Environmental Engineering

Environmental engineering is the application of technologies and engineering principles to design solutions for environmental problems. Environmental engineers work towards providing a safe and clean living environment for humans as well as other living creatures.

Some of the areas in which environmental engineers work directly address the harmful effects of human activitiy. This includes controlling pollution due to chemical, biological, radioactive and mechanical activity, maintaining air quality, controlling water contamination, managing waste disposal, and providing sustainable access to resources.

Land, air and water
In short, they monitor the environment - land, air and water - and use science and technology to develop new means to keep it safe and clean. They are also responsible for public education about good conservation habits and provide advice to policy makers in the implementation of processes for environmental remediation.

Some aspects of environmental engineering
Professionals in the field of environmental management aim to design and operate systems encompassing several traditional multidisciplinary fields, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, meteorology, economics, political science, computer science and more; as well as a number of specialised areas such as chemical technology, water and atmospheric chemistry, microbiology, toxicology, hydrology and soil science.

Some specific facets of environmental engineering include:

• pollution risk assessment;
• construction of pollution control systems;
• waste disposal, including solid waste management;
• hazardous waste treatment;
• environmental health and safety;
• natural resource management;
• public awareness related tasks;
• policy development; and
• research and development on environmental remediation.

Key components of environmental management

Risk assessment
This refers to evaluating the impact of any given activity on the environment. Scientists apply certain scientific principles to assess if a proposed project is likely to have any harmful impact on the ecology of a given area, including air, water or land quality, as well as on habitat of the plants and animals native to the area. If there are likely to be negative impacts, they are also expected to come up with measures to remedy the situation.

Water supply
Making clean water available for drinking, agriculture and other purposes is crucial to our survival. For potable water, apart from availability, it is essential to ensure that it is safe, with minimal risk of disease transmission and has an acceptable taste. For all other uses, water needs to be supplied with adequate pressure for different needs, is suitably clean, and is not wasted. Arranging for proper treatment, storage and supply during seasonal shortfall also falls in this category, as does managing a balance between availability and sensible usage.



Air quality management
This refers to developing combustion processes that can help reduce emission levels to acceptable levels. It is closely linked to the field of developing clean energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Work is focusing on devices that reduce the concentration of particulate matter, nitrogen and sulphur oxides and other harmful gases before they are released to the atmosphere.

Waste treatment
This field of environmental engineering deals with the treatment of waste before its discharge into a river or ocean system. Usually, human waste is carried from households through sewer systems, treated and detoxified, and then discharged into the environment. Scientists and engineers are working to develop systems to make this process more efficient to improve quality of water and reduce the risk of water-borne infections.

Resources

• What is environmental engineering?
• Environmental engineering