Pollution

Pollution

      Pollution is the introduction of contaminators into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of chemical substance or energy, such as noise, heat or right. Pollutions, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substance energies or naturally occurring contaminants. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution.

Pollutants

A pollutant is a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil. Three factors determine the severity of a pollutant: its chemical nature, the concentration and the persistence.

An air pollutant is a substance in the air that can have adverse effects on humans and the ecosystem. The substance can be solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases. A pollutant can be of natural origin or man-made. Pollutants are classified as primary or secondary. Primary pollutants are usually produced from a process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption. Other examples include gas from motor vehicle exhaust, or the released from factories. Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air when primary pollutants react or interact. Ground level ozone is a prominent example of a secondary pollutant. Some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: they are both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants.

Ancient Cultures

            Air pollution has always accompanied civilizations. Pollution started from prehistoric times when man created the first fires. According to a 1983 stickle in the journal science, soot found on of prehistoric caves provides ample evidence of the high levels of pollution that was associated with inadequate ventilation of open fires. Metal forging appears to be a key turning point in the creation of significant air pollution levels outside the home core samples of glaciers in Greenland indicate increase in pollution associated with Greek, Roman and Chinese metal production, but at the time the pollution was comparatively small and could be handled by nature.

Official Acknowledgement King Edward of England banned the burning of sea coal by proclamation in London  in 1272, after its smoke became a problem. But the fuel was so common in England that this earliest of names for it was acquired because it could be carted away from some shores by the wheelbarrow. Air pollution would continue to be a problem in England, especially later during the industrial revolution, and extending into the recent past with the. London also recorded one of the earlier extreme cases of water quality problems with the  on the of 1858, which led to construction of the soon afterward.

It was that gave birth to environmental pollution as we know it today. The emergence of great factories and consumption of immense quantities of gave rise to unprecedented and the large volume of industrial discharges added to the growing load of untreated human waste. Were the first two American cities to enact laws ensuring cleaner air in 1881. Other cities followed around the country until early in the 20th century, when the short lived Office of Air Pollution was created under the Department of the Interior. Extreme smog events were experienced by the cities of and in the late 1940s, serving as another public reminder.

Modern Pollution

Pollution became a popular issue after World War II, due to radioactive fallout from atomic warfare and testing. Then a non-nuclear event, the of 1952 in London, killed at least 4000 people. This prompted some of the first major modern environmental legislation, the clean air act of 1956.

Pollution began to draw major public attention in the United States between the mid-1950s and early 1970s, when Congress passed the, the clean air act, the clean water act and the national environmental policy act.

Severe incidents of pollution helped increase consciousness dumping in the resulted in a ban by the on consumption of its fish in 1974. Long-term contamination at starting in 1947 became a national news story in 1978 and led to the legislation of 1980. Legal proceedings in the 1990s helped bring to light releases in the champions of whose victims became famous. The pollution of industrial land gave rise to the name, a term now common in.

The development of nuclear science introduced, which can remain lethally radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years, named by the as the "most polluted spot" on earth, served as a disposal site for the Soviet Union throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Second place may go to the area of Chelyabinsk U.S.S.R. See reference below as the "Most polluted place on the planet".

Nuclear weapons continued to be tested in the cold war, sometimes near inhabited areas, especially in the earlier stages of their development. The toll on the worst-affected populations and the growth since then in understanding about the critical threat to human health posed by has also been a prohibitive complication associated with. Though extreme care is practiced in that industry, the potential for disaster suggested by incidents such as those at and pose a lingering specter of public mistrust. One legacy of before  has been significantly raised levels of background radiation.

International catastrophes such as the wreck of the oil tanker off the coast of  in 1978 and the  in 1984 have demonstrated the universality of such events and the scale on which efforts to address them needed to engage. The borderless nature of atmosphere and oceans inevitably resulted in the implication of pollution on a planetary level with the issue of global warming. Most recently the term has come to describe a group of chemicals such as and among others. Though their effects remain somewhat less well understood owing to a lack of experimental data, they have been detected in various ecological habitats far removed from industrial activity such as the Arctic, demonstrating diffusion and bioaccumulation after only a relatively brief period of widespread use.

A much more recently discovered problem is the, a huge concentration of plastics, and other which has been collected into a large area of the Pacific Ocean by the. This is a less well known pollution problem than the others described above, but nonetheless has multiple and serious consequences such as increasing wildlife mortality, the spread of invasive species and human ingestion of toxic chemicals. Organizations such as  have researched the pollution and, along with artists like, are working toward publicizing the issue.

Growing evidence of local and global pollution and an increasingly informed public over time have given rise to and the, which generally seek to limit human impact on the environment.

Form of Pollution

Air Pollution: The release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere. Common gaseous pollutants include, and motor vehicles. Photochemical and are created as nitrogen oxides and react to sunlight. Particulate matter or fine dust is characterized by their size PM₁₀ to PM_2.5.

Light Pollution: includes light trespass over illumination, and astronomical interference.

Littering: the criminal throwing of inappropriate man-made objects, un removed, onto public and private properties.

Noise Pollution:- which encompasses roadway noise, aircraft noise, industrial noise as well as high-intensity Sonar.

Soil contamination are occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE, herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Radioactive contamination, resulting from 20th century activities in atomic physics, such as nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons research, manufacture and deployment.

Thermal pollution is a temperature change in natural water bodies caused by human influence, such as use of water coolant in a power plant.

Visual pollution which can refer to the presence of overhead power lines, motorway billboards, scarred landforms, open storage of trash, municipal solid waste or space debris.

Water Pollution by the discharge of wastewater from commercial and industrial waste into surface waters, discharge of untreated domestic sewage, and chemical contaminants, such as chlorine, from treated waste disposal and leaching into groundwater.

 

Source and causes

Air pollution comes from both natural and human-made (anthropogenic) sources. However, globally human-made pollutants from combustion, construction, mining, agriculture and warfare are increasingly significant in the air pollution equation.

Motor vehicle emissions are one of the leading causes of air pollution. China, united states Russia, India Mexico, and Japan are the world leaders in air pollution emissions. Principal stationary pollution sources, coal-fired, plants, disposal activity, incinerators, large livestock farms dairy cows, pigs, poultry, etc, factories, metals production factories, plastics factories, and other. Agricultural air pollution comes from contemporary practices which include clear felling and burning of natural vegetation as well as spraying of pesticides and herbicides.

About 400 million metric tons of are generated each year. The united states alone produces about 250 million metric tons. Americans constitute less than 5% of the, but produce roughly 25% of the world’s and generate approximately 30% of. In 2007, has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest producer of CO₂ while still far behind based on per capita pollution - ranked 78th among the world's nations.

In February 2007, a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, representing the work of 2,500 scientists, economists, and policymakers from more than 120 countries, said that humans have been the primary cause of global warming since 1950. Humans have ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the consequences of global warming, a major climate report concluded. But to change the climate, the transition from fossil fuels like coal and oil needs to occur within decades, according to the final report this year from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Some of the more common contaminants are, such as, found in rechargeable, and found in lead,  and still in some countries,)and. In 2001 a series of press reports culminating in a book called unveiled a widespread practice of recycling industrial byproducts into fertilizer, resulting in the contamination of the soil with various metals. Ordinary municipal  are the source of many chemical substances entering the soil environment and often groundwater, emanating from the wide variety of refuse accepted, especially substances illegally discarded there, or from pre-1970 landfills that may have been subject to little control in the U.S. or EU. There have also been some unusual releases of, commonly called dioxins for simplicity, such as.

Pollution can also be the consequence of a natural disaster. For example, often involve water contamination from sewage, and spills from ruptured. Larger scale and environmental damage is not uncommon when coastal or are involved. Some sources of pollution, such as plants or, can produce widespread and potentially hazardous releases when accidents occur.

Human health

Adverse can kill many organisms including humans. Ozone pollution can cause, inflammation, chest pain, and. Water pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths per day, mostly due to contamination of by untreated in. An estimated 500 million have no access to a proper toilet, and 580 Indians die of water-related pollution every day. Nearly 500 million Chinese lack access to safe drinking water. A 2010 analysis estimated that 1.2 million people died prematurely in a year in because of air pollution. In 2007 it was estimated that in, air pollution is believed to cause 527,700 fatalities. Studies have estimated that the number of people killed annually in the US could be over 50,000.

Oil spills can cause skin irritations and rashes. Noise pollution induces hearing loss, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep disturbance. Mercury has been linked to in children and symptoms. Older people are majorly exposed to diseases induced by air pollution. Those with heart or lung disorders are at additional risk. Children and infants are also at serious risk and other has been shown to cause neurological problems. Chemical and substances can and causes and cancer as well as birth defects.

Environment

Pollution has been found to be present widely in the. There are a number of effects of this,

Biomagnifications describes situations where toxins may pass through, becoming exponentially more concentrated in the process.

Carbon dioxide emissions cause ocean acidification, the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans as CO₂ becomes dissolved.

The emission of greenhouse gases leads to global warming  which affects ecosystems in many ways.

Invasive species can out compete native species and reduce. Invasive plants can contribute debris and bio molecules that can alter soil and chemical compositions of an environment, often reducing native species.

Nitrogen oxides are removed from the air by rain and  land which can change the species composition of ecosystems.

Smog and haze can reduce the amount of sunlight received by plants to carry out  and leads to the production of  which damages plants.

Soil can become infertile and unsuitable for plants. This will affect other in the food web.

Sulfur dioxide can which lowers the value of soil.

 

Environmental health information

The Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program at the maintains a comprehensive toxicology and environmental health web site that includes access to resources produced by TEHIP and by other government agencies and organizations. This web site includes links to databases, bibliographies, tutorials, and other scientific and consumer-oriented resources. TEHIP also is responsible for the Toxicology Data Network an integrated system of toxicology and environmental health databases that are available free of charge on the web.

Pollution Control

Pollution control is a term used in. It means the control of and  into air, water or soil. Without pollution control, the waste products from consumption, heating, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transportation and other human activities, whether they accumulate or disperse, will degrade the. In the hierarchy of controls, and are more desirable than pollution control. In the field of, is a similar technique for the prevention of urban runoff.

Most Polluted places in the developing world

The, an international non-for-profit organization dedicated to eliminating life-threatening pollution in the developing world, issues an annual list of some of the world's worst polluted places. In the 2007 issues the ten top nominees, already industrialized countries excluded, are located in Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine and Zambia.

Air Pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulates, biological, or other harmful materials into the, possibly causing disease, death to humans, damage to other living organisms such as food crops, or the natural or built environment.

The atmosphere is a complex natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth's ecosystems.

 Indoor air pollution and urban air quality are listed as two of the world’s worst toxic pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith institute World's Worst Polluted Places report.

Air Pollution Exposure

Air pollution risk is a function of the hazard of the pollutant and the exposure to that pollutant. Air pollution exposure can be expressed for an individual, for certain groups, or for entire populations. For example, one may want to calculate the exposure to a hazardous air pollutant for a geographic area, which includes the various microenvironments and age groups. This can be calculated as an inhalation exposure. This would account for daily exposure in various settings. The exposure needs to include different age and other demographic groups, especially infants, children, pregnant women and other sensitive subpopulations. The exposure to an air pollutant must integrate the concentrations of the air pollutant with respect to the time spent in each setting and the respective inhalation rates for each subgroup for each specific time that the subgroup is in the setting and engaged in particular activities For example, a small child's inhalation rate will be less than that of an adult. A child engaged in vigorous exercise will have a higher respiration rate than the same child in a sedentary activity. The daily exposure, then, needs to reflect the time spent in each micro-environmental setting and the type of activities in these settings. The air pollutant concentration in each micro activity micro environmental setting is summed to indicate the exposure.

Indoor Air Quality

A lack of ventilation indoors concentrates air pollution where people often spend the majority of their time. Radon gas is exuded from the Earth in certain locations and trapped inside houses. Building materials including and emit  (H₂CO) gas. Paint and solvents give off as they dry. Paint can degenerate into and be inhaled. Intentional air pollution is introduced with the use of, and other scented items. Controlled wood fires in stoves and can add significant amounts of smoke particulates into the air, inside and out. Indoor pollution fatalities may be caused by using and other chemical sprays indoors without proper ventilation.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and fatalities are often caused by faulty vents and chimneys, or by the burning of indoors. Chronic can result even from poorly adjusted. Traps are built into all domestic to keep sewer gas and, out of interiors. Clothing emits, or other dry cleaning fluids, for days after,

Though its use has now been banned in many countries, the extensive use of in industrial and domestic environments in the past has left a potentially very dangerous material in many localities, chronic  medical condition affecting the tissue of the. It occurs after long-term, heavy exposure to asbestos from asbestos-containing materials in structures. Sufferers have severe shortness of breath and are at an increased risk regarding several different types of. As clear explanations are not always stressed in non-technical literature, care should be taken to distinguish between several forms of relevant diseases. According to the, these may defined as, lung cancer, and generally a very rare form of cancer, when more widespread it is almost always associated with prolonged exposure to asbestos.

Biological sources of air pollution are also found indoors, as gases and airborne particulates. Produce dander, people produce dust from minute skin flakes and decomposed hair, dust in bedding, carpeting and furniture produce enzymes and micrometer-sized fecal droppings, inhabitants emit methane, forms in walls and generates and spores,  systems can and mold, soil and surrounding can produce, dust and mold. Indoors, the lack of air circulation allows these airborne pollutants to accumulate more than they would otherwise occur in nature.

Health Effects

Air pollution is a significant risk factor for multiple health conditions including respiratory infections, heart disease, and lung cancer, according to the WHO. The health effects caused by air pollution may include difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing, and aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. These effects can result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency room visits, more hospital admissions and premature death. The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching, but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, the individual's health status and genetics. The most common sources of air pollution include particulates, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Both indoor and outdoor air pollution have caused approximately 3.3 million deaths worldwide. Children aged less than five years that live in developing countries are the most vulnerable population in terms of total deaths attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution.

The World Health Organization states that 2.4 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution, with 1.5 million of these deaths attributable to indoor air pollution. In 2014 the New York Times reported that 'India has the highest death rate because of chronic respiratory diseases.  studies suggest that more than 500,000 Americans die each year from disease linked to breathing fine particle air pollution.  In December 2013 the former health minister of, Chen Zhu, a professor of medicine and a leading molecular biologist, claimed that air pollution was killing 500,000 people in China each year. A study by the has shown a strong correlation between related deaths and air pollution from motor vehicles. Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to automobile accidents. A 2005 study by the European Commission calculated that air pollution reduces life expectancy by an average of almost nine months across the European Union. Causes of deaths include aggravated asthma, emphysema, lung and heart diseases, and respiratory allergies. Estimates that a proposed set of changes in technology could result in 12,000 less premature mortality, 15,000 fewer 6,000 fewer visits by children with asthma, and 8,900 fewer respiratory-related hospital admissions each year in the United States.

The US EPA estimates allowing a ground-level ozone concentration of 65 parts per billion, would avert 1,700 to 5,100 premature deaths nationwide in 2020 compared with the current 75-ppb standard. The agency projects the stricter standard would also prevent an additional 26,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and more than a million cases of missed work or school.

 The worst short term civilian pollution crisis in was the 1984. Leaked industrial vapours from the Union Carbide factory, belonging to Union Carbide, Inc., U.S.A. killed more than 25,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000. The United Kingdom suffered its worst air pollution event when the December 4 of 1952 formed over. In six days more than 4,000 died, and 8,000 more died within the following months. An accidental leak of  spores from a laboratory in the former in 1979 near is believed to have been the cause of hundreds of civilian deaths, The worst single incident of air pollution to occur in the US occurred in  late October, 1948, when 20 people died and over 7,000 were injured.

A new economic study of the health impacts and associated costs of air pollution in the and of Southern California shows that more than 3800 people die prematurely approximately 14 years earlier than normal each year because air pollution levels violate federal standards. The number of annual premature deaths is considerably higher than the fatalities related to auto collisions in the same area, which average fewer than 2,000 per year.

Diesel exhaust is a major contributor to combustion derived particulate matter air pollution. In several human experimental studies, using a well validated exposure chamber setup, DE has been linked to acute vascular dysfunction and increased thrombus formation. This serves as a plausible mechanistic link between the previously described association between particulates air pollution and increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Effects on cardiovascular health

A 2007 review of evidence found ambient air pollution exposure is a risk factor correlating with increased total mortality from cardiovascular events ,

Air pollution is also emerging as a risk factor for stroke, particularly in developing countries where pollutant levels are highest. A 2007 study found that in women air pollution is associated not with hemorrhagic but with ischemic stroke. Air pollution was also found to be associated with increased incidence and mortality from coronary stroke in a cohort study in 2011. Associations are believed to be causal and effects may be mediated by vasoconstriction, low-grade inflammation or autonomic nervous system imbalance or other mechanisms.

Effects on cystic fibrosis

A study from around the years of 1999 to 2000, by the University of Washington, showed that patients near and around particulates air pollution had an increased risk of pulmonary exacerbations and decrease in lung function. Patients were examined before the study for amounts of specific pollutants like or as well as their socioeconomic standing. Participants involved in the study were located in the United States in close proximity to and during the time of the study 117 deaths were associated with air pollution. Many patients in the study lived in or near large metropolitan areas in order to be close to medical help. These same patients had higher level of pollutants found in their system because of more emissions in larger cities. As cystic fibrosis patients already suffer from decreased lung function, everyday pollutants such as smoke, emissions from automobiles, tobacco smoke and improper use of indoor heating devices could further compromise lung function.

Links to cancer

A review of evidence regarding whether ambient air pollution exposure is a risk factor for cancer in 2007 found solid data to conclude that long-term exposure to PM2.5 fine particulates increases the overall risk of non-accidental mortality by 6% per a 10 microg m3 increase.

Exposure to PM2.5 was also associated with an increased risk of mortality from lung cancer range, 15% to 21% per a 10 microg/m3 increase and total cardiovascular mortality range: 12% to 14% per a 10 microg/m3 increase.

The review further noted that living close to busy traffic appears to be associated with elevated risks of these three outcomes increase in lung cancer deaths, cardiovascular deaths, and overall non-accidental deaths.

The reviewers also found suggestive evidence that exposure to PM2.5 is positively associated with mortality from coronary heart diseases and exposure to SO2 increases mortality from lung cancer, but the data was insufficient to provide solid conclusions.

In 2011, a large Danish epidemiological study found an increased risk of lung cancer for patients who lived in areas with high nitrogen oxide concentrations. In this study, the association was higher for non-smokers than smokers. An additional Danish study, also in 2011, likewise noted evidence of possible associations between air pollution and other forms of cancer, including cervical cancer and brain cancer.

Effects on COPD and asthma

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease includes diseases such as.

Researchers have demonstrated increased risk of developing asthma and COPD from increased exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Additionally, air pollution has been associated with increased hospitalizations and mortality from asthma and COPD. A study conducted in 1960-1961 in the wake of the of 1952 compared 293 London residents with 477 residents of Gloucester, Peterborough, and Norwich, three towns with low reported death rates from chronic bronchitis. All subjects were male postal truck drivers aged 40 to 59. Compared to the subjects from the outlying towns, the London subjects exhibited more severe respiratory symptoms including cough, phlegm, and dyspnea, reduced lung function and peak flow rate, and increased sputum production and purulence. The differences were more pronounced for subjects aged 50 to 59. The study controlled for age and smoking habits, so concluded that air pollution was the most likely cause of the observed differences.

It is believed that much like, by living in a more urban environment serious health hazards become more apparent. Studies have shown that in urban areas patients suffer hyper secretion, lower levels of lung function, and more self diagnosis of chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Effects on children

Around the world, children living in cities with high exposure to air pollutants are at increased risk of developing asthma, pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections. Air pollution is also a significant contribution to environment toxins in pregnancy.

The reports that the greatest concentrations of particulates are found in countries with low economic world power and high poverty and population growth rates. Examples of these countries include, However even in the United States, despite the passage of the in 1970, in 2002 at least 146 million Americans were living in regions in which the concentration of certain air pollutants exceeded federal standards. These dangerous pollutants are known as the, and include ozone, particulates, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. Protective measures to ensure children's health are being taken in cities such as, India where buses now use  to help eliminate the pea-soup smog.

Health effects in relatively clean areas

Even in the areas with relatively low levels of air pollution, public health effects can be significant and costly, since a large number of people breathe in such pollutants. A 2005 scientific study for the British Columbia Lung Association showed that a small improvement in air quality 1% reduction of ambient PM2.5 and ozone concentrations would produce a $29 million in annual savings in the region in 2010. This finding is based on health valuation of lethal death and sub-lethal illness affects.

Legal regulations

In general, there are two types of air quality standards. The first class of standards such as the U.S. and E.U. set maximum atmospheric concentrations for specific pollutants. Environmental agencies enact regulations which are intended to result in attainment of these target levels. The second class such as the North American take the form of a scale with various thresholds, which is used to communicate to the public the relative risk of outdoor activity. The scale may or may not distinguish between different pollutants.

Canada

In Canada air pollution and associated health risks are measured with the  Air quality health index. It is a health protection tool used to make decisions to reduce short-term exposure to air pollution by adjusting activity levels during increased levels of air pollution.

The Air Quality Health Index is a federal program jointly coordinated by and. However, the AQHI program would not be possible without the commitment and support of the provinces, municipalities and NGOs. From air quality monitoring to health risk communication and community engagement, local partners are responsible for the vast majority of work related to AQHI implementation. The AQHI provides a number from 1 to 10+ to indicate the level of health risk associated with local air quality. Occasionally, when the amount of air pollution is abnormally high, the number may exceed 10. The AQHI provides a local air quality current value as well as a local air quality maximums forecast for today, tonight and tomorrow and provides associated health advice.

As it is now known that even low levels of air pollution can trigger discomfort for the sensitive population, the index has been developed as a continuum: The higher the number, the greater the health risk and need to take precautions. The index describes the level of health risk associated with this number as low, moderate, high or very high, and suggests steps that can be taken to reduce exposure.

Cities

Air pollution is usually concentrated in densely populated metropolitan areas, especially in developing countries where environmental regulations are relatively lax or nonexistent. However, even populated areas in developed countries attain unhealthy levels of pollution with and being two good examples. Between 2002 and 2011 the incidence of lung cancer in near doubled. While smoking remains the leading cause of lung cancer in China the number of smokers is falling while lung cancer rates are rising.

Governing urban air pollution a regional example London

In Europe, Council Directive 96/62/EC on ambient air quality assessment and management provides a common strategy against which  can set objectives for ambient air quality in order to avoid, prevent or reduce harmful effects on human health and the environment and improve air quality where it is unsatisfactory.

On 25 July 2008 in the case Dieter Janecek v Freistaat Bayern CURIA, the ruled that under this directive citizens have the right to require national authorities to implement a short term action plan that aims to maintain or achieve compliance to air quality limit values.

This important appears to confirm the role of the EC as centralised regulator to European nation-states as regards air pollution control. It places a  legal obligation on the UK to protect its citizens from dangerous levels of air pollution, furthermore superseding national interests with those of the citizen.

In 2010, the threatened the UK with legal action against the successive breaching of limit values. The UK government has identified that if fines are imposed, they could cost the nation upwards of £300 million per year.

In March 2011, the remains the only UK region in breach of the EC’s limit values, and has been given 3 months to implement an emergency action plan aimed at meeting the EU Air Quality Directive. The City of London has dangerous levels of PM10 concentrations, estimated to cause 3000 deaths per year within the city. As well as the threat of EU fines, in 2010 it was threatened with legal action for scrapping the western zone, which is claimed to have led to an increase in air pollution levels.

In response to these charges, as criticised the current need for European cities to communicate with Europe through their nation states, arguing that in future A great city like London should be permitted to bypass its government and deal directly with the European Commission regarding its air quality action plan.

In part, this is an attempt to divert blame away from the Mayor's office, but it can also be interpreted as recognition that cities can transcend the traditional national government organisational hierarchy and develop solutions to air pollution using global governance networks, for example through transnational relations. Transnational relations include but are not exclusive to national governments and intergovernmental organisations allowing sub-national actors including cities and to partake in air pollution control as independent actors.

Particularly promising at present are global city partnerships. These can be built into networks, for example the C40 network, of which London is a member. The C40 is a public ‘non-state’ network of the world’s leading cities that aims to curb their greenhouse emissions. The C40 has been identified as ‘governance from the middle’ and is an alternative to intergovernmental policy. It has the potential to improve urban air quality as participating cities exchange information, learn from best practices and consequently mitigate carbon dioxide emissions independently from national government decisions. A criticism of the C40 network is that its exclusive nature limits influence to participating cities and risks drawing resources away from less powerful city and regional actors.

 National Scale air toxics assessment

The national-scale air toxics assessment is EPA's ongoing comprehensive evaluation of air toxics in the U.S. EPA developed the NATA as a state-of-the-science screening tool for State Local Tribal Agencies to prioritize pollutants, emission sources and locations of interest for further study in order to gain a better understanding of risks. NATA assessments do not incorporate refined information about emission sources, but rather, use general information about sources to develop estimates of risks which are more likely to overestimate impacts than underestimate them. NATA provides estimates of the risk of cancer and other serious health effects from breathing air toxics in order to inform both national and more localized efforts to identify and prioritize air toxics, emission source types and locations which are of greatest potential concern in terms of contributing to population risk. This in turn helps air pollution experts focus limited analytical resources on areas and or populations where the potential for health risks are highest. Assessments include estimates of cancer and non-cancer health effects based on chronic exposure from outdoor sources, including assessments of non-cancer health effects for Diesel Particulate Matter. Assessments provide a snapshot of the outdoor air quality and the risks to human health that would result if air toxic emissions levels remained unchanged.

Control devices

The following items are commonly used as pollution control devices by industry or transportation devices. They can either destroy or remove them from an exhaust stream before it is emitted into the atmosphere.

Particulate control

Mechanical collectors, multicyclones

An electrostatic precipitator, or electrostatic air cleaner is a particulate collection device that removes particles from a flowing gas using the force of an induced electrostatic charge. Electrostatic precipitators are highly efficient filtration devices that minimally impede the flow of gases through the device, and can easily remove fine particulates such as dust and smoke from the air stream.

Designed to handle heavy dust loads, a dust collector consists of a blower, dust filter, a filter-cleaning system, and a dust receptacle or dust removal system (distinguished from air cleaners which utilize disposable filters to remove the dust.

Wet scrubber is a form of pollution control technology. The term describes a variety of devices that use pollutants from a furnace flue gas or from other gas streams. In a wet scrubber, the polluted gas stream is brought into contact with the scrubbing liquid, by spraying it with the liquid, by forcing it through a pool of liquid, or by some other contact method, so as to remove the pollutants.

Emission Factors

Air pollutant emission factors are representative values that people attempt to relate the quantity of a pollutant released to the ambient air with an activity associated with the release of that pollutant. These factors are usually expressed as the weight of pollutant divided by a unit weight, volume, distance, or duration of the activity emitting the pollutant. Such factors facilitate estimation of emissions from various sources of air pollution. In most cases, these factors are simply averages of all available data of acceptable quality, and are generally assumed to be representative of long-term averages.

There are 12 compounds in the list of POPs. Dioxins and furans are two of them and are intentionally created by combustion of organics, like open burning of plastics. The POPs are also endocrine disruptors and can mutate the human genes.

The has published a compilation of air pollutant emission factors for a multitude of industrial sources. The united Kingdom, Australia, Canada and many other countries have published similar compilations as well as the European Environment Agency.

Air pollution exposure

Air pollution risk is a function of the hazard of the pollutant and the exposure to that pollutant. Air pollution exposure can be expressed for an individual, for certain groups, or for entire populations. For example, one may want to calculate the exposure to a hazardous air pollutant for a geographic area, which includes the various microenvironments and age groups. This can be calculated as an inhalation exposure. This would account for daily exposure in various settings. The exposure needs to include different age and other demographic groups, especially infants, children, pregnant women and other sensitive subpopulations. The exposure to an air pollutant must integrate the concentrations of the air pollutant with respect to the time spent in each setting and the respective inhalation rates for each subgroup for each specific time that the subgroup is in the setting and engaged in particular activities, For example, a small child's inhalation rate will be less than that of an adult. A child engaged in vigorous exercise will have a higher respiration rate than the same child in a sedentary activity. The daily exposure, then, needs to reflect the time spent in each micro-environmental setting and the type of activities in these settings. The air pollutant concentration in each micro activity micro environmental setting is summed to indicate the exposure.

Noise Pollution

Noise pollution is the disturbing or excessive that may harm the activity or balance of human or animal life. The source of most outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by and, Outdoor noise is summarized by the word. Poor may give rise to noise pollution, since side-by-side industrial and residential buildings can result in noise pollution in the residential areas.

The Indoor noise is caused by machines, building activities, music performances, and especially in some workplaces. There is no great difference is brought about by outside or inside noise.

High noise levels can contribute to cardiovascular effects in humans, a rise in blood pressure, and an increase in stress and vasoconstriction, and an increased incidence of coronary artery disease. In animals, noise can increase the risk of death by altering predator or prey detection and avoidance, interfere with reproduction and navigation, and contribute to permanent hearing loss.

Human

Noise pollution affects both health and behavior. Unwanted sound noise can damage psychological health. Noise pollution can cause trouble, high stress levels, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects. Furthermore, stress and hypertension are the leading causes to health problems.

Sound becomes unwanted when it either interferes with normal activities such as sleeping, conversation, or disrupts or diminishes one’s quality of life.

Chronic exposure to noise may cause. Older males exposed to significant demonstrate more reduced hearing sensitivity than their non-exposed peers, though differences in hearing sensitivity decrease with time and the two groups are indistinguishable by age 79. A comparison, who were insignificantly exposed to transportation or industrial noise, to a typical U.S. population showed that chronic exposure to moderately high levels of environmental noise contributes to hearing loss.

High noise levels can contribute to effects and exposure to moderately high levels during a single eight-hour period causes a statistical rise in of five to ten points and an increase in, and leading to the  noted above, as well as to increased incidence of Noise pollution also is a cause of annoyance. A 2005 study by Spanish researchers found that in urban areas households are willing to pay approximately four  per decibel per year for noise reduction.

Wildlife

Noise can have a detrimental effect on wild animals, increasing the risk of death by changing the delicate balance in predator or prey detection and avoidance, and interfering the use of the sounds in communication, especially in relation to reproduction and in navigation. Acoustic overexposure can lead to temporary or permanent loss of hearing.

An impact of noise on wild animal life is the noisy areas may cause, which in the case of endangered species may be part of the path to, Noise pollution has caused the death of certain species of whales that  themselves after being exposed to the loud sound of military,

Noise also makes species communicate more loudly, which is called Scientists and researchers have conducted experiments that show whales' song length is longer when submarine-detectors are on. If creatures do not "speak" loudly enough, their voice will be by sounds. These unheard voices might be warnings, finding of prey, or preparations of net-bubbling. When one species begins speaking more loudly, it will mask other species' voice, causing the whole ecosystem eventually to speak more loudly.

Marine invertebrates, such as crabs, have also been shown to be impacted by ship noise. Larger crabs were noted to be impacted more by the sounds than smaller crabs. Repeated exposure to the sounds did lead to, living in urban environments are more likely to sing at night in places with high levels of noise pollution during the day, suggesting that they sing at night because it is quieter, and their message can propagate through the environment more clearly. The same study showed that daytime noise was a stronger predictor of nocturnal singing than night-time, to which the phenomenon often is attributed. Become less faithful to their partners when exposed to traffic noise. This could alter a population's evolutionary trajectory by selecting traits, sapping resources normally devoted to other activities and thus leading to profound genetic and evolutionary consequences.

Impact in the United Kingdom

Figures compiled by Rockwool, the manufacturer, based on responses from local authorities to a  request reveal in the period April 2008 – 2009  received 315,838 complaints about noise pollution from private residences. This resulted in environmental health officers across the UK serving 8,069 notices, or citations under the terms of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act. In the last 12 months, 524 confiscations of equipment have been authorized involving the removal of powerful speakers, stereos and televisions. Has received more complaints per head of population than any other district in the UK with 9,814 grievances about noise, which equates to 42.32 complaints per thousand residents. Eight of the top 10 councils ranked by complaints per 1,000 residents are located in

Mitigation

Roadway noise can be reduced by the use of, limitation of vehicle speeds, alteration of roadway surface texture, limitation of, use of traffic controls that smooth vehicle flow to reduce braking and acceleration, and tire design. An important factor in applying these strategies is a for, that is capable of addressing local, traffic operations, and hypothetical mitigation. Costs of building-in mitigation can be modest, provided these solutions are sought in the planning stage of a roadway project.

Aircraft noise can be reduced by using quieter and time of day runway has benefitted residents near airports.
Industrial noise has been addressed since the 1930s via redesign of industrial equipment, shock mounted assemblies and physical barriers in the workplace.

Legal Status

Up until the 1970s governments viewed noise as a "nuisance" rather than an environmental problem. In the, there are federal standards for highway and aircraft noise; states and local governments typically have very specific statutes on, and roadway development.

Noise laws and ordinances vary widely among municipalities and indeed do not even exist in some cities. An ordinance may contain a general prohibition against making noise that is a nuisance, or it may set out specific guidelines for the level of noise allowable at certain times of the day and for certain activities.

The Environmental Protection Agency retains authority to investigate and study noise and its effect, disseminate information to the public regarding noise pollution and its adverse health effects, respond to inquiries on matters related to noise, and evaluate the effectiveness of existing regulations for protecting the public health and welfare, pursuant to the Noise Control Act of 1972 and the Quiet Communities Act of 1978.

Portland, Oregon instituted the first comprehensive noise code in 1975 with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency and Housing and Urban Development. The Portland Noise Code includes potential fines of up to $5000 per infraction and is the basis for other major U.S. and Canadian city noise ordinances.

Many conflicts over noise pollution are handled by negotiation between the emitter and the receiver. Escalation procedures vary by country, and may include action in conjunction with local authorities, in particular the police.

India

Noise pollution is a major problem in countries such as India during the festivals of Diwali, Navaratri, and Ganapati. The government of India has regulations against firecrackers and loudspeakers, but enforcement is extremely lax. is an Indian NGO working to control noise pollution from various sources in Mumbai through advocacy, public interest litigation, awareness, and educational campaigns since 2003.

Visual Pollution

Visual pollution is an aesthetic issue and refers to the impacts of pollution that impair one's ability to enjoy a vista or view.

Visual pollution disturbs the visual areas of people by creating negative changes in the natural environment. Billboards, open storage of trash, space debris, telephone towers, electric wires, buildings and automobiles are forms of visual pollution. An overcrowding of an area causes visual pollution. Visual pollution is defined as the whole of irregular formations, which are mostly found in natural and built environments.

Administrative Negligence

The local management of urban areas lose control over what is built and assembled in public places. As businesses look for ways to increase profits, cleanliness, architecture, logic and use of space in urban areas are suffering from visual clutter. Variations in the environment are determined by the location of various objects. For example, public transport stations, garbage cans, large panels and stalls. Insensitivity of local administration is another cause for visual pollution. For example poorly planned buildings and transportation systems create visual pollution. The increase in high-rise buildings brings negative change to the visual and physical characteristics of a city, which reduces the readability of the city and destroys natural environments.

Excessive Advertising

Advertising is a mirror and shaper of public outlook, social behaviours and standards. A frequent criticism against advertising is that there is too much of it. On the other hand, with the introduction of new communication technologies the fragmentation and incentive nature of advertising methods will improve, reducing clutter. For example, with the increase of mobile device usage, more money is invested in advertising on social media websites and mobile device applications. Vandalism, in the form of graffiti is defined as street markings, offensive and inappropriate messages made without the owner’s consent. Graffiti adds to visual clutter in neighbourhoods as it makes a disturbance of view, and the writing is often a bad influence to those of younger age groups. Billboards are another example of excessive advertising. This form of visual pollution has been alleged as a distraction for drivers, corrupting public taste, boosting the infinite need of consumption and cluttering the land.

United States

In the United States, there are several initiatives gradually taking place to prevent visual pollution. The Federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965 limits billboards on Interstate highways and federally aided roads. It has drastically decreased the amount of billboards placed on these roads. Another highway bill, The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 has made transportation facilities sync with the needs of communities. This bill created a system of state and national scenic byways and provided funds for biking trails, historic preservation and scenic conservation.

The Dunn Foundation is an organization that increases public awareness of visual pollution and landscape appearance in America through educational programs. The foundation has designed an educationally interactive package for students from grades 3-12 for raising awareness about visual pollution and they educate students on how to improve the visual environment in their communities. Another example of a company working toward prevention of visual clutter is Scenic America; a non-profit organization that envisions a future movement toward ensuring that scenic conservation boosts the economy and decreases visual pollution. Businesses situated near and interstate can create problems of advertising through large billboards, however now an alternative solution for advertisers is gradually eliminating the problem. For example, logo signs that provide directional information for travellers without disfiguring the landscape are increasing and are a step toward decreasing visual pollution on highways in America. Thus, researchers believe that planners should help and encourage citizens to maintain their communities as citizens have the power to influence government, especially local and regional management where most issues regarding appearance and disclosed.

Brazil

In September 2006, Sao Paulo passed the Cidade Limpa, outlawing the use of all outdoor advertisements, including on billboards, transit, and in front of stores.

Marine Pollution

Marine pollution occurs when harmful, or potentially harmful, effects result from the entry into the ocean of chemicals, agricultural and residential, noise, or the spread of. Most sources of marine pollution are land based. The pollution often comes from such as agricultural, wind-blown debris and dust. a form of, refers to contamination by excessive inputs of nutrients. It is a primary cause of surface waters, in which excess nutrients, or stimulates algal growth. Many potentially toxic chemicals adhere to tiny particles which are then taken up by and animals, most of which are either depositor. In this way, the toxins are within ocean. Many particles combine chemically in a manner highly depletive of, causing to. When pesticides are incorporated into the, they quickly become absorbed into marine. Once in the food webs, these pesticides can cause mutations, as well as diseases, which can be harmful to humans as well as the entire food web. Toxic metals can also be introduced into marine food webs. These can cause a change to tissue matter, biochemistry, behaviour, reproduction, and suppress growth in marine life. Also, many have a high or  content. In this way, marine toxins can be transferred to land animals, and appear later in meat and dairy products.

Pathways of Pollution

There are many different ways to categorize, and examine the inputs of pollution into our marine ecosystems. Notes that generally there are three main types of inputs of pollution into the ocean: direct discharge of waste into the oceans, runoff into the waters due to rain, and pollutants that are released from the atmosphere. One common path of entry by to the sea is rivers. The evaporation of water from oceans exceeds precipitation. The balance is restored by rain over the continents entering rivers and then being returned to the sea. The and the in, which empty at the northern and southern ends of, are a source of contamination of in the open ocean. The highest concentration in the filter-feeding is not at the mouths of these rivers but 70 miles south, nearer, because water flows close to the coast. It takes a few days before toxins are taken up by the,

Pollution is often classed as point source pollution occurs when there is a single, identifiable, and localized source of the pollution. An example is directly discharging sewage and industrial waste into the ocean. Pollution such as this occurs particularly in developing nations. Nonpoint source pollution occurs when the pollution comes from ill-defined and diffuse sources. These can be difficult to regulate. Agricultural and windblown debris are prime examples.

Direct Discharge

Pollutants enter rivers and the sea directly from urban sewerage and industrial waste discharges, sometimes in the form of and toxic wastes.

Inland  for copper, gold. etc., is another source of marine pollution. Most of the pollution is simply soil, which ends up in rivers flowing to the sea. However, some minerals discharged in the course of the mining can cause problems, such as, a common industrial pollutant, which can interfere with the and development of coral polyps. Mining has a poor environmental track record. For example, according to the, mining has contaminated portions of the headwaters of over 40% of watersheds in the western continental US. Much of this pollution finishes up in the sea.

Land Runoff

Surface runoff from farming, as well as and runoff from the construction of roads, buildings, ports, channels, and harbours, can carry soil and  laden with carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and minerals. This nutrient-rich water can cause fleshy algae and phytoplankton to thrive in coastal areas; known as, which have the potential to create conditions by using all available oxygen.

Polluted runoff from roads and highways can be a significant source of water pollution in coastal areas. About 75 percent of the toxic chemicals that flow into are carried that runs off paved roads and driveways, rooftops, yards and other developed land

Ship Pollution

Ships can pollute waterways and oceans in many ways. Oil spills can have devastating effects. While being toxic to marine life, are very difficult to clean up, and last for years in the and marine environment.

Oil spills are probably the most emotive of marine pollution events. However, while a tanker wreck may result in extensive newspaper headlines, much of the oil in the world’s seas comes from other smaller sources, such as tankers discharging ballast water from oil tanks used on return ships, leaking pipelines or engine oil disposed of down sewers.

Discharge of cargo residues from can pollute ports, waterways and oceans. In many instances vessels intentionally discharge illegal wastes despite foreign and domestic regulation prohibiting such actions. It has been estimated that lose over 10,000  at sea each year usually during storms. Ships also create that disturbs natural wildlife, and water from tanks can spread harmful and other.

Ballets Water taken up at sea and released in port is a major source of unwanted exotic marine life. The freshwater zebra mussels, native to the Black, Caspian and Azov seas, were probably transported to the Great Lakes via ballast water from a transoceanic vessel. Meinesz believes that one of the worst cases of a single invasive species causing harm to an ecosystem can be attributed to a seemingly harmless. A species of comb jellyfish that spread so it now inhabits estuaries in many parts of the world. It was first introduced in 1982, and thought to have been transported to the in a ship’s ballast water. The population of the jellyfish shot up exponentially and, by 1988, it was wreaking havoc upon the local. The catch fell from 204,000 tons in 1984 to 200 tons in 1993, from 24,600 tons in 1984 to 12,000 tons in 1993, horse from 4,000 tons in 1984 to zero in 1993. Now that the jellyfish have exhausted the, including fish larvae, their numbers have fallen dramatically, yet they continue to maintain a stranglehold on the can take over once occupied areas, facilitate the spread of new diseases, introduce new material, alter underwater seascapes and jeopardize the ability of  to obtain food. Invasive species are responsible for about $138 billion annually in lost revenue and management costs in the US alone.

Atmospheric pollution

Another pathway of pollution occurs through the atmosphere. Windblown dust and debris, including plastic bags, are blown seaward from and other areas. Dust from the moving around the southern periphery of the moves into the and during the warm season as the ridge builds and moves northward through the subtropical Atlantic. Dust can also be attributed to a global transport from the and deserts across, and the Northern to the. Since 1970, dust outbreaks have worsened due to periods of drought in Africa. There is a large variability in dust transport to the Caribbean and Florida from year to year, however, the flux is greater during positive phases of the. The USGS links dust events to a decline in the health of coral reefs across the Caribbean and Florida, primarily since the 1970s.

Climate change is raising and raising in the atmosphere. These rising levels of carbon dioxide are. This, in turn, is altering  and modifying fish distributions, with impacts on the and the livelihoods of the communities that depend on them. Healthy ocean ecosystems are also important for the mitigation of climate change.

Deep sea mining

Deep sea mining is a relatively new mineral retrieval process that takes place on the. Ocean mining sites are usually around large areas of  or active and extinct at about 1,400 - 3,700 meters below the ocean’s surface. The vents create, which contain such as, and. The deposits are mined using either hydraulic pumps or bucket systems that take ore to the surface to be processed. As with all mining operations, deep sea mining raises questions about environmental damages to the surrounding areas

Because deep sea mining is a relatively new field, the complete consequences of full scale mining operations are unknown. However, experts are certain that removal of parts of the sea floor will result in disturbances to the, increased of the and sediment plumes from tailings. Removing parts of the sea floor disturbs the habitat of, possibly, depending on the type of mining and location, causing permanent disturbances. Aside from direct impact of mining the area, leakage, spills and would alter the mining area’s chemical makeup.

Among the impacts of deep sea mining, sediment plumes could have the greatest impact. Plumes are caused when the tailings from mining usually fine particles are dumped back into the ocean, creating a cloud of particles floating in the water. Two types of plumes occur, near bottom plumes and surface plumes. Near bottom plumes occur when the tailings are pumped back down to the mining site. The floating particles increase the, or cloudiness, of the water, clogging apparatuses used by benthic organisms. Surface plumes cause a more serious problem. Depending on the size of the particles and water currents the plumes could spread over vast areas. The plumes could impact and light penetration, in turn affecting the of the area.

Types of pollution

·       Acidification

·       Eutrophication

·       Plastic debris

·       Toxins

Acidification

The oceans are normally a, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Because the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the oceans are becoming. The potential consequences of ocean acidification are not fully understood, but there are concerns that structures made of calcium carbonate may become vulnerable to dissolution, affecting corals and the ability of shellfish to form shells.

Oceans and play an important role in the and have removed about 25% of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities between 2000 and 2007 and about half the anthropogenic CO₂ released since the start of the industrial revolution. Rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification means that the capacity of the ocean carbon sink will gradually get weaker, giving rise to global concerns expressed in the Monaco and Manado Declarations.

A report from scientists published in the journal Science in May 2008 found that large amounts of relatively acidified water are upwelling to within four miles of the Pacific area of North America. This area is a critical zone where most local marine life lives or is born. While the paper dealt only with areas from to northern California, other continental shelf areas may be experiencing similar effects.

A related issue is the reservoirs found under sediments on the ocean floors. These trap large amounts of the, which ocean warming has the potential to release. In 2004 the global inventory of ocean methane catharses was estimated to occupy between one and five million cubic kilometres. If all these catharses were to be spread uniformly across the ocean floor, this would translate to a thickness between three and fourteen metres. This estimate corresponds to 500-2500 gig tonnes carbon, and can be compared with the 5000 Gt C estimated for all other fossil fuel reserves.

Eutrophication

Eutrophication is an increase in chemical, typically compounds containing or, in an. It can result in an increase in the ecosystem's (excessive plant growth and decay), and further effects including lack of oxygen and severe reductions in water quality, fish, and other animal populations.

The biggest culprit are rivers that empty into the ocean, and with it the many chemicals used as in agriculture as well as waste from and. An excess of oxygen depleting chemicals in the water can lead to and the creation of a dead zone.

Estuaries tend to be naturally eutrophic because land-derived nutrients are concentrated where enters the marine environment in a confined channel. The  has identified 375 hypoxic coastal zones around the world, concentrated in coastal areas in Western Europe, the Eastern and Southern coasts of the US, and East Asia, particularly in Japan. In the ocean, there are frequent algae blooms that kill fish and marine mammals and cause respiratory problems in humans and some domestic animals when the blooms reach close to shore.

In addition to can enter the open ocean. A study in 2008 found that this could account for around one third of the ocean’s external nitrogen supply and up to three per cent of the annual new marine biological production. It has been suggested that accumulating reactive nitrogen in the environment may have consequences as serious as putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

One proposed solution to Eutrophication in estuaries is to restore shellfish populations, such as oysters. Reefs remove nitrogen from the water column and filter out suspended solids, subsequently reducing the likelihood or extent of or anoxic conditions. Filter feeding activity is considered beneficial to water quality by controlling phytoplankton density and sequestering nutrients, which can be removed from the system through shellfish harvest, buried in the sediments, or lost through. Foundational work toward the idea of improving marine water quality through shellfish cultivation to was conducted by Odd Lindahl et al., using in Sweden.

Plastic debris

Marine debris is mainly discarded human rubbish which floats on, or is suspended in the ocean. Eighty percent of marine debris is a component that has been rapidly accumulating since the end of World War II. The mass of plastic in the oceans may be as high as one hundred million metric tons.

Discarded and other forms of plastic waste which finish up in the ocean present dangers to wildlife and fisheries. Aquatic life can be threatened through entanglement, suffocation, and ingestion. Usually made of plastic, can be left or lost in the ocean by fishermen. Known as, these entangle, and other creatures, restricting movement, causing starvation, laceration and infection, and, in those that need to return to the surface to breathe, suffocation.

Many animals that live on or in the flotsam by mistake, as it often looks similar to their natural prey. Plastic debris, when bulky or tangled, is difficult to pass, and may become permanently lodged in the digestive tracts of these animals, blocking the passage of food and causing death through starvation or infection.

Plastics accumulate because they don't in the way many other substances do. They will on exposure to the sun, but they do so properly only under dry conditions, and inhibit this process. In marine environments, photo degraded plastic disintegrates into ever smaller pieces while remaining, even down to the When floating plastic particles photo degrade down to sizes, attempt to consume them, and in this way the plastic enters the ocean. Many of these long-lasting pieces end up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals, including, sea turtles, and black footed ablators.

Plastic debris tends to accumulate at the centre of. In particular, has a very high level of plastic particulate suspended in the upper water column. In samples taken in 1999, the mass of plastic exceeded that of zooplankton the dominant animal life in the area by a factor of six, in common with all the, receives substantial amounts of debris from the garbage patch. Ninety percent plastic, this debris accumulates on the beaches of Midway where it becomes a hazard to the bird population of the island. Midway Atoll is home to two-thirds 1.5 million of the global population of. Nearly all of these albatross have plastic in their and one-third of their chicks die.

Toxic additives used in the manufacture of plastic materials can out into their surroundings when exposed to water. Waterborne of plastic debris, thus making plastic far more deadly in the ocean than it would be on land. Hydrophobic contaminants are also known to in fatty tissues, up the food chain and putting pressure on. Some plastic additives are known to disrupt the when consumed, others can suppress the immune system or decrease reproductive rates Floating debris can also absorb from seawater, including, and. Aside from toxic effects, when ingested some of these are mistaken by the animal brain for, causing hormone disruption in the affected wildlife

Toxins

     Apart from plastics, there are particular problems with other that do not disintegrate rapidly in the marine environment. Examples of are, and are metallic chemical elements that have a relatively high density and are toxic or poisonous at low concentrations. Examples are, such toxins can accumulate in the tissues of many species of aquatic life in a process called. They are also known to accumulate in environments, such as and a geological record of human activities of the last century.

Underwater noise

Marine life can be susceptible to noise or sound pollution from sources such as passing ships, oil exploration seismic surveys, and naval low-frequency active. Sound travels more rapidly and over larger distances in the sea than in the atmosphere. Marine animals, such as, often have weak eyesight, and live in a world largely defined by acoustic information. This applies also to many deeper sea fish, who live in a world of darkness. Between 1950 and 1975, ambient noise in the ocean increased by about ten that is a tenfold increase.

Noise also makes species communicate louder, which is called the Lombard vocal response. Are longer when submarine-detectors are on. If creatures don't speak loud enough, their voice can be masked by  sounds. These unheard voices might be warnings, finding of prey, or preparations of net-bubbling. When one species begins speaking louder, it will mask other species voices, causing the whole ecosystem to eventually speak louder.

According to the oceanographer, Undersea noise pollution is like the death of a thousand cuts. Each sound in itself may not be a matter of critical concern, but taken all together, the noise from shipping, seismic surveys, and military activity is creating a totally different environment than existed even 50 years ago. That high level of noise is bound to have a hard, sweeping impact on life in the sea.

Adaptation and mitigation

Much anthropogenic pollution ends up in the ocean. The 2011 edition of the  Year Book identifies as the main emerging environmental issues the loss to the oceans of massive amounts of, a valuable fertilizer needed to feed a growing global population, and the impact billions of pieces of plastic waste are having globally on the health of marine environments. Bjorn Jennssen 2003 notes in his article, “Anthropogenic pollution may reduce biodiversity and productivity of marine ecosystems, resulting in reduction and depletion of human marine food resources. There are two ways the overall level of this pollution can be mitigated: either the human population is reduced, or a way is found to reduce the left behind by the average human. If the second way is not adopted, then the first way may be imposed as world falter.

The second way is for humans, individually, to pollute less. That requires social and political will, together with a shift in awareness so more people respect the environment and are less disposed to abuse it. At an operational level, regulations, and international government participation is needed. It is often very difficult to regulate marine pollution because pollution spreads over international barriers, thus making regulations hard to create as well as enforce.

Without appropriate awareness of marine pollution, the necessary global will to effectively address the issues may prove inadequate. Balanced information on the sources and harmful effects of marine pollution need to become part of general public awareness, and ongoing research is required to fully establish, and keep current, the scope of the issues. As expressed in Daoji and Dag’s research, one of the reasons why environmental concern is lacking among the Chinese is because the public awareness is low and therefore should be targeted. Likewise, regulation, based upon such in-depth research should be employed. In California, such regulations have already been put in place to protect Californian coastal waters from agricultural runoff. This includes the California Water Code, as well as several voluntary programs. Similarly, in India, several tactics have been employed that help reduce marine pollution, however, they do not significantly target the problem. In, sewage has been dumped further into open waters. Due to the mass of waste being deposited, open-ocean is best for diluting, and dispersing pollutants, thus making them less harmful to marine ecosystems.

Pollution prevention

Pollution prevention describes activities that reduce the amount of pollution generated by a process, whether it is consumer. In contrast to most pollution control strategies, which seek to manage a  after it is formed and reduce its impact upon the, the pollution prevention approach seeks to increase the efficiency of a process, thereby reducing the amount of pollution generated at its source. Although there is wide agreement that source reduction is the preferred strategy, some professionals also use the term pollution prevention to include pollution reduction.

With the ever-rising human population, pollution has become a great concern. Pollution from human activities is a problem that does not have to be inevitable. With a comprehensive pollution prevention program, most pollution can be reduced, reused, or prevented. The US  works to introduce pollution prevention programs to stabilize the population growth as well as how to reduce and manage waste to prevent further pollution to the planet.

Human population numbers

With nearly seven billion people in the world, and the fact that the average person produces 4.4 pounds of waste each day, around a ton of waste every year, it is easy to see why pollution is such a huge problem . In order to slow the growing levels of pollution, the human population needs to stabilize. Population numbers are rapidly increasing in developing countries. It is estimated that “the human population will increase by one billion people in the next decade”. The math is staggering when you add a ton a waste per person per year. Growth in these developing countries is partly due to developing countries governments telling their citizens that more numbers are needed to fill in the open spaces as the West has. More people equals more natural resources used and waste created. The human population growth is the largest environmental problem the world faces.

Slowing the Population Growth

What can be done to slow the human population growth Experience shows that the most effective ways to slow human population growth are to encourage family planning, to reduce poverty, and to elevate the status of women. Such plans and strategies can be converted into policies to ensure sustainability. Action plans and strategies can be developed to increase public understanding of how rapid population growth limits chances for meeting basic.

As an environmental management strategy, pollution prevention shares many attributes with cleaner production, a term used more commonly outside the, Pollution prevention encompasses more specialized sub-disciplines including and green design.

The US  has a number of pollution prevention programs that can show individuals and organizations how they can help this effort.

Water Pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of, and Water pollution occurs when are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate to remove harmful compounds.

Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these. In almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual and populations, but also to the natural.

Point sources

Point source pollution refers to contaminants that enter a waterway from a single, identifiable source, such as a or ditch. Examples of sources in this category include discharges from a plant, a factory, or a city. The U.S. defines point source for enforcement purposes. The CWA definition of point source was amended in 1987 to include municipal storm sewer systems, as well as industrial storm water, such as from construction sites.

Nonpoint sources

Nonpoint source pollution refers to diffuse contamination that does not originate from a single discrete source. NPS pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered from a large area. A common example is the leaching out of compounds from fertilized agricultural lands. Nutrient in from sheet flow over an or a forest are also cited as examples of NPS pollution.

Contaminated storm water washed off of, roads and highways, called, is sometimes included under the category of NPS pollution. However, this runoff is typically channelled into storm drain systems and discharged through pipes to local surface waters, and is a point source.

Groundwater pollution

Interactions and surface water are complex. Consequently, groundwater pollution, sometimes referred to as groundwater contamination, is not as easily classified as surface water pollution. By its very nature, groundwater is susceptible to contamination from sources that may not directly affect surface water bodies, and the distinction of point vs. non-point source may be irrelevant. A spill or ongoing releases of chemical or contaminants into soil located away from a surface water body may not create point source or non-point source pollution, but can contaminate the aquifer below, defined as a toxin. The movement of the plume, called a plume front, may be analyzed through a or. Analysis of groundwater contamination may focus on the characteristics and site geology, and the nature of the contaminants.

Pathogens

Pathogen is the common name for disease-causing micro-organisms. Although the vast majority of bacteria are harmless or beneficial, a few pathogenic bacteria can cause infectious diseases. Coliform bacteria are a commonly used of water pollution, although not an actual cause of disease. Other sometimes found in surface waters which have caused human health problems include,

High levels of pathogens may result from inadequately treated discharges This can be caused by a sewage plant designed with less than more typical in less-developed countries. In developed countries, older cities with aging infrastructure may have leaky sewage collection systems pipes, pumps, valves, which can cause. Some cities also have, which may discharge untreated sewage during rain storms.

Thermal pollution

Thermal pollution is the rise or fall in the temperature of a natural body of water caused by human influence. Thermal pollution, unlike chemical pollution, results in a change in the physical properties of water. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a by and industrial manufacturers. Elevated water temperatures decreases oxygen levels, which can kill fish, and can alter composition, reduce species, and foster invasion by new  species. Urban runoff may also elevate temperature in surface waters. Thermal pollution can also be caused by the release of very cold water from the base of reservoirs into warmer rivers.

Transport and chemical reactions of water pollutants

Most water pollutants are eventually carried by rivers into the oceans. In some areas of the world the influence can be traced hundred miles from the mouth by studies using. Advanced such as or the have been used in many locations worldwide to examine the fate of pollutants in aquatic systems. Indicator species such as have also been used to study pollutant fates in the, for example. The highest loads are not directly at the mouth of the, but 100 kilometers south, since several days are required for incorporation into tissue. The Hudson discharge flows south along the coast due to. Further south then are areas of, caused by chemicals using up oxygen and by, caused by excess from algal cell death and decomposition. Fish and kills have been reported, because toxins climb the food chain after small fish consume, then large fish eat smaller fish, etc. Each successive step up the food chain causes a stepwise concentration of pollutants such as and such as. This is known as bio magnifications, which is occasionally used interchangeably with bioaccumulation.

Large in the oceans trap floating. The for example has collected the so-called that is now estimated at 100 times the size of Texas. Plastic debris can absorb toxic chemicals from ocean pollution; potentially poisoning anything that eats it. Many of these long-lasting pieces wind up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals. This results in obstruction of digestive pathways which leads to reduced appetite or even starvation. Many chemicals undergo reactive or chemically change especially over long periods of time in  reservoirs. A noteworthy class of such chemicals is the  such as used in industrial metal degreasing and electronics manufacturing and used in the dry cleaning industry note latest advances in liquid carbon dioxide in dry cleaning that avoids all use of chemicals. Both of these chemicals, which are themselves, undergo partial decomposition reactions, leading to new hazardous chemicals including trichloroethylene and vinyl chloride. Groundwater pollution is much more difficult to abate than surface pollution because groundwater can move great distances through unseen. Non-porous aquifers such as partially purify water of bacteria by simple filtration adsorption and absorption, dilution, and, in some cases, chemical reactions and biological activity, however, in some cases, the pollutants merely transform to. Groundwater that moves through cracks and is not filtered and can be transported as easily as surface water. In fact, this can be aggravated by the human tendency to use natural as dumps in areas of topography. There are a variety of secondary effects stemming not from the original pollutant, but a derivative condition. An example is bearing, which can inhibit the penetration of sunlight through the water column, hampering in aquatic plants.

Measurement

Water pollution may be analyzed through several broad categories of methods: physical, chemical and biological. Most involve collection of samples, followed by specialized analytical tests. Some methods may be conducted, without sampling, such as temperature. Government agencies and research organizations have published standardized, validated analytical test methods to facilitate the comparability of results from disparate testing events.

Sampling

Sampling of water for physical or chemical testing can be done by several methods, depending on the accuracy needed and the characteristics of the contaminant. Many contamination events are sharply restricted in time, most commonly in association with rain events. For this reason "grab" samples are often inadequate for fully quantifying contaminant levels. Scientists gathering this type of data often employ auto-sampler devices that pump increments of water at either time or intervals.

Sampling for biological testing involves collection of plants and/or animals from the surface water body. Depending on the type of assessment, the organisms may be identified for population counts and returned to the water body, or they may be dissected for to determine.

Physical testing

Common physical tests of water include temperature, solids concentrations and turbidity.

Chemical testing

Water samples may be examined using the principles of. Many published test methods are available for both organic and inorganic compounds. Frequently used methods include, and compounds, metals including copper, lead, oil and grease, total petroleum hydrocarbons ,

Biological testing

Biological testing involves the use of plant, animal, and or microbial indicators to monitor the health of an They are any or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal what degree of ecosystem or environmental integrity is present. One example of a group of bio indicators are the and other small water that are present in many water bodies. Such organisms can be monitored for changes biochemical, physiological, or behavioural that may indicate a problem within their ecosystem.

Control of pollution

Decisions on the type and degree of treatment and control of wastes, and the disposal and use of adequately treated wastewater, must be based considering all the technical factors of each drainage basin, in order to prevent any further contamination or harm to the environment. 

Domestic sewage

Domestic sewage is typically 99.9 percent water with 0.1 percent pollutants. Although found in low concentrations, these pollutants pose risk on a large scale. In urban areas, domestic sewage is typically treated by centralized sewage treatment plants. Well-designed and operated systems secondary treatment or better can remove 90 percent or more of these pollutants. Some plants have additional systems to remove nutrients and pathogens. Most municipal plants are not specifically designed to treat toxic pollutants found in industrial waste water.

Cities with sanitary sewer overflows or combined sewer overflows employ one or more approaches to reduce discharges of untreated sewage, including,

utilizing a approach to improve storm water management capacity throughout the system, and reduce the overloading of the treatment plant

repair and replacement of leaking and malfunctioning equipment

increasing overall hydraulic capacity of the sewage collection system often a very expensive option.

A household or business not served by a municipal treatment plant may have an individual, which treats the waste water on site and discharges into the soil. Alternatively, domestic waste water may be sent to a nearby privately owned treatment system.

Industrial wastewater

Some industrial facilities generate ordinary domestic sewage that can be treated by municipal facilities. Industries that generate waste water with high concentrations of conventional pollutants and, toxic pollutants or other non conventional pollutants such as ammonia, need specialized treatment systems. Some of these facilities can install a pre treatment system to remove the toxic components, and then send the partially treated waste water to the municipal system. Industries generating large volumes of waste water typically operate their own complete on-site treatment systems.

Some industries have been successful at redesigning their manufacturing processes to reduce or eliminate pollutants, through a process called pollution prevention. Heated water generated by power plants or manufacturing plants may be controlled with,

Cooling ponds, man made bodies of water designed for cooling by evaporation, convection, and radiation

Cooling towers, which transfer waste heat to the atmosphere through evaporation and or heat transfer

Cogeneration, a process where waste heat is recycled for domestic and or industrial heating purposes.

Agricultural waste water

Nonpoint source controls

 Sediment washed off fields is the largest source of agricultural pollution in the United States. Farmers may utilize to reduce runoff flows and retain soil on their fields. Common techniques include, crop, planting crops and installing.

Nutrients  are typically applied to farmland as commercial, animal or spraying of municipal or industrial waste water or sludge. Nutrients may also enter runoff from, water, Farmers can develop and implement plans to reduce excess application of nutrients and reduce the potential for.

To minimize pesticide impacts, farmers may use techniques which can include to maintain control over pests, reduce reliance on chemical pesticides, and protect water quality.

Point source waste water treatment

Farms with large livestock and poultry operations, such as, are called concentrated animal feeding operations or feedlots in the US and are being subject to increasing government regulation. Animal are usually treated by containment in before disposal by spray or trickle application to grassland are sometimes used to facilitate treatment of animal wastes. Some animal slurries are treated by mixing with and at high temperature to produce a bacteriological sterile and friable manure for soil improvement.

Construction site storm water

Erosion controls, such as mulching and hydro seeding, and

Sediment from construction sites is managed by installation of

Discharge of toxic chemicals such as motor fuels and concrete washout is prevented by use of:

Spill prevention and control plans, and

Specially designed containers and structures such as overflow controls and diversion berms.

Urban Runoff

Effective control of urban runoff involves reducing the velocity and flow of storm water, as well as reducing pollutant discharges. Local governments use a variety of storm water management techniques to reduce the effects of urban runoff. These techniques, called in the U.S., may focus on water quantity control, while others focus on improving water quality, and some perform both functions.

Pollution prevention practices include techniques, installation of and improved chemical handling. Runoff mitigation systems include, systems, constructed wetlands, and similar devices.

Thermal pollution from runoff can be controlled by storm water management facilities that absorb the runoff or direct it into, such as bio retention systems and infiltration basins. Retention basins tend to be less effective at reducing temperature, as the water may be heated by the sun before being discharged to a receiving stream.