The Outbreak of Thermal Pollution
Thermal pollution is the water contamination that occurs when heated water gets into natural bodies of water.
Thermal or nuclear power plants contribute the most to pollution, which damages water ecosystems and threatens specific animal species.
Moreover, it disrupts the equilibrium in the food chain process, distorting the overall balance of species arrangement.
These power plants produce an excessive amount of harmful chemicals and induce dangerous processes such as the following:
1.1 Industrial effluents
This includes any liquid that comes as thermal discharge and can potentially harm water. It may include petroleum refineries, pulp and paper mills, chemical plants, steel mills, and smelters.
1.2 Sewage Effluents
Certain industrial plants produce high amounts of domestic sewage effluents, which contain lavatories or dirty water used to wash clothes or dishes and cook meals.
1.3 Biochemical Movement
Day-to-day operations in industrial plants can induce this process. It denotes a chemical process in living things, specifically involving biomolecules.
To expound further, the encompassing water temperature is the fundamental unit that allows aquatic fauna and certain vegetation, such as flora, to exist, grow, and survive. Due to the damaging effects of thermal pollution, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water diminishes significantly.
As we all know, many aquatic species rely on this oxygen for survival. However, it can also threaten fish larvae and eggs and kill certain fish species with a very limited tolerance for abrupt changes in water temperature.
Moreover, thermal pollution can induce aquatic organisms to migrate from their natural habitats to survive and be safe.
Globally, the top three countries with the most elevated combined rates of thermal emissions are the United States, China, and France.
In the United States alone, seventy-five (75) to eighty (80) percent of thermal pollution comes from industrial power plants. The remaining twenty (20) to twenty-five (25) percent comes from industrial sources such as the ones mentioned above.
Due to the constant degradation of water quality, all living things—humans and animals alike—and the environment are in danger. Worse, thermal pollution is largely the result of certain human influences and actions. When warm water is mixed into the ocean, it alters its physical properties.
Consequently, it interrupts the natural processes of the ecosystem, produces stress in natural systems, triggers the emergence of certain diseases and illnesses, and ultimately, it can be lethal, too —causing the death of thousands of vulnerable and affected living organisms.
Gear up! Let's explore the nature of thermal pollution, its origins, and who caused it. While we're at it, we should also discuss its effects on human life and the environment in detail.
Finally, given the gravity of thermal pollution, what can we do to lessen its effects and remedy it for good?
The 3 Main Causes of Thermal Pollution
Natural occurrences like wildfires, volcano eruptions, and submerged warm vents may lead to thermal pollution.
However, thermal pollution occurs most often due to industrial processes that dump large amounts of heated wastewater into a large body of water.
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Power Plants and Industrial Facilities
Thermoelectric power plants involve the process of producing heat, and then eventually, the heat gets converted into water—which is now what runs through a big and long series of pipes in the boiler to steam. This is one cause of thermal pollution. These power plants use coal, natural gas, nuclear, or biomass to operate and function.
In addition to that, it can also use other waste products to conduct its day-to-day utility. Generally, power plants are constructed and situated near a body of water—such as a river, lake, or ocean—to get a nearby, instant, and steady water supply.
As such, it condenses and transforms into steam, which, in return, fuels turbines to produce electrical power. In another aspect, water is also utilized in cool-inducing machinery—which, ironically, gets very hot, fueling it to release excess heat into the water.
To continue, the water soaks up in heat while the excess of the evaporation process gets discharged back to the source.
On the other hand, several industrial facilities greatly contribute to the growing effects of thermal pollution. These facilities use harmful chemicals, such as paper mills, chemical plants, and steel mills, which contain agents that can damage water quality.
Furthermore, these industrial facilities also use water to cool machinery and discharge them in heated temperatures.
Pumping water from a large natural body of water, such as lakes, oceans, or rivers, to carry out industrial—related operations is dangerous. After water is utilized for certain industrial purposes, it is discharged into the ocean in a heated state.
As a result, it adversely affects the aquatic ecosystem and marine environments. In a specific instance, once the cooling is done, marine animals such as fish and larvae get trapped in intake screens and die. Moreover, aquatic habitats receive negative changes due to constant discharge and exposure to heated and polluted wastewater. -
Desalination Plants
Like power plants and industrial facilities, desalination plants are used once-through cooling. Over half of the seawater utilized in the desalination process is discharged back into the body of water as wastewater at a heated temperature.
Worse, in some countries, incineration plants are built close together, resulting in large amounts of heated and polluted wastewater in shallow coastal areas.
As a result, the temperature of seawater may potentially rise, and its salinity may increase a considerable -
Wastewater, Erosion, and Deforestation
One important thing to note is that not all wastewater is treated before being discharged into a natural body of water.
As such, untreated domestic sewage, city stormwater, and agricultural waste can cause thermal contamination in water sources within reach.
So, why is that so? You might ask. This is because runoff waters and discharges are, more often than not, warmer compared to that of the streams, lakes, or oceans they flow into.
Moreover, lands used by humans generate specific changes that may also result in thermal pollution. One specific human-induced cause of thermal pollution is deforestation.
As humans harvest timber, or if not, clear land for crop planting and livestock raising, erosion becomes the climax that waits at the end. It can also cause rivers and streams to have much wider and shallower stream beds—which is not good since it is prone to warming.
In addition, clearing operations of trees and certain types of vegetation near lakeshores and riverbanks allow for more (and primarily excessive) exposure to the sun, which in turn triggers water warming.
The Seven Major Effects of Thermal Pollution
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Decreased Amount of Dissolved Oxygen Levels
As previously stated, warm water contains much less oxygen than cold water. When oxygen levels drop, animals who fail to migrate to safety will die.
In deeper bodies of water, the infusion of water with warmer temperatures can hold oxygen back from scattering into deep water, which may be a good thing for microscopic organisms. However, it can be seriously lethal for other aquatic animals.
As such, the dissolved oxygen can result in the growth of algae sprouts - which, in return, places some aquatic plants and animals in a very dangerous condition. The algae bloom problem is one of the most negative side effects of thermal pollution due to the proliferation of dissolved oxygen. -
Migration of Living Things
Fish and other amphibian creatures may "migrate" due to the elevated temperatures of the water.
Essentially, they will move away from their home and find a much safer place. This migration of animals is very dangerous because it disrupts the ecosystem for those animals who were left behind.
Besides aquatic animals, birds may also need migration if thermal pollution has finally caused a huge scarcity in their food supply. This means birds will migrate as far as they can to look for areas with more food.
Consequently, some plants and animals will remain in the area. However, due to the effects of migration, these organisms will suffer huge ecosystem losses.
Due to the high risks of thermal pollution, animals will have no choice but to migrate elsewhere for survival. This will dramatically affect the biodiversity that existed before water pollution. -
Increased Toxins in the Water
One damaging side effect of dumping wastewater is the toxins mixed into the water. The accumulation of toxins in water can directly affect the emergence of thermal pollution in the area. Another is chemical pollution, which, to be frank, is an unpredictable side effect of using water for cooling.
Consequently, harmful chemicals such as solvents, fuel oil, and heavy metals get dumped in lakes, rivers, or other bodies of water.
Likewise, a nuclear power plant is also known to produce radioactive cooling water. In retrospect, all these pose toxic effects on plants and animals, resulting in poisoning, mutations, and pasteurization. -
Loss of Biodiversity
When bodies of water that used to be cool suddenly become warm, many organisms in specific vulnerability will be driven away or, worse, die. If this happens repeatedly, it threatens animals and endangers certain animal species.
The heated water can also interrupt the daily activities of animals underneath the water surface, such as reproducing and laying eggs. To some, animals may be nothing but simple subjects of casualties of human-induced water pollution —but seriously, can’t we do any better?
In addition, multi-celled aquatic plants are also put in a dangerous place when the verge of thermal pollution awaits at the tip of the aquatic ecosystem. -
Negative Ecological Impacts
To reiterate, the whole aquatic ecosystem is vulnerable to the effects of thermal pollution. This effect can drastically vary, especially if large amounts of heated water get dumped into large bodies of chilly water.
A phenomenon known as thermal shock may kill insects, fish, and other amphibians. The deaths of these animals provoke more issues with biodiversity in the ecosystem. For one, animals will no longer have adequate food sources.
Next, species extinction may occur when most aquatic organisms' local population migrates. Lastly, coral reef bleaching may occur when power plants or industrial factories recklessly and irresponsibly dump wastewater into the ocean. Simply put, coral bleaching occurs when the coral organisms that maintain the coral reefs die, possibly due to thermal pollution. -
Reproductive Effects Of Thermal Pollution
A sudden, substantial rise in water temperature can cause various reproductive problems in aquatic animals. Heated water reduces certain organisms' fertility rate and capacity underneath the surface.
To some, it may even cause serious birth defects or result in the laying of deformed eggs. So, why is that so, you may ask? This is because warmer water tends to trigger certain chemical changes in the bodies of aquatic animals. Needless to say, defective eggs and other types of birth defects decrease the overall reproductivity rate of the aquatic population.
In line with this, thermal pollution is dangerous because it can alter the biological composition of aquatic organisms. -
Increased Metabolic Rate Thermal Pollution
Warm water is not necessarily bad for every single aquatic organism. For example, it may generate positive effects on cold-blooded fish and amphibians. However, it is only for a very limited amount of time.
Even so, most animals in the vast ocean do not react well to water at warmer temperatures. The animals that adapt better to warmer water can destroy the equilibrium of the surroundings.
As such, they may take advantage of the situation and outcompete other aquatic animals by eating them alive, exhausting their food sources, or leaving them to die of starvation.
Another effect of the warm temperature is that it can speed up the metabolic rate of aquatic creatures. If you think it is a good thing, let me tell you that it’s not —because a fast metabolism means that animals will need more food, to the point of scarcity in the local ecosystem.
The Resolution, Mitigation, and Undertakings for Thermal Pollution
Finally, as we reach the end, what are the resolution, mitigation, and several undertakings we can employ to lessen the effects of thermal pollution? In the United States, thermal pollution is properly regulated by the federal law of the Clean Water Act.
The law mandates that states establish specific standards and limits for thermal discharges that power plants and other industrial facilities must follow. Failure to comply will result in the loss of their operating permits.
Moreover, new and emerging technological advances can mitigate thermal pollution. These include machinery that can reduce the levels of water discharged by power plants and other industrial sources into natural bodies of water and use the water for other purposes/processes instead.
One example is using heated wastewater for desalination to reduce the risk of thermal pollution.
In addition, individuals can do things to lessen—and not further contribute—thermal pollution, such as saving electricity and planting trees along the shorelines.
Moreover, we can use alternative energy sources like solar or hydropower. We can also reuse and recycle water if we can. The bottom line is that there are precautionary steps and measures that we can take to eradicate the risk of thermal pollution.
Ultimately, thermal pollution raises environmental concerns. Its impacts on human life, animals, and the surroundings can be extensive, ranging from climate change and food scarcity to the deaths of some living things.
As such, it disrupts the existing biodiversity and destroys certain ecological processes crucial to life.
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