Pollution: causes and consequences

What is pollution?

The term pollution is a masculine noun that comes from the Latin pollutio , stain, dirt, stain.

Pollution is the degradation of the environment, caused by the diffusion of toxic chemical, physical or biological substances of which man is often the author, and which results in the dysfunction of ecosystems.

Pollution disrupts the life of living organisms, going as far as the extinction of certain species which are unable to adapt to the new environment.

Pollution classification

Pollution

Pollution can be classified according to different criteria, in particular those based on the nature of the polluting agent; ecological considerations and purely toxicological considerations.

Classification according to the nature of the polluting agent

Depending on the nature of the polluting agent, we distinguish:

Physical pollution: this is a type of pollution based on physical factors such as, for example, ionizing radiation, artificial warming of the ambient environment caused by a technological heat source.
Chemical pollution: this is a type of pollution based on mineral, organic, abiotic or biochemical substances.
Biological pollution: it is caused by pathogenic microorganisms or by invasive exotic species introduced artificially by man.
The purely ecological point of view: it takes into consideration the environment (air, water, soil), or the part of the biosphere where pollution takes place (atmosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere), as well as the biocenoses in which they exert disturbances .
The toxicological point of view: is based on the environment or the mode of contamination of organisms by pollutants. Depending on the mode of contamination, in plants, a distinction is made between contamination by stomatal absorption, transfoliar contamination and pollution by root translocation.

In animals, there will be contamination by inhalation in terrestrial species; by transbranchial absorption for aquatic species. Contamination can also occur by ingestion or penetration through the skin.

The causes of pollution of the biosphere

Pollution

Several factors are at the root of the pollution of the biosphere including energy production, diversity of chemical pollutants, accumulation of waste, intensive agriculture and animal husbandry.

Energy production

Energy production is the main cause of pollution, the most important being the production of petroleum products (oil and gas), the main air pollutants of which are produced by combustion, in particular S02 and NOX, responsible for acid rain, photochemical smog and solid particles.

The diversification of chemical pollutants and the accumulation of waste

The development of science since the end of World War II, in particular that of organic chemistry, has enabled the growing production of new synthetic molecules. Currently, hundreds of new chemicals are produced and marketed around the world.

Among these substances are detergents, insulating materials and plastics whose ubiquity and stability pollute the biosphere, once released into nature. These are mainly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chlorinated solvents, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides and dioxins.

Agriculture and intensive breeding

Agriculture and intensive livestock are the third major cause of pollution of the biosphere. The use in intensive agriculture of synthetic pesticides such as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides; but also mineral manure by adding nitrogenous fertilizers, phosphate and potash salts has increased crop yields dramatically. However, these products, in addition to the excrements of farm animals, pollute surface or coastal waters, as well as groundwater.

The consequences of pollution

The consequences of pollution are numerous, among which we can mention floods, storms, landslides, floods, etc. These consequences are aggravated by other factors such as climatic variations, increased rainfall.

Update date: February 11, 2021.

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