Sometimes those nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide chemicals can react with the moisture in the atmosphere and change into acids. That water-chemical mixture then returns to Earth as acid rain. Another air pollutant is called chlorofluorocarbon CFC , a type of chemical used in foam products, aerosol cans, and refrigerator coolants. But not all ozone is "good. Exposure to polluted air in general can trigger asthma, change the way children's brains develop, and make older adults more likely to succumb to cognitive decline.
Researchers recently calculated that air pollution contributes to an estimated 8. In addition to greenhouse gases, human activity also creates light pollution. Global light pollution is so bad that more than one-third of humanity can't see the Milky Way — ever.
Another subtle form of pollution that you might not think much about is noise pollution. A report found that at least 1 million healthy years of life are lost each year in Europe due to noise pollution. And then there's the solid waste that humans create. Landfills leak harmful pollutants like methane into the air and leachate into nearby soil and groundwater. Humans have been dumping an unprecedented amount of plastic into the ocean, too. On average, 8. These plastics accumulate in polluted patches of the ocean like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Some plastics take hundreds of years to break down. Even then, they just splinter into very small pieces called microplastics, which will likely never biodegrade. Oil spills from tankers and off-shore drilling also pollute the ocean. While oil spills are unintended forms of pollution, humans have intentionally dumped toxic chemicals like methylmercury into the water, too.
Other toxic pollutants come in the form of fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides that are used for ranching or farming and can accumulate in soil. Sometimes, those chemicals can move from the soil to a major water source via run-off. When humans log an area, the absence of trees leads to even more run-off.
Pollutants from farms, septic systems, and industrial sites can also leach into the ground water we drink. Industrial manufacturing and mining operations are a primary source of groundwater pollution. Often, industrial waste contaminates the water with arsenic, lead, mercury, and chromium 6 — all known carcinogens. Radioactive waste is yet another form of pollution that has devastating health effects on humans and wildlife.
The Chernobyl disaster, for example, contaminated vast areas of Europe and Eurasia, and the wildlife living in the area.
Exposure to high amounts of radioactive material like cesium is detrimental to humans. Cesium can cause radiation sickness, which includes nausea and vomiting in the short-term and sometimes death in the following days or weeks. Loading Something is loading.
Email address. Air Quality China Features. This may come from open defecation or inappropriate handling of organic wastes produced from households and businesses. Organic matter includes anything that is derived from living organisms, such as human and animal wastes, decaying plants and food wastes. Pollutants also come in solid form. Plastic bags are one of the most common solid wastes. Solid waste is any solid material that is assumed not to be useful and is therefore thrown away.
Factories, businesses and households produce different kinds of solid waste such as paper, plastics, metals, chemicals in solid form, pieces of cloth or food and animal remains Figure 7. Sometimes you may have observed faecal matter discarded with solid waste, which adds to the problems. There is a fourth type of pollution that is common in urban communities.
This is energy in the form of noise pollution. Noise pollution means unacceptable levels of noise in work, residential and recreational places. Noise makes it difficult to have a conversation and also irritates and disturbs us and in the long term can damage our hearing.
Loud music from music shops and clubs in an urban community is a known source of noise disturbance. Such noise may please some, but it disturbs many other people because it interferes with communication in the daytime and sleeping at night.
Another way of classifying pollution is by the sector of human activity that produces it. Before we look at the various sectors, there is an important distinction to be made about pollution sources. Sources of pollution can be categorised as point or non-point sources.
Point sources are identifiable points or places that you can easily locate. An example is a diesel truck that produces visible black exhaust fumes from its tailpipe. Liquid waste released from a pipe into a river is another example Figure 7. A good example is floodwater that washes all types of waste from the land possibly including faecal matter into a river.
In this situation you cannot identify the individual or household or establishment that has caused the water pollution Figure 7.
Can you think of examples of point and non-point source pollution from earlier in this study session? The farmer washing his sack is an example of a point source because you could identify where he washed his sack. However, the pesticide washing from the field is an example of a non-point source. The pollutant would wash into the river at several places, and could possibly also have come from other fields. This is an example of how difficult it can sometimes be to accurately identify the source.
Domestic sources of pollution include toilets, latrines and wastewater from kitchens and bathrooms. If these wastes are properly contained and prevented from getting into the environment, they will not cause pollution. However, frequently this is not the case. Open defecation obviously releases human waste into the environment, which can then be washed into rivers and other surface waters.
The organic wastes from domestic sources include human excreta and also food waste and other kitchen waste such as cooking oil residues. Solid wastes from households and also from shops, markets and businesses include food waste, packaging materials and other forms of rubbish.
Domestic sources are also responsible for gaseous pollutants in the form of smoke and carbon dioxide from domestic fires. Pollution from the industrial sector in Ethiopia has been on the rise, posing a serious problem to the environment. Many industrial processes produce polluting waste substances that are discharged to the environment, frequently through chimneys to the air or through pipes to surface water Figure 7. Among the most polluting industries are food processing, tanneries and textiles with processing plants and factories that produce liquid effluents which are discharged into rivers, often without treatment Ademe and Alemayehu, ; Wosnie and Wondie, In practice, rivers frequently receive polluting discharges from many different sources all at the same time.
The Little Akaki River in Addis Ababa, for example, is polluted by several different industrial sources as well as by domestic wastes Tegegn, Like industry, agricultural activities are also increasing in Ethiopia, and changing too. Nowadays, agricultural activities in Ethiopia use more pesticides and fertilisers. Ethiopia imports over tons of various types of pesticides annually Federal Environment Protection Authority, Fertiliser use in Ethiopia has increased from , metric tons in the early s to around , metric tons in Rashid et al.
Fertiliser contains phosphate and nitrate and if these reach water bodies they can cause excessive plant growth Figure 7. Agriculture is also responsible for gaseous pollutants in the form of methane produced by livestock and solid pollutants from crop residues, packaging materials and other wastes similar to those produced domestically. Animals also contribute to waste products and potential pollutants with their excrement. Do you live in a city or have you visited a city close to where you live?
If so you will no doubt be familiar with the variety of vehicles on our roads Figure 7. Some are small cars, others are heavy motor trucks. If you observe the tailpipe of diesel engine vehicles, you will have seen the black exhaust gas produced. The intensity of the black colour is greater for poorly maintained vehicles, to the extent sometimes that it makes the air hazy or smoky and causes coughs and eye irritation.
The lack of a policy to remove old vehicles from the roads adds to the problem. Tiwari found that nearly a third of vehicles in Addis Ababa were over 30 years old, resulting in high levels of tailpipe emissions. Traffic jams, common in all big cities, make the problems worse.
We said earlier that pollution always has a source and a recipient. The pathway of pollution is the way the pollutant moves from the source, enters into the environment, and finally how it reaches the human body or other recipient. The pathway between source and recipient can take several different forms depending on the type of pollutant.
Throwing batteries in the rubbish They contain mercury — one of the most toxic metals in the world — and take to 1, years to break down. Just one battery can contaminate up to 3, litres of water. Throwing away plastic six-pack ring carriers without cutting them up These plastic rings trap animals like fish and turtles, causing mutilation, malformation and even death. Now we are aware of how we are damaging the environment, we need to find solutions and change our habits.
Here are some suggestions from the United Nations UN :. Separate your waste: don't mix your household waste, separate everything into different containers.
Recycle and reuse: stop using single-use plastics and always choose packaging and items that can be reused several times. Before you throw something away, think whether you can give it a second use.
Save energy: make use of natural light, install LED bulbs, switch off lights you don't need, adjust your thermostat and air conditioning. Eat organic food : buy fruit and vegetables free from fertilisers and other pollutants. Turn off taps: ensure they are not dripping when you finish washing up or washing. Use sustainable means of transport: walk, pedal or user public transport whenever you can. This is a natural process that keeps our atmosphere warm. If too many gases are introduced into the atmosphere, though, more heat is trapped and this can make the planet artificially warm, according to Columbia University.
Air pollution kills more than 2 million people each year, according to a study published in the journal of Environmental Research Letters. The effects of air pollution on human health can vary widely depending on the pollutant, according to Hugh Sealy, professor and director of the environmental and occupational health track at the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, St.
George's University, St. George's, Grenada. If the pollutant is highly toxic, the effects on health can be widespread and severe. For example, the release of methyl isocyanate gas at Union Carbide plant in Bhopal in killed over 2, people, and over , suffered respiratory problems.
An irritant e. The air pollutant may be carcinogenic e. Other air pollutants like carbon dioxide have an indirect impact on human health through climate change," Sealy told Live Science. Even though humans can't see or smell noise pollution, it still affects the environment. Noise pollution happens when the sound coming from planes, industry or other sources reaches harmful levels.
Research has shown that there are direct links between noise and health, including stress-related illnesses, high blood pressure , speech interference, hearing loss. For example, a study bythe WHO Noise Environmental Burden on Disease working group found that noise pollution may contribute to hundreds of thousands of deaths per year by increasing the rates of coronary heart disease.
Underwater noise pollution coming from ships has been shown to upset whales ' navigation systems and kill other species that depend on the natural underwater world. Noise also makes wild species communicate louder, which can shorten their lifespan. Most people can't imagine living without the modern convenience of electric lights.
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