POLLUTION Year 10 HaSS

POLLUTIO
N SURVEY
Pollution Overview
■ Pollution: any substance that is released
into the environment that has harmful or
poisonous effects.
■ Polluting substances reduce the ability of
natural environment to provide ecosystem
services
Air Pollution

■ Air pollution is the contamination of the atmosphere

through the release of harmful gasses and small
particles.
■ Air pollution occurs on a variety of scales
– Local: a factory that releases smoke and gas that
affects the surrounding area
– Large-scale: factories, vehicles, houses and other
sources of pollution affect the air quality across a
city or larger area.
Water Pollution

■ Water pollution is the contamination of rivers,

lakes, wetlands estuaries, seas and oceans through
the release of harmful substances.
■ Water pollution may be cased by human activities
– Activities near the water: shipping, deep sea
oil drilling
– Land activities: farming- fertilizer and
pesticides, littering and land clearing
Land Pollution

Land pollution is the contamination of areas of land

through the release of harmful substances

Soil contamination often occurs on a local scale: sites of

petrol stations, mines, sewerage treatment facilities

On a larger scale it may be seen as increasing salinity (salt

levels) across a vast area

Land pollution may also lead to contamination of

groundwater (often a source of drinking water)
 1. Define the main forms of pollution
a) Pollution (general)
b) Air pollution
c) Water pollution
d) Land pollution
2. Visit waqi.info air pollution map and describe the air

Review
quality in
a) Western Australia
b) Asia

Questions 3.
c) Europe
Which countries experience the highest levels of air
pollution?
4. Visit plasticnavigator.wwf.de/ ocean plastic map and
identify the
a) Oceans with high levels of plastic pollution
b) Oceans with low levels of plastic pollution