Environmental Pollution and Control

The introduction of harmful substances into the environment, such as air, water, or soil, often due to human activity, leading to negative impacts on living organisms and ecosystems.

Substances that are directly released into the environment from a source and remain unchanged, like carbon dioxide (CO2) or sulfur dioxide (SO2).

Substances that are formed in the environment through chemical reactions involving primary pollutants. For example, ozone (O3) is a secondary pollutant produced from reactions involving nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Materials that can be broken down into harmless substances by microorganisms, like food waste or sewage.

Substances that cannot be easily broken down by microorganisms and persist in the environment, like plastics or heavy metals.

The contamination of the air by harmful substances, often from industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust, and burning fossil fuels.

The contamination of water bodies by harmful substances, such as sewage, industrial waste, and agricultural runoff, making it unsafe for drinking, swimming, or supporting aquatic life.

The contamination of land by harmful substances, often from industrial waste, agricultural chemicals, or improper waste disposal, affecting soil fertility and plant growth.

Burning fossil fuels like coal and wood releases poisonous gases like sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon dioxide (CO2).

Cars, trucks, and motorcycles release carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and unburned hydrocarbons, contributing to air pollution.

Cutting down forests reduces oxygen production and increases carbon dioxide levels, impacting air quality.

Pesticides sprayed on crops can be carried by the wind to urban areas, affecting both human and animal health.

Carbon monoxide (CO) binds to hemoglobin in the blood, reducing oxygen-carrying capacity, causing hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) and potentially death.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) irritates the respiratory system, causing breathing problems, and also damages building materials.

Water-based ecosystems like oceans, lakes, and rivers, with their living organisms, are highly susceptible to pollution.

The interconnected flow of energy and matter between living organisms in an environment.

The living components of an ecosystem such as plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria.

The non-living parts of an ecosystem, such as water, air, rocks, soil, and sunlight.

A linear representation of energy flow in an ecosystem, where organisms eat and are eaten.

The Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers in an ecosystem.

A complex and interconnected web of feeding relationships in an ecosystem.

Organisms that make their own food through photosynthesis.

Organisms that eat other organisms for energy.

The process by which carbon moves through the Earth's systems, including the atmosphere, oceans, rocks, and living organisms.

The movement of phosphorus through the Earth's lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

A long-term shift in global temperatures and weather patterns, primarily caused by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels.

Excessive or unwanted noise that can have negative impacts on human health, wildlife, and the environment.

A specific source of pollution, such as a factory or sewage treatment plant, that directly releases pollutants into the environment.

Widespread sources of pollution that are not easily identifiable, such as agricultural runoff or urban stormwater.

The uncontrolled growth of algae in water due to excessive nutrient input, often from pollution, leading to oxygen depletion and harm to aquatic life.

A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of water, with a scale of 0 to 14. Clean drinking water should have a pH between 6.5 and 8.5.

A measure of the clarity of water, indicating the presence of suspended particles. Clean drinking water should have low turbidity, ideally below 1.5 NTU.

The amount of dissolved substances in water, typically measured in milligrams per liter (mg/l). For drinking water, a maximum of 2000 mg/l is allowed, but the desired level is 800 mg/l.

Any substance present in the environment in harmful amounts that negatively affects the environment, such as air pollution from vehicle exhaust.

Air pollution sources that are fixed in place, such as power plants, factories, and oil refineries.