An Overview of environmental issues and protection measures in Indian non-ferrous plants

In the industrial scenario of the country, non-ferrous industry plays a predominant role producing variety of metals and alloys for application in chemical, petrochemical, structural, power and engineering sectors. Base metal industries have witnessed remarkable changes in the past two decades besides registering considerable growth. But, most of these base metal industrial developments are generally associated with environmental degradation viz., by way of discharge of wastes into air, natural water bodies or subsoil. Release of harmful gases and suspended particulate matters (SPM) into air leads to ecological imbalance, resulting in de¬struction of natural life cycle of flora and fauna and many other associ¬ated harmful effects. Environmental degradation has become one of the most pressing problems facing India today. Tackling the pollution prob¬lem needs innovative and effective approach and industries should be encouraged to adopt non-polluting technologies rather than seeking to regulate the discharged toxic effluents. This critical review includes en¬vironmental impacts due to base metal production, approaches to envi¬ronmental improvement and finally examines various options to prevent pollution in base metal industries.