All about Effects of Pollutants on organisms

1. EFFECTS OF POLLUTANTS ON ORGANISMS
PREPARED BY : IRSA IKHLAQ

2. • PRESENTATION OUTLINE
• Introduction
• Classification of Pollutants
• Quantative & Qualitative
• Primary and Secondary
• Bio-degradable Pollutants
• Non-degradable Pollutants
• Various Environmental Pollutants and Their Terrible Effect on Our
Environment and Humans
• References

3. INTRODUCTION
 Any substance present in the environment in harmful concentration, which adversely
alters the environment by damaging the growth rate of a species and by interfering
with the food chains, is toxic and affects the health, comfort and property etc. is
considered as a pollutant.
 Burning also releases dioxins, which are persistent environmental pollutants. Typical
examples of pollutants included under this category are ash, smoke, fumes, dust, nitric
oxide, sulphur dioxide, hydrocarbons etc.

4. • CLASSIFICATION OF POLLUTANTS
 Depending upon their existence in nature pollutants are of two types, namely quantitative
and qualitative pollutants.
 Quantitative Pollutants
 These are those substances normally occurring in the environment, who acquire the status of a
pollutant when their concentration gets increased due to the unmindful activities of man. For
example, carbon dioxide.
 Qualitative Pollutants
 These are those substances which do not normally occur in nature but are added by man, for
example, insecticides.

5. CONTD…..
 Depending upon the form in which they persist after being released into the environment, the pollutants
are categorized into two types, namely primary and secondarypollutants.
 Primary Pollutants
 These are those which are emitted directlyfrom the source and persist in the form in which they were
added to the environment. Typical example are ash, smoke, fumes, dust, nitric oxide, sulphurdioxide,
hydrocarbonsetc.
 Secondary Pollutants
 These are those which are formed from the primary pollutantsby chemical interactionwith some
constituent present in the atmosphere. Examples are: Sulphurtrioxide, nitrogen dioxide, aldehydes,
ketones, ozoneetc.

6. • PRIMARYAND SECONDARY POLLUTANTS

7. • ACCORDING TO THEIR NATURALDISPOSAL
From the ecosystem pointof view, i.e., accordingto their natural disposal, pollutantsare of two
types:
 Bio-degradable Pollutants
 These are the pollutantsthat are quickly degraded by natural means. Heat or thermal pollution, and
domestic sewage are considered in this category as these can be rapidly decomposed by natural
processes or by engineered systems such as municipal treatment, plantsetc.
 Non-degradable Pollutants
 These are the substancesthat either do not degrade or degrade very slowly in the natural environment.
These includemercury salts, long chain phenolicchemicals, DDT and Aluminum cans.

8. • VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS
 Pollutants are the various impurities that have found their way into the environment
due to both human activity and natural causes, thus leading to pollution.
 These chemical compounds are harmful to both life and the environment.
 According to environmentalists and scientists, there are various types of pollutants
and are classified according to the type of pollution they cause.

9. • ENVIRONMENTALPOLLUTANTS
 Chlorofluorocarbons(CFC)
 Lead
 Methane
 Carbon monoxide
 Particulatematter (PM)
 Nitrogen oxides
 Sulfur dioxide
 Plastic
 Mercury
 Ground-level ozone

10. • COMMON AIR POLLUTANTS

11. CONTD….
 Bad smells
 Nitrates
 Phosphorus
 Automobiles
 Loud sounds
 Uranium
 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
 PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl)
 Chemical Fertilizers
 Visual Pollutants

12. • REFERENCES
 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, A framework for Ecological Risk Assessment. EPA/630/R-
92/001, Risk Assessment Forum, Washington, D.C., 1992
 Landis, W.G. and Yu, M.-H., Introduction to Environmental Toxicology, 3rd ed., Lewis Publishers,
Boca Raton, FL, 2004.
 North America’s industrial pollution, Environ. Sci. Technol, Sept. 1, 359A, 2001.
 Murakami, M., Environmental health surveillance system for monitoring air pollution, Environ. Sci., 4,
1, 1996.
 Goldsmith, J.R. and Friberg, L.T., Effects of air pollution on human health, in Stern, A.C., Ed., Air
Pollution, Vol. II, 2nd ed., Academic Press, New York, 1977, p.469.
 Health Consquencesof air pollutionon population(Article), Geneva, Switzerland,15 November 2019.