The 10 types of pollution (and effects on the ecosystem)

Nature generates ecosystems that can easily be altered by human intervention.

Concern for the environmentAlthough concern for the environment has existed throughout history, it has not been a widespread phenomenon until relatively recently.

But nowadays society is aware of the need to preserve the environment, as well as of the fact that human activity itself can cause different types of waste (both in the form of material and energy) that can have consequences and cause alterations both in the environment (for example, through the acidification of soil or water, or the acceleration of global warming) and in the different species of living beings, including human beings (loss of habitats, of Biological rhythms such as sleep or behavioral alterations, for example).

Likewise, we are aware of the existence of various types of contamination.. In this article we will visualize the main ones.

The concept of pollution

Although as we have said there are very different types, as a general concept that includes them we understand pollution as the fact of introducing into the environment any type of element that causes more or less prolonged damage over time. more or less prolonged in time (it can also be permanent) in such a way that its normal functioning is altered in a negative way.

We generally associate the term pollution to the environment, but it can also be considered as such the one that affects a locality, species or person in an aversive way.

Types of pollution

When classifying pollution we can take into account different criteria. However, as a general rule, the main way of classifying types of contamination is the observation of the polluting or contaminated element. the observation of the polluting or contaminated element.. In this sense we have the following types of pollution.

1. Atmospheric pollution

The best known is the type of pollution that arises from the release of particles of chemical substances into the atmosphere. Also known as pollution, it is the type of pollution that affects through the air. affects through the air. One of the best known pollutants in this regard are CO2, methane and smoke from combustion.

2. Water pollution

This is the effect of the emission and release of pollutants into water. It hinders or alters the life and the normative use, making it undrinkable. This pollution is usually of industrial origin. It includes maritime pollution, which would refer to the pollution of the seas and oceans by the same cause.

3. Soil and subsoil pollution

Caused by the seepage of substances into the soil, it generates physical and chemical physical and chemical alterations in the soil, making it uninhabitable, for example, or contaminating groundwater.contaminated groundwater or make it impossible for life to grow in the area.

4. Radioactive contamination

This is one of the most dangerous and aggressive types of contamination for life. It is produced by the release of radioactive material and has an effect on any surface. It usually derives from human actionsuch as waste dumping or nuclear power plant disasters like Chernobyl.

5. Thermal pollution

One of the least known types of pollution is generated by the change of temperature in the environment or in different media due to human activity.

6. Visual pollution

Although in principle the concept may be similar to that of light pollution, in this case it refers to the alteration of the environment based on visual stimuli that have nothing to do with luminosity. that have nothing to do with luminosity. For example, it refers to the visual changes that occur in nature due to human activity.

7. Light pollution

This is one of the types of pollution in which the polluting element is visual. Light pollution the polluting element itself is the emission of light outside of what would be natural, causing problems such as loss of orientation or changes in the biosphere. problems such as loss of orientation or changes in the biorhythms of both humans and other animals. of both humans and other animals.

8. Noise pollution

Noise pollution is the emission of sound in excessive proportion, frequency, tone, volume and rhythm that causes an alteration in the environment or in the beings that inhabit it. This type of contamination is the one that lives, for example, those people that live in very touristy districts in which there are multitude of discotheques and establishments with music.

9. Electromagnetic pollution

Although it is not so directly perceptible by human beings, it refers to the contamination derived from the use of electrical elements. derived from the use of electrical elements or that generate electromagnetic phenomena. They can generate disorientation and possible damage in different animals, and the effects on human beings are still under discussion (sometimes linked to cancer, erection disorders or some mental and physical problems).

10. Food contamination

Refers to the presence of different substances in food that have different effects on those who consume it.. For example, contamination of fish by mercury from water pollution or contamination caused by the sale of food in poor condition or infected with a disease.

Bibliographical references:

• Elsom, D. (1990). Atmospheric contamination. Ediciones Cátedra SA.
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001). "Status of Ratifications.