Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse changes. There are three main types of pollution: air, water, and land pollution. Air pollution occurs when harmful substances are added to the air, affecting human health and contributing to issues like climate change. Water pollution happens when toxic substances contaminate bodies of water, threatening biodiversity, food safety, and access to clean water. Land pollution deteriorates the earth's surfaces through the accumulation of solid and liquid waste in soil and groundwater, endangering habitats, water quality, and public health.

1. Pollutio
n
BY RIMSHA HAROON

2. DEFINITION:
Pollution is the introduction of
contaminants into the natural
environment that cause adverse
change. Pollution can take the
form of chemical substances or
energy, such as noise, heat, or
light. Pollutants, the components
of pollution, can be either foreign
substances/energies or naturally
occurring contaminants.

3. KINDS OF POLLUTION:
Pollution can refer to excessive human activity, such as light and noise
pollution, or to specific pollutants such as plastic or radioactive
material.
three major forms of environmental
pollution.
Air pollution,
water pollution
land pollution

4. AIR POLLUTION

5. Air pollution is a mixture of solid
particles and gases in the air. Car
emissions, chemicals from
factories, dust, pollen and mold
spores may be suspended as
particles. Ozone, a gas, is a major
part of air pollution in cities. When
ozone forms air pollution, it's also
called smog.

6. The air we breathe has a very exact chemical composition; 99% of it is made up of
nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor and inert gases. Air pollution occurs when things that
aren't normally there are added to the air. A common type of air pollution happens when
people release particles into the air from burning fuels. This pollution looks like soot,
containing millions of tiny particles, floating in the air.
Another common type of air pollution is dangerous gases, such as sulfur dioxide,
carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and chemical vapors. These can take part in further
chemical reactions once they are in the atmosphere, creating acid rain and smog. Other
sources of air pollution can come from within buildings, such as secondhand smoke.
Finally, air pollution can take the form of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide or
sulfur dioxide, which are warming the planet through the greenhouse effect. According
to the EPA, the greenhouse effect is when gases absorb the infrared radiation that is
released from the Earth, preventing the heat from escaping. This is a natural process
that keeps our atmosphere warm. If too many gases are introduced into the
atmosphere, though, more heat is trapped and this can make the planet artificially warm

7. EFFECTS:
• Air pollution kills more than 2 million people each year.
• The effects of air pollution on human health can vary widely depending on the pollutant
• If the pollutant is highly toxic, the effects on health can be widespread and severe. For
example, the release of methyl isocyanate gas at Union Carbide plant in Bhopal in 1984 killed
over 2,000 people, and over 200,000 suffered respiratory problems.
• An irritant (e.g., particulates less than 10 micrometers) may cause respiratory illnesses,
cardiovascular disease and increases in asthma.
• The air pollutant may be carcinogenic (e.g., some volatile organic compounds) or biologically
active (e.g., some viruses) or radioactive (e.g., radon).
• Other air pollutants like carbon dioxide have an indirect impact on human health through
climate change

8. WATER POLLUTION

9. Water pollution occurs when
harmful substances—often
chemicals or microorganisms—
contaminate a stream, river, lake,
ocean, aquifer, or other body of
water, degrading water quality and
rendering it toxic to humans or the
environment.

10. Water is uniquely vulnerable to
pollution. Known as a “universal
solvent,” water is able to dissolve
more substances than any other
liquid on earth. It’s the reason we
have Kool-Aid and brilliant blue
waterfalls. It’s also why water is so
easily polluted. Toxic substances
from farms, towns, and factories
readily dissolve into and mix with it,
causing water pollution.

11. • It is sometimes caused by nature, such as when mercury filters from the Earth's crust, polluting
oceans, rivers, lakes, canals and reservoirs. However, the most common cause of poor-quality
water is human activity and its consequences, which we will now go on to explain:
• Global warming
Rising global temperatures caused by CO2 emissions heat the water, reducing its oxygen
content.
• Deforestation
Felling forests can exhaust water resources and generate organic residue which becomes a
breeding ground for harmful bacteria.
• Industry, agriculture and livestock farming
Chemical dumping from these sectors is one of the main causes of eutrophication of water.
•

12. • Rubbish and faecal water dumping
The UN says that more than 80% of the world's sewage finds its way into
seas and rivers untreated.
• Maritime traffic
Much of the plastic pollution in the ocean comes from fishing boats,
tankers and cargo shipping.
• Fuel spillages
The transportation and storage of oil and its derivatives is subject to
leakage that pollutes our water resources.

13. EFFECTS:
• Destruction of biodiversity.
Water pollution depletes aquatic ecosystems and triggers unbridled proliferation of
phytoplankton in lakes — eutrophication —.
• Contamination of the food chain.
Fishing in polluted waters and the use of wastewater for livestock farming and agriculture
can introduce toxins into foods which are harmful to our health when eaten.
• Lack of potable water.
The UN says that billions of people around the world have no access to clean water to drink
or sanitation, particularly in rural areas.
• Disease.
The WHO estimates that about 2 billion people have no option but to drink water
contaminated by excrement, exposing them to diseases such as cholera, hepatitis A and
dysentery.
• Infant mortality.
According to the UN, diarrheal diseases linked to lack of hygiene cause the death of about
1,000 children a day worldwide.

14. LAND POLLUTION

15. Land pollution refers to the
deterioration of the earth's land
surfaces, at and below ground
level. The cause is the
accumulation of solid and liquid
waste materials that contaminate
groundwater and soil

16. Land pollution refers to the deterioration of the earth’s land surfaces, at and below
ground level. The cause is the accumulation of solid and liquid waste materials that
contaminate groundwater and soil. These waste materials are often referred to as
municipal solid waste (MSW), which includes both hazardous and non-hazardous
waste.
When waste is deposited onto an area of land, the permeability of the soil
formations below the waste can increase or reduce the risk of land pollution. The
higher the permeability of the soil, the more likely that land pollution will occur.
That’s why the Texas Disposal Systems Landfill, located just outside of Austin,
Texas, was built in an ideal area. By utilizing the natural shale and clay in the land,
the risk of land pollution has been significantly decreased.
It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that solid wastes were collected with the
environment in mind. Prior to that, waste was typically left on top of the ground in
“open dumps,” which resulted in rats, mosquitoes, and other disease infestations,
as well as foul smells and windblown debris. Yet, while there are now significantly
safer practices for disposing of waste, there are still many other factors contributing
to and worsening the situation.

17. EFFECTS:
• Land pollution touches essentially every area of the living world,
including:
• Water that isn’t safe to drink
• Polluted soil, which leads to a loss of fertile land for agriculture
• Climate change, which causes an onslaught of disastrous problems, including
flash floods and irregular rainfalls
• The endangerment and extinction of species in wildlife
• Habitat shifting, where some animals are forced to flee where they live in
order to survive
• An increase in wildfires, due to polluted areas often becoming very dry
• Increased air pollution, which burning waste contributes to