Prepared by: Jacqueline, Chui Ping & Rudsdiey (August, 25, 2009)
Pollution has been a major issue to human being since the early 1920's and it has worsened after the World War II which brought many industrial waste byproducts into the environment.
Pollution is referred to as "the presence in the environment of substances or contaminants that substantially alter or impair the usefulness of the environment" (Environmental Management Act of British Columbia, 2003). These substances or contaminants give rise to contamination of 3 main elements of life – water, air, soil and noise pollutions.
Pollution is referred to as "the presence in the environment of substances or contaminants that substantially alter or impair the usefulness of the environment" (Environmental Management Act of British Columbia, 2003). These substances or contaminants give rise to contamination of 3 main elements of life – water, air, soil and noise pollutions.
Among the different types of pollution, water pollution is the most obvious pollution as water is essential for life. "Water is considered to be polluted when it contains enough foreign material to render it unfit for a specific beneficial use, such as
for drinking, recreation, or fish propagation" (Nathanson, J.A., 1997, p. 101).
for drinking, recreation, or fish propagation" (Nathanson, J.A., 1997, p. 101).
Water pollution can further be divided into stream (or river) pollution, lake pollution, groundwater pollution and ocean pollution. Major sources that lead to water pollution includes agricultural runoff, rain, drainage, municipal sewage discharge, and natural sources. Sewage and fertilizers which contain nitrates and phosphates causes unhygienic and unhealthy conditions to the environment. The above phenomenon consequently clogs our waterways, use up dissolved oxygen and block light to deeper waters thus is harmful to aquatic organisms as it affects the respiration ability of fish and other invertebrates that reside in water.
Krantz, D. and Kifferstein, B. (n.d.) define eutrophication as "an aging process that slowly fills the water body with sediment and organic matter." It is a natural condition in water bodies. The accumulation of the sediment and organic matter impair the fish respiration, reduce the water depth, slow plant development and suffocate the aquatic organisms. Besides, protozoan and bacteria also use up the oxygen dissolved in the water when they break down the organic material. When the level of dissolved oxygen is too low, many marine lives fail to survive. Therefore, it kills a gigantic numbers of aquatic organisms and this further leads to disruptions in food chain.
Air pollution has started to cause trouble to the environment particularly after the Industrial Revolution during the 18th and 19th centuries. Air pollution is the accumulation of excessive foreign substances in the atmosphere which will endanger the health of human being (Philip, R.B., 2001).The foreign matter in the air mentioned is the presence of pollutants in the air which are dust, fumes, gas, odour, smoke or vapour that are produced mainly from industrial emission and human activities
Pollutants from industrial emission are the major cause of air pollution which comes from two main sources namely industrial processes and fuel combustion. The former emits air contaminants such as sulphur compounds, carbon monoxide, halogen compounds and nitrogen oxides, whilst the latter resulting from coal, oil and gas burning thus are associated with contribution of dust, fume, smoke and carbon monoxide into the environment. The most significant effect of air pollution is the formation of acid rain. When smokes or fumes from the air contaminants as mentioned reacts with the tiny droplets of water in clouds thereafter forms sulphuric and nitric acids then falls as acid rain which has serious effect on soil, tress, and buildings. Acid rain dissolves essential minerals and nutrients in the soil and impend the growth of plans whereas buildings and monuments especially those made of limestone or sandstone are susceptible to corrosion.
Contamination of soil is the changes of composition in soils that is caused by mixture of chemical materials and which have negative impacts to the public health and the living environment. Petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, and other heavy metals are the main elements of chemicals which commonly cause the soil contamination. This type of pollution occurs due to leakage of underground storage tank, excessive usage of pesticides, improper disposal of petroleum products and leaching wastes from. This occurrence has greatly affected plants as the fertility of soil is jeopardized. Plants are unable to survive not to mention growing healthily on contaminated soil. Military actions lead to damage to the atmosphere due to soil contamination with variety of chemicals substances, and in the vicinity of territories. This contamination is designate also of the possibility of groundwater contamination (Vasarevicius & Geiciute, 2004, p. 76).
Another type of pollution is noise pollution. Singal (2005) describes noise pollution as "any sound undesired by the recipient and may adversely affect the health and well being of individuals or populations. It is the wrong sound, in the wrong place, at the wrong time". This pollution is measured by its intensity. The higher intensity leads to increase in noise pollution. The machines applied in factories create noise all days, and this bothers the peaceful environment in the surrounding area, as a result, machines used without good protection cause to noise pollution. Machines are the main factor that caused the noise pollution, especially automobiles, truck, and aircraft. Besides that, the machinery inside factories such as construction equipment, farm machines, and the din can lead to perilously loud which cause damages the ears systems. It is undeniable that this phenomenon is risky to human health. Loud noise influences the functioning of the body systems, causing the body respond in ways that may lead to stress disorder, irritability, and sleepiness (Narendra & Davar, 2004, p. 184).
Human being has taken a toll in their health due to their own irresponsible act upon the environment. It is a fact that the global environmental collapse is not inevitable; however measures must be taken to reduce the impact of pollution that would endanger lives of all organisms on earth. . Therefore, the whole nation must cooperate to ensure that new industrialized economies do not further worsen the world's environmental condition.
References
British Columbia Ministry of Environment. (2004). Environmental Management Act (EMA). Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/main/ema.htm
Krantz, D. and Kifferstein, B. (n.d.). Water pollution and society. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/waterpollution.htm
Malaysia Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. (n.d.) Sources of Air Pollution. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://www.doe.gov.my/en/content/sources-air-pollution
McCABE, L.G. (n.d) The identification of the air pollution problem. Retrieved August 24, 2009, from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/monograph/WHO_MONO_46_(p39).pdf
Nathanson, J.A. (1997). Basic environmental technology: water supply, waste management, and pollution control. (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Narendra, S., & Davar, S. C. (2004). Noise pollution - sources, effects and control. J. Hum. Ecol., 16(3), 181-187.
Philip, R.B. (2001). Ecosystem and human health: toxicology and environmental hazards. (2nd ed.). United States of America: CRC Press.
Singal, S. P. (2005). Noise characterisation and sources of noise. Noise pollution and control strategy (p. 21). Oxford, UK: Alpha Science International Ltd.
Soil pollution. (n.d). Retrieved August 18, 2009, from http://library.thinkquest.org/C0110400/usr/www/tqteams/tqic/2001/C0110400/4cs%20folder/soil.html
Sound pollution. (n.d). Retrieved August 18, 2009, from http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0311782/sound_pollution.htm
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