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Look at any ecosystem and there could be multiple forms of contamination—streams full of toxic chemicals from industrial processes, rivers overloaded with nutrients from farms, trash blowing away from landfills, city skies covered in smog. Even landscapes that appear pristine can experience the effects of pollution sources located hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Pollution may muddy landscapes, poison soils and waterways, or kill plants and animals. Humans are also regularly harmed by pollution. Long-term exposure to air pollution, for example, can lead to chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer and other diseases. Toxic chemicals that accumulate in top predators can make some species unsafe to eat. More than one billion people lack access to clean water and 2.4 billion don’t have adequate sanitation, putting them at risk of contracting deadly diseases.

Pollution is the process of making land, water, air or other parts of the environment dirty and unsafe or unsuitable to use. This can be done through the introduction of a contaminant into a natural environment, but the contaminant doesn't need to be tangible. Things as simple as light, sound and temperature can be considered pollutants when introduced artificially into an environment.

Toxic pollution affects more than 200 million people worldwide, according to Pure Earth, a non-profit environmental organization. In some of the world’s worst polluted places, babies are born with birth defects, children have lost 30 to 40 IQ points, and life expectancy may be as low as 45 years because of cancers and other diseases. Read on to find out more about specific types of pollution.

Land pollution:

Land can become polluted by household garbage and by industrial waste. In 2010, Americans produced about 250 million tons (226.8 million kilograms) of garbage, consisting of product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps, newspapers, appliances, paint and batteries. That's about 4.3 pounds (1.95 kg) of waste per person per day, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A little over half of the waste — 54 percent — is gathered in landfills. Only about 34 percent is recycled, which is about double the amount recycled in 1980, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

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"Pollution"

Name: Pollution
Author: DJ LEXIS JUNIOR

DJ LEXIS JUNIOR

An educational overview of environmental pollution, covering land, water, and air contamination. It explains the impact of toxins on ecosystems and human health using data from organizations like the EPA and United Nations.

(16 pages)

Privacy level: PUBLIC

148 reads 13 fans

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