potential of ensuring that India reduces its oil exploration levels, which consequently will reduce oil wastes. A study by Kumar et al., (2010) confirms that India is greatly adopting some forms of clean energy so as to sustainably cope with carbon emissions. Oil wastes also contribute to carbon emissions, adopting clean energy provides a means of reducing use of oil and in turn emissions from its wastes.
Contaminated soil and water pose a potential threat to both human, plant and aquatic life. Contamination caused by wastage in oil production in India can be controlled by, application of the polluters pay principle whereby firms that are involved in oil exploration in India commit to paying for clean-up programs in water bodies. Normally, these funds that are collected from this firms can be used in purchasing dispersants, biosurfactants, absorbent socks and pads, and emulsifiers. These approaches are renowned for their ability to control for oil spills in the water bodies. For instance, biosurfactants help in breaking the link between oil and water so as to allow air to pass through and reach the aquatic organisms
Contaminated soil can be controlled using both in-situ and ex-situ techniques. In-situ methods such as, air sparging and ignition can be used. Ex-situ applications are normally applicable where low volumes of soil are involved. This method involves transportation of contaminated soils to remediation centers. Bioremediation treatment is the current method that is globally used in correcting for soil contamination (Abha & Singh, 2012). This method uses the biological ability of microorganisms to act on the toxicity of pollutants and convert them to less harmful metabolites. One method of bioremediation that is applied to neutralize the effect of soil contaminants is addition on nitrate and/or sulphate fertilizers to the soil (Mandal et al., 2011). India can adequately apply this method by applying nitrate and sulphate fertilizers on contaminated soils so as to rehabilitate them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, oil production has immense contribution to India’s economy. However, during exploration and production of oil, wastage occurs that causes pollution to air, soils, and aquatic life. This pollution causes harmful effects to both human, plant and aquatic life. Due to these effects, having sustainable solutions to water, air and soil pollution is important. Putting in place an effective policy environment that regulates oil production firms is imperative. In addition to this, having practical solutions such as bioremediation, use of clean energy and treating wastes to less harmful levels before releasing them to the atmosphere are some of the strategies that can be used to control pollution. Despite the economic benefits of oil production, it is important to put in place methods that can adequately prevent and control for pollution cases across different dimensions.
References
Abha, S., & Singh, C. S. (2012). Hydrocarbon pollution: effects on living organisms, remediation of contaminated environments, and effects of heavy metals co-contamination on bioremediation. In Introduction to Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Processes and Bioremediation of Oil-Contaminated Sites. InTech.
Narnaware, H, P., Surose, G, R. & Gaikwad, V, S. (2015). Current status and the future potentials of renewable energy in India – A review. International Journal of Advances in Science Engineering and Technology, ISSN : 2321 – 9009, 1 (1), 1-6.
Kumar, A., Kumar, K., Kaushik, N., Sharma, S. and Mishra, S., 2010. Renewable energy in India: current status and future potentials. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 14(8), pp.2434-2442.
Biswas, S. K. (2012). Status of petroleum exploration in India. Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy, 78(3), 475-94.
Selvi, P. K., Sharma, M., & Kamyotra, J. S. (2013). Spent oil management and its recycling potential in India inventory and issues. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 18, 742-755.
Mandal, A. K., Sarma, P. M., Singh, B., Jeyaseelan, C. P., Channashettar, V. A., Lal, B., & Datta, J. (2011). Bioremediation: a sustainable eco-friendly biotechnological solution for environmental pollution in oil industries. Journal of Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection, 1(3), 5-23.
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