UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS

Faculty of Engineering

SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS

(May 2019)

PROGRAMME BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering

BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering
BEng (Hons) Electronic and Communication Engineering
BEng (Hons) Industrial Engineering

MODULE NAME Environmental Management

DATE Friday MODULE CODE CHE 3211(5)

17 May 2019

TIME 09:30 – 11:30 Hrs DURATION 2 Hours

NO. OF 4 NO. OF QUESTIONS 3

QUESTIONS SET TO BE ATTEMPTED

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

Answer ANY 3 questions.

All questions carry equal marks.

 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - CHE 3211(5)

Answer ANY 3 questions.

Question 1 (25 Marks)

Read the case study below and then answer to the questions which follow:

The second largest tea company in the world, Tata Global Beverages has a US$1.4bn
turnover and 3,000 employees worldwide. The headquarters is located in the UK,
and has production plants in India, Russia and the Czech Republic, and joint
ventures in the US and Poland. Some 250 million servings of its brands – which
include Tetley – are consumed every day around the globe. Tata Global Beverages
holds multiple standards, including ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001
(Environmental Management), ISO 50001 (Energy Management) and BS OHSAS
18001 (Occupational Health and Safety). The company believes in certification as a
route to greater business efficiency. In addition to ISO 14001, the company sought
ISO 50001, which focuses exclusively on energy and requires an ongoing, sustained
improvement in energy efficiency and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Whereas ISO 14001 is a generic standard for the environment, ISO 50001 focuses on
the cost benefits of using utilities more efficiently. Through the implementation of
the standards the company has achieved a reduction of £750,000 in its annual energy
bill. ISO 14001 provided a framework for our continued attention to environmental
issues. Other benefits recorded was a reduction or water consumption by 20%. The
energy assessment required as part of the ISO 50001 showed that 96% of the energy
used at the factory was electricity. The detailed analysis of that usage enabled us to
identify potential cost savings across both the base and variable load. A series of
projects, including fitting intelligence software to compressors to help them work
more efficiently, saw the company make overall savings of £56,000 in the first year
alone, and an additional £28,000 in the second year.
“We may well have made some of those savings without certification, but it focused
our minds and helped us to achieve the savings more speedily,” says Denise
Graham, the technical manager of the group. She adds that the continual drive for
improvement is one of the biggest benefits. “ISO 50001 requires new energy
initiatives every year. You can’t wriggle out of it because of competing business
priorities.”

…/Continued next page

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 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - CHE 3211(5)

Question 1 (continued)

(a) (i) Formulate an environmental policy that could be used by the Tata
Global beverage company.

(ii) Discuss how a policy influences the success of an environmental

management system for an organization.
[3+3 marks]

(b) Why is it important for process managers to acquire ‘TRAINING’ on

environmental management tools such as ISO 50001 and ISO 14001 ?
[3 marks]

(c) Indicate the mitigation measures you will adopt for three negative
environmental impacts associated with the manufacturing process as part of
the continual improvement process. [3 marks]

(d) List three sources of information that will help you identify environmental
impacts of the company. [3 marks]

(e) The revision of objectives and continuous assessment of progress of

environmental management systems are an important process in an
organization. Which phase of an EMS requires revision of objectives and
targets set for the EMS ? How is this phase implemented? [3 marks]

(f) Compare and contrast the key functions of two standards ISO 14001 and ISO
50001. [3 marks]

(g) Outline two main benefits for implementing EMS at TGB Company and
identify two possible obstacles that can be faced during implementation.
[4 marks]

Question 2 (25 Marks)

(a) What do you understand by the term ‘Sustainable development’? [3 marks]

(b) Discuss the challenges faced by a ‘small islands’ in terms of climate change
effects. [6 marks]

(c) Explain how environmental legislations play an important role in regulating

impacts from industrial pollution? Support your arguments with examples
from local industries. [5 marks]

(d) Explain how does Sustainable development goals and sustainability

indicators related to environmental management? [5 marks]

(e) Outline the process for conducting a risk management in a company.

[6 marks]
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 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - CHE 3211(5)

Question 3 (25 Marks)

A new terminal for storage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is to be constructed in

the port area. This will consist of three giant tanks of a total capacity of 20,000 tons of
gas. LPG will be fed to the tanks via a pipeline system connected to a direct supply
from the quays of the port. A jetty will be also built to accommodate large LPG
carriers of capacity up to 84,000 cubic meters. This large LPG storage facility intend
to supply around 60,000 tons of gas locally per annum. The terminal will also act as a
trading hub allowing the re-export of LPG in excess of 100,000 metric tonnes per
annum to regional markets. You have been assigned to participate in the EIA study
for this project.

(a) Select two EIA methods that you will use to predict the impacts during
construction and operation of the terminal. [5 marks]

(b) Provide a list of environment impacts that may be associated with the
construction and operation of the LPG terminal. [10 marks]

(c) Describe how you would assess significance of environmental impacts listed
in Part (b). [5 marks]

(d) Comment on the importance of public participation at the various stages of

the EIA process. [5 marks]

Question 4 (25 Marks)

(a) The Environment Audit Report is a written record of the Environment Audit
Process and need to convey important information in a clear and concise
manner. Outline the main elements that need to be covered in an
Environmental Audit Report. [10 marks]

(b) Briefly explain the health effects from air pollutants from the respective
sources below:

- dust from a stone crushing plant;

- fine particles of coal ash from coal power plant;
- chlorine gas leaks from a water treatment plant;
- airborne asbestos particles from an old mill.
[4 marks]

(c) List three parameters of concern that you would consider monitoring in the
waste water sampled at the end of pipe of a detergent manufacturing process.
Explain why is it important to measure the parameters?
[6 marks]

…/Continued next page

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 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - CHE 3211(5)

Question 4 (Continued)

(c) The graph below was obtained following a monitoring exercise after a spill of
a pollutant. Explain the changes in the biological oxygen demand in the river.

[5 marks]

END OF QUESTION PAPER