Class Assignment Report On

POLLUTION
Submitted by
Jahnvi Gupta
Roll no: 03
Submitted to
Arpita Singh
Department of Textile Science, Clothing and
Fashion Studies
J.D Birla Institute
(Affiliated to Jadavpur University)
11,Lower Rawdon Street, Kolkata-700020

1
 CONTENTS
Sl. No. Topic Page no
1 Acknowlegdement 3
2 Introduction 4
3 Causes of 5
environmental
pollution
4 Effects of 6
environmental
pollution
5 Types of pollution 7
6 Air pollution 8
7 Water pollution 9
8 Land pollution 10
9 Noise pollution 11
10 Radioactive 12
pollution
11 Effect of pollution 13
on human health
12 Specific pollution 14
prevention
approaches
13 15
Why is pollution
prevention
important?

2
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I Jahnvi Gupta would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Deepali Singhee,
principal, J.D Birla Institute. I pay my deep sense gratitude to Miss Arpita Of
TCFS department to encourage me to the highest and to provide me the
opportunity to make this report. I am immensely obliged to my friends for their
elevating inspiration, encouraging guidance and kind supervision in the
completion of my project. Last but not the least my parents for inspiring me. So
with due regards, I express my gratitude to them.

3
 INTRODUCTION
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that
causes adverse change. Pollution can take the form of chemical
substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light. Pollutants, the components of
pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring
contaminants. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source
pollution. In 2015, pollution killed 9 million people in the world.

Major forms of pollution include: Air pollution, light pollution, littering, noise
pollution, plastic pollution, soil contamination, radioactive
contamination, thermal pollution, visual pollution, water pollution.

An undesirable change in the physical, chemical and biological characteristics

of the environment especially air, water and land that may adversely affect
human population and the wild life, industrial processes, cultural assets
(building and monuments), is called pollution.

4
CAUSES OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
Industries: Industries have been polluting our environment especially since the
beginning of the industrial revolution, as mentioned above, notably due to the
increasing use of fossil fuels. In the 19th century and for a significant part of the
20th century, coal has been use to make machines work faster, replacing human
force. Though pollution by industries mainly causes air pollution, soil and water
contamination can also occur.

Transportation: Ever since men abandoned animal power to travel, pollution

of the environment has become higher and higher. Its levels have only been
increasing until now. Similarly to industries, pollution caused by transport can
mainly be attributed to fossil fuels. Indeed, humans went from horse carriages to
cars, trains (which, before electricity, used to be propelled by coal), and
airplanes. As the traffic is increasing every day, pollution follows that evolution.

Trading Activities: Trading activities including the production and exchange

of goods and services. Concerning goods, pollution can be caused by packaging
(which often involves the use of plastic, which is made from fossil fuels) or
transport, mainly.

Residences: Finally, residential areas provide their fair share of pollution as

well. First, to be able to build homes, natural environment has to be destroyed in
one way or another. Wildlife and plants are driven away and replaced by human
constructions. As it requires the work of industries, construction itself is also a
source of contamination of the environment.

5
 EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL
POLLUTION
Effects on Humans: The effects of environmental pollution on humans are
mainly physical, but can also turn into neuro-affections in the long term. The
best-known troubles to us are respiratory, in the form of allergies, asthma,
irritation of the eyes and nasal passages, or other forms of respiratory infections.
Notably, these well spread affections can be observed when air pollution is high
in cities, when the weather gets hot, for instance. On top of that, environmental
pollution has been proven to be a major factor in the development of cancer.

Effects on Animals: Environmental pollution mainly affects animal by causing

harm to their living environment, making it toxic for them to live in. Acid
rains can change the composition of rivers and seas, making them toxic for
fishes, an important quantity of ozone in the lower parts of the atmosphere can
cause lung problems to all animals. Nitrogen and phosphates in water will cause
overgrowth of toxic algae, preventing other forms of life to follow their normal
course.

Effects on Plants: As for animals, plants, and especially trees, can be destroyed
by acid rains (and this will also have a negative effect on animals as well, as
their natural environment will be modified), ozone in the lower atmosphere
block the plant respiration, and harmful pollutants can be absorbed from the
water or soil.

Effects on the Ecosystem: In short, environmental pollution, almost

exclusively created by human activities, has a negative effect on the ecosystem,
destroying crucial layers of it and causing an even more negative effect on the
upper layers.

6
 TYPES OF POLLUTION
Depending upon the area or the part of environment affected, pollution may be
of the following types:

 Air pollution
 Water pollution
 Land pollution
 Noise pollution
 Radioactive pollution

7
AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. Car emissions,
chemicals from factories, dust, pollen and mould spores may be suspended as
particles. Ozone, a gas, is a major part of air pollution in cities. When ozone
forms air pollution, it's also called smog.
Some air pollutants are poisonous. Inhaling them can increase the chance you'll
have health problems. People with heart or lung disease, older adults and
children are at greater risk from air pollution. Air pollution isn't just outside -
the air inside buildings can also be polluted and affect your health.

8
Water pollution
It is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities.
Water bodies include for example lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and
groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants are introduced into the
natural environment.
Water pollution occurs when harmful substance often chemicals or
microorganisms contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body
of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the
environment.
Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution. Known as a “universal solvent,”
water is able to dissolve more substances than any other liquid on earth. It’s the
reason we have Kool-Aid and brilliant blue waterfalls. It’s also why water is so
easily polluted. Toxic substances from farms, towns, and factories readily
dissolve into and mix with it, causing water pollution. When contamination
originates from a single source, it’s called point source pollution. Examples
include wastewater (also called effluent) discharged legally or illegally by a
manufacturer, oil refinery, or wastewater treatment facility, as well as
contamination from leaking septic systems, chemical and oil spills, and illegal
dumping.

9
Noise pollution
It is generally defined as regular exposure to elevated sound levels that may
lead to adverse effects in humans or other living organisms. According to the
World Health Organization, sound levels less than 70 dB are not damaging to
living organisms, regardless of how long or consistent the exposure is. Exposure
for more than 8 hours to constant noise beyond 85 dB may be hazardous. If you
work for 8 hours daily in close proximity to a busy road or highway, you are
very likely exposed to traffic noise pollution around 85dB. Our oceans are no
longer quiet. Thousands of oil drills, sonars, seismic survey devices, coastal
recreational watercraft and shipping vessels are now populating our waters, and
that is a serious cause of noise pollution for marine life. Whales are among the
most affected, as their hearing helps them orient themselves, feed and
communicate. Noise pollution thus interferes with cetaceans’ (whales and
dolphins) feeding habits, reproductive patterns and migration routes, and can
even cause haemorrhage and death.

10
LAND POLLUTION

Land pollution, the deposition of solid or liquid waste materials on land or

underground in a manner that can contaminate the soil and groundwater,
threaten public health, and cause unsightly conditions and nuisances.
The permeability of soil formations underlying a waste-disposal site is of great
importance with regard to land pollution. The greater the permeability, the
greater the risks from land pollution. Soil consists of a mixture of
unconsolidated mineral and rock fragments (gravel, sand, silt, and clay) formed
from natural weathering processes. Gravel and sand formations are porous and
permeable, allowing the free flow of water through the pores or spaces between
the particles. Silt is much less permeable than sand or gravel, because of its
small particle and pore sizes, while clay is virtually impermeable to the flow of
water, because of its plate like shape and molecular forces.

11
Radioactive Pollution

It is defined as the physical pollution of living organisms and their environment

as a result of release of radioactive substances into the environment during
nuclear explosions and testing of nuclear weapons, nuclear weapon production
and decommissioning, mining of radioactive ores, handling and disposal of
radioactive waste, and accidents at nuclear power plants. Nuclear tests are
carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability of
nuclear weapons. The proportion of radioactive pollution is 15% of the total
energy of the explosion. Radioactive pollution of water, water sources, and air
space is the result of radioactive fallout from the cloud of a nuclear explosion.
Radionuclides are the main sources of pollution; they emit beta particles and
gamma rays, radioactive substances.

12
 EFFECT OF POLLITION ON HUMAN HEALTH
Health hazards
In terms of health hazards, every unusual suspended material in the air, which
causes difficulties in normal function of the human organs, is defined as air
toxicants. According to available data, the main toxic effects of exposure to air
pollutants are mainly on the respiratory, cardiovascular, ophthalmologic,
dermatologic, neuropsychiatric, hematologic, immunologic, and reproductive
systems.

Respiratory disorders
Because most of the pollutants enter the body through the airways, the
respiratory system is in the first line of battle in the onset and progression of
diseases resulted from air pollutants. Depending on the dose of inhaled
pollutants, and deposition in target cells, they cause a different level of damages
in the respiratory system. In the upper respiratory tract, the first effect is
irritation, especially in trachea which induces voice disturbances. Air pollution
is also considered as the major environmental risk factor for some respiratory
diseases such as asthma and lung cancer.

Cardiovascular dysfunctions
Many experimental and epidemiologic studies have shown the direct association
of air pollutant exposure and cardiac-related illnesses. Air pollution is also
associated with changes in white blood cell counts which also may affect the
cardiovascular functions. On the other hand, a study on animal models
suggested the close relationship between hypertension and air pollution
exposure. The traffic-related air pollution, especially exposure to high levels of
NO2, is associated with right and left ventricular hypertrophy

Other long-term complications

Skin is the body's first line of defence against a foreign pathogen or infectious
agent and it is the first organ that may be contaminated by a pollutant. The skin
is a target organ for pollution in which the absorption of environmental
pollutants from this organ is equivalent to the respiratory uptake. Research on
the skin has provided evidence that traffic-related air pollutants, especially
PAHs, VOCs, oxides, and PM affect skin aging and cause pigmented spots on
the face

13
Specific pollution prevention approaches
Pollution prevention approaches can be applied to all potential and actual pollution-
generating activities, including those found in the energy, agriculture, federal,
consumer and industrial sectors. Prevention practices are essential for preserving
wetlands, groundwater sources and other critical ecosystems - areas in which we
especially want to stop pollution before it begins.

In the energy sector, pollution prevention can reduce environmental damages from
extraction, processing, transport and combustion of fuels. Pollution prevention
approaches include:

 increasing efficiency in energy use;

 use of environmentally benign fuel sources.

In the agricultural sector, pollution prevention approaches include:

 Reducing the use of water and chemical inputs;

 Adoption of less environmentally harmful pesticides or cultivation of crop
strains with natural resistance to pests; and
 Protection of sensitive areas.

In the industrial sector, examples of P2 practices include:

 Modifying a production process to produce less waste

 Using non-toxic or less toxic chemicals as cleaners, degreasers and other
maintenance chemicals
 Implementing water and energy conservation practices
 Reusing materials such as drums and pallets rather than disposing of them as
waste

In homes and schools examples of P2 practices include:

 Using reusable water bottles instead of throwaways

 Automatically turning off lights when not in use
 Repairing leaky faucets and hoses
 Switching to "green" cleaners

14
Why is pollution prevention important?
Pollution prevention reduces both financial costs (waste management and clean-
up) and environmental costs (health problems and environmental damage).
Pollution prevention protects the environment by conserving and protecting
natural resources while strengthening economic growth through more efficient
production in industry and less need for households, businesses and
communities to handle waste.

15