Why is there a concern about copper smelting plants?They may release lethal quantities of carbon mon

Question

Why is there a concern about copper smelting plants?They may release lethal quantities of carbon monoxide into the environment.The copper slag can cause the leaching of some heavy metals into the environment.They may release sulphur dioxide as a pollutant.Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Accepted Answer

Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore in order to extract a base metal. The copper concentrates are fed through the flash smelting furnace with oxygen-enriched air. In the furnace, the concentrates are instantly oxidized, after which they melt and separate by their own reaction heat into copper matte with a grade of 65% and slag consisting of iron oxide, silica, and other compounds.Extractive metallurgical and smelting processes can be highly polluting activities. Some facilities that carry out metal and smelting processes are known to emit high quantities of air pollutants such as hydrogen fluoride, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, offensive and noxious smoke fumes, vapors, gases, and other toxins.Due to the application of pyro-metallurgical processes in copper smelters, significant air pollution occurs with suspended particles. These particles contain high concentrations of Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Nickel (Ni), and Arsenic (As). Copper slag can have heavy metals like cobalt, zinc, arsenic, lead, cadmium, barium, etc. Slag can release these elements into the environment under natural weathering conditions and cause pollution of soils, surface waters, and groundwater. Hence, statement 2 is correct.Organic vapors and sulfur oxides resulting from secondary smelting roasting operations and fuel combustion can cause smog, containing ozone, fine airborne particles, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Hence, statement 1 is not correct and 3 is correct.