Types of Pollution

Introduction
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse
change.[1] Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or
light. Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or
naturally occurring contaminants. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source
pollution.
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans and
groundwater). Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into
water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.
Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water. In almost all cases
the effect is damaging not only to individual species and populations, but also to the natural
biological communities.

Millions depend on the polluted Ganges river.

Water pollution is a major global problem which requires ongoing evaluation and
revision of water resource policy at all levels (international down to individual
aquifers and wells). It has been suggested that it is the leading worldwide cause of
deaths and diseases,[1][2] and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000
people daily.[2] An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet,
and 1,000 Indian children die of diarrheal sickness every day.[3] Some 90% of
China's cities suffer from some degree of water pollution, [4] and nearly 500 million
people lack access to safe drinking water.[5] In addition to the acute problems of
water pollution in developing countries, industrialized countries continue to
struggle with pollution problems as well. In the most recent national report on
water quality in the United States, 45 percent of assessed stream miles, 47 percent
of assessed lake acres, and 32 percent of assessed bay and estuarine square miles
were classified as polluted.[6]
Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic
contaminants and either does not support a human use, such as drinking water,
and/or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic
communities, such as fish. Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms,
storms, and earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and the
ecological status of water.

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological

materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or
cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the
atmosphere.
The atmosphere is a complex dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to
support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has
long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth's
ecosystems.
Indoor air pollution and urban air quality are listed as two of the world's worst
pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute World's Worst Polluted Places
report.[1]
Schematic drawing, causes and effects of air pollution: (1) greenhouse effect, (2)
particulate contamination, (3) increased UV radiation, (4) acid rain, (5) increased
ground level ozone concentration, (6) increased levels of nitrogen oxides.
A substance in the air that can cause harm to humans and the environment is
known as an air pollutant. Pollutants can be in the form of solid particles, liquid
droplets, or gases. In addition, they may be natural or man-made.[2]
Pollutants can be classified as primary or secondary. Usually, primary pollutants
are directly emitted from a process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption, the
carbon monoxide gas from a motor vehicle exhaust or sulfur dioxide released from
factories. Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air
when primary pollutants react or interact. An important example of a secondary
pollutant is ground level ozone one of the many secondary pollutants that make
up photochemical smog. Some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: that
is, they are both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants.
A Boeing 747-400 passes close to houses shortly before landing at London
Heathrow Airport
Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created
environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life.
The word noise comes from the Latin word nauseas, meaning seasickness.
The source of most outdoor noise worldwide is mainly construction and
transportation systems, including motor vehicle noise, aircraft noise and rail noise.
[1][2]
Poor urban planning may give rise to noise pollution, since side-by-side

industrial and residential buildings can result in noise pollution in the residential
area.
Noise health effects are both health and behavioral in nature. The unwanted sound
is called noise. This unwanted sound can damage physiological and psychological
health. Noise pollution can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high
stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects. [3]
[4][5][6]
Furthermore, stress and hypertension are the leading causes to health
problems, whereas tinnitus can lead to forgetfulness, severe depression and at
times panic attacks.[4][7]
Chronic exposure to noise may cause noise-induced hearing loss. Older males
exposed to significant occupational noise demonstrate significantly reduced
hearing sensitivity than their non-exposed peers, though differences in hearing
sensitivity decrease with time and the two groups are indistinguishable by age 79. [8]
A comparison of Maaban tribesmen, who were insignificantly exposed to
transportation or industrial noise, to a typical U.S. population showed that chronic
exposure to moderately high levels of environmental noise contributes to hearing
loss.[3]
High noise levels can contribute to cardiovascular effects and exposure to
moderately high levels during a single eight hour period causes a statistical rise in
blood pressure of five to ten points and an increase in stress[3] and vasoconstriction
leading to the increased blood pressure noted above as well as to increased
incidence of coronary artery disease.
Noise pollution is also a cause of annoyance. A 2005 study by Spanish researchers
found that in urban areas households are willing to pay approximately four Euros
per decibel per year for noise reduction.
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that
causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical
systems or living organisms.[1] Pollution can take the form of chemical substances
or energy, such as noise, heat or light. Pollutants, the elements of pollution, can be
either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants. Pollution is
often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution. The Blacksmith
Institute issues an annual list of the world's worst polluted places. In the 2007
issues the ten top nominees are located in Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia,
Ukraine and Zambia.[2]

Air pollution has always accompanied civilizations. According to a 1983 article in

the journal Science, "soot found on ceilings of prehistoric caves provides ample
evidence of the high levels of pollution that was associated with inadequate
ventilation of open fires."[3] The forging of metals appears to be a key turning point
in the creation of significant air pollution levels outside the home. Core samples of
glaciers in Greenland indicate increases in pollution associated with Greek, Roman
and Chinese metal production.[4]
King Edward I of England banned the burning of sea-coal by proclamation in
London in 1272, after its smoke had become a problem. [5][6] But the fuel was so
common in England that this earliest of names for it was acquired because it could
be carted away from some shores by the wheelbarrow. Air pollution would
continue to be a problem in England, especially later during the industrial
revolution, and extending into the recent past with the Great Smog of 1952.
London also recorded one of the earlier extreme cases of water quality problems
with the Great Stink on the Thames of 1858, which led to construction of the
London sewerage system soon afterward.
It was the industrial revolution that gave birth to environmental pollution as we
know it today. The emergence of great factories and consumption of immense
quantities of coal and other fossil fuels gave rise to unprecedented air pollution and
the large volume of industrial chemical discharges added to the growing load of
untreated human waste. Chicago and Cincinnati were the first two American cities
to enact laws ensuring cleaner air in 1881. Other cities followed around the country
until early in the 20th century, when the short lived Office of Air Pollution was
created under the Department of the Interior. Extreme smog events were
experienced by the cities of Los Angeles and Donora, Pennsylvania in the late
1940s, serving as another public reminder.[7]

OBJECTIVES
Taking into account the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Singapore Declaration
on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment which was adopted at the Third East Asia
Summit last November, the CAI will promote integrated efforts to achieve the following three
policy objectives.
1. (1) Promote low-carbon/low-pollution society
2. (2) Promote Sound Material-Cycle society
3. (3) Promote societies in harmony with nature, while adapting to climate
change

In order to achieve these objectives, the CAI has also set a cross-sectoral objective, "Promote
environmentalism in the market."
The CAI will strive to establish a collaborative base as shown below in order to achieve the
above-listed objectives and promote environmental cooperation in Asia.
-Strengthen partnerships to ensure support societies in harmony with nature
-Standardize and network of environmental monitoring and countermeasures
-Train and utilize human resources
-Maintain mutually supportive relationship between environment and trade
Share a vision to accelerate the shift to a low-carbon society, which will lead towards the
achievement of the long-term goal of halving the global emissions from the current level by
2050.In order to resolve the urgent issues of air pollution and other pollution problems in
developing countries, the CAI will address low-carbon and low-pollution development (cobenefit approach).In addition, packages of environmental policies, measurement technologies,
regulation systems, human resources, etc.will be disseminated and further developed based on
the Japanese experience of successful pollution controls, thereby promoting measures that help
to achieve a low-carbon/low-pollution society.
In order to develop an Asia sound material-cycle block to improve resource productivity, the CAI
will establish an East Asia Sound Material-Cycle Society Vision in cooperation with Asian
countries.The Initiative will also support the promotion of the 3Rs in each country by using
world leading Japan's 3R efforts; waste management systems, technologies and experience, as
well as strengthening measures against the illegitimate transboundary movement of circulative
resources.It will then facilitate the transboundary movement of circulative resources.Also
promote development of final disposal sites and energy recovery from waste in accordance with
each country's situation.
The CAI will propose societies in harmony with nature where human beings and nature can
coexist and benefit from biodiversity in Asia into the future.And also promote the establishment
of ecological networks connecting with biodiversity considerations.To respond in an early stage
in areas subject to severe impacts from climate change, development of soft and hard

infrastructure for adaptation will be essential.Making efforts to understand and predict the
impacts and vulnerabilities through observations and research, in particular to establish

Description of methodology
Pollution - Environmental pollution is any discharge of material or energy into water, land, or air
that causes or may cause acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term) detriment to the Earth's
ecological balance or that lowers the quality of life. Pollutants may cause primary damage, with
direct identifiable impact on the environment, or secondary damage in the form of minor
perturbations in the delicate balance of the biological food web that are detectable only over long
time periods.
Until relatively recently in humanity's history, where pollution has existed, it has been primarily
a local problem. The industrialization of society, the introduction of motorized vehicles, and the
explosion of the human population, however, have caused an exponential growth in the
production of goods and services. Coupled with this growth has been a tremendous increase in
waste by-products. The indiscriminate discharge of untreated industrial and domestic wastes into
waterways, the spewing of thousands of tons of particulates and airborne gases into the
atmosphere, the "throwaway" attitude toward solid wastes, and the use of newly developed
chemicals without considering potential consequences have resulted in major environmental
disasters, including the formation of smog in the Los Angeles area since the late 1940s and the
pollution of large areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Technology has begun to solve some pollution
problems (see pollution control), and public awareness of the extent of pollution will eventually
force governments to undertake more effective environmental planning and adopt more effective
antipollution measures.

Different Types of Pollution

WATER POLLUTION
Water pollution is the introduction into fresh or ocean waters of chemical, physical, or biological
material that degrades the quality of the water and affects the organisms living in it. This process
ranges from simple addition of dissolved or suspended solids to discharge of the most insidious
and persistent toxic pollutants (such as pesticides, heavy metals, and nondegradable,
bioaccumulative, chemical compounds).
Conventional
Conventional or classical pollutants are generally associated with the direct input of (mainly
human) waste products. Rapid urbanization and rapid population increase have produced sewage
problems because treatment facilities have not kept pace with need. Untreated and partially
treated sewage from municipal wastewater systems and septic tanks in unsewered areas
contribute significant quantities of nutrients, suspended solids, dissolved solids, oil, metals
(arsenic, mercury, chromium, lead, iron, and manganese), and biodegradable organic carbon to
the water environment.

Conventional pollutants may cause a myriad of water pollution problems. Excess suspended
solids block out energy from the Sun and thus affect the carbon dioxide-oxygen conversion
process, which is vital to the maintenance of the biological food chain. Also, high concentrations
of suspended solids silt up rivers and navigational channels, necessitating frequent dredging.
Excess dissolved solids make the water undesirable for drinking and for crop irrigation.
Although essential to the aquatic habitat, nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus may also
cause overfertilization and accelerate the natural aging process (eutrophication) of lakes. This
acceleration in turn produces an overgrowth of aquatic vegetation, massive algal blooms, and an
overall shift in the biologic community--from low productivity with many diverse species to high
productivity with large numbers of a few species of a less desirable nature. Bacterial action
oxidizes biodegradable organic carbon and consumes dissolved oxygen in the water. In extreme
cases where the organic-carbon loading is high, oxygen consumption may lead to an oxygen
depression: (less than 2 mg/l compared with 5 to 7 mg/l for a healthy stream) is sufficient to
cause a fish kill and seriously to disrupt the growth of associated organisms that require oxygen
to survive.
Nonconventional
The nonconventional pollutants include dissolved and particulate forms of metals, both toxic and
nontoxic, and degradable and persistent organic carbon compounds discharged into water as a
by-product of industry or as an integral part of marketable products. More than 13,000 oil spills
of varying magnitude occur in the United States each year. Thousands of environmentally
untested chemicals are routinely discharged into waterways; an estimated 400 to 500 new
compounds are marketed each year. In addition, coal strip mining releases acid wastes that
despoil the surrounding waterways. Nonconventional pollutants vary from biologically inert
materials such as clay and iron residues to the most toxic and insidious materials such as
halogenated hydrocarbons (DDT, kepone, mirex, and polychlorinated biphenyls--PCB). The
latter group may produce damage ranging from acute biological effects (complete sterilization of
stretches of waterways) to chronic sublethal effects that may go undetected for years. The
chronic low-level pollutants are proving to be the most difficult to correct and abate because of
their ubiquitous nature and chemical stability.
THERMAL POLLUTION
Thermal pollution is the discharge of waste heat via energy dissipation into cooling water and
subsequently into nearby waterways. The major sources of thermal pollution are fossil-fuel and
nuclear electric-power generating facilities and, to a lesser degree, cooling operations associated
with industrial manufacturing, such as steel foundries, other primary-metal manufacturers, and
chemical and petrochemical producers.
The discharge temperatures from electric-power plants generally range from 5 to 11 C degrees (9
to 20 F degrees) above ambient water temperatures. An estimated 90% of all water consumption,
excluding agricultural uses, is for cooling or energy dissipation.
The discharge of heated water into a waterway often causes ecologic imbalance, sometimes
resulting in major fish kills near the discharge source. The increased temperature accelerates
chemical-biological processes and decreases the ability of the water to hold dissolved oxygen.

Thermal changes affect the aquatic system by limiting or changing the type of fish and aquatic
biota able to grow or reproduce in the waters. Thus rapid and dramatic changes in biologic
communities often occur in the vicinity of heated discharges.
LAND POLLUTION
Land pollution is the degradation of the Earth's land surface through misuse of the soil by poor
agricultural practices, mineral exploitation, industrial waste dumping, and indiscriminate
disposal of urban wastes.
Soil Misuse
Soil erosion--a result of poor agricultural practices--removes rich humus topsoil developed over
many years through vegetative decay and microbial degradation and thus strips the land of
valuable nutrients for crop growth. Strip mining for minerals and coal lays waste thousands of
acres of land each year, denuding the Earth and subjecting the mined area to widespread erosion
problems. The increases in urbanization due to population pressure presents additional soilerosion problems; sediment loads in nearby streams may increase as much as 500 to 1,000 times
over that recorded in nearby undeveloped stretches of stream. Soil erosion not only despoils the
Earth for farming and other uses, but also increases the suspended-solids load of the waterway.
This increase interferes with the ecological habitat and poses silting problems in navigation
channels, inhibiting the commercial use of these waters.
Solid Waste
In the United States in 1988 municipal wastes alone--that is, the solid wastes sent by
households, business, and municipalities to local landfills and other waste-disposal facilities-equaled 163 million metric tons (1980 million U.S. tons), or 18 k (40lb) per person, according
to figures released by the Environmental Protection Agency. Additional solid wastes accumulate
from mining, industrial production, and agriculture. Although municipal wastes are the most
obvious, the accumulations of other types of wastes are the most obvious, the accumulations of
other types of waste are far greater, in many instances are more difficult to dispose of, and
present greater environmental hazards.
The most common and convenient method of disposing of municipal solid wastes is in the
sanitary landfill. The open dump, once a common eyesore in towns across the United States,
attracted populations of rodents and other pests and often emitted hideous odors; it is now
illegal. Sanitary landfills provide better aesthetic control and should be odor-free. Often,
however, industrial wastes of unknown content are commingled with domestic wastes.
Groundwater infiltration and contamination of water supplies with toxic chemicals have
recently led to more active control of landfills and industrial waste disposal. Careful
management of sanitary landfills, such as providing for leachate and runoff treatment as well as
daily coverage with topsoil, has alleviated most of the problems of open dumping. In many
areas, however, space for landfills is running out and alternatives must be found.
Recycling of materials is practical to some extent for much municipal and some industrial
wastes, and a small but growing proportion of solid wastes is being recycled. When wastes are
commingled, however, recovery becomes difficult and expensive. New processes of sorting
ferrous and nonferrous metals, paper, glass, and plastics have been developed, and many

communities with recycling programs now require refuse separation. Crucial issues in recycling
are devising better processing methods, inventing new products for the recycled materials, and
finding new markets for them.
Incineration is another method for disposing of solid wastes. Advanced incinerators use solid
wastes as fuel, burning quantities of refuse and utilizing the resultant heat to make steam for
electricity generation. Wastes must be burned at very high temperatures, and incinerator
exhausts must be equipped with sophisticated scrubbers and other devices for removing dioxins
and other toxic pollutants. Problems remain, however: incinerator ash contains high ratios of
heavy metals, becoming a hazardous waste in itself, and high-efficiency incinerators may
discourage the use of recycling and other waste-reduction methods.
Composting is increasingly used to treat some agricultural wastes, as well as such municipal
wastes as leaves and brush. Composting systems can produce usable soil conditioners, or
humus, within a few months (see compost).
PESTICIDE POLLUTION
Pesticides are organic and inorganic chemicals originally invented and first used effectively to
better the human environment by controlling undesirable life forms such as bacteria, pests, and
foraging insects. Their effectiveness, however, has caused considerable pollution. The persistent,
or hard, pesticides, which are relatively inert and nondegradable by chemical or biologic activity,
are also bioaccumulative; that is, they are retained within the body of the consuming organism
and are concentrated with each ensuing level of the biologic food chain. For example, DDT
provides an excellent example of cumulative pesticide effects. (Although DDT use has been
banned in the United States since 1972, it is still a popular pesticide in much of the rest of the
world.) DDT may be applied to an area so that the levels in the surrounding environment are less
than one part per billion. As bacteria or other microscopic organisms ingest and retain the
pesticide, the concentration may increase several hundred- to a thousandfold. Concentration
continues as these organisms are ingested by higher forms of life--algae, fish, shellfish, birds, or
humans. The resultant concentration in the higher life forms may reach levels of thousands to
millions of parts per billion.
Many pesticides are nondiscriminatory; that is, they are not specific for a particular plant or
organism. A dramatic example of this effect is DDE (a product of the breakdown of DDT), which
effectively inhibits the ability of birds to provide sufficient calcium deposits for their eggs,
producing fragile shells and a high percentage of nested eggs that break prematurely. Another
reported side effect of pesticides is their effect on the nervous system of animals and fish; they
can cause instability, disorientation, and, in some cases, death. These examples are generally a
result of relatively high body residuals producing acute (short-term) readily recordable results.
The long-term (chronic) effects of persistent pesticides are virtually unknown, but many
scientists believe they are as much an environmental hazard as are the acute effects.
Nonpersistent (readily degradable) pesticides or substitutes, insect sterilization techniques,
hormone homologues that check or interfere with maturation stages, and introduction of animals
that prey on the pests present a potentially brighter picture for pest control with significantly
reduced environmental consequences.

RADIATION POLLUTION
Radiation pollution is any form of ionizing or nonionizing radiation that results from human
activities. The most well-known radiation results from the detonation of nuclear devices and the
controlled release of energy by nuclear-power generating plants (see nuclear energy). Other
sources of radiation include spent-fuel reprocessing plants, by-products of mining operations,
and experimental research laboratories. Increased exposure to medical X rays and to radiation
emissions from microwave ovens and other household appliances, although of considerably less
magnitude, all constitute sources of environmental radiation.
Public concern over the release of radiation into the environment greatly increased following the
disclosure of possible harmful effects to the public from nuclear weapons testing, the accident
(1979) at the Three Mile Island nuclear-power generating plant near Harrisburg, Pa., and the
catastrophic 1986 explosion at Chernobyl, a Soviet nuclear power plant. In the late 1980s,
revelations of major pollution problems at U.S. nuclear weapons reactors raised apprehensions
even higher.
The environmental effects of exposure to high-level ionizing radiation have been extensively
documented through postwar studies on individuals who were exposed to nuclear radiation in
Japan. Some forms of cancer show up immediately, but latent maladies of radiation poisoning
have been recorded from 10 to 30 years after exposure. The effects of exposure to low-level
radiation are not yet known. A major concern about this type of exposure is the potential for
genetic damage.
Radioactive nuclear wastes cannot be treated by conventional chemical methods and must be
stored in heavily shielded containers in areas remote from biological habitats. The safest of
storage sites currently used are impervious deep caves or abandoned salt mines. Most radioactive
wastes, however, have half-lives of hundreds to thousands of years, and to date no storage
method has been found that is absolutely infallible.
NOISE POLLUTION
Noise pollution has a relatively recent origin. It is a composite of sounds generated by human
activities ranging from blasting stereo systems to the roar of supersonic transport jets. Although
the frequency (pitch) of noise may be of major importance, most noise sources are measured in
terms of intensity, or strength of the sound field. The standard unit, one decibel (dB), is the
amount of sound that is just audible to the average human. The decibel scale is somewhat
misleading because it is logarithmic rather than linear; for example, a noise source measuring 70
dB is 10 times as loud as a source measuring 60 dB and 100 times as loud as a source reading 50
dB. Noise may be generally associated with industrial society, where heavy machinery, motor
vehicles, and aircraft have become everyday items. Noise pollution is more intense in the work
environment than in the general environment, although ambient noise increased an average of
one dB per year during the 1980s. The average background noise in a typical home today is
between 40 and 50 decibels. Some examples of high-level sources in the environment are heavy
trucks (90 dB at 15 m/50 ft), freight trains (75 dB at 15 m/50 ft), and air conditioning (60 dB at 6
m/20 ft).

The most readily measurable physiological effect of noise pollution is damage to hearing, which
may be either temporary or permanent and may cause disruption of normal activities or just
general annoyance. The effect is variable, depending upon individual susceptibility, duration of
exposure, nature of noise (loudness), and time distribution of exposure (such as steady or
intermittent). On the average an individual will experience a threshold shift (a shift in an
individual's upper limit of sound detectability) when exposed to noise levels of 75 to 80 dB for
several hours. This shift will last only several hours once the source of noise pollution is
removed. A second physiologically important level is the threshold of pain, at which even shortterm exposure will cause physical pain (130 to 140 dB). Any noise sustained at this level will
cause a permanent threshold shift or permanent partial hearing loss. At the uppermost level of
noise (greater than 150 dB), even a single short-term blast may cause traumatic hearing loss and
physical damage inside the ear.
Although little hard information is available on the psychological side effects of increased noise
levels, many researchers attribute increased irritability, lower productivity, decreased tolerance
levels, increased incidence of ulcers, migraine headaches, fatigue, and allergic responses to
continued exposures to high-level noises in the workplace and the general environment.
AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution is the accumulation in the atmosphere of substances that, in sufficient
concentrations, endanger human health or produce other measured effects on living matter and
other materials. Among the major sources of pollution are power and heat generation, the
burning of solid wastes, industrial processes, and, especially, transportation. The six major types
of pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, particulates, sulfur dioxide,
and photochemical oxidants.
Local and Regional
Smog has seriously affected more persons than any other type of air pollution. It can be loosely
defined as a multisource, widespread air pollution that occurs in the air of cities. Smog, a
contraction of the words smoke and fog, has been caused throughout recorded history by water
condensing on smoke particles, usually from burning coal. The infamous London fogs--about
4,000 deaths were attributed to the severe fog of 1952--were smog of this type. Another type,
ice fog, occurs only at high latitudes and extremely low temperatures and is a combination of
smoke particles and ice crystals.
As a coal economy has gradually been replaced by a petroleum economy, photochemical smog
has become predominant in many cities. Its unpleasant properties result from the irradiation by
sunlight of hydrocarbons (primarily unburned gasoline emitted by automobiles and other
combustion sources) and other pollutants in the air. Irradiation produces a long series of
photochemical reactions (see photochemistry). The products of the reactions include organic
particles, ozone, aldehydes, ketones, peroxyacetyl nitrate, and organic acids and other oxidants.
Sulfur dioxide, which is always present to some extent, oxidizes and hydrates to form sulfuric
acid and becomes part of the particulate matter. Furthermore, automobiles are polluters even in
the absence of photochemical reactions. They are responsible for much of the particulate
material in the air; they also emit carbon monoxide, one of the most toxic constituents of smog.

All types of smog decrease visibility and, with the possible exception of ice fog, are irritating to
the respiratory system. Statistical studies indicate that smog is a contributor to malignancies of
many types. Photochemical smog produces eye irritation and lacrimation and causes severe
damage to many types of vegetation, including important crops. Acute effects include an
increased mortality rate, especially among persons suffering from respiratory and coronary
ailments. Air pollution also has a deleterious effect on works of art (see art conservation and
restoration).
Air pollution on a regional scale is in part the result of local air pollution--including that
produced by individual sources, such as automobiles--that has spread out to encompass areas of
many thousands of square kilometers. Meteorological conditions and landforms can greatly
influence air-pollution concentrations at any given place, especially locally and regionally. For
example, cities located in bowls or valleys over which atmospheric inversions form and act as
imperfect lids are especially likely to suffer from incidences of severe smog. Oxides of sulfur
and nitrogen, carried long distances by the atmosphere and then precipitated in solution as acid
rain, can cause serious damage to vegetation, waterways, and buildings.
Global
Humans also pollute the atmosphere on a global scale, although until the early 1970slittle
attention was paid to the possible deleterious effects of such pollution. Measurements in Hawaii
suggest that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing at a rate of about
0.2% every year. The effect of this increase may be to alter the Earth's climate by increasing the
average global temperature. Certain pollutants decrease the concentration of ozone occurring
naturally in the stratosphere, which in turn increases the amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching
the Earth's surface. Such radiation may damage vegetation and increase the incidence of skin
cancer. Examples of stratospheric contaminants include nitrogen oxides emitted by supersonic
aircraft and chlorofluorocarbons used as refrigerants and aerosol-can propellants. The
chlorofluorocarbons reach the stratosphere by upward mixing from the lower parts of the
atmosphere (see ozone layer). It is believed that these chemicals are responsible for the
noticeable loss of ozone over the polar regions that has occurred in the 1980s.

Observation
Pollution became a popular issue after World War II, due to radioactive fallout
from atomic warfare and testing. Then a non-nuclear event, The Great Smog of
1952 in London, killed at least 4000 people.[8] This prompted some of the first
major modern environmental legislation, The Clean Air Act of 1956.
Pollution began to draw major public attention in the United States between the
mid-1950s and early 1970s, when Congress passed the Noise Control Act, the
Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Bad bouts of local pollution helped increase consciousness. PCB dumping in the
Hudson River resulted in a ban by the EPA on consumption of its fish in 1974.
Long-term dioxin contamination at Love Canal starting in 1947 became a national
news story in 1978 and led to the Superfund legislation of 1980. Legal proceedings
in the 1990s helped bring to light Chromium-6 releases in California--the
champions of whose victims became famous. The pollution of industrial land gave
rise to the name brownfield, a term now common in city planning. DDT was
banned in most of the developed world after the publication of Rachel Carson's
Silent Spring.
The development of nuclear science introduced radioactive contamination, which
can remain lethally radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. Lake Karachay,
named by the Worldwatch Institute as the "most polluted spot" on earth, served as a
disposal site for the Soviet Union thoroughout the 1950s and 1960s. Second place
may go to the area of Chelyabinsk U.S.S.R. (see reference below) as the "Most
polluted place on the planet".[citation needed]
Nuclear weapons continued to be tested in the Cold War, sometimes near inhabited
areas, especially in the earlier stages of their development. The toll on the worstaffected populations and the growth since then in understanding about the critical
threat to human health posed by radioactivity has also been a prohibitive
complication associated with nuclear power. Though extreme care is practiced in
that industry, the potential for disaster suggested by incidents such as those at
Three Mile Island and Chernobyl pose a lingering specter of public mistrust. One
legacy of nuclear testing before most forms were banned has been significantly
raised levels of background radiation.[citation needed]

International catastrophes such as the wreck of the Amoco Cadiz oil tanker off the
coast of Brittany in 1978 and the Bhopal disaster in 1984 have demonstrated the

PROPOSED METHODOLOGY
The Lachine Canal in Montreal Canada, is polluted.
The major forms of pollution are listed below along with the particular pollutants
relevant to each of them:
Air pollution:- the release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere.
Common gaseous pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide,
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and
motor vehicles. Photochemical ozone and smog are created as nitrogen
oxides and hydrocarbons react to sunlight. Particulate matter, or fine dust is
characterized by their micrometre size PM10 to PM2.5.
Light pollution:- includes light trespass, over-illumination and astronomical
interference.
Littering:- the criminal throwing of inappropriate man-made objects,
unremoved, onto public and private properties.
Noise pollution:- which encompasses roadway noise, aircraft noise,
industrial noise as well as high-intensity sonar.
Soil contamination occurs when chemicals are released by spill or
underground leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are
hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE,[9] herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated
hydrocarbons.
Radioactive contamination, resulting from 20th century activities in atomic
physics, such as nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons research,
manufacture and deployment. (See alpha emitters and actinides in the
environment.)
Thermal pollution, is a temperature change in natural water bodies caused by
human influence, such as use of water as coolant in a power plant.

 Visual pollution, which can refer to the presence of overhead power lines,
motorway billboards, scarred landforms (as from strip mining), open storage
of trash or municipal solid waste.
Water pollution, by the discharge of wastewater from commercial and
industrial waste (intentionally or through spills) into surface waters;
discharges of untreated domestic sewage, and chemical contaminants, such
as chlorine, from treated sewage; release of waste and contaminants into
surface runoff flowing to surface waters (including urban runoff and
agricultural runoff, which may contain chemical fertilizers and pesticides);
waste disposal and leaching into groundwater; eutrophication and littering.

Pollutants
A pollutant is a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil. Three factors
determine the severity of a pollutant: its chemical nature, the concentration and the
persistence.

Sources and causes

Air pollution produced by ships may alter clouds, affecting global temperatures.
Air pollution comes from both natural and man made sources. Though globally
man made pollutants from combustion, construction, mining, agriculture and
warfare are increasingly significant in the air pollution equation.[10]
Motor vehicle emissions are one of the leading causes of air pollution. [11][12][13]
China, United States, Russia, Mexico, and Japan are the world leaders in air
pollution emissions. Principal stationary pollution sources include chemical plants,
coal-fired power plants, oil refineries,[14] 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. Agricultural air pollution comes from contemporary practices which
include clear felling and burning of natural vegetation as well as spraying of
pesticides and herbicides[15]
About 400 million metric tons of hazardous wastes are generated each year.[16] The
United States alone produces about 250 million metric tons. [17] Americans
constitute less than 5% of the world's population, but produce roughly 25% of the
worlds CO2,[18] and generate approximately 30% of worlds waste.[19][20] In 2007,

China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest producer of CO 2,[21]
while still far behind based on per capita pollution - ranked 78th among the world's
nations. [22]
In February 2007, a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), representing the work of 2,500 scientists, economists, and policymakers
from more than 120 countries, said that humans have been the primary cause of
global warming since 1950. Humans have ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions
and avoid the consequences of global warming, a major climate report concluded.
But in order to change the climate, the transition from fossil fuels like coal and oil
needs to occur within decades, according to the final report this year from the UN's
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).[23]

SUMMARY
Overview of main health effects on humans from some common types of pollution.
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. An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and
1,000 Indian children die of diarrhoeal sickness every day.[28] Nearly 500 million
Chinese lack access to safe drinking water.[29] 656,000 people die prematurely each
year in China because of air pollution. In India, air pollution is believed to cause
527,700 fatalities a year.[30] Studies have estimated that the number of people killed
annually in the US could be over 50,000.[31]
Oil spills can cause skin irritations and rashes. Noise pollution induces hearing
loss, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep disturbance. Mercury has been linked to
developmental deficits in children and neurologic symptoms. Older people are
majorly exposed to diseases induced by air pollution. Those with heart or lung
disorders are under additional risk. Children and infants are also at serious risk.
Lead and other heavy metals have been shown to cause neurological problems.
Chemical and radioactive substances can cause cancer and as well as birth defects.
Environment
Pollution has been found to be present widely in the environment. There are a
number of effects of this:

 Biomagnification describes situations where toxins (such as heavy metals)

may pass through trophic levels, becoming exponentially more concentrated
in the process.
Carbon dioxide emissions cause ocean acidification, the ongoing decrease in
the pH of the Earth's oceans as CO2 becomes dissolved.
The emission of greenhouse gases leads to global warming which affects
ecosystems in many ways.
Invasive species can out compete native species and reduce biodiversity.
Invasive plants can contribute debris and biomolecules (allelopathy) that can
alter soil and chemical compositions of an environment, often reducing
native species competitiveness.

ANALYSIS
Environmental health information
The Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP) [32] at the
United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) maintains a comprehensive
toxicology and environmental health web site that includes access to resources
produced by TEHIP and by other government agencies and organizations. This
web site includes links to databases, bibliographies, tutorials, and other scientific
and consumer-oriented resources. TEHIP also is responsible for the Toxicology
Data Network (TOXNET)[33] an integrated system of toxicology and
environmental health databases that are available free of charge on the web.
TOXMAP is a Geographic Information System (GIS) that is part of TOXNET.
TOXMAP uses maps of the United States to help users visually explore data from
the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxics Release
Inventory and Superfund Basic Research Programs.

Regulation and monitoring

Main article: Regulation and monitoring of pollution

To protect the environment from the adverse effects of pollution, many nations
worldwide have enacted legislation to regulate various types of pollution as well as
to mitigate the adverse effects of pollution.

Pollution control
A litter trap catches floating rubbish in the Yarra River, east-central Victoria,
Australia
A dust collector in Pristina, Kosovo
Gas nozzle with vapor recovery
A Mobile Pollution Check Vehicle in India.
Pollution control is a term used in environmental management. It means the control
of emissions and effluents into air, water or soil. Without pollution control, the
waste products from consumption, heating, agriculture, mining, manufacturing,
transportation and other human activities, whether they accumulate or disperse,
will degrade the environment. In the hierarchy of controls, pollution prevention
and waste minimization are more desirable than pollution control. In the field of
land development, low impact development is a similar technique for the
prevention of urban runoff.
Some of the more common soil contaminants are chlorinated hydrocarbons (CFH),
heavy metals (such as chromium, cadmiumfound in rechargeable batteries, and
leadfound in lead paint, aviation fuel and still in some countries, gasoline),
MTBE, zinc, arsenic and benzene. In 2001 a series of press reports culminating in
a book called Fateful Harvest unveiled a widespread practice of recycling
industrial byproducts into fertilizer, resulting in the contamination of the soil with
various metals. 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. There have also been some unusual releases of polychlorinated
dibenzodioxins, commonly called dioxins for simplicity, such as TCDD.[24]
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.

In the case of noise pollution the dominant source class is the motor vehicle,
producing about ninety percent of all unwanted noise worldwide.

SUGGESTIONS
The earliest precursor of pollution generated by life forms would have been a
natural function of their existence. The attendant consequences on viability and
population levels fell within the sphere of natural selection. These would have
included the demise of a population locally or ultimately, species extinction.
Processes that were untenable would have resulted in a new balance brought about
by changes and adaptations. At the extremes, for any form of life, consideration of
pollution is superseded by that of survival.
For humankind, the factor of technology is a distinguishing and critical
consideration, both as an enabler and an additional source of byproducts. Short of
survival, human concerns include the range from quality of life to health hazards.
Since science holds experimental demonstration to be definitive, modern treatment
of toxicity or environmental harm involves defining a level at which an effect is
observable. Common examples of fields where practical measurement is crucial
include automobile emissions control, industrial exposure (e.g. Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) PELs), toxicology (e.g. LD50), and
medicine (e.g. medication and radiation doses).
"The solution to pollution is dilution", is a dictum which summarizes a traditional
approach to pollution management whereby sufficiently diluted pollution is not
harmful.[35][36] It is well-suited to some other modern, locally scoped applications
such as laboratory safety procedure and hazardous material release emergency
management. But it assumes that the dilutant is in virtually unlimited supply for
the application or that resulting dilutions are acceptable in all cases.
Such simple treatment for environmental pollution on a wider scale might have had
greater merit in earlier centuries when physical survival was often the highest
imperative, human population and densities were lower, technologies were simpler
and their byproducts more benign. But these are often no longer the case.
Furthermore, advances have enabled measurement of concentrations not possible
before. The use of statistical methods in evaluating outcomes has given currency to
the principle of probable harm in cases where assessment is warranted but
resorting to deterministic models is impractical or unfeasible. In addition,
consideration of the environment beyond direct impact on human beings has
gained prominence.

Yet in the absence of a superseding principle, this older approach predominates

practices throughout the world. It is the basis by which to gauge concentrations of

Summary
The Pollution Prevention Act focused industry, government, and public attention on reducing the
amount of pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials
use. Opportunities for source reduction are often not realized because of existing regulations, and
the industrial resources required for compliance, focus on treatment and disposal.
Source reduction is fundamentally different and more desirable than waste management or
pollution control. Source reduction refers to practices that reduce hazardous substances from
being released into the environment prior to recycling, treatment or disposal. The term includes
equipment or technology modifications, process or procedure modifications, reformulation or
redesign of products, substitution of raw materials, and improvements in housekeeping,
maintenance, training, or inventory control.
Pollution prevention includes practices that increase efficiency in the use of energy, water, or
other natural resources, and protect our resource base through conservation.
Air pollution is a serious environmental problem which destroys the environment, human health,
and quality of life. Air pollution is caused by human activities which are burning of fossil fuels
and motor vehicle. Decomposing garbage in landfills and solid waste disposal sites emit methane
gas and household products release VOCs. Moreover, these pollutants also come from natural
sources. The repercussions of air pollution are it makes people ill and harms plants, animals, and
the ecosystems. Some of the air pollutants return to the Earth in the form of acid rain and snow.
Pollution lets in dangerous radiation from the Sun. Besides that, pollutants go through chemical
reactions that produce additional dangerous compounds and it is a subject weather patterns that
can trap it in valleys or blow it across the globe to damage pristine environments far from the
original sources.

Conclusion
For resolving the increasing stress on the environment and resources, and also responding to the
ever-increasing demands of the citizens for environmental quality protection and improvement in
ecological environment, the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) conducted the
environmental master planning of Macao SAR, in order to realize the vision of "Building a Low
Carbon Macao, Creating Green Living Together".
On the basis of coordinating with other related planning and analyzing the current challenges in
the environment, the present Environmental Planning has proposed the planning vision and
objectives, together with a preliminary scheme for environmental functional districts and
environmental functional district management. Under the three principal themes of "Optimizing
the Environment Suitable for Living and Tourism", "Promoting a Conservation and Recyclingoriented Society" and "Integrating into the Green and Quality Region", this planning has also
established 11 green indicators for the Environmental Planning, proposed 15 areas of concern
and their strategic direction, formulated various major actions, and established the
implementation and supervision mechanisms, in order to enhace the environmental management
capability of the Macao SAR Government and guarantee the execution of the planning. In the
meantime, this planning, based on the requirements in the vision of "Building a Low Carbon
Macao, Creating Green Living Together" has also proposed a demand for coordinating the
regional environment, taking into consideration of the integrated development in the
environment, building jointly a quality-living area.
The "Environmental Protection Planning of Macao (2010-2020)", as the first environmental
planning of Macao, has systematically depicted the roadmap of future environmental
management works in Macao. The Environmental Planning, on the one hand, has proposed
objectives in improving environmental quality and guidance in actions to be taken for Macao up
to year 2020.On the other hand, it has also acted as the foundation of the environmental
management works in Macao, in the view of harmonizing the environment, society and
economy, leading for the sustainable social and economic development.
This planning aims to establish the planning objectives and indicators in a forward-looking way,
and execute and implement the actions for improving the environment according to their priority.
We have to point out that formulation and implementation of this planning is a dynamic process,
which relies on the participation of general public, and should be reviewed, amended and
improved in accordance with the actual status of the social and economic development,
supported by the input of corresponding resources, in order to facilitate and ensure the
implementation of this planning.
In fact, the Environmental Planning is a starting point for the environmental protection works. It
is hoped that in the coming decade, by formulating the implementation mechanism for the
execution of the present planning document in view of different environmental elements and by
the coordination of different government agencies and sectors of the society, action plans in the

atmospheric, acoustic, ecological and aquatic environments would be carried out. By

implementing effective control measures for pollution, we hope to reduce the pollutants

References
1.

^ "Pollution - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online

Dictionary". Merriam-webster.com. 2010-08-13. Retrieved 2010-08-26.

2.

^ The World's most polluted places, Blcksmith Institute - September

2007

3.

^ Spengler, John D. and Sexton, Ken (1983) "Indoor Air Pollution: A

Public Health Perspective" Science (New Series) 221(4605 ): pp. 9-17, page
9

4.

^ Hong, Sungmin et al. (1996) "History of Ancient Copper Smelting

Pollution During Roman and Medieval Times Recorded in Greenland Ice"
Science (New Series) 272(5259): pp. 246-249, page 248

5.

^ David Urbinato (Summer 1994). "London's Historic "PeaSoupers"". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 200608-02.

RELEVANCE
The present generation and the coming generations have to solve three grave problems, namely,
population poverty and pollution if they have to survive. Pollution being the most dangerous
problem likes cancer in which death is sure but slow. Environment pollution is assuming
dangerous proportions all through the globe and India is not free from this poisonous disease.
This is the gift of modern living, industrialization and urbanization. Unless timely action is taken
we have a forbid and bleak future for the world.
The word noise is derived from the Latin term nausea. It has been defined as unwanted sound, a
potential hazard to health and communication dumped into the environment with regard to the
adverse effect it may have on unwilling ears.
Sound, which pleases the listeners, is music and that which causes pain and annoyance is noise.
At times, what is music for some can be noise for others2
Section 2 (a) of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 includes noise in the
definition of air pollutant.
Section 2(a) air pollution means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance including noise present in
the atmosphere such concentration as may be or tent to injurious to human beings or other living
creatures or plants or property or environment.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica: In acoustic noise is defined as any undesired sound.3
In chambers 21st Century Dictionary the definition of noise has undergone a change. Noise
pollution stands carved out as phrase separately from noise. The two are defined as under:
Noise- a sound; a harsh disagreeable sound, or such sound; a din. Pollution- an excessive or
annoying degree of noise in a particular area, e.g. from traffic or aero plane engines.
Pollution is a noise derived from the verb pollute. Section 2 (c ) of the Environment (Protection )
Act, 1986 defines environmental pollution to mean the presence in the environment of any
environmental pollutant. Section 2 (b) of the said Act defines environmental pollutant to means
any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in such concentration as may be ,or tends to be
injurious to environment.
Noise can be described as sound without agreeable musical quality or as an unwanted or
undesired sound. Thus noise can be taken as a group of laud, non harmonious sounds or
vibrations that are unpleasant and irritating to ear.