Pollution

Introduction:
Pollution is the introduction of harmful substances
or contaminants called pollutants into a natural
resource that degrades that resource. The
contaminant or pollutant can be in various forms
like solid, liquid, gas and energy. Pollution can
make a substance unfit for use or even poisonous.
Pollution can take place naturally for instance
when volcanic eruptions occur, a lot of naturally
formed pollutants are released into the air. But
most of the world’s pollution does not take place
naturally but by human activities. This pollution
caused by humans is called anthropogenic
pollution. The major forms of pollution are air
pollution, light pollution, electromagnetic
pollution, noise pollution, soil contamination,
radioactive contamination, thermal pollution,
plastic pollution, visual pollution and water
pollution.
Air pollution:
The release of gaseous or liquid pollutants
called particulates into the atmosphere reducing
the usability or quality of the air is called air
pollution. This results in Acid rain, Global
warming, Ozone depletion, respiratory and heart
diseases, eutrophication, etc. The common gaseous
pollutants are carbon monoxide, Sulphur dioxide,
chlorofluorocarbons and nitrogen oxide which are
mainly produced by industries and fossil-fueled
cars.
Causes of air pollution:
 The combustion of fossil fuels like petroleum
release particulates like Sulphur dioxide, nitric
oxide, carbon monoxide and lead is a major
cause of air pollution.
 The use of chemicals in agriculture like
fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides can also
cause air pollution. There is also a practice of
burning the old crops to clean the field
practiced by farmers which also releases
harmful gases in the air.
 The wastes that are dumped in landfills
generate methane which is a highly flammable
 and hazardous gas. E-waste dumped in the
landfills also causes leaching of chemicals
which contaminate both the air and the soil.
 Mining releases large amounts of dust into the
air and because of this residents and workers
nearby face health problems.
 Natural events like forest fires, volcanoes and
storms also cause air pollution.

Consequences:
 Respiratory and heart diseases
 Child health problems
 Global warming – The release of greenhouse
gases causes the heat to be trapped from the
sun, therefore increasing the temperature of
the earth.
 Acid rain – Acid rain is the acidic rain that is
caused by the reaction between gaseous
pollutants like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen
oxide releases from industries and vehicles,
and rain clouds which when precipitate causes
acid rain. This can damage historical
monuments like statues and buildings. Acidic
rain can be classified into wet deposition
(when the acidic chemicals are mixed with the
 rain water and then precipitated) and dry
deposition (when the acidic particles come
directly to the ground as particles or gases).
 Depletion of the ozone layer

Water pollution:
The release of harmful chemical substances or
pollutants into the water in rivers, lakes,
ponds, etc., (contamination of water) as a
result of human activities is called water
pollution. The main sources of the
contaminants of water are sewage, industrial
activities, agricultural activities and surface
run-off. Water pollution is divided into surface
water pollution and groundwater pollution.
Surface water pollution is caused by
pathogens, plastics, nutrients, chemicals,
heavy metals and agricultural chemicals, and it
affects the oceans. This surface water pollution
can be of two types: fresh water pollution and
marine pollution. Ground water pollution
occurs when man-made substances mix with
the ground water and makes the water unsafe
and unfit for human use. For instance gasoline,
 oil, road salts and fertilizers can seep into the
soil and make the water poisonous. This can
cause a lot of water-borne diseases such as
diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and
polio.

Causes of water pollution:

 Industrial waste
 Marine dumping
 Sewage and Wastewater
 Oil or fuel spillage
 Agriculture
 Radioactive waste

Consequences:
 Degradation of aquatic ecosystems
 Gastrointestinal diseases and parasitic
infections
 Eutrophication – Eutrophication is the process
by which a body of water becomes enriched
with nutrients and minerals (mainly nitrogen
and phosphorous) that produce algal blooms
all over the surface of the water body. Natural
eutrophication is a very slow process but
 anthropogenic eutrophication is a rapid
process in which nutrients are added by human
activities such as sewage, industrial
wastewater and fertilizers from farming
practices. This can result in the oxygen
depletion of the water body.
 Degradation of water’s quality and usability.

Soil contamination:
Introduction:
Soil pollution or soil contamination is a part of
land degradation caused by xenobiotic or
human-made chemicals or other changes in the
soil mainly caused by industrial activity,
agricultural activity and improper disposal of
waste. By definition, any substance in the soil that
exceeds naturally-occurring levels and poses
human health risks is a soil contaminant. Thomas
Midgely was an American chemist who found that
tetraethyl lead could prevent knocking in engines in
December 1921. But after he added tetraethyl lead
to fuel, the fuel was used on and on and lead was
disposed in our environment more than it was safe.
Even today we find more than predicted lead in the
 soil, sea and even the human bones. The soil
contaminated with lead is a very hazardous source
of lead exposure. Some common soil contaminants
include pesticides, petroleum products, radon,
asbestos, lead, chromated copper arsenate and
creosote.

Causes of soil pollution:

 Pesticides - Soil can be degraded and the
community of organisms living in the soil can be
damaged by the misuse or overuse of pesticides.
Some pesticides are more toxic to soil organisms
than others. Some pesticides may break
down quickly when applied to soils, while others
may persist for longer periods. The type of soil and
the type of pesticide can also affect pesticide
persistence. They are generally insoluble in water
and non-biodegradable. Therefore, these chemicals
will not gradually decompose and keep on
accumulating in the soil. Therefore, the
concentration of these chemicals will increase when
the transfer of these chemicals take place from
lower to higher trophic level via the food chain.
Hence, it will cause many metabolic and
physiological disorders in humans.
 Mineral fertilizers – For instance, overuse of
nitrogen fertilizer leads to nitrogen losses from the
soil through volatilization, denitrification, leaching
 to groundwater, and through surface runoff and
erosion.
 Organic fertilizer - Due to the mineralization of
organic nitrogen, increasing the nitrate
concentration, and the presence of trace elements,
per fluorinated alkylated substances (PFASs),
brominated flame retardants and other toxic
substances, organic fertiliser can become a source
of soil pollution.
 Wastewater for irrigation
 Plastic materials

Consequences of soil
pollution:
 Altered soil biodiversity
 Reduced organic matter in the soil
 Contaminates ground water
 Causes imbalance of soil nutrients
 Hazardous chemicals enter the food chain
 Causes disruption of biochemical process
Noise pollution:
Noise pollution or sound pollution is the
propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the
activity of human and animal life, that mostly are
harmful. Not all sound is considered noise
pollution. The World Health Organization (WHO)
defines noise above 65 decibels (dB) as noise
pollution. To be precise, noise becomes harmful
when it exceeds 75 decibels (dB) and is painful
above 120 dB. As a consequence, it is
recommended noise levels be kept below 65 dB
during the day and indicates that restful sleep is
impossible with night time ambient noise levels in
excess of 30 dB. There are outdoor and indoor
noises. Outdoor noise is primarily caused by
machines, transport and natural winds. Sound
reverberation and in turn also sound pollution can
be prevented by sophisticatedly planned and
shaped buildings. Most of the time, sound pollution
may be due to poor house designs. High noise
levels can also cause hearing diseases and even
heart diseases. It can also cause stress and other
problems.
 Causes of noise pollution:
 Traffic or vehicles cause an enormous amount
of sound pollution summing up from 75db to
95db.
 Air traffic or aeroplanes can cause more noise
than traffic on land up to 130db.
 Construction sites too can produce an average
noise of 110 db.
 Crackers
 Political activities
 Natural sound such as thunder storms

Effects of noise pollution:

 Hearing loss
 High blood pressure
 Heart diseases
 Sleep disturbances
 Stress