TYPES OF POLLUTION

DEFINITION OF POLLUTION
Any addition of air, water, soil or food that threatens the health, survival capabilities or activities
of human and other living organisms is called pollution. The term pollution is used to refer to
harmful materials introduced by man into the environment.

TYPES OF POLLUTION
Depending upon the component getting polluted and the kind of pollutant, pollution can be classified as:

 Air pollution Water pollution Soil pollution

 Noise pollution Radiation pollution

(A)Air pollution: The occurrence of foreign particles , gases or some other pollutants in the air
which have adverse effects on human beings, animals vegetation and building is called air
pollution.

Category Examples Important Pollutants

Chemical plants Petroleum refineries hydrogen sulphide, sulpher
oxide,organic vapours and dust.
Crop spraying pesticides and weed control Organophasphates, chlorinateds
hydrocarbons.
Fuel burning domestic burning, thermal power Sulpher and nitrogen oxides
plants
Waste recovery Scrap metal yards rendering Smoke, soot, odurs, organic
plants vapours , metal fumes
Spray painting, solvent extraction Furniture and appliances dyeing, Hydrocarbons and other organic
and cleaning printing and chemical separation. vapours.
(B)Water Pollution: Water pollution is contamination
Of water by foreign matter that detoriates the quality of the

water.water pollution covers pollution in liquid forms like

ocean pollution and river pollution.

(c)Soil Pollution: Soil pollution or land pollution

results from deposition of solid wastes accumulation of

Non- biodegradable materials, toxification of chemicals

Into poisons etc.direct pollution of land by pathogenic

Organisms is also seen. The soil gets hevily polluted day by

Dayby hazardous materials.

(d)Noise Pollution:noise is by definition, unwanted

Sound. It may be annoying, and it may interfere with

Speech, communication, leisure or relaxation. This

Particular pollution is every increasing due to the rise in

The utilisatin of heavy duty machinaries at industrial

Facilities and vehicles.noise leval can be measured on

Decibal scale.

(e) Radiation Pollution : Radiation pollution may be Man-made or natural. Radiation is emitted
when a Radioactive material becomes unstable and begins to decay in an attempt to regain its molecular
stability. Radiation Pollution of the environment can be defined as the increase in Natural background
radiation emerging from the activities of man involving the use of naturally occurring produced
radioactive materials.
SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution is excessive concentration of foreign matter in the air, has adverse effect on the well being
of living organisms, and causes damage to property. The major sources to air pollution can be categorized
into two major parts.

NATURAL SOURCES

 Volcanic eruptions Forest fires Anaerobic decay processes

MAN-MADE SOURCES:

 Transport industries energy sector

 Domestic emissions mining areas indoor pollution

AIR POLLUTION DUE TO VEHICLES:

Automobile exhausts esoecially in highly urbanized are a major

Source of air pollution. Gasoline powered motor vehicles are the

Principal source of sulpher dioxide carbon monoxide and lead,

Whereas diesel fuel engines emit significant quantities of

Particulates, sulpher dioxide and nitrogen oxide.

AIR POLLUTION TO BRICK KILNS:

Brick kilns are a pinpoint source of air pollution especially in rural

areas. Open stack coal carbonization (process) emits huge amounts

of particulate matters in the atmosphere.

AIR POLLUTION DUE TO INDUSTRIES:

Poisonous gases liberated by major industrial units, industrial estates and medium industries. Smoke is
produced by the burning of coal and mineral oil, which are burnt in factories. This liberates SO2, CO2,
CO, smoke and soot which contaminate the air.
SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION

There are two distinct kinds of water pollution:

 Point source pollution: Which means the factory or sewage waste dumped directly into a water-
way.
 Non-point source pollution: Which is polluted run-off from such sources as agricultural fields,
landfills, streets, lawns etc.

MAIN SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION

1) Industrial waste: Waste water discharge from industries into water bodies contain both organic
and inorganic pollutants.
 Organic pollutants: Cellulose fibres, carbohydrates, oils, fats, antibiotics etc.
 Inorganic pollutants: Fine particles of different metal chlorides, sulphates, cyanides etc.

2) OIL SPILLS: Most oil spills are of crude oil and occur during exploratory drilling, production
from offshore wells, tanker accidents etc. Most oil spills occur in the open ocean, where they are
subjected to number of processes. Some oil may reach the shore lines and become stranded on
rocks and sandy beaches. Small quantities of oil may sink and reach bottom sediments.

DOMESTIC WASTE WATER: It includes discharges from houses, commercial and industrial
establishments connected to public sewage system. The sewage contains human and animal excreta,
food residues, cleaning agents, detergents and other wastes. It is always rich in organicmatter and other
pollutants.

DYES AND TOXIC METALS: Nowadays, thousands of dyes are prepared and find their way into the
streams through the discharge of effluents from dyeing and printing industries.