What is the definition of pollution ?
Answer:
ummm when you throw trash anywhere in the envirement and leave it there. you should always throw trash away in a trash can. Keep the world clean and healthy!
Main Entry: pol·lu·tion
Pronunciation: \pə-ˈlü-shən\
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1: the action of polluting especially by environmental contamination with man-made waste; also : the condition of being polluted
2: pollutant
Any materials or byproducts produced by humans or through human activity which have an impact on the aesthetics or ecological viability of a biosphere or any portion thereof.
1. contaminate the natural environment
2. corrupt or defile
Pollution of the Earth is the non-decomposing of substances that release its chemical properties into the Earth's soil and water making them poisonous or tainted and unsafe.
Air pollution is the decomposing of pure air quality making it unfit for breathing.
Oil spills, cars that run on gas, refineries, and factoies.
Pollution is the introduction of substances or energy into the environment, resulting in deleterious effects of such a nature as to endanger human health, harm living resources and ecosystems, and impair or interfere with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment. The major forms of pollution include:
Air pollution, the release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere. Common examples include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles. Photochemical ozone and smog are created as nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react to sunlight.
Water pollution via surface runoff and leaching to groundwater.
Soil contamination occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground storage tank leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Radioactive contamination, added in the wake of 20th-century discoveries in atomic physics. (See alpha emitters and actinides in the environment.)
Noise pollution, which encompasses roadway noise, aircraft noise, industrial noise as well as high-intensity sonar.
Light pollution, includes light trespass, over-illumination and astronomical interference.
Visual pollution, which can refer to the presence of overhead power lines, motorway billboards, scarred landforms (as from strip mining), open storage of trash or municipal solid waste.
Thermal Pollution, is a temperature change in natural water bodies caused by human influence
Take your pick!
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
1. the act of polluting or the state of being polluted.
2. the introduction of harmful substances or products into the environment: air pollution.
American Heritage Dictionary
1. The act or process of polluting or the state of being polluted, especially the contamination of soil, water, or the atmosphere by the discharge of harmful substances.
2. Something that pollutes; a pollutant or a group of pollutants: Pollution in the air reduced the visibility near the airport.
Online Etymology Dictionary
"desecration, defilement" (1382), from L.L. pollutionem (nom. pollutio) "defilement," from L. polluere "to soil, defile, contaminate," from por- "before" + -luere "smear," related to lutum "mud," and to lues "filth" (cf. Gk. lyma "filth, dirt, disgrace," lymax "rubbish, refuse," O.Ir. loth "mud, dirt," Lith. lutynas "pool, puddle"). Sense of "contamination of the environment" first recorded c.1860, but not common until c.1955. Pollute (v.) is attested from c.1380 in sense "defile," from L. pollutus, pp. of polluere. Meaning "contaminate the environment" first recorded 1954. Pollutant is from 1892.
WordNet
noun
1. undesirable state of the natural environment being contaminated with harmful substances as a consequence of human activities
2. the state of being polluted [syn: befoulment]
3. the act of contaminating or polluting; including (either intentionally or accidentally) unwanted substances or factors [syn: contamination] [ant: decontamination]
The American Heritage Science Dictionary
The contamination of air, water, or soil by substances that are harmful to living organisms. Pollution can occur naturally, for example through volcanic eruptions, or as the result of human activities, such as the spilling of oil or disposal of industrial waste. ◇ Light from cities and towns at night that interferes with astronomical observations is known as light pollution. It can also disturb natural rhythms of growth in plants and other organisms. ◇ Continuous noise that is loud enough to be annoying or physically harmful is known as noise pollution. ◇ Heat from hot water that is discharged from a factory into a river or lake, where it can kill or endanger aquatic life, is known as thermal pollution.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary
1. The act or process of polluting or the state of being polluted, especially the contamination of soil, water, or the atmosphere by the discharge of harmful substances.
2. A pollutant or a group of pollutants.
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary
Function: noun
1 : the action of polluting or the condition of being polluted
2 : POLLUTANT
U.S.A
So many quotes from dictionaries leading to utter confusion and misunderstanding. The problem with "pollution" is that it is understood in so many different ways. Some people think pollution is the same as contamination but it is not. Scientifically just about everything is contaminated meaning that it is not a pure chemical or pure substance but is a mix of desirable and undesirable components. When you barbeque a beefburger you actually form toxic and harmful substances on the surface by burning some of the fat. Ironically, this mixture of burnt fat and protein is what makes it taste so good and people continue to eat and enjoy such "contaminated" food without coming to harm. It really all a question of degree. Small quantities of contamination in air, water, soil, food are inevitable. There is only one chemical known which is 100% man-made and not naturally occurring. That is PCB or polychorinated biphenyl. Everything else occurrs naturally and we are exposed to "harmful" chemicals all day every day. Now some of us are more resistant to exposure than others in the same way as some of us are genetically more susceptible to disease than others. There is therefore no single level or quantity where something is 100% safe. There is always a risk. Pollution is considered to be a level of contamination which significantly increases that risk to the extent that "normal" life is obstructed.
Take the example of dissolved oxygen levels in fresh water - streams, lakes etc. Water is saturated with oxygen at about 10 mg/l. It varies with temperature but we can take 10 as a benchmark figure. Once a stream has formed, there will always be some contamination with substances which consume the dissolved oxygen so many streams and rivers actually balance out at 6 to 8 mg/l. As oxygen is consumed by the contamination, more oxygen is dissolved from the air to maintain normal aquatic life. Fish and other organisms can mostly tolerate oxygen levels down to 6 easily and down to 4 with some difficulty. When the oxygen level falls below 4 then some species do not do well and if it drops to less than 1 then only a few species can survive. Therefore in general terms we would tolerate an actual level of 6+ mg/l in a river and call it unpolluted but we would be concerned at <6 mg/l and would call that water polluted.
Same goes for air quality, soil quality and so on and so forth.
Pollution is a harmful change in the natural environment caused by human activities. (now add some examples of your own choice; e.g. oil spillage at sea (Sea Empress), fertilizer run off into rivers.
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