Pollution: Refers to both artificial and natural materials that are created, consumed, and discarded in an unsustainable manner.
Pollutant: Harmful elements which cause pollution. They are the elements, molecules and particles involved in pollution - life can be harmed when exposed to these materials, and the effects of them on humans and plants are well known.
==Environmental pollution may destabilize development process and competitiveness of developing nations whose economies depends on natural resources.==
Pollutants can be introduced into the environment in many ways, both naturally and by humans. ==Pollutants are of mainly two types, primary and secondary.==
Primary Pollutants: They are emitted directly into the environment.
Secondary Pollutants: They are formed from primary pollutants and external factors.
Air pollution: It is the introduction of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. The exhaust from vehicles for instance, is polluting the air with toxic chemicals such as carbon monoxide and formaldehyde.
Smog: It is air pollution which reduces visibility. Ex: Shanghai smog, The great smog of London (1952).
Higher levels of smog are associated with a wide range of diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.
Xenobiotics: They are defined as chemicals to which an organism is exposed that are extrinsic to the normal metabolism of that organism.
Ex: poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
Recalcitrants: They are pollutants that persist in the environment, they are capable of long range transportation, bioaccumulation, in human and animals, and biomagnifications in food chain.
Long range transport: It refers to the transport by the wind of air pollutants or their precursors from the areas where they were emitted to other locations at downwind distances of 100 km or more.
Landfills are well-engineered facilities designed to receive specific kinds of waste, including municipal solid waste, construction and demolition debris and hazardous waste.
Water pollution happens when toxic substances enter water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans and so on, getting dissolved in them, lying suspended in the water or depositing on the bed. This degrades the quality of water.
Stormwater and industrial runoff is a leading cause for water pollution. Industrial runoff typically contains high concentrations of pollutants such as heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons.
Oil Spill: It refers to any uncontrolled release of crude oil, gasoline, fuels, or other oil by-products into the environment.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an industrial disaster that began on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered to be the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry
Pollution Control: It is the process of reducing or eliminating the release of pollutants into the environment.
It is regulated by various environmental agencies which establish pollutant discharge limits for air, water, and land. Recycling, for instance, is becoming more common. In recycling, trash is processed so its useful materials can be used again.
Air pollution Control strategies can be divided into two categories:
Water pollution control methods can be subdivided into physical, chemical, and biological treatment systems. Most treatment systems use combinations of any of these three technologies. Additionally, water conservation is a beneficial means to reduce the volume of wastewater generated.
Solid pollution control methods which are typically used include landfilling, composting , and incineration