Pollution

Humans & Pollution

Pollutants & Pollution

• Pollution - the addition of substance or an agent to the environment by human activity, at a rate greater than that at which it can be rendered harmless by the environment, and which has an appreciable effect on the organisms within it

• Pollutants - substance in the wrong place, in the wrong amount to at the wrong time

Organic & Inorganic Matter

Carbon containing materials and non-carbon containing materials

Energy

Light, sound, thermal

Living organisms

Biological agent and invasive species

Human activities

Combustion of fossil fuel and generation of domestic waste

Primary Pollutants

active on emission

Secondary Pollutants

formed by primary pollutants undergoing physical or chemical changes

Point-source Pollution

Release of pollutants from a single, clearly identifiable site

Much easier to control as there is a clearly identifiable source of pollution

The pollution can also be easily removed or remediated 

Might be more expensive than avoiding the pollution from the beginning

Non Point-source Pollution

Release of pollutants from numerous, widely dispersed origins

Most common type of pollution

Many source and virtually impossible to detect the source

Difficult to clean up

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Manufactured as pesticide in the past

Resistant to breaking down and remain active in the environment for a long time and bioaccumulate in animals and biomagnify in food chain

Properties: high molecular weight , not very soluble in water, highly soluble in fats and lipids and halogenated molecules

Biodegradable Pollutants

Do not persist in the environment and break down quickly under natural process

Can be broken down by decomposer organisms or physical processes (light or heat)

Acute Pollution

Release of large amount of pollutant causing a lot of harm in a short term

Chronic Pollution

Result from long term release of a pollutant but in small amount

More serious than acute pollution due to:

goes undetected for a long time

usually more difficult to clean up

spreads widely

Detection & Monitoring

• Can be measure directly or indirectly

• Direct - measure the amount of pollutant in water, air or soil

• Indirect - record changes in biotic and abiotic factors which are the results of the pollutants

Pollution Management Strategies

• Can be managed in 3 ways:

• by changing human activity which produces it

• by regulating or preventing the release of pollutant

• by working to clean up or restore damaged ecosystems

Altering Human Activity

• Most fundamental level of pollution management

• promoting alternative ways, lifestyles and value

• Campaign, education, incentives/ disincentives

Control Release of Pollutants

• When activity or production cannot be stop completely

• Strategies applied at level to prevent release of pollutants to the environment

• Legislation of pollutant emission limit, technologies to extract pollutant produced to prevent release into the environment

Clean-up and restoration of damaged environment

• When both earlier levels of management failed

• Extracting pollutant from the environment

• Replanting or restocking depleted plants or organisms