3.

2 The Effects of Environmental Pollution

Natural Disaster
Natural disaster Explanation Impacts
Drought
Area suffering from dryness Death of producers and
disrupted the food web

Flood
Excess rainwater Spreading of infectious
diseases, death of livestock and
crops

Volcano eruption
Magma under the Earth crust Causes air pollution, destroys
rises to the surface of the Earth plants, animals, humans and
properties

Earthquake
Vibration or shaking that occurs Collapse of buildings and
on the surface of the Earth infrastructures, loss of human
and animal life

Storm and hurricane

Heavy rain and strong wind Fallen trees, destruction of
habitat and property
Causes of Environmental Pollution
Cause of environmental pollution
Uncontrolled use of fuel
Waste disposal from factory
Uncontrolled use of chemical fertilizer,
insecticide and mold poison
Emission of toxic gases, smoke and noise
from vehicles and machinery
Garbage disposal
Sewage discharge
Utilization of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)
Explanation
 Produces various types of air pollutants such as
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide,
nitrogen dioxide, hydrocarbon and smoke
 Disposal of toxic substances, radioactive material,
smoke and heat to the surrounding.
 Causes air and water pollution.
 Used in excessive quantities in agriculture field.
 Causes soil and water pollution.
 Emission of smokes containing hydrocarbons and
lead
 Emission of poisonous gases such as sulphur
dioxide.
 Causes noise pollution.
 Includes biodegradable materials such as food and
non-biodegradable materials such as plastics, metals
and glass.
 Causes air, water and land pollution.
 Sewage discharge contains domestic wastes as well
as human and livestock faeces .
 Sewage discharge contains detergent and various
dangerous microorganisms in it.
 Used in aerosols, air conditioners, refrigerators and
the manufacturing of some plastics
 Causes the depletion of ozone layer
Effects of Pollutions

Effects of Pollutions Explanation

(i) Human health  In the risks of getting infection as well as diseases related to respiratory system
affected caused by contaminated water, food or air
 Exposure to the radioactive waste weakens the immune system, causing
mutation and cancer
 Sound pollution causes damage to the hearing system, disturbs the normal rate
of heartbeat as well as digestion process.
(ii) Destruction of  Habitat for aquatic organisms destroyed due to the disposal of sewage and
habitat and nature chemical fertilisers. The rapid growth of algae causes the reduction of dissolved
oxygen content in water.
 Water pollution also disrupts pH value of water which causes the aquatic
organisms to die or decreases the rate of reproduction
 Acid rain causes the destruction of forest and also causes the plants and animals
to lose their habitat
(iii) Extinction of  Habitat of organisms destroyed and organisms loss their shelter and source of
species food
 Disruption in food chains occurs and destroys the balance of the nature and
extinction of species
(iv) Loss of economic  Pollution causes the loss of forest resources such as logs, firewood and rattan
source  The loss of resources because of the lack of aquatic life species
 Soils that are polluted with toxic or chemical substances are not suitable for
agricultural activities.

Global Warming:

Definition: increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere

Sunlight brings heat that will warm the Earth's surface. When the Earth becomes warm, the heat energy will be
reflected back into space. However, some of the heat energy is trapped by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
and rise in the Earth temperature (global warming).
Causes of global warming:
1. Open burning
2. Clearing of large area of forests
3. Burning of fossil fuels in factories and motor vehicles

Greenhouse Effect: the problem caused by heat being trapped on Earth by the gases in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide, chlorofluorocarbon

Effects of global warming:

1. Melt the glaciers and ice caps in the Arctic and Antarctic
2. Rise of the sea level
3. Coastal and lowland areas experience flooding
4. Act as a catalyst for other natural disasters such as floods, drought

Ways to overcome:
1. Do not do open burning
2. Plant more green plants

Thinning of Ozone Layers:

Basically, ozone is made up with the combination of three oxygen atoms (O 3). The usage of ozone is to protect the
Earth from excess of ultraviolet (UV) light from the Sun

Cause of the Thinning of Ozone Layers: excessive use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC)

Products contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFC):

1. Fire extinguisher
2. Aerosol spray
3. Refrigerator
4. Air conditioner
5. Freezer

Effect of ozone layer depletion to human and environment:

Human: skin cancer, cataract of eye, lower the immunity, mutation
Environment: increases surrounding temperature, reduce the yield of crops, kill phytoplankton

Way to overcome:
1. Reduce the products contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFC)
2. Uses the CFC-free products