Types of pollution

To say it in simple words pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. We began to feel the presence of pollution with the start of the industrial revolution in the 19th century and since then it has continued to grow, becoming a big public health problem. Pollution occurs when the natural environment cannot destroy and eliminate waste that has reached it. Nowadays, there are so many studies that confirm the destruction process can vary from a few days to thousands of years, depending on the nature of the pollution. Pollution can be caused naturally, e.g. volcano ash but it’s mainly created by human activity.
There are many types of pollution, and they all play a role in stunting economic growth, exacerbating poverty and inequality, and contributing to climate change.

Air Pollution – is one of the forms of pollution with major, disastrous effects on the environment. Air pollution occurs when any harmful gas, dust or smoke enters the atmosphere and affects plants, animals, and humans. Many researchers believe that air pollution represents a major threat to the existence of ecosystems on the planet and represents the main challenge that humanity must overcome.

Water Pollution – can be defined as the release of substances into groundwater. Lakes, rivers, streams, seas, or oceans. These substances interfere and affect the normal functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Polluted waters have become a real problem in recent years both for humans’ health and the environment.

Land Pollution – like water and air, soil plays an extremely important role in everyone’s lives, therefore its degradation has harmful effects on the health of organisms of all kinds and often it can lead to the extinction of certain species. Soil pollution means its contamination with various harmful factors such as chemical, radioactive substances, toxic elements or other matters create issues for plants, animals, and humans. Land pollution is caused by agents originating from human activities and has a big impact on the quality of the soil by damaging its balance, or texture.

Radioactive Pollution – is defined as the increase in natural radiation levels caused by human activities. Some of the activities that release radiation involves activities with radioactive materials, such as mining, handling, or storing radioactive waste, using reactions to generate energy and the use of radiation in medicine and research.

Noise Pollution- this has become a major problem especially in urban areas where three out of five people are affected by noise pollution. Unfortunately, it is given the least importance, however there are studies that show noise pollution can even cause the death of some people. Noise pollution is found everywhere, even if we don’t realise it, as the human ear has become familiar with many sounds around us. Even if it is invisible, it is present on land, in the sea, in the air and even underwater.

Light Pollution – in simple terms, it is the presence of excessive artificial light in the night-time environment. Research suggests that light pollution can cause a variety of adverse health problems such as: increased anxiety, stress, fatigue, or headaches. Excessive exposure to light can affect human being’s moods and alertness.

Thermal Pollution – can be defined as a very rapid change in the temperature of a body of water in the natural environment. It can be manmade or natural and it generates pollution. Nowadays, thermal pollution of the environment is a major issue, which not many people are aware of. It leads to changes in the level of the oxygen that people breath and on which ecosystems depend entirely to live and develop.