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  Write the answers of the following questions in 120 words. (a) How are integrated steel plants different from mini steel plants? What problems does the industry face? What recent developments have led to a rise in the production capacity? (b) How do industries pollute the environment? (c) Discuss the steps to be taken to minimise environmental degradation by industry.

Answer:

                  (a) (i) Integrated Steel Plants These are large in size and handle everything under one roof. From sorting of raw material to manufacturing of steel, everything is done in a chain in integrated steel plants. At present, there are ten major integrated steel plants in India. (ii) Mini Steel Plants These are smaller in size as compare to integrated steel plants. These usually have an electric arc furnace and use steel scrap and sponge iron as raw material. At present, there are more than 200 mini steel plants in India. (iii) Problem Faced by Industry ·         Poor infrastructure. ·         Low efficiency of the work force. ·         Shortage of the availability of cooking coal. ·         Lack of energy supply. (iv) Recent Developments In recent years, the Policy of Liberalisation and FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) have provided boost to iron and steel industry. Rapid infrastructure development has led to the growth of demand of iron and steel. India is now capable of producing steel more competitively. (b) Industries pollute the environment by-polluting air water and land. They also cause environmental pollution by noise pollution. (i)Land Pollution Land pollution is caused by dumping of non-biodegradable solid waste from industries in l and full sites. (ii) Air Pollution Industries cause air pollution by the emission of gases from industrial complexes and power generation units. Leakage of poisonous gases and chemicals from chemical industries also leads to air pollution. (iii) Water Pollution Water pollution is caused when industrial effluents both organic and inorganic are discharged into rivers or other water bodies. Some other common pollutants of the water pollution are fertilisers, pesticides, dyes, soaps, etc. (iv) Noise Pollution Undesirable noise pollution from industries like construction, running of generators to generate power, electrical drills, etc is responsible for disturbing our environment. (c) We can minimises environmental degradation by industry by the following steps (i)Minimise the use of water for processing by reusing/recycling it in successive stages. (ii) Harvesting rainwater to meet water requirements. (iii) Treating effluents before releasing them in water bodies. This can be done by mechanical means, biological processes chemical and physical processes. (iv) Reduce paniculate matter in the air by' fitting factory smokestacks with electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters, scrubbers and inertial separators.