The Sources of Pollution

The Sources of Pollution

Anthropogenic pollution is putting the natural environment at risk: it

is causing lake acidification, acid rain and even the warming of the

planet (global warming). By identifying the sources of pollutants

people can halt the spread of pollution. This work is aimed at

discussing diffuse sources of pollution and it focus on three examples

of this immense problem.

Sources of pollution can be divided into point sources and

diffuse/non-point sources; the former refers to pollutants entering a

natural system e.g. body of water, from a distinct location, through a

direct route e.g. sewage pipe spilling sludge into a lake

(Botkin,1998). Diffuse pollution on the other hand results from a

multitude of differing sources that work in combination e.g. lake

acidification may occur due to deforestation, run-off and a variety of

other causes. These sources are often hard to pinpoint thus making the

non-point pollution often hard to rectify (Camic,1993).

Anthropogenic eutrophication is the addition of nutrients such as

nitrates and phosphorus to the extent that algal blooms occur and

cause a rapid decrease in oxygen in the water and thus a lowering of

biodiversity (Anderson,2003). Pollutant sources of inland

eutrophication are many and varied but agriculture and industrial

areas are at the centre of the problem (EPA,2004). Recently there has

been an increase in intensive farming and a consequent increase in

livestock waste, fertilizers and pesticides (Reiss,2000). Run-off of

nutrients from agricultural land can flow/leach into bodies of water

e.g. the Norfolk broads, Also sewage sludge and waste solvents from

industrial plants are frequently poorly disposed of and may flow into

lakes (Anderson,2003). An increase in impermeable surfaces e.g. roads

& concrete has lead to an increase in run-off (EPA,2003).

Acid rain is caused by emissions of nitrogen and sulphur oxides which

are supplied by the combustion of fossil fuels in power stations, the

use of fertilizers and the exhaust fumes of vehicles (Beig,2004). Acid

rain is particularly hard to stop in terms of cutting off the sources

because the worlds population is growing and due to this so are the