Essay on Environmental Pollution: Forms, Sources and Types – Essay 7 (1500

Words)

Introduction:

Pollution as defined by the dictionary is the introduction or presence in of a substance that is

harmful or has poisonous effects on the environment. Pollution is further explained as the
introduction into the natural environment contaminants that can cause an adverse change. To be
basic, environmental pollution causes harm to the environment and which in turn brings harm to
people in the environment.

Occurrence of Environmental Pollution:

The occurrence of environmental pollution is when the surrounding is contaminated by

pollutants; this brings about some changes that adversely affect our regular lifestyles. The key
components or elements of pollution are pollutants and they are majorly waste materials of very
different forms. Pollution brings about a disturbance in the balance of the environment and the
ecosystem. Development and modernisation have brought with them a sharp increase in
pollution and this has given rise to various human illnesses and most importantly global
warming.

Forms of Environmental Pollution:

There are many various forms of environmental pollution including water, air, radioactive, soil,
heat, noise and light. For every form of pollution, there are two sources of pollution; the non
point and the point sources. It is very easy to monitor, indentify and control the point sources of
pollution while the non-point pollution sources are quite difficult and hard to control.

Causes and Sources of Environmental Pollution:

The sources and causes of environmental pollution consist of the following:

i. Industrial Activities:

Industries from all around the world even though they have brought affluence and prosperity
have continually disturbed ecological balances and have probed the biosphere. The fall-outs of
experiments, pall of smoke, industrial effluents and the swirling gases are a constant hazard to
health, contaminating and polluting both water and air. The inappropriate disposal of industrial
wastes has become a source of both water and soil pollution. The chemical wastes from the
various industries can cause pollution to rivers, lakes, seas and also to soil and air through the
release of fumes.

ii. Solid Waste Dumping:

Commercial and household wastes are sources of environmental pollution when the wastes are
not disposed of properly.
iii. Vehicles:

Vehicles that use diesel and petrol emit smoke and also the smoke that is emitted by cooking
coal pollutes our environment. The exponential growth in the number of vehicles on the roads
has only aided the emission of smoke that when released spreads and eventually mixes with the
air that we breathe. The smoke of these various vehicles is quite harmful and is the primary cause
of air pollution. There is also the risk of sounds from these vehicles producing noise pollution.

iv. Rapid Industrialisation and Urbanisation:

The rapid rate of urbanisation and also industrialisation are major causes of environmental
pollution because of the harm and death they bring to plant which causes harm to animals,
humans and the ecosystem.

v. Population Overgrowth:

The rapid population increase especially in developing nations, the demand for occupation, basic
food and shelter has been on the rise. Due to the high demand, deforestation has become rampant
to help meet the growing demand of the population.

vi. Fossil Fuel Combustion:

The continual combustion of fuels of fossils is as source of pollution to the soil, the air and water
through toxic gases like Carbon monoxide.

vii. Agricultural Wastes:

Pesticides and fertilizers that are used during agriculture are major sources of environmental
pollution.

Types of Environmental Pollution:

Air Pollution:

This is probably the most dangerous and common form of environmental pollution and it has
been seen to be synonymous with urbanisation. The primary reason for this is the high rate of
fuel combustion. Fuel combustion is now a very basic requirement for transport, cooking and
some other activities both domestically and industrially. All these activities release a large
number of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere and are not removed from the air, affecting and
threatening our existence.

Sulphur oxide is released into the air by the smoke and this makes the air very toxic. This is
primary caused by smoke from factory stacks, chimneys, vehicles or even something very
common like the burning of a log of wood. The emission of sulphur oxide and many other gases
into the atmosphere leads to global warming with the capacity to lead to an acid rain. The
emission of these greenhouse gases and the global warming it causes has led to droughts, erratic
rains and increased temperatures worldwide. Conditions and ailments like Bronchitis, Asthma
and the extremely dangerous case of lung cancer and this occurs majorly in the cities.

An example of one of the many sad examples of the calamities that can rise due to air pollution
is the 1984 gas tragedy of Bhopal. The gas tragedy was a result of the release of a gas (methyl
isocyanate) at a gas plant. About 2,000 people lost their lives in the tragedy and more than
200,000 people suffered from extensive respiratory problems. Respiratory illnesses, increase in
asthma and cardiovascular diseases can be caused by an irritant (for example, particulates that
are below 10 micrometers in size). Till this very moment, there are still birth defects in babies
born and this has been attributed to the Bhopal Tragedy.

Water Pollution:

Water is essential for life; every living creature or being depends on water for survival. About
60% of all species live in water; this means that the pollution of water is a very important
pollution type that has to be controlled. There are a lot of factors that contribute to water
pollution, one very major contributing factor is industrial effluent disposed into rivers and seas
and causing a large imbalance in the properties of water and this makes the bodies of water unfit
for live. There are also a lot of diseases that are caused by water pollution and these diseases
affect both non-aquatic and aquatic species.

Pesticides and insecticides that are sprayed on different plants is a source of pollution to the
groundwater and also, oil spills in oceans have led to severe irreversible damage to the bodies of
water. Another source of water pollution is eutrophication and it happens due to activities like
the washing of utensils, clothes near rivers, ponds or lakes; the washing detergent moves into the
water and inadvertently blocks the penetration of sunlight and this reduces the oxygen content of
the water and makes it inhabitable.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) put forward that about 80% of
marine environment pollution originates from sources like runoff. The pollution of water can
have devastating effect on marine life. Citing an example, pathogens grow well with sewage,
while inorganic and organic compounds that are in water can make the composition of water to
change. If the level of dissolved oxygen is low, the water is considered to be polluted; dissolved
oxygen is from the decomposition carried out on organic materials like sewage that are added to
the water.

By harming aquatic creatures, water pollution contaminates the whole food chain by seriously
causing harm to the humans that are dependent on the aquatic creatures. There has been a sharp
increase in the number of diarrhoea and cholera cases everywhere.

Soil Pollution:

This is also called land pollution and it happens due to addition of chemicals that are not wanted
to the soil caused by human activities. The use of pesticides and insecticides removes all the
compounds of nitrogen from the soil thus making it highly unfit for the plants to get nutrients
from. Deforestation, mining and waste release from industries also depletes the soil and this will
inhibit the growth of plants and the soil will end up being eroded.

A significant part of solid waste is the industrial or commercial waste. Hazardous waste can be
said to mean any solid, liquid or sludge form of waste that has properties which are dangerous or
are potentially dangerous to the environment or human health. Hazardous wastes are generated in
industries from pesticide manufacturing, petroleum refining, mining and a whole lot of other
productions involving chemicals. Hazardous wastes are not solely generated by industries;
households also generate waste that are hazardous like fluorescent lights, paints and solvents,
aerosol cans, motor oil and ammunition.

Noise Pollution:

This is caused anytime there is a noise that has intensity higher than 85db and it reaches the bare
ears. Noise pollution causes different psychological problems (e.g. hypertension and stress). It
sometimes also causes a permanent impairment of hearing which is a very devastating thing.
Noise pollution is largely caused by loud compressors and pumps in industries.

Radioactive Pollution:

This is believed to be one of the highly dangerous types of pollution because the effects are
permanent. Nuclear waste disposed carelessly, accidents in nuclear plants, etc are all examples of
radioactive pollution. Radioactive pollution can cause infertility as a result of exposure, cancer
(blood and skin), blindness and various birth defects. It can also permanently alter the air, soil
and water – which are the major life sources. It has been found to cause serious mutation in some
species that can for ages propagate.