Air Pollution

Air pollution is defined as any contamination of the atmosphere that disturbs the natural composition and chemistry of the air. This can be in the form of particulate matter such as dust or excessive gases like carbon dioxide or other vapors that cannot be effectively removed through natural cycles, such as the carbon cycle or the nitrogen cycle. Air pollution comes from a wide variety of sources. Some of the most excessive sources include:

Vehicle or manufacturing exhaust

Forest fires, volcanic eruptions, dry soil erosion, and other natural sources Building construction or demolition

Depending on the concentration of air pollutants, several effects can be noticed. Smog increases, higher rain acidity, crop depletion from inadequate oxygen, and higher rates of asthma.
Many scientists believe that global warming is also related to increased air pollution.

Soil Pollution
Soil, or land pollution, is contamination of the soil that prevents natural growth and balance in the land whether it is used for cultivation, habitation, or a wildlife preserve. Some soil pollution, such as the creation of landfills, is deliberate, while much more is accidental and can have widespread effects. Soil pollution sources include: Hazardous waste and sewage spills Non-sustainable farming practices, such as the heavy use of inorganic pesticides Strip mining, deforestation, and other destructive practices Household dumping and littering Soil contamination can lead to poor growth and reduced crop yields, loss of wildlife habitat, water and visual pollution, soil erosion, and desertification.

Noise Pollution
Noise pollution refers to undesirable levels of noises caused by human activity that disrupt the standard of living in the affected area. Noise pollution can come from: Traffic Airports Railroads Manufacturing plants Construction or demolition Concerts Some noise pollution may be temporary while other sources are more permanent. Effects may include hearing loss, wildlife disturbances, and a general degradation of lifestyle.

Radioactive Pollution
Radioactive pollution is rare but extremely detrimental, and even deadly, when it occurs. Because of its intensity and the difficulty of reversing damage, there are strict government regulations to control radioactive pollution. Sources of radioactive contamination include: Nuclear power plant accidents or leakage Improper nuclear waste disposal Uranium mining operations Radiation pollution can cause birth defects, cancer, sterilization, and other health problems for human and wildlife populations. It can also sterilize the soil and contribute to water and air pollution.

Thermal Pollution
Thermal pollution is excess heat that creates undesirable effects over long periods of time. The earth has a natural thermal cycle, but excessive temperature increases can be considered a rare type of pollution with long term effects. Many types of thermal pollution are confined to areas near their source, but multiple sources can have wider impacts over a greater geographic area. Thermal pollution may be caused by: Power plants Urban sprawl Air pollution particulates that trap heat Deforestation Loss of temperature moderating water supplies As temperatures increase, mild climatic changes may be observed, and wildlife populations may be unable to recover from swift changes.

Light Pollution
Light pollution is the over illumination of an area that is considered obtrusive. Sources include: Large cities Billboards and advertising Nighttime sporting events and other nighttime entertainment Light pollution makes it impossible to see stars, therefore interfering with astronomical observation and personal enjoyment. If it is near residential areas, light pollution can also degrade the quality of life for residents.

Visual Pollution
Visual pollution - eyesores - can be caused by other pollution or just by undesirable, unattractive views. It may lower the quality of life in certain areas, or could impact property values and personal enjoyment. Sources of visual pollution include: Power lines Construction areas Billboards and advertising Neglected areas or objects such as polluted vacant fields or abandoned buildings While visual pollution has few immediate health or environmental effects, what's causing the eyesore can have detrimental affects.

Personal Pollution
Personal pollution is the contamination of one's body and lifestyle with detrimental actions. This may include: Excessive smoking, drinking or drug abuse Emotional or physical abuse Poor living conditions and habits Poor personal attitudes In some cases, personal pollution may be inflicted by caregivers, while in other cases it is caused by voluntary actions. Taking positive steps in your life can help eliminate this and other sources of pollution so you can lead a more productive, satisfying life.

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Water Pollution
Any physical, biological, or chemical change in water quality that adversely affects living organisms or makes water unsuitable for desired uses can be considered pollution. There are natural sources of water contamination (e.g. poison springs and oil seeps).

Pollution control standards and regulations usually distinguish between point and nonpoint pollution sources.
Point sources: discharge pollution from specific locations (e.g. drain pipes, ditches, or sewer outfalls).

Nonpoint sources: pollution is scattered or diffuse, having no specific location where they discharge into a particular body of water (e.g. runoff from farm fields and feedlots, golf courses, lawns, and gardens).
The ultimate in diffuse, nonpoint pollution is atmospheric deposition of contaminants carried by air currents and precipitated into watersheds or directly onto surface waters as rain, snow, or dry particles.

Types and Effects of Water Pollution

Infectious Agents

The most serious water pollutants in terms of human health worldwide are pathogenic organisms. The main source of these pathogens is from untreated or improperly treated human wastes. In developed countries, sewage treatment plants and other pollution-control techniques have reduced or eliminated most of the worst sources of pathogens in inland surface waters. The situation is quite different in less-developed countries. The United Nations estimates that at least 2.5 billion people in these countries lack adequate sanitation, and that about half these people also lack access to clean drinking water. Water quality control personnel usually analyze water for the presence of coliform bacteria, any of the types that live in the colon or the intestines of humans and other animals (e.g. E. coli)

Major Types of Water Pollutants, Common Diseases Transmitted Through Contaminated Drinking Water , & Measuring Water Quality

Oxygen-Demanding Wastes
The amount of oxygen dissolved in water is a good indicator of water quality and of the kinds of life it will support. The addition of certain organic materials, such as sewage, paper pulp, or food-processing wastes, to water stimulates oxygen consumption by decomposers.

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD): a standard test of the amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by aquatic microorganisms over a five-day period.
Dissolved oxygen content (DO): measure dissolved oxygen content directly using an oxygen electrode. The oxygen decline downstream from point source is called the oxygen sag. Immediately below the source of pollution, oxygen levels begin to fall as decomposers metabolize waste materials.

Plant Nutrients and Cultural Eutrophication

Water clarity is affected by sediments, chemicals, and the abundance of plankton organisms, and is a useful measure of water quality and water pollution.
Oligotrophic: describes rivers and lakes that have clear water and low biological productivity. Eutrophic: describes waters that are rich in organisms and organic materials.

Human activities can greatly accelerate eutrophication (cultural eutrophication). High biological productivity of eutrophic systems is often seen in "blooms" of algae or thick growth of aquatic plants stimulated by elevated phosphorous or nitrogen levels. Eutrophication also occurs in marine ecosystems, especially in nearshore waters and partially enclosed bays or estuaries.

Toxic Tides
Red tide: bloom of deadly aquatic microorganisms called dinoflagellates. Red tides - and other colors, depending on the species involved-have become increasingly common in slowmoving rivers, brackish lagoons, estuaries, and bays. One of the most feared of these organisms is Pfiesteria piscicida, an extraordinarily poisonous dinoflagellate that has recently wiped out hundreds of thousands to millions of fish every year in polluted rivers and estuaries such as North Carolina's Palmico Sound. Under the right conditions, a population explosion can produce a dense bloom of these cells.

Inorganic Pollutants

Some toxic inorganic chemicals are released from rocks by weathering, are carried by runoff into lakes or rivers, or percolate into groundwater aquifers. Humans can accelerate the rate of release of these inorganic chemicals through the mining, processing, using, and discarding of minerals. Metals
Many metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel are highly toxic. A famous case of mercury poisoning occurred in Japan in the 1950s. Heavy metals released as a result of human activities also are concentrated by hydrological and biological processes so that they become hazardous to both natural ecosystems and human health. Mine drainage and leaching of mining wastes are serious sources of metal pollution in water. Desert soils often contain high concentrations of soluble salts, including toxic selenium and arsenic. Salts such as sodium chloride that are nontoxic at low concentrations also can be mobilized by irrigation and concentrated by evaporation, reaching levels that are toxic for plants and animals. Acids are released as by-products of industrial processes (e.g. leather tanning, metal smelting and planting) Coal and oil combustion also leads to formation of atmospheric sulfuric and nitric acids, which are disseminated by long-range transport processes.

Nonmetallic salts

Acids and bases

Organic Chemicals
Many chemicals used in the chemical industry to make pesticides, plastics, pharmaceuticals, pigments, and other products we use in everyday life are highly toxic. The two most important sources of toxic organic chemicals in water are improper disposal of industrial and household wastes and runoff of pesticides. Many of the toxic organic chemicals (e.g. DDT, Dioxins, and other chlorinated hydrocarbons) in water are passed through ecosystems and accumulated at high levels in certain nontarget organisms. Hundreds of millions of toxic hazardous organic wastes are thought to be stored in dumps, landfills, lagoons, and underground tanks in the United States.

Sediment
Rivers have always carried sediment to the oceans, but erosion rates in many areas have been greatly accelerated by human activities. Sources of erosion include forests, grazing lands, and urban construction sites. Sediment fills lakes and reservoirs, obstructs shipping channels, clogs hydroelectric turbines, and makes purification of drinking water more costly. Excess sediment deposits can fill estuaries and smother aquatic life on coral reefs and shoals near shore. Sediment can also be beneficial. Mud carried by rivers nourishes floodplain farm fields.

Thermal Pollution and Thermal Shocks

Raising or lowering water temperatures from normal levels can adversely affect water quality and aquatic life. Humans cause thermal pollution by altering vegetation cover and runoff patterns, as well as by discharging heated water directly into rivers and lakes. The cheapest way to remove heat from an industrial facility is to draw cool water from an ocean, river, lake, or aquifer, run it through a heat-exchanger to extract excess heat, and dump the heated water back into the original source. In some circumstances, introducing heated water into a water body is beneficial.
Warming catfish-rearing ponds Attract fish, birds, and marine mammals that find food and refuge there, especially during cold weather.