The environmental pollution is one of the destructive negative environmental problem in today’s world. The sewage and industrial waste are two main types of pollution to people and the natural environment. If environmental pollution is uncontrollable, it will cause other problems such as global warming, climate change, weather changes, water scarcity, land degradation and ocean acidification.
Air pollution
Air Pollution is one of the most dangerous forms of pollution. A contamination that can be seen with bare eyes is known as primary pollutants whereas secondary pollutants are those which cannot be seen with naked eyes like ozone for example.
Air pollutants can be categorized into two groups: criteria air pollutants (CAPs) and toxic air pollutants (TAPs). CAPs have been measured by their effect on human health or their ability to damage ecosystems. TAPs include chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
Water pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies like rivers, lakes and oceans by chemicals or sewage from homes, farms and factories. Environmental pollution is broadly classified into three types based on their origin: 1) Land pollution 2) Water pollution 3) Air pollution
Land Pollution:
This type of environmental pollution is caused due to the presence of manmade waste in the environment.
Chemical land pollution:
This type of land pollution occurs when industrial waste are dumped as such in the open spaces without proper treatment before disposal. Such waste may contain metals, acids and other toxic chemicals that can damage the soil quality and render it useless for cultivation.
Physical land pollution:
This type of land pollution occurs when construction debris are dumped in open spaces. The debris include concrete chunks, bricks, metals, glass and plastic waste. Such debris can be harmful to human health if not disposed off properly.
Soil pollution
1.Erosion due to poor farming practices such as deforestation and over-farming.
2.Contamination of soil with salts from flooding and irrigation.
3.Burial of wastes created by human activities in landfills or land spreading of untreated sludge from domestic and industrial wastes.
4.The build-up of heavy metals from sewage sludge application, road dust, and ashes from power stations.
5.Acid Rain: Acid rain causes a decrease in nutrients in the soil, plants may not get sufficient nutrients to grow properly and will be more susceptible to disease and insect attack.
Noise Pollution Problems
Noise pollution interferes with communication, sleep and work. It can cause health problems such as stress, high blood pressure, hearing loss, sleep disturbance and lost productivity. It also can be annoying, leading to aggression, depression or withdrawal from social activities. Noise pollution can have profound effects on animals that rely on sound for communication or navigation. For example, noise from shipping traffic is thought to affect the ability of whales to communicate through song. The resulting stress may lead some whales to strand themselves on beaches as they attempt to escape the noise.
A variety of activities contribute to noise pollution, including cars and trucks, trains, aircraft and construction equipment. Man-made sources of noise are responsible for more health problems than natural noises like thunder or wind rustling through trees. However, excessive noise from any source can interfere with your daily activities and your physical and mental health.
Thermal pollution
Thermal Pollution The most common and obvious types of pollution are those that we can see, such as garbage and oil spills, but thermal pollution is not always so obvious. Thermal pollution is the changing of natural water temperatures due to human activities. For example, when a power plant operates, it draws in water from a river to use for cooling purposes, then spews the heated water back into the river. This increases the temperature of the water and lowers its quality. Some fish die if the water becomes too hot or too cold.
Radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination may be caused by accidents at nuclear facilities, such as in the Chernobyl disaster and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, or during nuclear weapons tests. Other sources include nuclear medicine (which uses some isotopes that are radioactive) and activities that require the use of radioactive materials, such as nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons production.
Light pollution
Light pollution is excessive, misdirected or obtrusive artificial light. Although some people think light pollution only occurs in the big cities of the world, it is a growing problem in all parts of the world.
There are seven major types of light pollution:
Glare – excessive brightness that causes visual discomfort
Skyglow – brightening of the night sky over inhabited areas
Light trespass – light falling where it is not intended or needed
Over-illumination – using more light than needed for a task
Clutter – bright, confusing and excessive groupings of light sources
Energy waste – wasted energy that directly contributes to global warming
In order to protect our environment from pollution, we have to take many steps like preventing car emissions, planting trees, not throwing wastes everywhere.
