Types of environmental pollutants

Types of environmental pollutants

By Dr. Kyle Muller

When we talk about environmental pollutants, we are not aware of the amount of substances or compounds that are a danger to the environment, causing its instability and damaging its operation, sometimes irreversible. But they not only affect the environment, but also their flora, fauna and human beings. Environmental pollutants have anthropogenic origin and it was at the time of industrialization when they began to increase uncontrolled to the present day.

Next, in this interesting Ecology Verde, the different will be described Types of environmental pollutantsas well as the types of pollution and their consequences.

What is environmental pollution

We talk about Environmental pollution When in the environment they are present harmful substances. These substances are the ones we call Environmental pollutants and can be of physical, chemical or biological origin or a combination of them. Contamination can be given in different ways, in different places and with different concentrations. In addition, it is not a secret that environmental pollution is a danger to living beings, including human beings, their health and well -being.

To inform yourself more about this, you can consult this other article about what is environmental pollution and its types.

Types of Environmental Pollutants – Primary and Secondary

There are different types of air pollutants, water and the environment in general. Thus, there are many environmental pollutants that are present in our environment and can be classified into two types depending on their origin: primary and secondary.

Types of primary environmental pollutants

Primary pollutants are those that are directly emitted to the natural environment, some examples are:

  • CO or carbon monoxide.
  • Sox or sulfur oxides.
  • NOX or nitrogen oxides.
  • CFC or chlorofluorocarbons.
  • Radioactive waste.

There are numerous Emission of primary environmental pollutants:

  • Mass deforestation.
  • Burning fossil fuels, such as oil, coal or natural gas.
  • Mining extractions.
  • Excessive use of cars that use gasoline or diesel.

Types of secondary environmental pollutants

These are normally formed from primary pollutants by physical-chemical processes that occur in the environment, among them are:

  • H2SO4 or sulfuric acid.
  • O3 or ozone.
  • CH4 or methane.
  • Biological pollution

Types of environmental pollutants - Types of environmental pollutants - primary and secondary

Types of environmental pollutants – solids, liquids and gases

In addition to classifying polluting agents depending on their origin, we can do so by looking at their structure, we find that it can be solid, liquid and soda. So, Other types of environmental pollutants are:

  • Solid contaminants: An example of solid pollutants could be the garbage that we generate daily in our homes.
  • Liquid pollutants: When we talk about liquid contaminants, they can be discharged from the industries or gray or residual waters of the urbanized centers.
  • Gaseous pollutants: When we talk about contaminants that are gas, those that come from vehicle traffic, industry emissions, deforestation, etc.

Types of environmental pollutants according to their degradability

A pollutant is more dangerous or less depending on its origin, its concentration and its structure, but also depends on the time found in the natural environment. So, according to this classification, we find ourselves with Environmental pollutants with different degradabilitythat is, they last longer or less in the environment and that they become more or less harmful.

  • Non -degradable pollutants: These are not broken down by natural processes. To treat these polluting waste, it is best to recycle or reuse them, preventing them from discarding in the environment.
  • Pollutants de slow or persistent degradation: They are substances that remain in the environment for a long time. The DDT or most of the plastic are examples. In the case of plastic, it takes tens of years to degrade, although it does not completely remain since microplastics are a great threat to living beings when entering the food chain. These substances are also bioacumulable and disperse widely by the environment through the wind, rivers and marine currents.
  • Degrable or non -persistent pollutants: These are ended up decomposing totally or partially through physical, chemical or bilogical natural processes.
  • Biodegradable pollutants: They are those that thanks to the decomposition process used by living organisms, such as bacteria and other microorganisms, transform complex matter into simpler matter.

Types of environmental pollutants - Types of environmental pollutants according to their degradability

Emerging pollutants, a new type of harmful substances

Highlight a group of contaminants known as emerging or new pollutant agentswhich refer to personal care and hygiene products (contain parabens, phthalates …), hormones (endocrine disruptors), drugs, drugs … Many of them until recently were difficult to detect, but thanks to technological advances it is possible to detect the presence of these substances.

In this other article you can find more specific information on this topic emerging pollutants: definition, examples and how they affect us.

Types of contamination

Environmental pollutants end up in the natural environment interacting with this negatively. Therefore, taking into account the contaminated areas we will talk about different types of pollution.

  • Water pollution: There is high water pollution due to the discharge of industrial waste, another source of pollution is the pesticides used in the crop fields that are filtered towards groundwater, organic waste, pathogens, radioactive substances, inorganic waste … Know more about this list of harmful agents in this link to an article about what are the contaminants of the water.
  • Atmospheric pollution: The causes that cause air or atmospheric pollution are volcanic eruptions, the use of machinery and chemicals in mining extractions, use of pesticide products, deforestation, etc … The presence of these substances, subjects or forms of energy involve a danger or damage to the health of people, in addition to being a danger to the environment. We recommend you consult this other article about what an air pollutant is.
  • Soil pollution: The most common pollutants found on the ground are heavy metals, persistent and emerging organic pollutants. The biggest soil problem is unsustainable agricultural practices, which use industrial pesticides, which are leaving the soil without organic matter, in addition to being contaminated by the chemicals used. Find out more about this with this post about what are the contaminating agents of the soil.

Apart from these, which are the main types of pollution, there are some more:

  • Radioactive pollution.
  • Noise pollution.
  • Light pollution.
  • Visual pollution.
  • Electromagnetic pollution.
  • Thermal contamination
  • Food pollution

TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINAnts - Types of pollution

Consequences of environmental pollution

We are living one Climate crisis in which the planet temperature is increasing progressively. This phenomenon, called global warming, is a consequence of the emission of environmental pollutants and causes accelerated climate change. Environmental pollution is endangering the environment, as well as living beings. These are some of the consequences of environmental pollution that are already suffered:

  • Increase in respiratory and cardiovascular disease due to poor air quality (polluted air) in cities.
  • Toxicological impact
  • Presence of food pollutants.
  • Presence of microplastics in food and water that end in the food chain.
  • Loss of natural resources.
  • Destruction of ecosystems.
  • Extinction of species and the consequent loss of biodiversity.

Now that you know the types of environmental pollutants better, as well as the types of pollution that these agents cause and their consequences, you may want to know some ideas about how to avoid environmental pollution.

If you want to read more articles similar to Types of environmental pollutantswe recommend that you enter our pollution category.

Kyle Muller
About the author
Dr. Kyle Muller
Dr. Kyle Mueller is a Research Analyst at the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department in Houston, Texas. He earned his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Texas State University in 2019, where his dissertation was supervised by Dr. Scott Bowman. Dr. Mueller's research focuses on juvenile justice policies and evidence-based interventions aimed at reducing recidivism among youth offenders. His work has been instrumental in shaping data-driven strategies within the juvenile justice system, emphasizing rehabilitation and community engagement.
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