(RHIE) Pollution Lesson

Pollution

When someone uses the word "pollution" what do they really mean? Pollution is anything that puts something harmful into the natural environment. The "something" we describe could be called a pollutant. Pollutants can be either artificially created or naturally occurring. They can be physical substances, energy, noise, light, or heat. Pollution can occur in air, water, or soil (gases, liquids, and solids) and can come from almost any source.

Soil Pollution

Pollution can enter soil from air or water (or be directly deposited). Soil pollution can be very persistent, especially with regard to pesticides. Soil which becomes contaminated with various chemical pollutants must often be physically removed and either treated thermally (for combustible pollutants) or set in hazardous waste landfills. Sophisticated in-site treatments may take many years and hundreds of thousands (or several million) dollars to complete.

Additionally, soil pollution can lead to water pollution as rainwater and groundwater pass through the soil and leach contaminants.

Solid Waste

We've all seen this sight.

What you may not have seen is where trash from trucks like this one will end up.

Trash collection site

Landfills are areas where the land is literally filled with solid waste. This may sound simple - bury your garbage and be done with it - but over time, garbage breaks down chemically, producing gases, acids, and all sorts of air, water, and soil pollution. As rainfall washes through the landfill, these pollutants are leached out by the water and carried offsite. More modern landfills are constructed to minimize the chance of leaching the contents, but these are not always effective, and many landfills were constructed or situated before such techniques were developed.

Landfills occur all over the U.S., and contaminants in the landfill can leach into the nearby soils and groundwater, contaminating the ground we walk on and the water we drink. Reservoirs and dams retain valuable sediment that would otherwise make it to the coast, resulting in coastal erosion. They also prohibit fish migration upstream and downstream.

Water Pollution

Pollution to our water stems from various sources, including industrial processes, petroleum spills, dry cleaning, waste-water, sewage, byproducts of water treatment, agricultural runoff, and runoff of solid materials into surface waters. Water pollutants include dissolved chemicals, solid materials, and biological agents. Water pollution can impact surface waters, groundwater, ocean water, and estuaries.

Take a look at this photograph.

In the photo here we see the oil sheen on top of the water. The water is polluted and not fit for use. Cleaning and restoring water that has been polluted in this way is very difficult.

Air Pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of particulates or other harmful materials into the Earth's atmosphere possibly causing disease, death to humans, damage to other living organisms such as food crops, or the environment.

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