Pollution

The concept of pollution consists of the inappropriate or undesirable mixing of items or elements that may in themselves be quite appropriate or desirable. An item of food on a plate is an item that is desirable, clean, and in its right place; if the food item falls off the plate onto the floor, then it suddenly becomes dirty and undesirable—it has been polluted by contact with the floor. In traditional Indian society, people are divided into castes and a person from the highest, Brahmin caste, will fear pollution from proximity to a person from the lowest Untouchable (Dalit) caste or something touched or manufactured by such a person. Although the two people in themselves may be quite virtuous and valuable in their own right, their coming together results in contamination or pollution.

In the early part of 2007, a boat carrying cargo of many tonnes of sugar capsized in the Chao Phraya River, north of Bangkok. The sugar entered the water, lowered the level of oxygen in the water, and led to the deaths of many thousands of fish being raised by people along the length of the affected water. Characteristically, then, the act of pollution is caused by a pollutant which is generally a very desirable and valuable item. Nevertheless, the interaction that it has had with the surrounding environment has led to disastrous results.

The processes of industrialization have greatly increased the production of new types of pollution and the intensification of existing forms.

Environmental pollution involves the addition of a new substance into the environment and this has a negative impact on some or all of the living creatures in that part of the environment. The substance may be tangible or intangible in nature: carbon particles in the air can lead to respiratory diseases, but noise can also provoke sleeplessness, stress, and cardiovascular problems. Although pollution is thought of as being produced exclusively by human activities, there are also forms of naturally occurring pollution (i.e., without human involvement) when, for example, rotting vegetation reduces water quality in a river or well. Even so, the processes of industrialization have greatly increased the production of new types of pollution and the intensification of the severity of existing forms. People living in urbanized areas tend to suffer disproportionately from the impact of pollution; as the numbers of people living in cities continues to increase, especially in the developing world, the impact of pollution on humanity will also increase [Page 1394]and the need for more efficiency in production and supervision to prevent breaches of legislation on pollution will be magnified.

The principal forms of pollution include air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution. Air pollution includes the release of a wide range of particles and gases into the atmosphere. Much air pollution arises from the burning of hydrocarbon fuels, either as part of power plant operation or through operating personal automobiles. Because air moves, the impact of pollution may be felt quite a long way away from the place where it was caused. Acid rain, for example, created by industrial activity in Britain fell on the forests of Scandinavia, while the intense industrialization of China has given rise to air pollution which has begun to cause disease in the United States as well as closer to home.

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