introduction
about pollution..
atleast about one page
Answers
Explanation:
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change.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. In 2015, pollution killed 9 million people worldwide.
Major forms of pollution include air pollution, light pollution, litter, noise pollution, plastic pollution, soil contamination, radioactive contamination, thermal pollution, visual pollution, and water pollution.
The major forms of pollution are listed below along with the particular contaminant 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.
Electromagnetic pollution: the overabundance of electromagnetic radiation in their non-ionizing form, like radio waves, etc, that people are constantly exposed at, especially in large cities. It's still unknown whether or not those types of radiation have any effects on human health, though.
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.
Explanation:
Introduction
Pollution has significant impacts on human health, the environment, and even on how some of the Earth’s systems, such as the climate, are functioning. Pollution touches all parts of the planet. It is affecting our health through the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. Approximately 19 million premature deaths are estimated to occur annually as a result of the way we use natural resources to support global production and consumption and which impact the environment.
What are the sources of pollution?
Pollution can take many forms, ranging from organic compounds and other chemical substances to different types of energy. Some types of pollution are easily noticed, such as certain forms of contaminated water, poor air quality, industrial waste, litter, light, heat and noise. Others are less visible, for example pesticides in food, mercury in fish, excess nutrients in the sea and lakes, endocrine-disrupting chemicals in drinking water, and other micro-pollutants in fresh and marine water. Some, such as those coming from abandoned industrial sites, armed conflict zones, nuclear power stations, pesticide stockpiles and waste landfills, form part of a longer-term legacy.
The sources and types of pollution are highly diverse, as are the solutions to deal with them. For example, hazardous chemicals in paints, cleaning compounds, dyes, electronic products, and many other household substances can become pollutants if not managed correctly. Ecosystem functions are put at risk as well. There are also many emerging and novel products, such as some therapeutic drugs and nanomaterials, for which data on potential pollution effects are sparse.
Market demand on one side of the planet is often satisfied by labour, production and natural resources originating from halfway across the globe. Fossil fuels now account for 50 per cent of the global trade volume. Research finds that trade leads to a redistribution of environmental burden towards countries that extract and produce resources. As such, the environmental impacts and pollution generated by global consumption habits are disassociated from those most impacted locally. Trade patterns, policies and agreements can play a crucial role in internalizing some of the environmental and social costs of production in order to minimize pollution at a global scale.
Air pollution
One important source of air pollution is indoor air pollution produced by the use of solid fuels for cooking in the house. The other major source of air pollution is outdoor pollution resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. Wildfires, the burning of waste, and tobacco smoke, all also contribute to air pollution. It is estimated that nine out of ten people in the world are breathing air that is polluted beyond the World Health Organisation (WHO) acceptable standards.
Land and soil pollution is largely due to agricultural practices, to improper irrigation, to solid waste management problems such as landfills, and to a range of industrial, military and extractive activities. Globally, estimates indicate that at least 1 million people are unintentionally poisoned every year by excessive exposure and inappropriate use of pesticides, with health effects on all.
The waste products of industrial processes or mining activities are another source of pollution as they may contain heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and microorganisms, which can be difficult to remove once they find their way into the environment. Former industrial or military sites that are no longer in use can also be the sources of pollutants if they are not decontaminated properly. While some high-income countries have programs and regulations to deal with soil pollution, many poorer nations lack such programs, and are at risk to form ‘pollution hotspots’.
What are the impacts of pollution?
The severity of a pollutant for human health and ecosystems is dependent on its chemical nature and intrinsic toxicity, quantities emitted, exposure concentrations and persistence. Highly hazardous chemicals, such as mercury, ammonium, ozone, and some organic compounds used in a range of industries have the potential to cause cancer, birth defects, induce genetic damage, cause miscarriage, injury or death from relatively small exposures, if released into the environment. The specific harm caused by different pollutants depends not only on the environment where it is emitted (air, water or soil) but also possibly on the mix of pollutants that are present and the actual level of exposure. For example, about 125 million people in the world are exposed to asbestos at the workplace with over 100,000 still dying annually from such exposure.