Login With Google
Desalination plants harm environment: UN
Why is it in news?
- A UN backed study says that Almost 16,000 desalination plants worldwide produce bigger-than-expected flows of highly salty waste water and toxic chemicals that are damaging the environment.
News
- Desalination plants pump out 142 million cubic metres of salty brine every day, 50% more than previous estimates, to produce 95 million cubic metres of fresh water, the study said.
- Brine, water comprising about 5% salt, often includes toxins such as chlorine and copper used in desalination.
- Brine can cut levels of oxygen in seawater near desalination plants with “profound impacts” on shellfish, crabs and other creatures on the seabed, leading to “ecological effects observable throughout the food chain.
Source
The Hindu