Regularly, you hear about contamination and pollution and, when done, it is usually done as if they were perfectly interchangeable synonyms. Actually, although both words are very similar and tend to be interchangeable in most conversations or speeches, the reality is that they have small nuances that distinguish them. If you want to know what the Difference between pollution and pollution Keep reading the following green ecology article and we tell you.
What is pollution
To understand What is pollutionbeyond generalities, it is best to go to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy. According to its definition, pollution would be the result of introducing “physical or chemical agents” in a specific medium, and that have the effect of “alter harmful“The original or normal state of the environment in question where these physical or chemical agents have been introduced. As can be seen, it is a fairly generic definition, in which, practically, it would be possible to act as an strange agent to the nature of the environment in question.
What is pollution
Carrying out the same exercise of going to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, and seeking the definition of pollution instead of pollution, we find a very similar definition. However, it is true that, in this case, it emphasizes an important differentiating element. On the one hand, pollution is defined as “Intense and harmful pollution“That is, we understand that pollution will always be a type of pollution, but that, in addition, it has a high intensity character. The definition continues to refer, in this case, not to a medium in general, but to “water or air”, which implies that it is necessarily about intense pollution and that tends to get into fluids. Finally, the definition ends up clarifying that the origin of pollution is “produced by waste of industrial or biological processes.”
In this way, we would have a definition of pollution as a Type of concrete pollutionthat is, more limited and more determined, which is characterized by being always intense and harmful, as well as being present in fluids (water or air), in addition to being the resulting of both industrial and biological processes.
What is the difference between pollution and pollution
As we can see, the difference between pollution and pollution is sometimes complicated to determine. However, to simplify and have a more concrete idea, we can say that All pollutions will be some type of pollutionwhile not all pollution is pollution. In this way, we can understand the pollution as a type of pollutionbut not the reverse.
If we think of pollution, we would find some examples, in the contamination produced by the factories by releasing gases harmful to the atmosphere, which would be a pollution of industrial origin. Or, for example, in the spills of the unhappy gray waters, which would be an example of pollution of biological origin (due to the high concentration of bacteria that are present in these waters).
On the contrary, if we thought about some examples of pollution that would not be pollutionwe could take as an example:
- Physical waste landfills, which would act as pollution but not as pollution.
- However, if these waste came to produce intense chemical pollution, for example, nearby aquifers or groundwater, we could talk about pollution, since a different level of range would have been reached.
Differentiation according to the degree of damage caused by ecosystems
On the other hand, beyond the definitions provided by the Royal Academy, we can say that both pollution and pollution are words that They are used almost identical In most cases. In the same way, it can also be considered in a general way that pollution is more harmful, or more urgent to fight, than pollution in general.
Thus, when a type of pollution put at serious risk health and environmental security From a specific environment, you could be talking about pollution. While, when the presence of these agents is harmful, but not extremely or urgently, contamination should be discussed. However, as we have mentioned, the reality is that both words are used practically as synonyms with each other, although it is important to know the little nuance that differentiates one and the other in specific cases.
If you want to read more articles similar to Difference between pollution and pollutionwe recommend that you enter our pollution category.


