- What is pollution and what types are there?
- Causes of environmental pollution
- Causes of the contamination of the water
- Causes of air pollution
- Causes of soil contamination
- Consequences of pollution
We explain what the causes of pollution are, why the various types of pollution occur and their consequences.
What is pollution and what types are there?
The pollution It is the entry of substances into an environment, which affects its balance and makes it an unsafe environment. An “environment” is considered to be ecosystem, a physical medium or a living being. The "pollutant" can be physical, chemical or biological and is harmful when present in high concentrations.
Pollution can be natural (caused by forest fires, Volcanic eruptions, tsunamis or earthquakes) or artificial (caused by the activity of the human being: the interruption of the natural cycles of the ecosystem, the misuse of natural resources or due to poor waste management, among the main causes).
Causes of environmental pollution
Environmental pollution is produced, to a greater extent, by the continuous increase in the population human and uncontrollable industrial development. The presence in excess of any physical, chemical or biological agent in the environment causes an imbalance. Some examples of pollutants are:
- Chemical pollutants. They come from the chemical industry that generates toxic products, for example, acids, solvents, plastics, derived from Petroleum and pesticides.
- Physical pollutants. They come from phenomena caused by human activity, for example, noise, radioactivity, heat and electromagnetic energy.
- Biological pollutants. They come from decomposition and fermentation from organic waste, eg excrement, factory waste and sewers.
Causes of the contamination of the water
The water contamination occurs when it is no longer fit for consumption due to a large amount of toxic substances that are thrown to the masses of Water or that reach groundwater through seeps in the ground. The polluting factors of water are:
- Sewage discharges. They come from sewage, urban and industrial fluids that are not treated properly.
- Spills of Petroleum. They come from oil drilling that has an accident or improper practice.
- Phytosanitary products. They are used to spray fields, such as pesticides and pesticides, which are then absorbed by the earth until reaching the groundwater or water tables.
- Deforestation. The indiscriminate felling of trees causes the appearance of sediments and bacteria under the I usually, which seep through the ground to reach the groundwater and contaminate it.
- the rise of temperature. Thermal pollution is the exacerbated alteration of the temperature which causes a decrease in oxygen in the water, and alters its entire composition.
Causes of air pollution
One of the main sources of polluting gases is the combustion of fuels.
The main causes of air pollution are related to the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) that takes place in the extraction of oil wells, in the operation of the industrial sector and in road transport (the world's leading cause of air pollution).
The air of the atmosphere naturally contains gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and methane, which make the greenhouse effect possible: they retain as heat some of the sun's rays that pass through the atmosphere. In this way, the average temperature on Earth is 15º C, which allows the development of life. Without him greenhouse effect, that is, without the retention of solar radiation, the solar rays would bounce directly against the land surface and the average temperature would be -18º C, so the life that we know today would not be possible.
The trouble What generates air pollution in the greenhouse effect is the increase in some gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane. This unbalances the natural composition of the atmosphere and causes solar radiation to be trapped on a larger scale, causing higher than normal temperatures. As a consequence, the glaciers melt and there are climatic changes and floods, among others.
The main sources of polluting gases are:
- Extraction of hydrocarbons from the oil, coal and gas fields.
- The combustion of fuels (transport)
- The digestive process of cattle by the massive agricultural-livestock industry.
- Microbial activity in sewage waters (sewers).
- Combustion of tropical forests Y bed sheet (forest fires).
Causes of soil contamination
The causes of soil contamination are related to the increase in chemical compounds that come from the activity of man and that cause harmful changes in the terrain.
Some examples of soil contamination are:
- Underground storage tanks. They contain, for the most part, liquids Y gases petroleum derivatives that usually come into contact with the earth due to leaks of the ducts. Also, domestic deposits or wells that contain waste liquids are absorbed by the earth and, due to the intense flow with which they are discharged, the soil cannot filter them in a natural way.
- Pesticides. They contain a large amount of chemicals that are harmful to the environment and are absorbed by the earth until they reach groundwater. Despite being the main cause of soil contamination, they are used in the agricultural industry, along with pesticides and fertilizers, to combat pests and worms.
- Urban waste. They consist of domestic and commercial waste that, for the most part, are not treated in an adequate way to avoid their negative environmental impact. Waste, which due to its chemical composition cannot be decomposed, remains for hundreds of years on land and in water, and is a danger to others. animals and the ecosystem in general.
- Industrial waste. They contain pesticides, chemical liquids and fuel residues and metals that come from textile, paper, food and oil production. Despite the existence of norms and laws for the control of industrial waste, mass production exceeds the control capacity (both for emissions into the atmosphere and for liquids that are discharged into tributaries).
- Open pit mining. The work process of a mine generates enormous environmental impacts on the ecosystem such as certain changes in the morphology of the land or air and soil contamination due to chemicals and wastes that are not properly treated and stored (they seep into the earth and reach groundwater).
Consequences of pollution
Environmental pollution generates health problems, in the weather, on the ground, on the plants and in the other animals. In March 2017, the World Health Organization reported that nearly two million child deaths occur annually as a result of environmental pollution.
Unsanitary environmental conditions, polluted air (indoors and outdoors), exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, polluted water, and lack of Health and hygieneare some of the main polluting factors.