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Pollution

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This swan is breeding on a heap of plastic

Littering on a beach in Guyana

Pollution is when something is added to the environment that is harmful or poisonous to living things. Smoke in the air from factories is a type of pollution as it is bad for the lungs when breathed in. Sewage in drinking water is another type of pollution, as it can make people unwell because it contains germs and viruses. People living next to a building site where there is too much noise can become sick as they cannot sleep or relax. This is called noise pollution.

Contents

• 1 Air pollution
• 2 Water pollution
• 3 Noise pollution
• 4 References

Air pollution

Air pollution is caused by harmful gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide and very small particles of carbon. Most of the pollution is caused by factories, vehicles and livestock. Today air pollution has become dangerous to humans. Heavy air pollution may cause breathing problems such as asthma or other health problems.

Water pollution

Water pollution is the presence of harmful materials in water, such as sewage, dissolved metals, waste from farms and factories and crude oil spilled from shipwrecked tankers. The three main substances that pollute water are nitrates from fertilisers, sewage and detergents.^[1] Pollution causes harm to organisms living in water and can also harm people's health, and can cause problems such as cancer.^[2]

Noise pollution

The harmful noises in the environment, such as the sound of vehicles, loud speakers, etc. in a city is called noise pollution. Noise pollution can cause ear problems or even permanent deafness, especially to older people. Noise pollution can be defined as the unwanted sound present in the atmosphere.

Pollution

Environmental pollution is the release of environmental contaminants, generally resulting from human activity.

Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles are common air pollutants.

Arguably the principal source of air pollutants worldwide is motor vehicle emissions, although many other sources have been found to contribute to the ever growing problem.

Principal stationary pollution sources include chemical plants, coal-fired power plants, oil refineries, nuclear waste disposal activity, incinerators, large animal farms, PVC factories, metals production factories, plastics factories, and other heavy industry.

Pollutants can cause disease, including cancer, lupus, immune diseases, allergies, and asthma.

Adverse air quality can kill many organisms including humans.

Motor vehicle emissions are one of the leading causes of air pollution.

Principal stationary pollution sources include chemical plants, coal-fired power plants, oil refineries, petrochemical plants, nuclear waste disposal activity, incinerators, large livestock farms (dairy cows, pigs, poultry, etc.), PVC factories, metals production factories, plastics factories, and other heavy industry.

Some of the more common soil contaminants are chlorinated hydrocarbons (CFH), heavy metals (such as chromium, cadmium--found in rechargeable batteries, and lead -- found in lead paint, aviation fuel and still in some countries, gasoline), MTBE, zinc, arsenic and benzene.

Ordinary municipal landfills are the source of many chemical substances entering the soil environment (and often groundwater), emanating from the wide variety of refuse accepted, especially substances illegally discarded there, or from pre-1970 landfills that may have been subject to little control in the U.S. or EU.

Pollution can also be the consequence of a natural disaster.

For example, hurricanes often involve water contamination from sewage, and petrochemical spills from ruptured boats or automobiles.

Larger scale and environmental damage is not uncommon when coastal oil rigs or refineries are involved.

Some sources of pollution, such as nuclear power plants or oil tankers, can produce widespread and potentially hazardous releases when accidents occur.

Adverse air quality can kill many organisms including humans.

Ozone pollution can cause respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, throat inflammation, chest pain, and congestion.

Water pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths per day, mostly due to contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage in developing countries.

Oil spills can cause skin irritations and rashes.

Noise pollution induces hearing loss, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep disturbance.

Environmental Pollution and Its Effects

One of the greatest problems that the world is facing today is that of environmental pollution, increasing with every passing year and causing grave and irreparable damage to the earth. Environmental pollution consists of five basic types of pollution, namely, air, water, soil, noise and light.

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Air pollution is by far the most harmful form of pollution in our environment. Air pollution is cause by the injurious smoke emitted by cars, buses, trucks, trains, and factories, namely sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. Even smoke from burning leaves and cigarettes are harmful to the environment causing a lot of damage to man and the atmosphere. Evidence of increasing air pollution is seen in lung cancer, asthma, allergies, and various breathing problems along with severe and irreparable damage to flora and fauna. Even the most natural phenomenon of migratory birds has been hampered, with severe air pollution preventing them from reaching their seasonal metropolitan destinations of centuries.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), released from refrigerators, air-conditioners, deodorants and insect repellents cause severe damage to the Earth’s environment. This gas has slowly damaged the atmosphere and depleted the ozone layer leading to global warming.

Water pollution caused industrial waste products released into lakes, rivers, and other water bodies, has made marine life no longer hospitable. Humans pollute water with large scale disposal of garbage, flowers, ashes and other household waste. In many rural areas one can still find people bathing and cooking in the same water, making it incredibly filthy. Acid rain further adds to water pollution in the water. In addition to these, thermal pollution and the depletion of dissolved oxygen aggravate the already worsened condition of the water bodies. Water pollution can also indirectly occur as an offshoot of soil pollution – through surface runoff and leaching to groundwater.

Noise pollution, soil pollution and light pollution too are the damaging the environment at an alarming rate. Noise pollution include aircraft noise, noise of cars, buses, and trucks, vehicle horns, loudspeakers, and industry noise, as well as high-intensity sonar effects which are extremely harmful for the environment.

Maximum noise pollution occurs due to one of modern science’s best discoveries – the motor vehicle, which is responsible for about ninety percent of all unwanted noise worldwide.

Soil pollution, which can also be called soil contamination, is a result of acid rain, polluted water, fertilizers etc., which leads to bad crops. Soil contamination occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground storage tank leakage which releases heavy contaminants into the soil. These may include hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE, herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Light Pollution includes light trespass, over-illumination and astronomical interference.

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