Meaning of Pollution: Presence of dangerous unnatural ingredients causing imbalance in the ecosystem and health hazards to human beings

and animals can be called as pollution. That is, pollution is a phenomenon where natural ingredients are replaced or damaged by presence of dangerous unnatural ingredients - which have potentiality to cause imbalance to the system and to create number of health hazards to animals and human beings. Such unnatural ingredients may be gases (causing air pollution), solids / liquids (causing water, food and land pollution) or sound (causing sound pollution). All of them cause imbalance in ecosystem directly or indirectly and have potentiality to cause health hazards to human beings and animals. It creates health hazards to human beings and animals besides damaging the ecosystem. For e.g., industries polluting air has set imbalance in composition of air and made it unworthy to breathe thereby causing innumerable health problems to human and animal life. Extensive use of pesticides on crops has set imbalance in ecosystems of lands besides causing drinking water pollution.

Pollution is the release of harmful environmental contaminants, or the substances so released. Generally the process needs to result from human activity to be regarded as pollution. Even relatively benign products of human activity are liable to be regarded as pollution, if they precipitate negative effects later on. The nitrogen oxides produced by industry are often referred to as pollution, for example, although the substances themselves are not harmful. In fact, it is solar energy (sunlight) that converts these compounds to smog. Pollution can take two major forms: local pollution and global pollution. In the past, only local pollution was thought to be a problem. For example, coal burning produces smoke, which in sufficient concentrations can be a health hazard. One slogan, taught in schools, was "The solution to pollution is dilution." The theory was that sufficiently diluted pollution could cause no damage. In recent decades, awareness has been rising that some forms of pollution pose a global problem. For example, human activity (primarily nuclear testing) has significantly raised the levels of background radiation, which may lead to human health problems, all over the world. Awareness of both kinds of pollution, among other things, has led to the environmentalism movement, which seeks to limit the human impact on the environment.

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Whether something is pollution depends almost entirely on context. Blooms of algae and the resultant eutrophication of lakes and coastal ocean is considered pollution when it is fueled by nutrients from industrial, agricultural, or residential runoff. Heavy metals such as lead and mercury have a role in geochemical cycles (i.e. they occur as within 'nature'). These metals may also be mined and, depending on their processing, may thus be released in large concentrations into an environment previously not playing host to them. Just as the influences of anthropogenic release of these metals to the environment may be considered as 'polluting', such pollution could also occur in some areas due to either autochthonous or historic 'natural' geochemical activity. Carbon dioxide emissions are sometimes referred to as pollution, on the basis that these emissions have led, or are leading, to raised levels of the gas in the atmosphere and, furthermore, to harmful changes in the Earth's climate. Such claims are strongly disputed, particularly by political conservatives in Western countries and most strongly in the United States. Due to this controversy, in many contexts carbon dioxide from such sources is labeled neutrally as "emissions." See global warming for a very extensive discussion of this topic. Traditional forms of pollution include air pollution, water pollution, and radioactive contamination while a broader interpretation of the word has led to the ideas of ship pollution, light pollution, and noise pollution. Serious pollution sources include chemical plants, oil refineries, nuclear waste dumps, regular garbage dumps (many toxic substances are illegally dumped there), incinerators, PVC factories, car factories, plastics factories, and corporate animal farms creating huge amounts of animal waste. Some sources of pollution, such as nuclear power plants or oil tankers, can release very severe pollution when accidents occur. Some of the more common contaminants are chlorinated hydrocarbons (CFH), heavy metals like lead (in lead paint and until recently in gasoline), cadmium (in rechargeable batteries), chromium, zinc, arsenic and benzene. Pollution is often a serious side effect in natural disasters. For example hurricanes almost always involve sewage pollution, and petrochemical pollution from overturned boats, autos, or even damage from coastal refineries is common. Pollutants are thought to play a part in a variety of maladies, including cancer, lupus, immune diseases, allergies, and asthma. Some illnesses are named in relation with certain pollutants: for example, Minamata disease, which is caused by mercury compounds. Types of Pollution Sound Pollution Noise, by definition, is unwanted sound. What is pleasant to some ears may be extremely unpleasant to others, depending on a number of factors. The natural environment contains many
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sources of noise - wind, volcanoes, oceans, and animal sounds are all familiar intrusions accepted at various levels. Man-made noises - from machines, automobiles, trains, planes, explosives and firecrackers, etc. - are more contentious. Both kinds of noise affect sleep, hearing, communication, as well as mental and physical health.

It is now increasingly understood that pollution from noise is an important component of air pollution, which was previously understood as being limited to material pollution. Noise is an inescapable by-product of the industrial environment, which is increasing with advances in industrialization and urbanization. Even in non-industrial areas, noise from such activities as printing, auto-repair, grinding, affects those living in the immediate surroundings. Noise not only causes irritation or annoyance but also constricts the arteries, and increases the flow of adrenaline and forces the heart to work faster. Continuous noise causes an increase in the cholesterol level resulting in permanent constriction of blood vessels, making one prone to heart attacks and strokes. Health experts are of the opinion that excessive noise can also lead to neurosis and nervous breakdown. Noise travels through air and hence it is measured in ambient air quality level. Noise is measured in decibels. Experts believe that continuous noise levels in excess of 90 decibels can cause loss of hearing and irreversible changes in nervous systems. The World Health Organization [WHO] has fixed 45 decibels as the safe noise level for a city. Metropolitan areas in India usually register an average more than 90 decibels; Mumbai is rated the third noisiest city in the world, with New Delhi following closely.

Waste and Water Pollution When toxic substances enter lakes, streams, rivers, oceans, and other water bodies, they get dissolved or lie suspended in water or get deposited on the bed. This results in the pollution of water whereby the quality of the water deteriorates, affecting aquatic ecosystems. Pollutants can also seep down and affect the groundwater deposits.

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Today, many people dump their garbage into streams, lakes, rivers, and seas, thus making water bodies the final resting place of cans, bottles, plastics, and other household products. The various substances that we use for keeping our houses clean add to water pollution as they contain harmful chemicals. In the past, people mostly used soaps made from animal and vegetable fat for all types of washing. But most of todays cleaning products are synthetic detergents and come from the petrochemical industry. Most detergents and washing powders contain phosphates, which are used to soften the water among other things. These and other chemicals contained in washing powders affect the health of all forms of life in the water. The effects of water pollution are not only devastating to people but also to animals, fish, and birds. Polluted water is unsuitable for drinking, recreation, agriculture, and industry. It diminishes the aesthetic quality of lakes and rivers. More seriously, contaminated water destroys aquatic life and reduces its reproductive ability. Eventually, it is a hazard to human health. Nobody can escape the effects of water pollution

Air Pollution One of the formal definitions of air pollution is as follows The presence in the atmosphere of one or more contaminants in such quality and for such duration as is injurious, or tends to be injurious, to human health or welfare, animal or plant life. It is the contamination of air by the discharge of harmful substances. Air pollution can cause health problems and it can also damage the environment and property. It has caused thinning of the protective ozone layer of the atmosphere, which is leading to climate change.

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Modernization and progress have led to air getting more and more polluted over the years. Industries, vehicles, increase in the population, and urbanization are some of the major factors responsible for air pollution. The following industries are among those that emit a great deal of pollutants into the air: thermal power plants, cement, steel, refineries, petro chemicals, and mines. Air pollution results from a variety of causes, not all of which are within human control. Dust storms in desert areas and smoke from forest fires and grass fires contribute to chemical and particulate pollution of the air. The source of pollution may be in one country but the impact of pollution may be felt elsewhere. The discovery of pesticides in Antarctica, where they have never been used, suggests the extent to which aerial transport can carry pollutants from one place to another.

Listed below are the major air pollutants and their sources. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced by the incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels including petrol, diesel, and wood. It is also produced from the combustion of natural and synthetic products such as cigarettes. It lowers the amount of oxygen that enters our blood . It can slow our reflexes and make us confused and sleepy. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the principle greenhouse gas emitted as a result of human activities such as the burning of coal, oil, and natural gases. Chloroflorocarbons (CFC) are gases that are released mainly from air-conditioning systems and refrigeration. When released into the air, CFCs rise to the stratosphere, where they come in contact with few other gases, which leads to a reduction of the ozone layer that protects the earth from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. Lead is present in petrol, diesel, lead batteries, paints, hair dye products, etc. Lead affects children in particular. It can cause nervous system damage and digestive problems and, in some cases, cause cancer. Ozone occurs naturally in the upper layers of the atmosphere. This important gas shields the earth from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. However, at the ground level, it is a pollutant with highly toxic effects. Vehicles and industries are the major source of ground-level ozone emissions. Ozone makes our eyes itch, burn, and water. It lowers our resistance to colds and pneumonia. Nitrogen oxide (Nox) causes smog and acid rain. It is produced from burning fuels including petrol, diesel, and coal. Nitrogen oxides can make children susceptible to respiratory diseases in winters.

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Suspended particulate matter (SPM) consists of solids in the air in the form of smoke, dust, and vapour that can remain suspended for extended periods and is also the main source of haze which reduces visibility. The finer of these particles, when breathed in can lodge in our lungs and cause lung damage and respiratory problems. Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is a gas produced from burning coal, mainly in thermal power plants. Some industrial processes, such as production of paper and smelting of metals, produce sulphur dioxide. It is a major contributor to smog and acid rain. Sulfur dioxide can lead to lung diseases.

Chemical Pollution In some parts of the world, the bodies of whales and dolphins washing ashore are so highly contaminated that they qualify as toxic waste and have to be specially disposed of. There are many different sources of chemical pollution, including:
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domestic sewage industrial discharges seepage from waste sites atmospheric fallout domestic run-off accidents and spills at sea operational discharges from oil rigs mining discharges and agricultural run-off.

However, the chemicals that are probably of most concern for everyone are the persistent pollutants: those substances that enter marine food chains and are eventually passed along the chain to the marine top predators in increasing amounts. Persistent pollutants include pesticides, such as DDT, and industrial chemicals, most famously the PCBs.

POLLUTION IN INDIA:
Air Pollution Industrialization and urbanization have resulted in a profound deterioration of India's air quality. Of the 3 million premature deaths in the world that occur each year due to outdoor and indoor air pollution, the highest number are assessed to occur in India. According to the World Health Organization, the capital city of New Delhi is one of the top ten most polluted cities in the world. Surveys indicate that in New Delhi the incidence of respiratory diseases due to air pollution is about 12 times the national average. According to another study, while India's gross domestic product has increased 2.5 times over the past two decades; vehicular pollution has increased eight times, while pollution from industries has quadrupled. Sources of air pollution, India's most severe environmental problem,
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come in several forms, including vehicular emissions and untreated industrial smoke. Apart from rapid industrialization, urbanization has resulted in the emergence of industrial centers without a corresponding growth in civic amenities and pollution control mechanisms. Regulatory reforms aimed at improving the air pollution problem in cities such as New Delhi have been quite difficult to implement, however. For example, India's Supreme Court recently lifted a ruling that it imposed two years ago which required all public transport vehicles in New Delhi to switch to compressed natural gas (CNG) engines by April 1, 2001. This ruling, however, led to the disappearance of some 15,000 taxis and 10,000 buses from the city, creating public protests, riots, and widespread "commuter chaos. The court was similarly unsuccessful in 2000, when it attempted to ban all public vehicles that were more than 15 years old and ordered the introduction of unleaded gasoline and CNG. India's high concentration of pollution is not due to a lack of effort in building a sound environmental legal regime, but rather to a lack of enforcement at the local level. Efforts are currently underway to change this as new specifications are being adopted for auto emissions, which currently account for approximately 70% of air pollution. In the absence of coordinated government efforts, including stricter enforcement, this figure is likely to rise in the coming years due to the sheer increase in vehicle ownership. Waste and Water Pollution Water pollution has many sources. The most polluting of them are the city sewage and industrial waste discharged into the rivers. The facilities to treat waste water are not adequate in any city in India. Presently, only about 10% of the waste water generated is treated; the rest is discharged as it is into our water bodies. Due to this, pollutants enter groundwater, rivers, and other water bodies. Such water, which ultimately ends up in our households, is often highly contaminated and carries disease-causing microbes. Agricultural run-off, or the water from the fields that drains into rivers, is another major water pollutant as it contains fertilizers and pesticides. During the last fifty years, the number of industries in India has grown rapidly. But water pollution is concentrated within a few subsectors, mainly in the form of toxic wastes and organic pollutants. Out of this a large portion can be traced to the processing of industrial chemicals and to the food products industry. In fact, a number of large- and medium-sized industries in the region covered by the Ganga Action Plan do not have adequate effluent treatment facilities. Most of these defaulting industries are sugar mills, distilleries, leather processing industries, and thermal power stations. Most major industries have treatment facilities for industrial effluents. But this is not the case with small-scale industries, which cannot afford enormous investments in pollution control equipment as their profit margin is very slender.

Chemical Pollution As rapidly developing countries such as India industrialize, the dangers to local communities from pollution are often overlooked until there is a major disaster such as occurred in Bhopal.

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The effects of chamical pollution are being rapidly felt across India. It has found that the incidence of diseases related to nervous, circulatory, respiratory, digestive and endocrine systems was one to four times higher in heavily industrialized areas as compared to unindustrialized areas. Many cases of congenital deformity and chromosomal abnormalities were also reported, in addition to 11 cases of different kinds of cancer. Skin disorders are also rampant. The wave of industrialization that began in the late 1970s has changed the complexion of India's once placid landscape. Lakes, streams, as well as the groundwater are laced with toxic heavy metals and chemicals, as proved by several studies by government agencies and research institutions including the National Geophysical Research Laboratory.

How can you Prevent Pollution The least you could do Turn off Sound pollution 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Keep the volume of your T.V., music system low. Honk the car horn sparingly. Discourage use of loudspeakers. Avoid the use of band, crackers in wedding processions. Get all to practice laws regarding Sound pollution.

Vaporize Air pollution 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Keep smoke emission from homes, factories, vehicles to minimum. Avoid use of firecrackers. Dispose garbage in bins, do not bum it. Use spittoons or flowing drains for spitting. Get all to practice laws regarding Air pollution.

Purify Water pollution 1. 2. 3. 4. Never dump garbage near communal taps, wells and other water bodies. Do not tinker with public water pipes. Immerse holy idols in authorized places. Get all to practice laws regarding Water pollution.

Dispose off Chemical pollution 1. Prefer organic manure to chemical fertilizers, paper to polythene, cotton, jute to polyester. 2. Dispose polythene bags through proper channel. 3. Plant more trees and vegetation. 4. Get all to practice laws regarding Chemical pollution.
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