IMPACT OF POLLUTION ON LIVING AND NON-LIVING
INTRODUCTION
Pollution is an undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of air, water and soil that may harmful to living and non-living things. There can be air, water, noise and soil-pollution.
Pollutants;
Those substances that can cause pollution of air, water and soil are called pollutants. Nowadays we became familiar with radioactive pollution which is caused by nuclear material like Plutonium, Uranium etc. as we have seen in Japan recently.
RATIONAL BEHIND CONSTRUCTION OF THE EXHIBITION
This project aims to introduce about the knowing of pollution as it can cause so many harmful to living and non-living beings. Water pollution can leads to death of marine animals and the polluted water with oil is not suitable for drinking. Air pollution can cause respiratory disorder. Soil pollution can cause soil erosion, unfit for growing of plants, land slide. Air pollution with radioactive material can cause skin disease and even death to living things.
SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLE
Pollution of water with mercury can cause death to animals and human.
Inhalation of CO (carbon monoxide) can cause respiratory disorder and dizziness to human.
Hb + CO HbCO (unhealthy)
Hemoglobin Carboxy-haemoglobin
Hb + O2 HbO2 (health)
Oxy-hemoglobin
Air pollutants like Nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide and Sulphur dioxide combines with water vapor in air to form Acid rain.
WORKING
Effects of air pollutants on living and non-living things:
1. Polluted air is unpleasant to breathe.
2. It causes several diseases and disorders like dizziness, headache, eye irritation, nasal irritation, lung cancer, coughing, sore throat, bronchitis, chest pain and allergies.
3. Ozone causes irritation to the nose and throat linings. Traces of ozone in the air do not harm, but at higher concentration (above 0.1 ppm) ozone is toxic and harmful to human beings. Ozone also attacks rubber products.
4. Dust and smoke spoil our clothes, reduce visibility and blacken the buildings. Dust and smoke get deposited on the leaves of the plants and thus affect the rate of photosynthesis, and these also cause diseases like bronchitis and asthma in human beings.
5. Sulphur dioxide destroys living tissues, eats-up limestone and marble of buildings and corrodes metals.
6. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas. This combines with the hemoglobin of our blood and forms a compound called carboxy-haemoglobin. Due to the formation of this compound, hemoglobin is unable to carry oxygen to various parts of our body. This leads to respiratory problems. It causes suffocation and may even cause death.
Greenhouse Effect
Due to rapid industrialization and man’s activities, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing every year. Carbon dioxide gas is heavier than air; therefore, the concentration of carbon dioxide is higher near the earth’s surface. This carbon dioxide absorbs the infrared radiations reflected from the earth and heats up the atmosphere due to which the temperature of the atmosphere increases. This phenomenon is known as Greenhouse effect. It has been estimated that due to greenhouse effect produced by the increased amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the average temperature of the earth has increased by 1degree Celsius in the last 50 years. Scientist have predicted that if due to the increasing amount of carbon dioxide in air and the consequent greenhouse effect, the temperature of the Earth rises by 3-6 degree Celsius , then the polar ice-caps and glaciers will melt and the enormous water thus produced will raise the sea level by 100 meters. This will cause destruction all around.
Harmful effect of acid rain formed by air pollutants on living and non-living things:
1. Acid rain is very corrosive and harmful for both living and non-living things.
2. It gradually destroys living tissues, eats up cement, limestone and marble of buildings, and corrodes steel and other metals.
3. It is quite harmful for the survival of fishes and other aquatic life.
4. Acid rain damages old statues, old monuments etc.
Harmful effects of Water pollution:
1. The polluted water contains a number of disease causing pathogens like bacteria, protozoa and virus which cause waterborne diseases like typhoid, cholera, dysentery, jaundice and hepatitis.
2. The acid and alkalies present in industrial waste kill those micro-organisms which are the natural cleansing agents of water.
3. The sewage and fertilizers present in polluted water are rich in nutrients. This leads to an excessive growth of algae which cover the whole surface of lake. This process is called Eutrophication. When the algae die, the decomposers use up all the dissolved oxygen for decomposing the vast amount of dead algae. Since no dissolved oxygen is left in the water of the lake, all the aquatic animals like fish die.
4. The industrial wastes of industries like paper, paint, pesticide, metal etc. which can enter the human body through food chains and affect their health. The accumulation of toxic harmful pesticides in the body of human beings is called Bio-concentration.
KNOWLEDGE/APPLICATIONS:-
1. If we know the harmfulness of acid rain caused by air pollutants we can prevent it by giving out less quantity of sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide produced from industry and burning of fossil fuels like petrol, diesel, kerosene etc.
2. Eutrophication can be prevented by using less quantity of chemical fertilizers.
3. Greenhouse effect and global warming can be prevented by reducing less amount of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbon etc.
Reference:
1. Class VIII text book, first edition 2009
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