Pollution: Water, Noise, Air and Soil

The addition of unwanted waste material (in the form of solid, liquid, or gas) into our environmental resources like air, water, or soil is called Pollution. It is one of the major problems as it affects not only our health but also our environment in a very huge way. It also acts as a silent killer, which means that you will not realize that you have got bad health (due to pollution) until it's too late.

Keyterms: Pollution, solid, liquid, gas, air, water, soil, environment, environmental resources, smoke, dust, pollutants

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What is Pollution?

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Pollution is known as the contaminants introduced in our nature which has an adverse change in the natural environment and the living organism. Those substances that act as contaminants are called pollutants, e.g., smoke, dust, high level of noise, excess heat and light, garbage, etc. Pollution is one of the major environmental issues.

It is obvious that if our environment gets polluted, then that would affect the living organism on Earth. Many aquatic animals have lost their existence because of the pollution in water bodies, forest animals are heading towards the endangered zone, and most importantly, we human beings are getting different types of disease and we are suffering from health related issues.

Modernization is not the only cause of pollution since illiteracy and lack of awareness may also result in practices that lead to pollution. For example, you can think of the smoke coming out of huge chimneys of factories and enormous amounts of waste material getting dumped into rivers.

People in villages who unfortunately don't have enough knowledge regarding global warming and climate change tend to be more careless. Certain practises followed by them also increase pollution like in certain parts of Indian rural areas, cooking is done by wood and fire also known as indoor air pollution, small ponds or lakes are being filled with waste, and unnecessarily burning of garbage.

Read More: Effects of air pollution on environment

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Types of Pollution

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Pollution can be caused by both nature itself or human behaviour. Based on the cause and effect of pollution, it is mainly divided into four parts:

1. Air Pollution
2. Water Pollution
3. Soil Pollution
4. Noise Pollution

Other types of pollution are thermal pollution, radioactive pollution, and light pollution. They do not exist in a large amount as compared to the four main types. Radioactive pollution is considered as the deadliest type and it gets evolved from nuclear testing, nuclear explosion, etc. As of now we will be discussing only the four main types. Let’s hop into that:

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Air Pollution

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Air Pollution is one of the major types of pollution. Our daily needs and habits result in pollutants like smoke, dust particles, harmful gases, chemicals, biological particles, etc. that pollute the environment. There are numerous harmful gases getting mixed in the air as pollutants like Sulphur Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and a lot of others. 

Air Pollution

Causes of Air Pollution

• The main source of air pollution is emission of harmful gases from vehicles, factories, combustion processes, and household appliances like Air Conditioners, refrigerators, etc.
• Combustion of fossil fuels like petrol, diesel, kerosine, etc. are one of the main reasons behind air pollution. Human beings have been over using and exploiting these resources, and that is what increases the rate of air pollution.
• Airplanes release a harmful gas that depletes the ozone layer, which consequently allows excess UV rays to come to the Earth.
• Due to mining, a toxic and poisonous gas releases that if the workers do not cover their faces and do not carry on additional oxygen cylinders, they might die.
• Exhaust from factories, air conditioners, vehicles, and other machinery produces harmful gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, etc.

Harmful Effects Of Air Pollution

Speaking of human beings, we have major and long term effects from air pollution like lung disease, heart disease, respiratory disease, and other serious problems. Liver, kidney, and even brain can have complications due to air pollution. Given below are certain other other types of effects of air pollution on the environment:

• Depletion of Ozone Layer

Depletion of Ozone Layer leads to the entrance of UV rays in excess quantity that consequently harms our skin and causes skin diseases. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) releases from refrigerators, which combine with halons which consequently depletes the ozone layer. Day by day, the ozone layer is vanishing.

• Global Warming

The increase in temperature of the Earth’s climate is called Global warming. The Earth’s temperature has already increased by 1 degree celsius since 1900. The reason behind the increase in temperature is the gases like carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, and other pollutants. They technically absorb sunlight, and heat up the environment.

• Acid Rain

Factories have been releasing smoke that goes up in the cloud and hydrogen ions get mixed with the rain drops which precipitate and cause acid rain. When our skin gets exposed to acid rain, it causes rashes and skin diseases. Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxides perform reactions with water to make acids in the atmosphere. These acid rain are harmful for plants and animals, and are destroying valuable monuments like the Taj Mahal, which has lost its quality as it was before.

Read More: Productivity in Ecosystem

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Water Pollution

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The addition of harmful matters that contaminates the water bodies like lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans is called water pollution. It affects aquatic animals and also becomes the reason for their death because of the amount of waste material being dumped in the water bodies. A huge amount of plastic waste material is dumped into water bodies on a regular basis, which is an alarming situation for underwater plants and animals. The consequence of this will affect the whole ecosystem in a huge way.

Industrialization and modernisation are one of the reasons behind this because they have been dumping untreated waste material into rivers and lakes that contain harmful chemicals. Population living at the shore of rivers exploits them. More than 400 million people are living at the Ganga basin and they have been using the water for numerous purposes.

Water Pollution

Harmful Effects Of Water Pollution

• Aquatic animals are dying
• Shortage of drinking water and unavailability of fresh water for domestic use
• Disturbance in ecosystem
• Higher mercury levels in water bodies
• Hypertrophication (growth of algae excessively)

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Soil Pollution

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Mostly the mixing of non-biodegradable (e.g. plastic) materials causes soil pollution. Usage of harmful chemical fertilisers for agricultural purposes ruins the quality of the soil in the long run. Industries have been exploiting the soils and dumping waste material by making huge pits. Deforestation can also be the cause of soil pollution as it loses its fertility and it also causes soil degradation. Soil degradation is a phenomenon when soil gets flown away by wind or water flow from one place to another.

Soil Pollution

Harmful Effects Of Soil Pollution

• Low fertility of soil
• Living organism gets affected as their home relies on the type of soil
• Respiratory problems as well as lung defects can be caused by Silica Dust
• Insects living in the soil are dying. A number of insect species have lost their existence.

Also read: Air pollution control

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Noise Pollution

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Unwanted and irritating sound in an excessive amount is known as noise pollution. Heavy machines, factories, vehicles and airplanes, construction, etc. all of them make noises from boring and drilling machines, engines, etc. Firecrackers, loudspeakers, and Television are something to be used for entertainment purposes yet produce noise pollution. Sound above 85 decibels is bad for health and considered as detrimental. An airplane taking off creates 150 decibels of sound while a normal conversation makes 60 decibels of sound. The duration plays an important role as longer duration of noise pollution creates enough problems.

Noise Pollution

Harmful Effects Of Noise Pollution

• Headache and irritation
• Feeling of uneasiness
• Hearing Loss
• Stress and Hypertension
• Less sleep and aggressiveness

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Things To Remember

•  Air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, and soil pollution are the four main types of pollution. Additionally there are few more, i.e., thermal pollution, radioactive pollution, light pollution, etc. The radioactive pollution is the deadliest one.
• Untreated waste material from the sewers of factories, disposal of waste material (mainly plastic) into seas and oceans, exploitation of lake and river water by the people living at the shore, and the harmful chemicals from industries are some of the main reasons behind water pollution.
• Deforestation, harmful fertilizers, and dumping non-biodegradable substances in the lands are some of the causes of soil pollution. Consequently, the soil loses its fertility, its natural ability, insects surviving under the soil are slowly dying and getting extinct.
• The results of noise pollution are severe headache, hearing loss, uneasiness, stress, sleeplessness, hypertension, etc. To avoid noise pollution, we can choose a peaceful neighbourhood (if possible) to live in, and a decent workplace. We do not realize it a lot because it is kind of virtual, but it affects our mental health in a very bad way.