page_title: Industrial waste
section_title: Environmental Impact
hierarchical_section_title: Industrial waste / Environmental Impact
context_page_description: Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, industries, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and gravel, masonry and concrete, scrap metal, oil, solvents, chemicals, scrap lumber, even vegetable matter from restaurants. Industrial waste may be solid, liquid or gaseous. It may be hazardous or non-hazardous waste. Hazardous waste may be toxic, ignitable, corrosive, reactive, or radioactive. Industrial waste may pollute the air, the soil, or nearby water sources, eventually ending up in the sea. Industrial waste is often mixed into municipal waste, making accurate assessments difficult. An estimate for the US goes as high as 7.6 billion tons of industrial waste produced every year. Most countries have enacted legislation to deal with the problem of industrial waste, but strictness and compliance regimes vary. Enforcement is always an issue.
context_section_description: Factories and power plants are typically located near bodies of water due to the need for large amounts of water as an input to the manufacturing process, or for equipment cooling. Many areas that are becoming industrialized do not yet have the resources or technology to dispose off the waste with lesser effects on the environment. Both untreated and partially treated wastewater are commonly fed back into a near lying body of water. Metals, chemicals and sewage released into bodies of water directly affect marine ecosystems and the health of those who depend on the waters as food or drinking water sources. Toxins from the wastewater can kill off marine life or cause varying degrees of illness to those who consume these marine animals, depending on the contaminant. Metals and chemicals released into bodies of water affect the marine ecosystems. Effective manners in properly removing waste 
  Wastewater containing nitrates and phosphates often causes eutrophication which can kill off existing life in the water. A Thailand study focusing on water pollution origins found that the highest concentrations of water contamination in the U-tapao river had a direct correlation to industrial wastewater.
caption: Air pollution at a factory.
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