There are seven fields of Environmental Engineering that you can choose from as your major. You can pick from these specializations:
Air Pollution Control
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 80 percent of the world’s urban population lives in places with poor air quality. Engineers in air pollution control focus on controlling and reducing pollution. They work against time to efficiently monitor and locate the pollution source and designing implementations to solve the issue.
Wastewater Management
Water is essential for survival. We get our water source from natural water bodies like lakes, rivers, and the ocean. Therefore, wastewater must always be treated to remove impurities and minimize ecological effects before it is released into the water bodies. Filtration, sedimentation, biological treatment, and disinfection are common terms in this field.
Storm Water Management
Developed areas have less soil to naturally soak water into the ground. When storm drains and sewer systems overflow with excessive water, flood and erosion can occur especially in urban areas. Environmental engineers have a huge role in treating storm water to release them into natural water bodies before they overflow.
Recycling
Going eco-friendly is now a trend. Businesses and households aim to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste to minimize negative environmental impact. Environmental engineers are needed in various areas of recycling, such as designing recycling equipment, advising in regulations and management, and creating new ways to repair and reuse items.
Land Planning and Management
In urban areas, there is a never-ending development of infrastructures. Engineers in the Land Planning and Management area must carefully balance environmental health and the betterment of society’s living conditions. This means planning strategies and infrastructures without harming the ground to prevent land-related disasters in the future.
Hazardous Waste Management
Toxic waste is harmful to people, animals, and plants. In severe cases, it can cause serious illnesses to humans, such as genetic mutation, cancer, birth defect, and organ malfunction. To manage hazardous waste, environmental engineers focus on treating these substances to reduce exposure to the environment.
Industrial Hygiene
Industrial Hygiene focuses on the health and safety of people and work, as well as the community around the workplace. As health and safety hazards are present in industrial workplaces like factories, research centres, and power plants, environmental engineers are needed to identify and control these hazards to protect the safety of the people.