Module 1

Introduction to EMS

Course Instructional Developer

Environmental ENGR. MONICA S. SOLIVA, MBA
Management System Faculty CBA
 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Course Description

The course will introduce learners to the dominant management models that have been applied historically. This work will
set the scene for an analysis of contemporary approaches to environmental policy making, planning and management.
Discuss aspects and impacts, such as the pressures and responses of human activities on the natural environment. Tools and
techniques for environmental management, as they apply to organizations and companies, are introduced. Examine the
reasons and strategies for resource conservation, pollution prevention and environmental protection related to business.

Course Outline
Module 1:
Introduction to EMS
Water Pollution
Air Pollution
Land Pollution
2
 Study Review Guide

MODULE 1 MODULE 2 MODULE 3 COMPLETION

INTRODUCTION TO EMS NATURAL RESOURCES & BIODIVERSITY POLLUTION CONTROL OF REQUIREMENTS
Aug 14 – Virtual Meeting Aug 21 – Virtual Meeting Aug 28 – Virtual Meeting Sep 04 – Virtual
Meeting
Date Wk Topic Date Wk Topic Date Wk Topic
Introduction Module 1
Air Pollution Technologies
Aug 14-20 1 Water Pollution Aug 21-27 2 Introduction Aug 28-Sep 3 3 Close on Sep 3, 2021

Natural Resources Module 2

Air Pollution Wastewater Management
Aug 14-20 1 Aug 21-27 2 Conservation & Aug 28-Sep 3 3 Close on Sep 10, 2021
Management
Solid Waste Module 3
Aug 28-Sep 3 Management Close on Sep 17, 2021
Land Pollution Biodiversity Conservation &
Aug 14-20 1 Aug 21-27 2 3 Hazardous Waste
Management
Management All missed requirements
Close on Oct 01, 2021
Aug 14-27 Submit requirements Aug 21-Sep 3 Submit requirements Aug 28-Sep 10 Submit requirements Oct 02, 2021
Aug 21-Sep 3 Submit missed requirements Sep 4-10 Submit missed requirements Sep 11-17 Submit missed requirements COURSE CLOSE

3
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Watch video
https://youtu.be/teco-gm9qF0 Source YouTube

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify how global processes impact socioecological systems.
2. Adapt to the technologies common in their work environment.
3. Utilize appropriate methodological tools to analyze and address environmental problems.

Introduction
What is EMS?
An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a framework that helps an organization achieve its
environmental goals through consistent review, evaluation, and improvement of its environmental
performance. The assumption is that this consistent review and evaluation will identify opportunities for
improving and implementing the environmental performance of the organization. The EMS itself does not
dictate a level of environmental performance that must be achieved; each organization's EMS is tailored to its
own individual objectives and targets.

Basic EMS
An EMS helps an organization address its regulatory demands in a systematic and cost-effective manner. This
proactive approach can help reduce the risk of non-compliance and improve health and safety practices for
employees and the public. An EMS can also help address non-regulated issues, such as energy conservation,
4
and can promote stronger operational control and employee stewardship.
Basic Elements of an EMS include the following:
• Reviewing the organization's environmental goals
• Analyzing its environmental impacts and legal requirements
• Setting environmental objectives and targets to reduce environmental impacts and comply with
legal requirements
• Establishing programs to meet these objectives and targets
• Monitoring and measuring progress in achieving the objectives
• Ensuring employees' environmental awareness and competence
• Reviewing progress of the EMS and making improvements

Costs and Benefits of EMS

Internal Cost
• Staff/Manager time (represents the bulk of EMS resources expended by most organizations)
• Other employee time

External Cost
• Potential consulting assistance
• Outside training of personnel

5
Costs and Benefits of EMS

Potential Benefits
• Improved environmental performance
• Enhanced compliance
• Pollution prevention
• Resource conservation
• New customers/markets
• Increased efficiency/reduced costs
• Enhanced employee morale
• Enhanced image with public, regulators, lenders, investors
• Employee awareness of environmental issues and responsibilities

6
EMS under ISO 14001
An EMS encourages an organization to continuously improve its environmental performance. The
system follows a repeating cycle (see figure 1). The organization first commits to an environmental
policy, then uses its policy as a basis for establishing a plan, which sets objectives and targets for
improving environmental performance. The next step is implementation. After that, the organization
evaluates its environmental performance to see whether the objectives and targets are being met. If
targets are not being met, corrective action is taken. The results of this evaluation are then reviewed by
top management to see if the EMS is working. Management revisits the environmental policy and sets
new targets in a revised plan. The company then implements the revised plan. The cycle repeats, and
continuous improvement occurs.

The most commonly used framework for an EMS is the one developed by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the ISO 14001 standard. Established in 1996, this
framework is the official international standard for an EMS which is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act
methodology.
7
The five main stages of an EMS, as defined by the ISO 14001 standard, are described below:
1. Commitment and Policy- top management commits to environmental improvement an establishes the
organization's environmental policy. The policy is the foundation of the EMS.

2. Planning - an organization first identifies environmental aspects of its operations. Environmental

aspects are those items, such as air pollutants or hazardous waste, that can have negative impacts on
people and/or the environment. An organization then determines which aspects are significant by
choosing criteria considered most important by the organization.

For example, an organization may choose worker health and safety, environmental compliance, and cost
as its criteria. Once significant environmental aspects are determined, an organization sets objectives
and targets. An objective is an overall environmental goal (e.g., minimize use of chemical X).

A target is a detailed, quantified requirement that arises from the objectives (e.g., reduce use of chemical
X by 25% by September 1998). The final part of the planning stage is devising an action plan for
meeting the targets. This includes designating responsibilities, establishing a schedule, and outlining
clearly defined steps to meet the targets.

3. Implementation - an organization follows through with the action plan using the necessary resources
(human, financial, etc.). An important component is employee training and awareness for all employees.
Other steps in the implementation stage include documentation, following operating procedures, and
setting up internal and external communication lines.
8
4. Evaluation - a company monitors its operations to evaluate whether targets are being met. If not,
the company takes corrective action.
5. Review - top management reviews the results of the evaluation to see if the EMS is working.
Management determines whether the original environmental policy is consistent with the
organization's values. The plan is then revised to optimize the effectiveness of the EMS. The review
stage creates a loop of continuous improvement for a company.
Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/ems/learn-about-environmental-management-systems

ISO 14001: 2015 Environment Management System

9
ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations
(a) minimize how their operations (processes, etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e., cause adverse
changes to air, water, or land)
(b) comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements, and
(c) continually improve in the above. ISO 14000 is similar to ISO 9000 quality management in that both
pertain to the process of how a product is produced, rather than to the product itself.

ISO 14001:2015 sets out the criteria for an Environmental Management System (EMS). It does not state
requirements for environmental performance, but maps out a framework that a company or organization can
follow to set up an effective EMS. It can be used by any organization that wants to improve resource
efficiency, reduce waste, and drive down costs. Using ISO 14001:2015 can provide assurance to company
management and employees as well as external stakeholders that environmental impact is being measured and
improved.

ISO 14001 can also be integrated with other management functions and assists companies in meeting their
environmental and economic goals. ISO 14001 is voluntary, with its main aim to assist companies in
continually improving their environmental performance, while complying with any applicable legislation.
Organizations are responsible for setting their own targets and performance measures, with the standard
serving to assist them in meeting objectives and goals and in the subsequent monitoring and measurement of
these. The standard can be applied to a variety of levels in the business, from organizational level, right down
to the product and service level. Rather than focusing on exact measures and goals of environmental
performance, the standard highlights what an organization needs to do to meet these goals.
10
ISO 14001 is known as a generic management system standard, meaning that it is relevant to any
organization seeking to improve and manage resources more effectively. This includes:
• single-site to large multi-national companies
• high-risk companies to low-risk service organizations
• manufacturing, process, and the service industries, including local governments
• all industry sectors including public and private sectors
• original equipment manufacturers and their suppliers

Plan Do Check Act Methodology of EMS

1. Plan–establish objectives and processes required
Prior to implementing ISO 14001, an initial review or gap analysis of the organization’s processes and
products is recommended, to assist in identifying all elements of the current operation and, if possible, future
operations, that may interact with the environment, termed “environmental aspects” . Environmental aspects
can include both direct, such as those used during manufacturing, and indirect, such as raw materials.
This review assists the organization in establishing their environmental objectives, goals, and targets, which
should ideally be measurable; helps with the development of control and management procedures and
processes; and serves to highlight any relevant legal requirements, which can then be built into the policy.

2. Do–implement the processes

During this stage, the organization identifies the resources required and works out those members of the
organization responsible for the EMS’ implementation and control . This includes establishing procedures
and processes, although only one documented procedure is specified related to operational control.
11
Other procedures are required to foster better management control over elements such as documentation control,
emergency preparedness and response, and the education of employees, to ensure that they can competently
implement the necessary processes and record results. Communication and participation across all levels of the
organization, especially top management, is a vital part of the implementation phase, with the effectiveness of
the EMS being dependent on active involvement from all employees.

3. Check–measure and monitor the processes and report results

During the ‘check’ stage, performance is monitored and periodically measured to ensure that the organization’s
environmental targets and objectives are being met. In addition, internal audits are conducted at planned
intervals to ascertain whether the EMS meets the user’s expectations and whether the processes and procedures
are being adequately maintained and monitored.

4. Act–take action to improve performance of EMS based on results

After the checking stage, a management review is conducted to ensure that the objectives of the EMS are being
met, the extent to which they are being met, and that communications are being appropriately managed; and to
evaluate changing circumstances, such as legal requirements, in order to make recommendations for further
improvement of the system. These recommendations are incorporated through continual improvement: plans are
renewed or new plans are made, and the EMS moves forward.

Basic EMS
Continual Improvement Process
The core requirement of a continual improvement process (CIP) is different from the one known from quality
management systems. CIP in ISO 14001 has three dimensions:
12
1. Expansion: More and more business areas get covered by the implemented EMS.
2. Enrichment: More and more activities, products, processes, emissions, resources, etc. get managed by
the implemented EMS.
3. Upgrading: An improvement of the structural and organizational framework of the EMS, as well as an
accumulation of know-how in dealing with business-environmental issues.
Overall, the CIP concept expects the organization to gradually move away from merely operational
environmental measures towards a strategic approach on how to deal with environmental challenges.

PDCA cycles at strategic and operational levels

Continual Improvement Process

The core requirement of a continual improvement process (CIP) is different from the one known from
quality management systems. CIP in ISO 14001 has three dimensions:
1. Expansion: More and more business areas get covered by the implemented EMS.
2. Enrichment: More and more activities, products, processes, emissions, resources, etc. get managed by
the implemented EMS. 13
3. Upgrading: An improvement of the structural and organizational framework of the EMS, as well as an
accumulation of know-how in dealing with business-environmental issues.
Overall, the CIP concept expects the organization to gradually move away from merely operational
environmental measures towards a strategic approach on how to deal with environmental challenges.

We all have an impact on the environment by the mere act of living from day-to-day. An EMS, in its simplest
form, asks us to control our activities so that any environmental impacts are minimized. However unstructured
approach may lead us to improve in the wrong direction or, indeed, may leave us without any clear direction at
all. It is tempting to control and minimize those impacts we feel we can tackle easily. Our attitude towards
environmental issues is influenced by a topical environmental event, and therefore, we can be influenced to act
without thoroughly understanding some of the more complex issues.

We may focus on, and minimize, environmental impacts which are trivial in nature compared with other
impacts which are far more significant and require more considered thought processes. Unless a structured
approach is taken the organization may focus on what it believes to be its environmental impacts, a belief
based upon ‘gut feel’ and ease of implementation. In reality, this does not address real issues but promotes a
‘green’ feel-good factor or perceived enhancement of image – both internal and external to the organization –
which is not justified.

For example, a company engaged in the extraction of raw materials by mining may have an environmental
objective to save energy. By implementing a ‘save energy by switching off lights’ campaign in its site offices it
may feel it has achieved ‘green’ status and may proudly boast of such an environment friendly approach.
14
There will be some energy saved by administration personnel switching off lights and heating when they
are not being used for long periods. However, such savings in energy are trivial compared to the
massive impact that the mining industry has on the environment: the visible impact of the site and
surrounding land, the associated increased noise levels from the operation of such a site, the high use of
energy both in extraction technology and transport activities, the use of chemicals in the purification
process and of course, the use of non-renewable resources (the raw material that is being mined).

Unless the mining company considers the relative scale and significance of environmental impacts, then
by claiming to be ‘green’ it has really missed the whole point of environmental control and impact
minimization.

An organization must move away from this ‘gut feel’ approach to a structured system that demands as a
minimum from the organization, an understanding of the concepts behind and strong linkages between:
Identifying all environmental aspects of the organization’s activities.
Using a logical, objective (rather than subjective) methodology to rank such aspects into order of
significant impact upon the environment.
Focusing the management system to seek to improve upon and minimize such significant environmental
impacts.

Benefits of ISO 14001

ISO 14001 was developed primarily to assist companies with a framework for better management
control that can result in reducing their environmental impacts. 15
In addition to improvements in performance, organizations can reap a number of economic benefits including
higher conformance with legislative and regulatory requirements by adopting the ISO standard.

By minimizing the risk of regulatory and environmental liability fines and improving an organization’s
efficiency, benefits can include a reduction in waste, consumption of resources, and operating costs. Secondly,
as an internationally recognized standard, businesses operating in multiple locations across the globe can
leverage their conformance to ISO 14001, eliminating the need for multiple registrations or certifications.

Thirdly, there has been a push in the last decade by consumers for companies to adopt better internal controls,
making the incorporation of ISO 14001 a smart approach for the long-term viability of businesses. This can
provide them with a competitive advantage against companies that do not adopt the standard.

This in turn can have a positive impact on a company’s asset value. It can lead to improved public perceptions
of the business, placing them in a better position to operate in the international marketplace.

The use of ISO 14001 can demonstrate an innovative and forward-thinking approach to customers and
prospective employees. It can increase a business’s access to new customers and business partners. In some
markets it can potentially reduce public liability insurance costs. It can serve to reduce trade barriers between
registered businesses. There is growing interest in including certification to ISO 14001 in tenders for public-
private partnerships for infrastructure renewal.

16
Conformity Assessment
ISO 14001 can be used in whole or in part to help an organization (for-profit or not-for-profit) better
manage its relationship with the environment. If all the elements of ISO 14001 are incorporated into
the management process, the organization may opt to prove that it has achieved full alignment or
conformity with the international standard, ISO 14001, by using one of four recognized options.

These are:
• make a self-determination and self-declaration, or
• seek confirmation of its conformance by parties having an interest in the organization, such as
customers, or
• seek confirmation of its self-declaration by a party external to the organization, or
• seek certification/registration of its EMS by an external organization.

ISO does not control conformity assessment; its mandate is to develop and maintain standards. ISO has
a neutral policy on conformity assessment. One option is not better than the next. Each option serves
different market needs. The adopting organization decides which option is best for them, in conjunction
with their market needs.

Retrieved from https://isoconsultantkuwait.com/2019/06/21/iso-140012015-environment-management-

system/

17
Water Pollution
Watch video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71IBbTy-_n4 Source: YouTube

Photo: Detergent pollution entering a river. Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife Service Photo Library.

Water pollution: an introduction

by Chris Woodford. Last updated: June 9, 2020
Over two thirds of Earth's surface is covered by water; less than a third is taken up by land. As Earth's
population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing pressure on the planet's water resources. In a
sense, our oceans, rivers, and other inland waters are being "squeezed" by human activities—not so they18take
We know that pollution is a human problem because it is a relatively recent development in the planet's
history: before the 19th century Industrial Revolution, people lived more in harmony with their
immediate environment. As industrialization has spread around the globe, so the problem of pollution
has spread with it.

When Earth's population was much smaller, no one believed pollution would ever present a serious
problem. It was once popularly believed that the oceans were far too big to pollute. Today, with around
7 billion people on the planet, it has become apparent that there are limits. Pollution is one of the signs
that humans have exceeded those limits.

How serious is the problem? According to the environmental campaign organization WWF: "Pollution
from toxic chemicals threatens life on this planet. Every ocean and every continent, from the tropics to
the once-pristine polar regions, is contaminated.“

What is water pollution?

Water pollution can be defined in many ways. Usually, it means one or more substances have built up in
water to such an extent that they cause problems for animals or people. Oceans, lakes, rivers, and other
inland waters can naturally clean up a certain amount of pollution by dispersing it harmlessly. If you
poured a cup of black ink into a river, the ink would quickly disappear into the river's much larger
volume of clean water. The ink would still be there in the river, but in such a low concentration that you
would not be able to see it. At such low levels, the chemicals in the ink probably would not present any
real problem.
19
However, if you poured gallons of ink into a river every few seconds through a pipe, the river would quickly
turn black. The chemicals in the ink could very quickly have an effect on the quality of the water. This, in turn,
could affect the health of all the plants, animals, and humans whose lives depend on the river.

Thus, water pollution is all about quantities: how much of a polluting substance is released and how big a
volume of water it is released into. A small quantity of a toxic chemical may have little impact if it is spilled
into the ocean from a ship. But the same amount of the same chemical can have a much bigger impact pumped
into a lake or river, where there is less clean water to disperse it.

Water pollution almost always means that some damage has been done to an ocean, river, lake, or other water
source. A 1969 United Nations report defined ocean pollution as:
"The introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine environment
(including estuaries) resulting in such deleterious effects as harm to living resources, hazards to human health,
hindrance to marine activities, including fishing, impairment of quality for use of sea water and reduction of
amenities." [1] Fortunately, Earth is forgiving and damage from water pollution is often reversible.
20
What are the main types of water pollution?
When we think of Earth's water resources, we think of huge oceans, lakes, and rivers. Water resources like
these are called surface waters. The most obvious type of water pollution affects surface waters. For example, a
spill from an oil tanker creates an oil slick that can affect a vast area of the ocean.

Not all of Earth's water sits on its surface, however. A great deal of water is held in underground rock structures
known as aquifers, which we cannot see and seldom think about. Water stored underground in aquifers is
known as groundwater. Aquifers feed our rivers and supply much of our drinking water. They too can become
polluted, for example, when weed killers used in people's gardens drain into the ground. Groundwater
pollution is much less obvious than surface-water pollution, but is no less of a problem. In 1996, a study in
Iowa in the United States found that over half the state's groundwater wells were contaminated with weed
killers.

You might think things would have improved since then, but, two decades on, all that's really changed is the
name of the chemicals we're using. Today, numerous scientific studies are still finding weed killers in
groundwater in worrying quantities: a 2012 study discovered glyphosate in 41 percent of 140 groundwater
samples from Catalonia, Spain; scientific opinion differs on whether this is safe or not. [2]
Surface waters and groundwater are the two types of water resources that pollution affects. There are also two
different ways in which pollution can occur. If pollution comes from a single location, such as a discharge pipe
attached to a factory, it is known as point-source pollution. Other examples of point source pollution include an
oil spill from a tanker, a discharge from a smoke stack (factory chimney), or someone pouring oil from their
car down a drain. A great deal of water pollution happens not from one single source but from many different
scattered sources. This is called nonpoint-source pollution.
21
When point-source pollution enters the environment, the place most affected is usually the area immediately
around the source. For example, when a tanker accident occurs, the oil slick is concentrated around the tanker
itself and, in the right ocean conditions, the pollution disperses the further away from the tanker you go. This is
less likely to happen with nonpoint source pollution which, by definition, enters the environment from many
different places at once.

Sometimes pollution that enters the environment in one place has an effect hundreds or even thousands of miles
away. This is known as transboundary pollution. One example is the way radioactive waste travels through the
oceans from nuclear reprocessing plants in England and France to nearby countries such as Ireland and
Norway.

How do we know when water is polluted?

Some forms of water pollution are very obvious: everyone has seen TV news footage of oil slicks filmed from
helicopters flying overhead. Water pollution is usually less obvious and much harder to detect than this. But
how can we measure water pollution when we cannot see it? How do we even know it's there?

There are two main ways of measuring the quality of water. One is to take samples of the water and measure
the concentrations of different chemicals that it contains. If the chemicals are dangerous or the concentrations
are too great, we can regard the water as polluted. Measurements like this are known as chemical indicators of
water quality. Another way to measure water quality involves examining the fish, insects, and other
invertebrates that the water will support. If many different types of creatures can live in a river, the quality is
likely to be very good; if the river supports no fish life at all, the quality is obviously much poorer.
Measurements like this are called biological indicators of water quality.
22
What are the causes of water pollution?
Most water pollution doesn't begin in the water itself. Take the oceans: around 80 percent of ocean pollution
enters our seas from the land. [16] Virtually any human activity can have an effect on the quality of our water
environment. When farmers fertilize the fields, the chemicals they use are gradually washed by rain into the
groundwater or surface waters nearby. Sometimes the causes of water pollution are quite surprising. Chemicals
released by smokestacks (chimneys) can enter the atmosphere and then fall back to earth as rain, entering seas,
rivers, and lakes and causing water pollution. That's called atmospheric deposition. Water pollution has many
different causes and this is one of the reasons why it is such a difficult problem to solve.

Sewage
With billions of people on the planet, disposing of sewage waste is a major problem. According to 2017 figures
from the World Health Organization, some 2 billion people (about a quarter of the world's population) don't
have access to safe drinking water or the most basic sanitation, 3.4 billion (60 people of the population) lack
"safely managed" sanitation (unshared, with waste properly treated). Although there have been great
improvements in securing access to clean water, relatively little, genuine progress has been made on improving
global sanitation in the last decade. [20]
Sewage disposal affects people's immediate environments and leads to water-related illnesses such as diarrhea
that kills 525,000 children under five each year. [3] (Back in 2002, the World Health Organization estimated
that water-related diseases could kill as many as 135 million people by 2020; in 2016, the WHO was still
estimating the annual death toll from poor water and sanitation at close to a million people a year.) In developed
countries, most people have flush toilets that take sewage waste quickly and hygienically away from their
homes.
23
Yet the problem of sewage disposal does not end there. When you flush the toilet, the waste has to go
somewhere and, even after it leaves the sewage treatment works, there is still waste to dispose of. Sometimes
sewage waste is pumped untreated into the sea.

Until the early 1990s, around 5 million tons of sewage was dumped by barge from New York City each year.
[4] According to 2002 figures from the UK government's Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural
Affairs (DEFRA), the sewers of Britain collect around 11 billion liters of waste water every day; there are still
31,000 sewage overflow pipes through which, in certain circumstances, such as heavy storms, raw sewage is
pumped untreated into the sea. [5] The New River that crosses the border from Mexico into California once
carried with it 20–25 million gallons (76–95 million liters) of raw sewage each day; a new waste water plant
on the US-Mexico border, completed in 2007, substantially solved that problem. [6]

Unfortunately, even in some of the richest nations, the practice of dumping sewage into the sea continues. In
early 2012, it was reported that the tiny island of Guernsey (between Britain and France) has decided to
continue dumping 16,000 tons of raw sewage into the sea each day.

In theory, sewage is a completely natural substance that should be broken down harmlessly in the
environment: 90 percent of sewage is water. [7] In practice, sewage contains all kinds of other chemicals, from
the pharmaceutical drugs people take to the paper, plastic, and other wastes they flush down their toilets.
When people are sick with viruses, the sewage they produce carries those viruses into the environment. It is
possible to catch illnesses such as hepatitis, typhoid, and cholera from river and sea water.

24
 Nutrients

Photo: During crop-spraying, some chemicals will drain into the soil. Eventually, they seep into rivers and other watercourses.
Photo courtesy of US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

Suitably treated and used in moderate quantities, sewage can be a fertilizer: it returns important nutrients to
the environment, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which plants and animals need for growth. The trouble is,
sewage is often released in much greater quantities than the natural environment can cope with. Chemical
fertilizers used by farmers also add nutrients to the soil, which drain into rivers and seas and add to the
fertilizing effect of the sewage. Together, sewage and fertilizers can cause a massive increase in the growth of
algae or plankton that overwhelms huge areas of oceans, lakes, or rivers.

This is known as a harmful algal bloom (also known as an HAB or red tide, because it can turn the water
red). It is harmful because it removes oxygen from the water that kills other forms of life, leading to what is
known as a dead zone. The Gulf of Mexico has one of the world's most spectacular dead zones. Each
summer, according to studies by the NOAA, it typically grows to an area of around 5500–6000 square miles
(14,000–15,500 square kilometers), which is about the same size as the state of Connecticut. [21]. 25
Waste water
A few statistics illustrate the scale of the problem that waste water (chemicals washed down drains and
discharged from factories) can cause. Around half of all ocean pollution is caused by sewage and waste water.
Each year, the world generates perhaps 5–10 billion tons of industrial waste, much of which is pumped
untreated into rivers, oceans, and other waterways. [8] In the United States alone, around 400,000 factories
take clean water from rivers, and many pump polluted waters back in their place. However, there have been
major improvements in waste water treatment recently. Since 1970, in the United States, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has invested about $70 billion in improving water treatment plants that, as of 2015,
serve around 88 percent of the US population (compared to just 69 percent in 1972). However, another $271
billion is still needed to update and upgrade the system. [15]

Factories are point sources of water pollution, but quite a lot of water is polluted by ordinary people from
nonpoint sources; this is how ordinary water becomes waste water in the first place. Virtually everyone pours
chemicals of one sort or another down their drains or toilets. Even detergents used in washing machines and
dishwashers eventually end up in our rivers and oceans. So do the pesticides we use on our gardens. A lot of
toxic pollution also enters waste water from highway runoff. Highways are typically covered with a cocktail of
toxic chemicals—everything from spilled fuel and brake fluids to bits of worn tires (themselves made from

chemical additives) and exhaust emissions. When it rains, these chemicals wash into drains and rivers. It is not
unusual for heavy summer rainstorms to wash toxic chemicals into rivers in such concentrations that they kill
large numbers of fish overnight. It has been estimated that, in one year, the highway runoff from a single large
city leaks as much oil into our water environment as a typical tanker spill. Some highway runoff runs away
into drains; others can pollute groundwater or accumulate in the land next to a road, making it increasingly
toxic as the years go by. 26
Chemical waste
Detergents are relatively mild substances. At the opposite end of the spectrum are highly toxic chemicals
such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). They were once widely used to manufacture electronic circuit
boards, but their harmful effects have now been recognized and their use is highly restricted in many
countries. Nevertheless, an estimated half million tons of PCBs were discharged into the environment
during the 20th century. [9]
In a classic example of transboundary pollution, traces of PCBs have even been found in birds and fish
in the Arctic. They were carried there through the oceans, thousands of miles from where they originally
entered the environment. Although PCBs are widely banned, their effects will be felt for many decades
because they last a long time in the environment without breaking down.

Another kind of toxic pollution comes from heavy metals, such as lead, cadmium, and mercury. Lead
was once commonly used in gasoline (petrol), though its use is now restricted in some countries.
Mercury and cadmium are still used in batteries (though some brands now use other metals instead).
Until recently, a highly toxic chemical called tributyltin (TBT) was used in paints to protect boats from
the ravaging effects of the oceans. Ironically, however, TBT was gradually recognized as a pollutant:
boats painted with it were doing as much damage to the oceans as the oceans were doing to the boats.

The best known example of heavy metal pollution in the oceans took place in 1938 when a Japanese
factory discharged a significant amount of mercury metal into Minamata Bay, contaminating the fish
stocks there. It took a decade for the problem to come to light. By that time, many local people had eaten
the fish and around 2000 were poisoned. Hundreds of people were left dead or disabled. [10]
27
 Oil pollution

Photo: Oil-tanker spills are the most spectacular forms of pollution and the ones that catch public attention,
but only a fraction of all water pollution happens this way. Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife Service Photo Library.

When we think of ocean pollution, huge black oil slicks often spring to mind, yet these spectacular accidents
represent only a tiny fraction of all the pollution entering our oceans. Even considering oil by itself, tanker spills
are not as significant as they might seem: only 12 percent of the oil that enters the oceans comes from tanker
accidents; over 70 percent of oil pollution at sea comes from routine shipping and from the oil people pour down
drains on land. [12] However, what makes tanker spills so destructive is the sheer quantity of oil

they release at once — in other words, the concentration of oil they produce in one very localized part of the
marine environment. The biggest oil spill in recent years (and the biggest ever spill in US waters) occurred when
the tanker Exxon Valdez broke up in Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989. Around 12 million gallons (44
million liters) of oil were released into the pristine wilderness—enough to fill your living room 800 times over!

Estimates of the marine animals killed in the spill vary from approximately 1000 sea otters and 34,000 birds to as
many as 2800 sea otters and 250,000 sea birds. Several billion salmon and herring eggs are also believed to have
been destroyed. [13]

28
Plastics
If you've ever taken part in a community beach clean, you'll know that plastic is far and away the most
common substance that washes up with the waves. There are three reasons for this: plastic is one of the most
common materials, used for making virtually every kind of manufactured object from clothing to automobile
parts; plastic is light and floats easily so it can travel enormous distances across the oceans; most plastics are
not biodegradable (they do not break down naturally in the environment), which means that things like plastic
bottle tops can survive in the marine environment for a long time. (A plastic bottle can survive an estimated
450 years in the ocean and plastic fishing line can last up to 600 years.)

While plastics are not toxic in quite the same way as poisonous chemicals, they nevertheless present a major
hazard to seabirds, fish, and other marine creatures. For example, plastic fishing lines and other debris can
strangle or choke fish. (This is sometimes called ghost fishing.) About half of all the world's seabird species
are known to have eaten plastic residues. In one study of 450 shearwaters in the North Pacific, over 80
percent of the birds were found to contain plastic residues in their stomachs. In the early 1990s, marine
scientist Tim Benton collected debris from a 2km (1.5 mile) length of beach in the remote Pitcairn islands in
the South Pacific. His study recorded approximately a thousand pieces of garbage including 268 pieces of
plastic, 71 plastic bottles, and two dolls heads. [14]

Today, much media attention focuses on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating, oceanic graveyard of
plastic junk roughly three times the size of France, discovered by sailor Charles J. Moore in 1997. But, as
you'll know well enough if you've ever taken part in a community beach clean, persistent plastic litters every
ocean on the planet: some 8 million tons of new plastic are dumped in the sea every single year. [17]

29
Alien species
Most people's idea of water pollution involves things like sewage, toxic metals, or oil slicks, but pollution can
be biological as well as chemical. In some parts of the world, alien species are a major problem. Alien species
(sometimes known as invasive species) are animals or plants from one region that have been introduced into a
different ecosystem where they do not belong. Outside their normal environment, they have no natural
predators, so they rapidly run wild, crowding out the usual animals or plants that thrive there. Common

examples of alien species include zebra mussels in the Great Lakes of the USA, which were carried there from
Europe by ballast water (waste water flushed from ships). The Mediterranean Sea has been invaded by a kind
of alien algae called Caulerpa taxifolia. In the Black Sea, an alien jellyfish called Mnemiopsis leidyi reduced
fish stocks by 90 percent after arriving in ballast water. In San Francisco Bay, Asian clams called
Potamocorbula amurensis, also introduced by ballast water, have dramatically altered the ecosystem. In 1999,
Cornell University's David Pimentel estimated that alien invaders like this cost the US economy $123 billion a
year; in 2014, the European Commission put the cost to Europe at €12 billion a year and "growing all the time.
[18]
These are most common forms of pollution—
Other Forms of Pollution but by no means the only ones. Heat
Photo: Invasive species: Above: Water hyacinth
crowding out a waterway around an old fence or thermal pollution from factories and power
post. Photo by Steve Hillebrand.
These are the most commo
Below: Non-native zebra mussels clumped on a plants also causes problems in rivers. By
native mussel. Both photos courtesy of US Fish &
Wildlife Service Photo Library. raising the temperature, it reduces the amount
of oxygen dissolved in the water, thus also
reducing the level of aquatic life that the river
can support.
30
Another type of pollution involves the disruption of sediments (fine-grained powders) that flow from rivers
into the sea. Dams built for hydroelectric power or water reservoirs can reduce the sediment flow. This reduces
the formation of beaches, increases coastal erosion (the natural destruction of cliffs by the sea), and reduces the
flow of nutrients from rivers into seas (potentially reducing coastal fish stocks). Increased sediments can also
present a problem. During construction work, soil, rock, and other fine powders sometimes enters nearby rivers
in large quantities, causing it to become turbid (muddy or silted). The extra sediment can block the gills of fish,
effectively suffocating them. Construction firms often now take precautions to prevent this kind of pollution
from happening.

What are the effects of water pollution?

Some people believe pollution is an inescapable result of human activity: they argue that if we want to have
factories, cities, ships, cars, oil, and coastal resorts, some degree of pollution is almost certain to result. In
other words, pollution is a necessary evil that people must put up with if they want to make progress.
Fortunately, not everyone agrees with this view. One reason people have woken up to the problem of pollution
is that it brings costs of its own that undermine any economic benefits that come about by polluting.

Take oil spills, for example. They can happen if tankers are too poorly built to survive accidents at sea. But the
economic benefit of compromising on tanker quality brings an economic cost when an oil spill occurs. The oil
can wash up on nearby beaches, devastate the ecosystem, and severely affect tourism. The main problem is that
the people who bear the cost of the spill (typically a small coastal community) are not the people who caused
the problem in the first place (the people who operate the tanker). Yet, arguably, everyone who puts gasoline
(petrol) into their car—or uses almost any kind of petroleum-fueled transport—contributes to the problem in
some way. So oil spills are a problem for everyone, not just people who live by the coast and tanker operates.
31
Sewage is another good example of how pollution can affect us all. Sewage discharged into coastal waters can
wash up on beaches and cause a health hazard. People who bathe or surf in the water can fall ill if they
swallow polluted water—yet sewage can have other harmful effects too: it can poison shellfish (such as
cockles and mussels) that grow near the shore. People who eat poisoned shellfish risk suffering from an
acute—and sometimes fatal—illness called paralytic shellfish poisoning. Shellfish is no longer caught along
many shores because it is simply too polluted with sewage or toxic chemical wastes that have discharged from
the land nearby. Pollution matters because it harms the environment on which people depend. The
environment is not something distant and separate from our lives. The environment is everything that
surrounds us that gives us life and health. Destroying the environment ultimately reduces the quality of our
own lives—and that, most selfishly, is why pollution should matter to all of us.

How can we stop water pollution?

There is no easy way to solve water pollution; if there were, it wouldn't be so much of a problem. Broadly
speaking, there are three different things that can help to tackle the problem—education, laws, and
economics—and they work together as a team.

Education
Making people aware of the problem is the first step to solving it. In the early 1990s, when surfers in Britain
grew tired of catching illnesses from water polluted with sewage, they formed a group called Surfers Against
Sewage to force governments and water companies to clean up their act. People who've grown tired of
walking the world's polluted beaches often band together to organize community beach-cleaning sessions.
Anglers who no longer catch so many fish have campaigned for tougher penalties against factories that pour
pollution into our rivers. Greater public awareness can make a positive difference.
32
Laws
One of the biggest problems with water pollution is its transboundary nature. Many rivers cross
countries, while seas span whole continents. Pollution discharged by factories in one country with poor
environmental standards can cause problems in neighboring nations, even when they have tougher laws
and higher standards.
Environmental laws can make it tougher for people to pollute, but to be really effective they have to
operate across national and international borders.

Our clean future

Life is ultimately about choices—and so is pollution. We can live with sewage-strewn beaches, dead
rivers, and fish that are too poisonous to eat. Or we can work together to keep the environment clean so
the plants, animals, and people who depend on it remain healthy.

We can take individual action to help reduce water pollution, for example, by using environmentally
friendly detergents, not pouring oil down drains, reducing pesticides, and so on.

We can take community action too, by helping out on beach cleans or litter picks to keep our rivers and
seas that little bit cleaner. And we can take action as countries and continents to pass laws that will make
pollution harder and the world less polluted.
Working together, we can make pollution less of a problem—and the world a better place.

Retrieved from https://www.explainthatstuff.com/waterpollution.html 33

Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know
Our rivers, reservoirs, lakes, and seas are drowning in chemicals, waste, plastic, and other pollutants.
Here’s why―and what you can do to help.
May 14, 2018 Melissa Denchak

What Is Water Pollution?

Water pollution occurs when harmful substances—often chemicals or microorganisms—contaminate a
stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to
humans or the environment.

What Are the Causes of Water Pollution?

Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution. Known as a “universal solvent,” water is able to dissolve more
substances than any other liquid on earth. It’s the reason we have Kool-Aid and brilliant blue waterfalls. It’s
also why water is so easily polluted. Toxic substances from farms, towns, and factories readily dissolve into
and mix with it, causing water pollution. 34
Categories of Water Pollution
Groundwater
When rain falls and seeps deep into the earth, filling the cracks, crevices, and porous spaces of an aquifer
(basically an underground storehouse of water), it becomes groundwater—one of our least visible but most
important natural resources. Groundwater gets polluted when contaminants—from pesticides and fertilizers to
waste leached from landfills and septic systems—make their way into an aquifer, rendering it unsafe for
human use. Ridding groundwater of contaminants can be difficult to impossible, as well as costly. Once
polluted, an aquifer may be unusable for decades, or even thousands of years. Groundwater can also spread
contamination far from the original polluting source as it seeps into streams, lakes, and oceans.

Surface Water
Covering about 70 percent of the earth, surface water is what fills our oceans, lakes, rivers, and all those other
blue bits on the world map. Nutrient pollution, which includes nitrates and phosphates, is the leading type of
contamination in these freshwater sources. While plants and animals need these nutrients to grow, they have
become a major pollutant due to farm waste and fertilizer runoff. Municipal and industrial waste discharges
contribute their fair share of toxins as well.

Ocean Water
Eighty percent of ocean pollution (also called marine pollution) originates on land—whether along the coast or
far inland. Contaminants such as chemicals, nutrients, and heavy metals are carried from farms, factories, and
cities by streams and rivers into our bays and estuaries; from there they travel out to sea. Meanwhile, marine
debris—particularly plastic—is blown in by the wind or washed in via storm drains and sewers. Our seas are
also sometimes spoiled by oil spills and leaks—big and small—and are consistently soaking up carbon
pollution from the air. The ocean absorbs as much as a quarter of man-made carbon emissions. 35
Point source
When contamination originates from a single source, it’s called point source pollution. Examples include
wastewater (also called effluent) discharged legally or illegally by a manufacturer, oil refinery, or wastewater
treatment facility, as well as contamination from leaking septic systems, chemical and oil spills, and illegal
dumping.

Nonpoint source
Nonpoint source pollution is contamination derived from diffuse sources. These may include agricultural or
stormwater runoff or debris blown into waterways from land. Nonpoint source pollution is the leading cause of
water pollution in U.S. waters, but it’s difficult to regulate, since there’s no single, identifiable culprit.

Transboundary
It goes without saying that water pollution can’t be contained by a line on a map. Transboundary pollution is
the result of contaminated water from one country spilling into the waters of another. Contamination can result
from a disaster—like an oil spill—or the slow, downriver creep of industrial, agricultural, or municipal
discharge.

The Most Common Types of Water Contamination

Agricultural
Around the world, agriculture is the leading cause of water degradation. It is also a major contributor of
contamination to estuaries and groundwater. Every time it rains, fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste from
farms and livestock operations wash nutrients and pathogens—such bacteria and viruses—into our waterways.
Nutrient pollution, caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in water or air, is the number-one threat to water
quality worldwide and can cause algal blooms, a toxic soup of blue-green algae that can be harmful to people
36
and wildlife.
Sewage and wastewater
Used water is wastewater. It comes from our sinks, showers, and toilets (think sewage) and from commercial,
industrial, and agricultural activities (think metals, solvents, and toxic sludge). The term also includes storm
water runoff, which occurs when rainfall carries road salts, oil, grease, chemicals, and debris from
impermeable surfaces into our waterways.

Oil pollution
Big spills may dominate headlines, but consumers account for the vast majority of oil pollution in our seas,
including oil and gasoline that drips from millions of cars and trucks every day. Moreover, nearly half of the
estimated 1 million tons of oil that makes its way into marine environments each year comes not from tanker
spills but from land-based sources such as factories, farms, and cities. At sea, tanker spills account for about 10
percent of the oil in waters around the world, while regular operations of the shipping industry—through both
legal and illegal discharges—contribute about one-third. Oil is also naturally released from under the ocean
floor through fractures known as seeps.

Radioactive substances
Radioactive waste is any pollution that emits radiation beyond what is naturally released by the environment. It
is generated by uranium mining, nuclear power plants, and the production and testing of military weapons, as
well as by universities and hospitals that use radioactive materials for research and medicine. Radioactive
waste can persist in the environment for thousands of years, making disposal a major challenge. Consider the
decommissioned Hanford nuclear weapons production site in Washington, where the cleanup of 56 million
gallons of radioactive waste is expected to cost more than $100 billion and last through 2060. Accidentally
released or improperly disposed of contaminants threaten groundwater, surface water, and marine resources.
37
What Are the Effects of Water Pollution?
On human health
Waterborne pathogens, in the form of disease-causing bacteria and viruses from human and animal waste, are a
major cause of illness from contaminated drinking water. Diseases spread by unsafe water include cholera,
giardia, and typhoid. Even in wealthy nations, accidental or illegal releases from sewage treatment facilities, as
well as runoff from farms and urban areas, contribute harmful pathogens to waterways.

On the environment
In order to thrive, healthy ecosystems rely on a complex web of animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi—all of
which interact, directly or indirectly, with each other. Harm to any of these organisms can create a chain effect,
imperiling entire aquatic environments. When water pollution causes an algal bloom in a lake or marine
environment, the proliferation of newly introduced nutrients stimulates plant and algae growth, which in turn
reduces oxygen levels in the water. This dearth of oxygen, known as eutrophication, suffocates plants and
animals and can create “dead zones,” where waters are essentially devoid of life. In certain cases, these harmful
algal blooms can also produce neurotoxins that affect wildlife, from whales to sea turtles. Chemicals and heavy
metals from industrial and municipal wastewater contaminate waterways as well. Marine ecosystems are also
threatened by marine debris, which can strangle, suffocate, and starve animals. Much of this solid debris, such
as plastic bags and soda cans, gets swept into sewers and storm drains and eventually out to sea, turning our
oceans into trash soup and sometimes consolidating to form floating garbage patches. Meanwhile, ocean
acidification is making it tougher for shellfish and coral to survive. Though they absorb about a quarter of the
carbon pollution created each year by burning fossil fuels, oceans are becoming more acidic. This process
makes it harder for shellfish and other species to build shells and may impact the nervous systems of sharks,
clownfish, and other marine life.
38
Retrieved from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-everything-you-need-know
Air Pollution
Watch video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6rglsLy1Ys Source YouTube

What Is Air Pollution?

Air pollution can be defined as an alteration of air quality that can be characterized by measurements of
chemical, biological or physical pollutants in the air. Therefore, air pollution means the undesirable presence
of impurities or the abnormal rise in the proportion of some constituents of the atmosphere.

Local - this concerns the quality of ambient air within a radius of a few kilometers
Regional - pollution like acid rain, photochemical reactions and degradation of water quality at distances
of a few kilometers to a thousand kilometers
Global - depletion of the ozone layer and global warming caused by the emission of greenhouse gases,
mainly carbon dioxide (CO2)

Air pollution causes

Air pollution is caused by the presence in the atmosphere of toxic substances, mainly produced by
human activities, even though sometimes it can result from natural phenomena such as volcanic
eruptions, dust storms and wildfires, also depleting the air quality.

39
Anthropogenic air pollution sources are:
1. Combustion of fossil fuels, like coal and oil for electricity and road transport, producing air pollutants
like nitrogen and sulfur dioxide.
2. Emissions from industries and factories, releasing large amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon,
chemicals and organic compounds into the air.
3. Agricultural activities, due to the use of pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers that emit harmful chemicals
4. Waste production, mostly because of methane generation in landfills.

Air Pollution Effects

It is impossible to describe the whole extent of potential and actual damage caused by all forms of air pollution. But
here are the main consequences:
 On the Environment
Air pollution has a major impact on the process of plant evolution by preventing photosynthesis in many
cases, with serious consequences for the purification of the air we breathe. It also contributes to the
formation of acid rain, atmospheric precipitations in the form of rain, frost, snow or fog, which are
released during the combustion of fossil fuels and transformed by contact with water steam in the
atmosphere.
 Global Warming
On top of that, air pollution is a major contributor to global warming and climate change. In fact, the
abundance of carbon dioxide in the air is one of the causes of the greenhouse effect. Normally, the
presence of greenhouse gases should be beneficial for the planet because they absorb the infra-red
radiation produced by the surface of the earth. But the excessive concentration of these gases in the
atmosphere is the cause of the recent climate change.
40
 On Human Health
Our continual exposure to air pollutants is responsible for the deterioration of human health.
Air pollution is indeed a significant risk factor for human health conditions, causing allergies, respiratory
and cardiovascular diseases as well as lung damage.

Air Pollution Prevention

There are ways to prevent, control and eventually reduce air pollution:
 Renewable fuel and clean energy production. The most basic solution for air pollution is to move away
from fossil fuels, replacing them with alternative energies like solar, wind and geothermal.
 Energy conservation and efficiency. Producing clean energy is crucial. But equally important is to reduce
our consumption of energy by adopting responsible habits and using more efficient devices.
 Eco-friendly transportation. Shifting to electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles, and promoting shared
mobility (i.e. carpooling, and public transports) could reduce air pollution.
 Green building. From planning to demolition, green building aims to create environmentally responsible
and resource-efficient structures to reduce their carbon footprint.
In addition, monitoring air pollution levels has become very important to detect pollution peaks, better control
air pollution and eventually improve air quality.

How is air quality measured?

With measuring devices using laser-based technologies, chemiluminescence, flame ionization, etc. These
devices are, for instance, located close to the traffic, far from the traffic and close to industrial zones. All the
collected data are compiled into a value scale, called the Air Quality Index (AQI).

Retrieved from https://solarimpulse.com/air-pollution-solutions#:~:

text=Air%20pollution%20can%20be%20defined,some%20constituents%20of%20the%20atmosphere. 41
Land Pollution
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njx7KUZhPrQ Source YouTube

What is land pollution?

Land pollution refers to all forms of pollution affecting any type of soil: agricultural, forestry, urban,
etc. Soil pollution is a disruptive element for many biological resources and ecosystems. A soil is
polluted when it contains an abnormal concentration of chemical compounds potentially dangerous to
human health, plants or animals. There are different types of land pollution:
 Agricultural land
 Chemicals
 Solid waste
Land pollution causes
Human activities are the main causes of land pollution:
 Agriculture
Agricultural activities are one of the major sources of land pollution.
42
 The spreading of plant protection products such as pesticides and herbicides, as well as the emission of
livestock buildings and farms are at the origin of soil pollution, in particular by nitrogen and
phosphates.

Deforestation
Because of deforestation and forest fires, soils lose their vegetation cover. The erosion process is thus
accelerated, creating soil degradation as well as water pollution. Deforestation leads to the loss of the land’s
value as, once converted into a dry or barren land, it can never be made fertile again.

43
 Urbanization
Urbanization is another source of land degradation. The artificialization of soils can cause a rapid
and consequent carbon depletion, which contributes to climate change. Besides, it fragments natural
habitats, ecosystem and landscapes, affecting biodiversity.

Mining
Mining waste is usually left behind in the form of spoil tips. These pit heaps can contain a wide variety
of toxic substances that then seep into the ground as a result of rain. This can have a big impact on the
regeneration of the vegetation.

44
Industrial Waste
Heavy industry often produces quantities of undesirable chemicals. If cleaning agents such as
detergents are released irresponsibly, they can cause significant pollution on the ground. Storage
tanks can also be a major source of land pollution in case of leakage.

Waste Disposal
We produce large quantities of household waste every year, many of which could and should be
recycled or degrade naturally. Much of our waste is either incinerated – causing potential air
pollution issues or buried in landfills, causing soil pollution problems.

45
Land pollution effects
Soil pollution can harm public health and animals, as well as the quality of groundwater and surface water.
Its effects are of several kinds, namely deferred or immediate, but also direct or indirect.

On the environment
Contamination of groundwater, loss of topsoil, water nutrient enrichment and increased risk of wildfires
(because of the dry conditions created by the pollutants in the soil) are among the consequences of land
pollution.

On wildlife
As land pollution and soil erosion progress, animals are forced to shift habitats and adapt to new
conditions. As a result, some species are at risk of extinction.

On Human health
The potential effects of soil contamination on human health include breathing disorders, birth defects, skin
diseases, and cancer.

46
Land pollution prevention
How to solve land pollution? Here’s a list of soil pollution solutions:
1. Cleanup
Environmental remediation consists of removing pollution from the soil, groundwater or surface water.
Bioremediation (microbes) and phytoremediation (plants) can be used to convert the pollutants into harmless
products. These are natural solutions that need to be supported by in-depth actions.
2. Green agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is essential as it is meant to control the impact on the cultivated environment, by
minimizing the external contributions (phytosanitary products), by diversifying the cultures and by using
biological treatments.
3. Sustainable forest management
Conservation of the forests is key. Without the protection of the trees, the land becomes dry and starts to
erode. Therefore, sustainable forestry or logging is crucial to saving the soil from pollution.
4. Proper waste disposal
Be it for industrial or household waste, efficient waste disposal is one of the most effective ways of
curbing land pollution. This especially applies to toxic and hazardous waste disposal.
5. The "3 R's" Rule & Education
Reducing the use of non-biodegradable products will lower plastic pollution and eventually have an
impact on land pollution. This is why it is very important to reuse and recycle every possible item.
Education should also play a major role in efforts to protect the environment from land pollution.

Retrieved from https://solarimpulse.com/land-pollution-solutions

47
What is Pollution Prevention (P2)?
Pollution prevention (P2) is any practice that reduces, eliminates, or prevents pollution at its source. P2,
also known as "source reduction," is the ounce-of-prevention approach to waste management. Reducing
the amount of pollution produced means less waste to control, treat, or dispose of. Less pollution means
less hazards posed to public health and the environment.

Specific pollution prevention approaches

Pollution prevention approaches can be applied to all potential and actual pollution-generating activities,
including those found in the energy, agriculture, federal, consumer and industrial sectors.

Prevention practices are essential for preserving wetlands, groundwater sources and other critical
ecosystems - areas in which we especially want to stop pollution before it begins.

In the energy sector, pollution prevention can reduce environmental damages from extraction,
processing, transport and combustion of fuels. Pollution prevention approaches include:

 Increasing efficiency in energy use;

 Use of environmentally benign fuel sources.

48
In the agricultural sector, pollution prevention approaches include:
 Reducing the use of water and chemical inputs
 Adoption of less environmentally harmful pesticides or cultivation of crop strains with natural
resistance to pests
 Protection of sensitive areas
In the industrial sector, examples of P2 practices include:
 Modifying a production process to produce less waste
 Using non-toxic or less toxic chemicals as cleaners, degreasers and other maintenance chemicals
 Implementing water and energy conservation practices
 Reusing materials such as drums and pallets rather than disposing of them as waste
In homes and schools, examples of P2 practices include:
 Using reusable water bottles instead of throwaways
 Automatically turning off lights when not in use
 Repairing leaky faucets and hoses
 Switching to "green" cleaners
Why is pollution prevention important?
Pollution prevention reduces both financial costs (waste management and cleanup) and environmental costs
(health problems and environmental damage). Pollution prevention protects the environment by conserving and
protecting natural resources while strengthening economic growth through more efficient production in industry
and less need for households, businesses and communities to handle waste.
Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/p2/learn-about-pollution-prevention 49
MODULE 1 REQUIREMENT:

Module 1: Reflection to EMS

Watch the videos in Module 1 and read all the topics.
Submit your reflection to EMS (air, water, land pollution)
in 1-2 pages pdf file format around 300 words.
You can add images/photos related to the topic.

50