Noise pollution occurs when unwanted or excessive sound disrupts normal activities. Transportation systems are a major source of noise pollution in urban areas. Noise pollution can damage health by causing issues like high blood pressure, stress, sleep disruption, and hearing loss. Solutions include planting trees, regular vehicle maintenance, soundproofing buildings, and limiting loud speakers in public areas.

1. Noise Pollution
Unit:3
Environmental Science

2. WHAT IS NOISE POLLUTION?
Sound that is unwanted or disrupts one’s quality of life
is called as noise. When there is lot of noise in the
environment, it is termed as noise pollution.
Sound becomes undesirable when it disturbs the
normal activities such as working, sleeping, and during
conversations.
It is an underrated environmental problem because of
the fact that we can’t see, smell, or taste it.
World Health Organization stated that “Noise must be
recognized as a major threat to human well-being”

3. Health Effects
 According to the USEPA, there are direct links
between noise and health. Also, noise pollution
adversely affects the lives of millions of people.
 Noise pollution can damage physiological and
psychological health.
 High blood pressure, stress related illness, sleep
disruption, hearing loss, and productivity loss are
the problems related to noise pollution.
 It can also cause memory loss, severe depression,
and panic attacks.

4. Sources of Noise Pollution
 Transportation systems are the main source of noise
pollution in urban areas.
 Construction of buildings, highways, and streets cause
a lot of noise, due to the usage of air compressors,
bulldozers, loaders, dump trucks, and pavement
breakers.
 Industrial noise also adds to the already unfavorable
state of noise pollution.
 Loud speakers, plumbing, boilers, generators, air
conditioners, fans, and vacuum cleaners add to the
existing noise pollution.

5. Solutions for Noise Pollution
• Planting bushes and trees in and around sound generating
sources is an effective solution for noise pollution.
• Regular servicing and tuning of automobiles can effectively
reduce the noise pollution.
• Buildings can be designed with suitable noise absorbing
material for the walls, windows, and ceilings.
• Workers should be provided with equipments such as ear
plugs and earmuffs for hearing protection.

6. Solutions for Noise Pollution
• Similar to automobiles, lubrication of the machinery and
servicing should be done to minimize noise generation.
• Soundproof doors and windows can be installed to block
unwanted noise from outside.
• Regulations should be imposed to restrict the usage of play
loudspeakers in crowded areas and public places.
• Factories and industries should be located far from the
residential areas.

7. Solutions for Noise Pollution
• Community development or urban
management should be done with long-
term planning, along with an aim to
reduce noise pollution.
• Social awareness programs should be
taken up to educate the public about the
causes and effects of noise pollution.

8. SOIL POLLUTION

9. SOIL POLLUTION
• Definition :
Soil pollution is defined as the build-up in soils of persistent toxic
compounds, chemicals, salts, radioactive materials, or disease
causing agents, which have adverse effects on plant growth and
animal health
1

10. Types of Soil Pollution
 Agricultural Soil Pollution
i) pollution of surface soil
ii) pollution of underground soil
 Soil pollution by industrial effluents and solid wastes
i) pollution of surface soil
ii) disturbances in soil profile
• Pollution due to urban activities
i) pollution of surface soil
ii) pollution of underground soil

11. Causes of Soil Pollution
• Soil pollution is caused by the presence of man-made chemicals or other alteration in
the natural soil environment. This type of contamination typically arises from the
rupture of underground storage links, application of pesticides, percolation of
contaminated surface water to subsurface strata, oil and fuel dumping, leaching of
wastes from landfills or direct discharge of industrial wastes to the soil. The most
common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead
and other heavy metals. This occurrence of this phenomenon is correlated with the
degree of industrialization and intensities of chemical usage.

12. Pollution in soil is associated with
Indiscriminate use of
fertilizers
Indiscriminate use of pesticides,
insecticides and herbicides
Dumping of solid wastes Deforestation
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13. Causes in brief:
• Polluted water discharged from factories
• Runoff from pollutants (paint, chemicals, rotting organic material) leaching out of landfill
• Oil and petroleum leaks from vehicles washed off the road by the rain into the surrounding
habitat
• Chemical fertilizer runoff from farms and crops
• Acid rain (fumes from factories mixing with rain)
• Sewage discharged into rivers instead of being treated properly
• Over application of pesticides and fertilizers
• Purposeful injection into groundwater as a disposal method
• Interconnections between aquifers during drilling (poor technique)
• Septic tank seepage
• Lagoon seepage
• Sanitary/hazardous landfill seepage
• Cemeteries
• Scrap yards (waste oil and chemical drainage)
• Leaks from sanitary sewers

14. Effects of Soil Pollution
Agricultural
• Reduced soil fertility
• Reduced nitrogen fixation
• Larger loss of soil and nutrients
• Deposition of silt in tanks and reservoirs
• Reduced crop yield
• Imbalance in soil fauna and flora
Industrial
• Dangerous chemicals entering underground water
• Ecological imbalance
• Release of pollutant gases
• Release of radioactive rays causing health problems
• Increased salinity
• Reduced vegetation

15. Urban
• Clogging of drains
• Inundation of areas
• Public health problems
• Pollution of drinking water sources
• Foul smell and release of gases
• Waste management problems

16. Control of soil pollution
The following steps have been suggested to control soil pollution. To help prevent soil
erosion, we can limit construction in sensitive area. In general we would need less fertilizer
and fewer pesticides if we could all adopt the three R's: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. This
would give us less solid waste.
• Reducing chemical fertilizer and pesticide use
Applying bio-fertilizers and manures can reduce chemical fertilizer and pesticide use.
Biological methods of pest control can also reduce the use of pesticides and thereby
minimize soil pollution.
• Reusing of materials
Materials such as glass containers, plastic bags, paper, cloth etc. can be reused at domestic
levels rather than being disposed, reducing solid waste pollution.
• Recycling and recovery of materials
This is a reasonable solution for reducing soil pollution. Materials such as paper, some kinds
of plastics and glass can and are being recycled. This decreases the volume of refuse and
helps in the conservation of natural resources. For example, recovery of one tone of paper
can save 17 trees.

17. • Reforesting
Control of land loss and soil erosion can be attempted through restoring forest and grass cover
to check wastelands, soil erosion and floods. Crop rotation or mixed cropping can improve the
fertility of the land.
• Solid waste treatment
Proper methods should be adopted for management of solid waste disposal. Industrial
wastes
can be treated physically, chemically and biologically until they are less hazardous. Acidic
and alkaline wastes should be first neutralized; the insoluble material if biodegradable
should be allowed to degrade under controlled conditions before being disposed.

18. References/Sources
1. https://lh6.ggpht.com/pEFSir-TqHMo4V9NjkuEqS0S90WGEC3OkBizV89r-
K7Fhj71rPJ0P0t5rpo6VmXs3KxB=s113
2. https://lh3.ggpht.com/eLfTpNlyScDcNtUaEiNUobsWhCWApHxQy6Lc9NrIr5VrB55UYES2
Y2cWb38aHHgCAsHELg=s125
Book/Web Resources
Environmental Pollution: Causes, Effects & Control by K.C Agarawal