Republic of the Philippines

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Alangilan Campus
Alangilan, Batangas City

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND FINE ARTS

NARRATIVE REPORT
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
Group 4
Introduction

Environmental chemistry is the study of chemicals and their effects on the

air, water, and soil as they flow through our environment. It is a crucial subject of study

since it aids in the detection and control of pollutants. The study of chemical reactions

that occur in water, air, land, and biological habitats, as well as the consequences of

human activities on them, is known as environmental chemistry. These include the

formation of compounds, how chemicals get into the environment, the changes they

undergo once introduced into the environment, the number of chemicals in the

environment and how they enter the organisms and other things from the environment

and the damage they cause. Environmental chemistry is socially important as it deals

with pollutants ‘environmental impact, contamination reduction, and environmental

management.

Results and Discussion

Environmental pollution is one of the greatest problems that human society

is facing today. Environmental pollution is the undesired spread of toxic chemicals into

the aquatic and terrestrial habitats of the world. There are many different types of

pollution, usually named for the location that has become polluted. We can identify
several types of pollution on Earth: air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution.

Environmental pollution is an incurable disease. It can only be prevented. Pollutants

are the elements, molecules and particles involved in pollution - life can be harmed when

exposed to these materials, and the effects of them on humans and plants are well

known. Pollutants can be introduced into the environment in many ways, both naturally

and by humans. A substance or condition that contaminates air, water, or

soil. Atmosphere is defined as the area of air and gas enveloping objects in space or the

air around any location. Earth’s atmosphere is a thin blanket of gases and tiny particles:

together called air. The Importance of the atmosphere lies in that it acts as a filter

preventing the sun's rays and other harmful cosmic rays from reaching Earth. Air pollution

can be defined as the presence of toxic chemicals or compounds (including those of

biological origin) in the air, at levels that pose a health risk. These particles and gases

can come from car and truck exhaust, factories, dust, pollen, mold spores, volcanoes and

wildfires. The exhaust from vehicles and transportation, refineries and industrial waste

such as the production of gas, oil, and other valuable commodities produces pollution,

pollution form natural disasters such as volcano eruption, agricultural activity where usage

of chemical spray, electricity generation such as power plants, household pollution like

open burning of waste in yard, air conditioning and heating, loss of trees due to

deforestation, mining and smelting, global warming, photochemical smog, acid rain and

ozone depletion. The major problems arising nowadays are ozone depletion and global

warming. Ozone depletion, gradual thinning of Earth’s ozone layer in the

upper atmosphere caused by the release of chemical compounds containing

gaseous chlorine or bromine from industry and other human activities. Ozone depletion
is a major environmental problem because it increases the amount of ultraviolet (UV)

radiation that reaches Earth’s surface, which increases the rate of skin cancer, eye

cataracts, and genetic and immune system damage. Global warming is the long-term

warming of the planet’s overall temperature. Though this warming trend has been going

on for a long time, its pace has significantly increased in the last hundred years due to

the burning of fossil fuels. As the human population has increased, so has the volume of

fossil fuels burned. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas, and burning them causes

what is known as the “greenhouse effect” in Earth’s atmosphere. Climate change refers

to changes in weather patterns and growing seasons around the world. It also refers to

sea level rise caused by the expansion of warmer seas and melting ice sheets and

glaciers. Global warming causes climate change, which poses a serious threat to life on

earth in the forms of widespread flooding and extreme weather. Scientists continue to

study global warming and its impact on Earth. Ways how to reduce air pollution, use of

public transport, buy energy efficient vehicles, consider “going green”, plant a garden, turn off

lights when not in use, avoid plastic bags, make use of solar energy, always use recyclable

products, quit smoking, and educate Your companions. The major importance of the

hydrosphere is that water sustains various life forms and plays an important role in

ecosystems and regulating the atmosphere. Water pollution is the contamination of water

bodies usually caused due to human activities. Water pollution is any change in the physical,

chemical or biological properties of water that will have a detrimental consequence of

any living organism. Some of the important sources of water pollution are: (i) Domestic

effluents and sewage, (ii) Industrial effluents, (iii) Agricultural effluents, (iv) Radioactive

wastes, (v) Thermal pollution, and (vi) Oil pollution. That cause to have problems such as
Oil spills, littering on beaches, Industrial toxics filtered and waste dumped into water

supply and bodies of water, marine dumping, human sewage, household chemicals,

heavy metals and chemicals from construction sites that results in having overexploitation

of fishing resources, unsustainable aquaculture, destruction of habitats, ocean

acidification, coral bleaching and climate change and importantly contaminating our

drinking water. Effective way to solve water pollution are avoid dumping waste into rivers,

use natural fertilizer, cleaning up rivers, avoid disposing oil into sinks, reduce usage of

machines that require water, use environmentally friendly washing liquids or powders,

use less plastic, avoid disposing items in toilets, vehicle maintenance, increasing amounts

of plants around home, not littering the beach, better waste management from industries,

and educate friends and family members. Soil is one of the earth’s most important natural

resources. It underpins human food production systems, supports the cultivation of

vegetation for feed, fiber and fuel, and has the potential to help combat and mitigate climate

change. Soil pollution is defined as the presence of toxic chemicals (pollutants or

contaminants) in the soil, in very high concentrations to pose a risk to human health and

the ecosystem. The root cause of soil pollution is often one of the following: agriculture

(excessive/improper use of pesticides), excessive industrial activity, poor management or

inefficient disposal of waste that cause to have soil erosion, loss of organic matter, soil

contamination, nutrient imbalance in plants like nutrient deficiency, and nutrient excess,

soil acidification, salinization, soil degradation, deforestation, desertification, leaching of

waste from landfills due to waste dumping. Effective ways to solve the soil pollution

problems are proper understanding of the soil environment, development of legislation to

control the soil pollution, management of the agricultural land and organic farming
practices, proper treatment of the solid waste by proper disposal, reduction of toxic

chemicals, minimizing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, planting trees to avoid soil

erosion, proper land use planning, practice of green chemistry, stopping deforestation

and through agroforestry.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Environmental chemistry contributes to the development of methods and

procedures for reducing pollutants or chemicals in the air, hence improving air quality, soil and

water. With the help of environmental chemistry, a number of strategies and preventive procedures

have been created to decrease the release of harmful compounds into water bodies, resulting in

safe and enjoyable drinking water, and lessening the contamination in soils and in lands and

minimizing the air pollution in our atmosphere. By proper behavior especially, if we learned how

to discipline ourselves then we can improve our environment and as a student, and a citizen, we

should have concern in our environment by doing something and improving bad habits in

decreasing contaminations our environment, thus doing activities and improvement we can give

change and restored the beauty of our Mother Earth. In just the 3 R’s, recycle, reuse, and reduce

can change into something! Just proper knowledge and concerned will help the environment to be

better and safe.

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