Environment chemical pollution

Introduction

The world has known since the beginning of the twentieth century a set of
developments in the relationship of man to the environment, as this century was
marked by a set of transformations that caused severe impacts on the
environment.

The most notable of these transformations are the massive industrialization that
the whole world and the developed countries in particular have known, in addition
to the massive demographic explosion.

These transformations have caused serious environmental problems, perhaps the

most important of which is pollution that has affected all aspects of life.

DEFINITION

Chemical pollution is defined as the presence or increase in our environment of

chemical pollutants that are not naturally present there or are found in amounts
higher than their natural background values. Most of the chemicals that pollute
the environment are man-made, resulted from the various activities in which toxic
chemicals are used for various purposes.

The chemicals in their gaseous, liquid, and solid states that are characterized by
their efficacy, toxicity, or explosive potential, or to corrosive events, or that have
other characteristics that could result in a risk to the environment and public
health, whether alone or when related to other materials

Sources of pollution

pollution is divided into two types: natural pollution and industrial pollution.

Natural pollution :

pollution is the source whose source is due to natural phenomena that occur from
time to time, such as volcanoes, thunderbolts, and storms that may carry huge
amounts of sand and dust, and damage crops, so natural pollution is therefore
sources of natural origin, and there is no income for man in it.

Industrial pollution:

-Industrial pollution results from human action and activity, and finds its source in
man’s industrial, service, and entertainment activities, etc., and in his increasing
uses of modern technology manifestations and its various innovations. It
responsible for the emergence of the pollution problem in our time, and reaching
this degree The serious threat to life and the survival of man on the surface of the
earth, and among the most important sources of industrial pollution: industrial
and commercial waste and what is emitted by car exhaust, and factory chimneys
that leave toxic (chlorine, fluorine and carbon) compounds, and others.

The severity of industrial pollution depends on several factors, including:

1. The area from which industrial pollutants are emitted

2. Time period for pollution.

3. The degree of concentration of pollutants.

4. Physical, chemical and biological properties of pollutants.

5. The ability to decompose and assimilate in the environmental environment in

which it is placed.

6. Toxicity relative to humans and other organisms.

The general pollutants classified according to the property of harmful substances

or products into environment to:

(Water pollution, Air pollution, Soil pollution, Nuclear pollution and Biological
pollution)

MAIN TYPES OF CHEMICAL POLLUTION:

These chemicals can react with tissues in the body and change the structure and
function of the organ, cause abnormal growth and development of the individual,
or bind with the genetic material of cells and cause cancer.

One of the central tenets of the study of such effects (toxicology) is that the dose
of a chemical determines its overall effects and that most chemicals can be
dangerous at high exposure

1. Inorganic pollutants:
Inorganic pollutants are released into the environment due to activities of
mining, industry, transportation and urban activities. Environmental risks
associated with inorganic pollutants vary widely due to several complex
interactions at both intracellular and extracellular levels.
Toxic heavy metals and metalloids interact quite strongly with soil
constituents as compared to salts of alkali metals, rate of which however,
depend on the element and their speciation.

2. Organic pollutants:
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), sometimes known as "forever
chemicals", are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental
degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes.
They are toxic chemicals that adversely affect human health and the
environment around the world. Because they can be transported by wind
and water, most POPs generated in one country can and do affect people
and wildlife far from where they are used and released.
The effect of POPs on human and environmental health was discussed, with
intention to eliminate or severely restrict their production, by the
international community at the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic
Pollutants in 2001

3. Nuclear (Radiation) pollutants

Radiation pollution means the leakage of radioactive materials into one of
the components of the environment, such as water, air, and soil. It is
considered one of the most dangerous types of environmental pollution in
our time, as it is not seen, smelled.
Without any resistance, and without any indication of its presence, and
without first having an effect, and when radioactive materials reach the cells
of the body, they cause visible and hidden damage that often leads to human
life, and
radioactive contamination may occur from natural sources such as radiation
from outer space and gases Radioactive mounting from the cortex Z, or from
industrial sources of nuclear power stations of atomic reactors and
radioactive isotopes used in industry, agriculture, medicine or other.

Radioactivity is toxic because it forms ions when it reacts with biological

molecules. These ions can form free radicals, which damage proteins,
membranes, and nucleic acids. Radioactivity can damage DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid) by destroying individual bases (particularly thymine),
by breaking single strands, by breaking double strands, by cross-linking
different DNA strands, and by cross-linking DNA and proteins. Damage to
DNA can lead to cancers, birth defects, and even death

[Link] pollutants:

Biological pollution is considered one of the oldest forms of pollution known

to man, and this pollution arises as a result of the presence of visible or
invisible living organisms such as bacteria, fungi and others in the
environmental medium such as water, air or soil, so the mixing of disease-
causing organisms with food that The person eats it, the water he drinks, or
the air that he inhales causes biological pollution, which leads to disease .
The Effects of environmental Chemical Pollution
1. Poisoned marine organisms, which may cause their death, thus affecting
the food chain in the ecosystem.
2. Damage to living organisms that live on Earth, whether they are
microorganisms, plants or animals, as it loses soil fertility, and may lead to
desertification.

3. Global warming occurs, which may cause environmental disasters, such

as: global warming, as well as melting ice in the Arctic which causes the
percentage of water on the earth to rise, and thus drown.

4. It leads to a hole in the ozone layer, which leads to an increase in the

harmful UV rays reaching the earth, which affects human life.
Gases pollutants such oxides of sulfer, carbon, and nitrogen as well as the
chlorofluorocarbon compounds are broken by UV radiation releasing
chlorine and fluorine free radical those react with ozone of stratosphere
causing decomposing of it:
SO2 + O3 → SO3 + O2 , NO + O3 → NO2 + O2
 CF2Cl2 → Cl• + C•F2Cl , Cl• + O3 → ClO• + O2

5. Acid rain is a byproduct of a variety of human activities that emit the

oxides of sulphur and nitrogen in the atmosphere.

Burning of fossil fuels (which contain sulphur and nitrogenous matter) such as coal
and oil in power stations and furnaces or petrol and diesel in motor engines
produce sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.

SO2 and NO2 after oxidation and reaction with water are major contributors to
acid rain, because polluted air usually contains particulate matter that catalyse the
oxidation.

When the pH of the rain water drops below 5.6, it is called acid rain. Acid rain
refers to the ways in which acid from the atmosphere is deposited on the earth’s
surface.
[Link] pollution leads to various serious diseases, generally by consuming
poisonous food, drinking highly contaminated water, or breathing contaminated
air.

Chemical intoxication can have severe health effects that may trigger immediate
symptoms and diseases or delayed effects which may appear after weeks or
months since the exposure occurred. This is based on the type of pollutants and on
the amounts to which you are exposed

HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS

involve a variety of chemical products and mixtures that can easily become
chemical pollutants when released into the environment.

Even the everyday detergents are chemical compounds that may pollute our
environment! Read the labels of detergent products to confirm that they contain a
variety of potentially hazardous chemicals. Such : (Pesticides, Fertilizers,
Preservatives, Colorants and Flavor of Food and Cleaning substance and Drugs).
Pesticide risk of the health and environment

pesticides have been commonly used to control pests causing release the
pesticides component into the environment.

The intensive use of pesticide leads to an increased risk of contamination of the

environment and harmful effects on varity biological, food security, and water
sources.

The released pesticides into the environment and their impacts of the ecosystem
and human health, such DDT, dieldrin, and other toxic have more affected of the
healthy, because transfer to the humans by the foods of animals and plants.

Methods of prevention of environmental pollution

What is Pollution Prevention (P2)?

Pollution prevention (P2) is any practice that reduces, eliminates, or prevents

pollution at its source before it is created. As shown by the EPA Waste
Management Hierarchy, P2, also known as "source reduction," is fundamentally
different and, where feasible, more desirable than recycling, treatment or
disposal. It is often more cost effective to prevent pollution from being created at
its source than to pay for control, treatment and disposal of waste products.
When less pollution is created, there are fewer impacts to human health and the
environment.

Specific Pollution Prevention Approaches

Pollution prevention approaches can be applied to all potential and actual

pollution-generating activities, including those found in the energy, agriculture,
federal, consumer and industrial sectors. Prevention practices are essential for
preserving wetlands, groundwater sources and other critical ecosystems - areas in
which we especially want to stop pollution before it begins.

In the energy sector, pollution prevention can reduce environmental damages

from extraction, processing, transport and combustion of fuels. Pollution
prevention approaches include:

 increasing efficiency in energy use;

 use of environmentally benign fuel sources.

In the agricultural sector, pollution prevention approaches include:

 Reducing the use of water and chemical inputs;

 Adoption of less environmentally harmful pesticides or cultivation of crop

strains with natural resistance to pests; and

 Protection of sensitive areas.

In the industrial sector, examples of P2 practices include:

 Modifying a production process to produce less waste

 Using non-toxic or less toxic chemicals as cleaners, degreasers and other

maintenance chemicals
  Implementing water and energy conservation practices

 Reusing materials such as drums and pallets rather than disposing of them as
waste

In homes and schools examples of P2 practices include:

 Using reusable water bottles instead of throw-aways

 Automatically turning off lights when not in use

 Repairing leaky faucets and hoses

 Switching to "green" cleaners

Why is Pollution Prevention Important?

Pollution prevention reduces both financial costs (waste management and

cleanup) and environmental costs (health problems and environmental damage).
Pollution prevention protects the environment by conserving and protecting
natural resources while strengthening economic growth through more efficient
production in industry and less need for households, businesses and communities
to handle waste