Point Sources of Pollution

Point sources of pollution are individual, localized facilities that emit air and/or water pollution into the environment. Point sources can also emit thermal, light, and noise pollution. Point sources of air pollution are often also called stationary sources and are usually industrial facilities (e.g., coal-fired power plants, chemical plants, steel mills, paper mills, copper and aluminum smelters, oil refineries). A related category, area sources, refers to small, stationary sources of air pollution such as dry cleaners, bakeries, fast-food restaurants, home fireplaces, landfills, and gasoline stations. The other major source of air pollution is transportation, or mobile sources, which has accounted for a growing share of air pollution as increasingly strict standards have been implemented in many nations for stationary sources and as the automobile fleet ...