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Topic 1.5: Humans and Pollution

1. Types of Pollution
a. Pollution:
i. The addition of a substance or agent to an environment by human activity
ii. Added at a rate grater that at which it can be rendered harmless by the
environment
iii. Has an appreciable effect on the organisms within the environment
iv. Can be:
1. Matter (gasses, liquids, or solids) which is organic or inorganic
2. Energy (sounds, light, heat)
3. Living organisms (invasive species, biological agents)
v. Major sources:
1. Combustion of fossil fuels (co2, so2, nox, co)
2. Domestic waste (organic waste, trash)
3. Industrial waste (heavy metals, fluorides, heat)
4. Agricultural waste (nitrates, phosphates, pesticides)
b. Categories of pollution:
i. Primary Pollutants:
1. Active on emission
a. Ec: NOx (nitrogen oxides) act as greenhouse gasses when
emitted
ii. Secondary Pollutants:
1. Formed when primary pollutants undergo physical or chemical
changes
a. Ex: NOx can combine with H20 to form nitric acid that
causes acid rain
iii. Point Source Pollutants:
1. Release of pollutants from a single, identifiable source
a. Ex: Oil spill, toxic waste from a factory
iv. Non-point Source Pollutants:
1. Release of pollutants from numerous, widely dispersed origins
a. Ex: Exhaust from vehicles, fertilizer runoff from various
croplands
v. Persistent Pollutants:
1. Pollutants that are difficult to break down and remain active in the
environment for a long time
a. Ex: Pesticides (DDT)
vi. Biodegradable Pollutants
1. Pollutants that break down quickly and do not persists in the
environment
a. Ex: Sewage
vii. Acute Pollutants
 1. When large amounts of pollutants are released, causing a lot of
harm
a. Ex: Aluminum sulfate dumped in the water system in
Cornwall, UK in 1988
viii. Chronic Pollutants:
1. When small amounts of pollutants are released over large amounts
of time
a. Ex: Air pollution in Beijing
2. Measuring and Managing Pollution
a. Direct measuring
i. Measuring the presence of a pollutant in an environment
1. Ex: Using a pH sensor to measure the acidity of rainwater,
measuring the amount of co2 in the atmosphere
b. Indirect measuring
i. Measuring changes in an abiotic or biotic factor which are the result of the
pollutant
1. Ex: Measuring oxygen content of water affected by eutrophication
c. Managing pollution: Pollution management systems
i. Tier 1 strategies: Altering human activity
1. Most fundamental, proactive level
2. Seeks to change human activity that releases pollutant
3. Example strategies: Education, campaigns, economic incentives
4. Ecocentric
ii. Tier 2 strategies: Controlling release of pollutant
1. Seeks to regulate or preventing the release of pollutants
2. Less proactive as pollution still being released
3. Example strategies: Taxes, legislation, developing extraction tech
4. Anthropocentric
iii. Tier 3 strategies: Clean up + restoration of ecosystems
1. Seeks to recover damaged ecosystems
2. Most reactive strategy
3. Example strategies: Extracting pollutant from ecosystem, replanting,
restocking organisms
4. Technocentric