Main forms of pollution - Quick overview

First of all, I would like to point out that is impossible to list all forms of pollution, so throughout this article I will only list major forms of pollution. I'll start with the most talked about form of pollution - air pollution.

Air pollution refers to introduction of different contaminants into the atmosphere that cause damage to living organisms and environment. It is also important to mention that when talking about air pollution we must not only focus on outdoor air pollution but also on indoor air pollution because indoor air pollution has lately become serious issue, especially in modernized countries. Air pollution is cause for many deaths around the globe, in US alone air pollution is responsible for about 4 percent of deaths.

Water pollution refers to any contamination of water bodies, and it occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds. Water pollution is believed to be the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, on global level responsible for the deaths of more than 14,000 people per day. Water pollution is especially serious issue in China and India.

Noise pollution refers to any disruptive sound that harms the balance of human or animal life. There are variety of different sounds that can cause noise pollution such as car alarms, emergency service sirens, mechanical equipment, fireworks, compressed air horns, groundskeeping equipment, barking dogs, loud appliances, audio entertainment systems, electric megaphones, and even loud people.

Light pollution can be also categorized as the major form of pollution, and refers to any excessive or obtrusive artificial light. Light pollution, like any other form of pollution, damages environment and has adverse health effects. Light pollution is most severe in highly industrialized, densely populated cities of North America, Europe, and Japan.

Relatively unknown but widely spread form of pollution is visual pollution. Visual pollution refers to introduction of visually unattractive elements into certain landscape, so this in fact more an aesthetic issue than the actual source of damage. Yet, despite its aesthetic character visual pollution has been accepted my most categorization as one of the main forms of pollution.