Context :- 

A total of 58 community and public toilets in the steel city suffered the common issues of most toilets–unbearable stink. This led the city to resort to chemical cleaning agents. Besides, the urban local body, Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (NNAC), was concerned about the area turning into a dumping spot where several fruit juice vendors would dump food waste. The use of strong chemicals kept the toilets and the tiles clean, but it also helped reduce the bacterial growth in the septic tank or faecal sludge treatment facility.

This was a drawback since these microbes are crucial in the process of degradation of the faecal sludge. And so, there was the jarring need for an eco-friendly solution that would not only keep the area clean but also keep the toilets clean and shiny, while not killing the important microbes.

Chemical Pollution :- 

Chemical pollution is defined as the presence or increase in our environment of chemical pollutants that are not naturally present there or are found in amounts higher than their natural background values. Most of the chemicals that pollute the environment are man-made, resulted from the various activities in which toxic chemicals are used for various purposes.

Chemical intoxication is caused by exposure to chemical pollutants and can have immediate effects or delayed effects, which may appear after weeks or even months after the exposure occurred. Severe chemical intoxication may cause the death of the person that inhales an increased quantity of such substances. 

Chemical compounds are organic or inorganic chemicals that are the main causes of the chemical pollution. The most common chemical pollutants are those compounds used across large areas and which are persistent, meaning they do not easily degrade in nature. Examples are most pesticides, herbicides, insecticides used in agriculture and gardening, as well as chlorinated solvents used in many industrial processes and dry-cleaning activities.

Based on their chemical structure, chemical contaminants can be classified into naturally-occurring and man-made categories. They can be organic or inorganic (organic compounds always contain carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds, whereas most inorganic compounds do not contain carbon).

Examples of Chemical pollutants :- 

Chemical pollutants mostly result from various human activities like the manufacturing, handling, storing, and disposing of chemicals. These occur in industrial places and industries such as oil refineries, coal power plants, construction, mining & smelting, transportation, agricultural use of pesticides and insecticides, as well as household activities.

The chemical industry is another example in this sense, mainly because it is usually linked to polluted waste streams. In fact, the waste streams from chemical industry are now strictly controlled and treated before being released into the environment. But this was not always the case in the past and many rivers and surface water bodies were contaminated by the numerous waste streams coming from various chemical plants, as well as other industrial sources. Even though measures were taken to reduce this type of pollution, its effects are still visible.

Household chemicals involve a variety of chemical products and mixtures that can easily become chemical pollutants when released into the environment. Even the everyday detergents are chemical compounds that may pollute our environment! Read the labels of detergent products to confirm that they contain a variety of potentially hazardous chemicals.

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants :- 

• It is an International Environmental Treaty. It is a UN Treaty
• Open for signature in 2001 in Stockholm
• Became effective in 2004
• It aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants