Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials or energy into the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form. These harmful materials are called pollutants, which can be natural, such as volcanic ash, or created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollution can take many forms, including air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution. Other types of pollution include noise pollution, light pollution, and plastic pollution.
Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land, and can have negative effects on the environment, wildlife, and human health and well-being. Pollution is a global problem, and although urban areas are usually more polluted than the countryside, pollution can spread to remote places where no people live.
The United States Environmental Protection Administration defines pollution as "Any substances in water, soil, or air that degrade the natural quality of the environment, offend the senses of sight, taste, or smell, or cause a health hazard".
Here are some specific types of pollution and their definitions:
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Air pollution: A mixture of gases and solid particles in the air. Air pollution comes from the exhaust that cars and trucks produce when they burn gasoline for fuel, chemicals from factories, dust, mold, smog, and other sources. Air pollution can reach harmful concentrations both outside and indoors.
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Water pollution: Occurs when harmful substances, often chemicals or microorganisms, contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading water quality. Water pollution can come from point source pollution, which originates from a single source, or nonpoint source pollution, which is contamination derived from diffuse sources.
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Land pollution: Can be anything from litter on the streets to spilled chemicals, such as gasoline in a gas station parking lot. A large portion of land pollution comes from industrial waste, which is generated from manufacturers or factories. It can also come from commercial waste produced by businesses, such as plastic food wrappers.
In summary, pollution is the introduction of harmful materials or energy into the environment, and it can take many forms, including air, water, and land pollution. Pollution can have negative effects on the environment, wildlife, and human health and well-being.
