PollutionPollution

• Any addition to air, water, soil, or food that threatens the health, survival, or activities of humans or living organisms

VocabularyVocabulary

• Point source: Single, identifiable sources a such as smoke stacks of a power plant from which pollutants emerge from.

• Nonpoint Source: Dispersed, usually difficult to identify sources from which

pollutants come from.

• Concentration: The amount of pollutants per unit of volume or weight of air, water, soil, or body weight.

• Persistence: How long the pollutants stay in the air.

• Part per million (ppm): The concentration of 1 part pollutant per 1 million parts gas, liquid, or solid mixture.

• Part per billion (ppb): Refers to 1 part of pollutant per 1 billion parts of medium

• Part per trillion (ppt): Refers to 1 part of pollutant per 1 trillion parts of medium.

• Degradable/Nonpersistant pollutants: Pollutants broken down completely by natural physical, chemical, biological process

• Biodegradable pollutants: Complex chemical pollutants metabolized into simpler chemicals by living organisms.

• Slowly/Persistent degradable pollutants: Pollutants that take decades or longer to degrade.

• Non-degradable pollutants: Cannot be broken down through the natural process.

• Pollution prevention/Input pollution control: The introduction of less harmful chemicals or processes to slow/eliminate the production of pollutants.

• Pollution cleanup/ Output pollution control: Cleaning up pollutants after they have been produced.

Where do pollutants come from?Where do pollutants come from?

• Solid/liquid/gaseous by-products or wastes produced when a resource is extracted, processed, used, or made into something new

• unwanted energy emissions

• Environmental pollution: volcanic eruptions

• Anthropogenic pollution: burning coal, usually near urban areas where concentrated pollutants, industrialized agriculture

• Pollution spreads without boundaries.

• Point sources and nonpoint sources

• Easier to control point sources

The Harm Caused by PollutionThe Harm Caused by Pollution• The factors that determine

pollution's harmful effects are it’s chemical nature or how active or harmful it is for the organisms in it.

• Its concentration in the area by ppm, ppb, or ppt

• Pollutants persistence and whether it is degradable, nonpresistant, slowly, persistent, biodegradable, pollutants

Equivalents of some Concentration UnitsEquivalents of some Concentration Units

Unit 1ppm 1ppb 1ppt

Time 1 minute in 2yrs 1sec/32yrs 1sec/320centuries

Money $.01 in 10,000 $.01 in 10,000,000 $.01 in 1000000000

Weight 1 pinch salt in 1 pinch salt in 1 pinch salt 10,000

10 kg potato chips 10 tons potato chips tons potato chips

Volume 1 drop in 1000 L of 1 drop in 1000000 L 1 drop in 1000000000

water of water of water

• Disrupt life -supports system for humans and animals, damage wildlife/human life/health, damage property, nuisance, noise, smell, taste

• know side effects of 10% of 72,000 synthetic chemicals in use with 1000 new ones yearly

What can we do to help clean up?What can we do to help clean up?

• Lower concentration of pollutant, dilute it in large volume of air or water

• Pollution prevention• Pollution in-put control• Pollution clean up • Pollution output control

RecycleRecycle

• Refuse• Reduce • Reuse• Recycle

Problems with Pollution cleanupProblems with Pollution cleanup

• Temporary relief if consumption level and pop. continue to grow w/o improvements in pollution control.

• Removes pollutants from one place to another

• Once pollutants are dispersed in air, water, and soil in high concentrations too expensive to reduce

Prevention and RewardsPrevention and Rewards

• Cheaper and more effective.

• 99% US $ to clean up 1% prevention.

• Stick approach- regulations and taxes on polluters

• Carrot approach- tax write-off and subsides for those who prevent pollution

Remaining Problems AbroadRemaining Problems Abroad

• China, Russia, Poland, many eastern European countries, and developing countries far behind in pollution control.

• Russia spill 1 out of 10 barrels of oil every 6hr

• Over use of pesticides• Water diverted to use as

agriculture• Nuclear pollution