Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ILOILO
TIGBAUAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
TUPAN ST., TIGBAUAN, ILOILO

UNDERSTANDING POLLUTION
Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials In the past, visitors to Big Bend National Park in
into the environment. These harmful materials the U.S. state of Texas could see 290 kilometers
are called pollutants. Pollutants can be natural, (180 miles) across the vast landscape. Now,
such as volcanic ash. They can also be created coal-burning power plants in Texas and the
by human activity, such as trash or runoff neighboring state of Chihuahua, Mexico have
produced by factories. Pollutants damage the spewed so much pollution into the air that
quality of air, water, and land. visitors to Big Bend can sometimes see only 50
kilometers (30 miles).
Many things that are useful to people produce
pollution. Cars spew pollutants from their The three major types of pollution are air
exhaust pipes. Burning coal to create electricity pollution, water pollution, and land pollution.
pollutes the air. Industries and homes generate
garbage and sewage that can pollute the land Air Pollution
and water. Pesticides—chemical poisons used Sometimes, air pollution is visible. A person can
to kill weeds and insects—seep into waterways see dark smoke pour from the exhaust pipes of
and harm wildlife. large trucks or factories, for example. More
often, however, air pollution is invisible.
All living things—from one-celled microbes to
blue whales—depend on Earth’s supply of air Polluted air can be dangerous, even if the
and water. When these resources are polluted, pollutants are invisible. It can make people’s
all forms of life are threatened. eyes burn and make them have difficulty
breathing. It can also increase the risk of lung
Pollution is a global problem. Although urban cancer.
areas are usually more polluted than the
countryside, pollution can spread to remote Sometimes, air pollution kills quickly. In 1984,
places where no people live. For example, an accident at a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India,
pesticides and other chemicals have been released a deadly gas into the air. At least 8,000
found in the Antarctic ice sheet. In the middle of people died within days. Hundreds of
the northern Pacific Ocean, a huge collection of thousands more were permanently injured.
microscopic plastic particles forms what is
known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Natural disasters can also cause air pollution to
increase quickly. When volcanoes erupt, they
Air and water currents carry pollution. Ocean eject volcanic ash and gases into the
currents and migrating fish carry marine atmosphere. Volcanic ash can discolor the sky
pollutants far and wide. Winds can pick up for months. After the eruption of the Indonesian
radioactive material accidentally released from volcano of Krakatoa in 1883, ash darkened the
a nuclear reactor and scatter it around the sky around the world. The dimmer sky caused
world. Smoke from a factory in one country fewer crops to be harvested as far away as
drifts into another country. Europe and North America. For years,
meteorologists tracked what was known as the
“equatorial smoke stream.” In fact, this smoke

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ILOILO
TIGBAUAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
TUPAN ST., TIGBAUAN, ILOILO
stream was a jet stream, a wind high in Earth’s Smog makes breathing difficult, especially for
atmosphere that Krakatoa’s air pollution made children and older adults. Some cities that suffer
visible. from extreme smog issue air pollution
warnings. The government of Hong Kong, for
Volcanic gases, such as sulfur dioxide, can kill example, will warn people not to go outside or
nearby residents and make the soil infertile for engage in strenuous physical activity (such as
years. Mount Vesuvius, a volcano in Italy, running or swimming) when smog is very thick.
famously erupted in 79, killing hundreds of
residents of the nearby towns of Pompeii and
Herculaneum. Most victims of Vesuvius were When air pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and
not killed by lava or landslides caused by the sulfur dioxide mix with moisture, they change
eruption. They were choked, or asphyxiated, by into acids. They then fall back to earth as acid
deadly volcanic gases. rain. Wind often carries acid rain far from the
pollution source. Pollutants produced by
In 1986, a toxic cloud developed over Lake factories and power plants in Spain can fall as
Nyos, Cameroon. Lake Nyos sits in the crater of acid rain in Norway.
a volcano. Though the volcano did not erupt, it
did eject volcanic gases into the lake. The Acid rain can kill all the trees in a forest. It can
heated gases passed through the water of the also devastate lakes, streams, and other
lake and collected as a cloud that descended waterways. When lakes become acidic, fish
the slopes of the volcano and into nearby can’t survive. In Sweden, acid rain created
valleys. As the toxic cloud moved across the thousands of “dead lakes,” where fish no longer
landscape, it killed birds and other organisms live.
in their natural habitat. This air pollution also
killed thousands of cattle and as many as 1,700 Acid rain also wears away marble and other
people. kinds of stone. It has erased the words on
gravestones and damaged many historic
Most air pollution is not natural, however. It buildings and monuments. The Taj Mahal, in
comes from burning fossil fuels—coal, oil, and Agra, India, was once gleaming white. Years of
natural gas. When gasoline is burned to power exposure to acid rain has left it pale.
cars and trucks, it produces carbon monoxide,
a colorless, odorless gas. The gas is harmful in Governments have tried to prevent acid rain by
high concentrations, or amounts. City traffic limiting the amount of pollutants released into
produces highly concentrated carbon the air. In Europe and North America, they have
monoxide. had some success, but acid rain remains a
major problem in the developing world,
Cars and factories produce other common especially Asia.
pollutants, including nitrogen oxide, sulfur
dioxide, and hydrocarbons. These chemicals Greenhouse gases are another source of air
react with sunlight to produce smog, a thick fog pollution. Greenhouse gases such as carbon
or haze of air pollution. The smog is so thick in dioxide and methane occur naturally in the
Linfen, China, that people can seldom see the atmosphere. In fact, they are necessary for life
sun. Smog can be brown or grayish blue, on Earth. They absorb sunlight reflected from
depending on which pollutants are in it. Earth, preventing it from escaping into space.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ILOILO
TIGBAUAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
TUPAN ST., TIGBAUAN, ILOILO
By trapping heat in the atmosphere, they keep People and governments can respond quickly
Earth warm enough for people to live. This is and effectively to reduce air pollution.
called the greenhouse effect. Chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
are a dangerous form of air pollution that
But human activities such as burning fossil fuels governments worked to reduce in the 1980s and
and destroying forests have increased the 1990s. CFCs are found in gases that cool
amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. refrigerators, in foam products, and in aerosol
This has increased the greenhouse effect, and cans.
average temperatures across the globe are
rising. The decade that began in the year 2000 CFCs damage the ozone layer, a region in
was the warmest on record. This increase in Earth’s upper atmosphere. The ozone layer
worldwide average temperatures, caused in protects Earth by absorbing much of the sun’s
part by human activity, is called global harmful ultraviolet radiation. When people are
warming. exposed to more ultraviolet radiation, they are
more likely to develop skin cancer, eye
Global warming is causing ice sheets and diseases, and other illnesses.
glaciers to melt. The melting ice is causing sea
levels to rise at a rate of two millimeters (0.09 In the 1980s, scientists noticed that the ozone
inches) per year. The rising seas will eventually layer over Antarctica was thinning. This is often
flood low-lying coastal regions. Entire nations, called the “ozone hole.” No one lives
such as the islands of Maldives, are threatened permanently in Antarctica. But Australia, the
by this climate change. home of more than 22 million people, lies at the
edge of the hole. In the 1990s, the Australian
Global warming also contributes to the government began an effort to warn people of
phenomenon of ocean acidification. Ocean the dangers of too much sun. Many countries,
acidification is the process of ocean waters including the United States, now severely limit
absorbing more carbon dioxide from the the production of CFCs.
atmosphere. Fewer organisms can survive in
warmer, less salty waters. The ocean food web Water Pollution
is threatened as plants and animals such as Some polluted water looks muddy, smells bad,
coral fail to adapt to more acidic oceans. and has garbage floating in it. Some polluted
water looks clean, but is filled with harmful
Scientists have predicted that global warming chemicals you can’t see or smell.
will cause an increase in severe storms. It will
also cause more droughts in some regions and Polluted water is unsafe for drinking and
more flooding in others. swimming. Some people who drink polluted
water are exposed to hazardous chemicals that
The change in average temperatures is already may make them sick years later. Others
shrinking some habitats, the regions where consume bacteria and other tiny aquatic
plants and animals naturally live. Polar bears organisms that cause disease. The United
hunt seals from sea ice in the Arctic. The Nations estimates that 4,000 children die every
melting ice is forcing polar bears to travel day from drinking dirty water.
farther to find food, and their numbers are
shrinking.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ILOILO
TIGBAUAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
TUPAN ST., TIGBAUAN, ILOILO
Sometimes, polluted water harms people AMD dangerous sources of water for drinking
indirectly. They get sick because the fish that and hygiene.
live in polluted water are unsafe to eat. They
have too many pollutants in their flesh. Oil spills are another source of water pollution.
In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
There are some natural sources of water exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing oil to
pollution. Oil and natural gas, for example, can gush from the ocean floor. In the following
leak into oceans and lakes from natural months, hundreds of millions of gallons of oil
underground sources. These sites are called spewed into the gulf waters. The spill produced
petroleum seeps. The world’s largest petroleum large plumes of oil under the sea and an oil
seep is the Coal Oil Point Seep, off the coast of slick on the surface as large as 24,000 square
the U.S. state of California. The Coal Oil Point kilometers (9,100 square miles). The oil slick
Seep releases so much oil that tar balls wash up coated wetlands in the U.S. states of Louisiana
on nearby beaches. Tar balls are small, sticky and Mississippi, killing marsh plants and
pieces of pollution that eventually decompose aquatic organisms such as crabs and fish. Birds,
in the ocean. such as pelicans, became coated in oil and
were unable to fly or access food. More than
two million animals died as a result of the
Human activity also contributes to water Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
pollution. Chemicals and oils from factories are
sometimes dumped or seep into waterways. Buried chemical waste can also pollute water
These chemicals are called runoff. Chemicals in supplies. For many years, people disposed of
runoff can create a toxic environment for chemical wastes carelessly, not realizing its
aquatic life. Runoff can also help create a fertile dangers. In the 1970s, people living in the Love
environment for cyanobacteria, also called Canal area in Niagara Falls, New York, suffered
blue-green algae. Cyanobacteria reproduce from extremely high rates of cancer and birth
rapidly, creating a harmful algal bloom (HAB). defects. It was discovered that a chemical waste
Harmful algal blooms prevent organisms such dump had poisoned the area’s water. In 1978,
as plants and fish from living in the ocean. They 800 families living in Love Canal had to
are associated with “dead zones” in the world’s abandon their homes.
lakes and rivers, places where little life exists
below surface water. If not disposed of properly, radioactive waste
from nuclear power plants can escape into the
Mining and drilling can also contribute to water environment. Radioactive waste can harm living
pollution. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a major things and pollute the water.
contributor to pollution of rivers and streams
near coal mines. Acid helps miners remove coal Sewage that has not been properly treated is a
from the surrounding rocks. The acid is washed common source of water pollution. Many cities
into streams and rivers, where it reacts with around the world have poor sewage systems
rocks and sand. It releases chemical sulfur from and sewage treatment plants. Delhi, the capital
the rocks and sand, creating a river rich in of India, is home to more than 21 million people.
sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is toxic to plants, fish, More than half the sewage and other waste
and other aquatic organisms. Sulfuric acid is produced in the city are dumped into the
also toxic to people, making rivers polluted by Yamuna River. This pollution makes the river

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ILOILO
TIGBAUAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
TUPAN ST., TIGBAUAN, ILOILO
dangerous to use as a source of water for many ocean creatures. Chemical pollutants in
drinking or hygiene. It also reduces the river’s trash can also pollute the water, making it toxic
fishery, resulting in less food for the local for fish and people who use the river as a
community. source of drinking water. The fish that are
caught in a polluted river often have high levels
A major source of water pollution is fertilizer of chemical toxins in their flesh. People absorb
used in agriculture. Fertilizer is material added these toxins as they eat the fish.
to soil to make plants grow larger and faster.
Fertilizers usually contain large amounts of the Garbage also fouls the ocean. Many plastic
elements nitrogen and phosphorus, which help bottles and other pieces of trash are thrown
plants grow. Rainwater washes fertilizer into overboard from boats. The wind blows trash out
streams and lakes. There, the nitrogen and to sea. Ocean currents carry plastics and other
phosphorus cause cyanobacteria to form floating trash to certain places on the globe,
harmful algal blooms. where it cannot escape. The largest of these
areas, called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is
Rain washes other pollutants into streams and in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean. According
lakes. It picks up animal waste from cattle to some estimates, this garbage patch is the size
ranches. Cars drip oil onto the street, and rain of Texas. The trash is a threat to fish and
carries it into storm drains, which lead to seabirds, which mistake the plastic for food.
waterways such as rivers and seas. Rain Many of the plastics are covered with chemical
sometimes washes chemical pesticides off of pollutants.
plants and into streams. Pesticides can also
seep into groundwater, the water beneath the Land Pollution
surface of the Earth. Many of the same pollutants that foul the water
also harm the land. Mining sometimes leaves
Heat can pollute water. Power plants, for the soil contaminated with dangerous
example, produce a huge amount of heat. chemicals.
Power plants are often located on rivers so they
can use the water as a coolant. Cool water Pesticides and fertilizers from agricultural fields
circulates through the plant, absorbing heat. are blown by the wind. They can harm plants,
The heated water is then returned to the river. animals, and sometimes people. Some fruits and
Aquatic creatures are sensitive to changes in vegetables absorb the pesticides that help them
temperature. Some fish, for example, can only grow. When people consume the fruits and
live in cold water. Warmer river temperatures vegetables, the pesticides enter their bodies.
prevent fish eggs from hatching. Warmer river Some pesticides can cause cancer and other
water also contributes to harmful algal blooms. diseases.

Another type of water pollution is simple A pesticide called DDT

garbage. The Citarum River in Indonesia, for (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) was once
example, has so much garbage floating in it that commonly used to kill insects, especially
you cannot see the water. Floating trash makes mosquitoes. In many parts of the world,
the river difficult to fish in. Aquatic animals such mosquitoes carry a disease called malaria,
as fish and turtles mistake trash, such as plastic which kills a million people every year. Swiss
bags, for food. Plastic bags and twine can kill chemist Paul Hermann Muller was awarded the

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Tel No.: (033) 323-8217 | (033) 323 – 8223
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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ILOILO
TIGBAUAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
TUPAN ST., TIGBAUAN, ILOILO
Nobel Prize for his understanding of how DDT selling items found in the landfill. However, the
can control insects and other pests. DDT is landfill was not secure. Heavy rains caused a
responsible for reducing malaria in places such trash landslide, killing 218 people.
as Taiwan and Sri Lanka.
Sometimes, landfills are not completely sealed
In 1962, American biologist Rachel Carson off from the land around them. Pollutants from
wrote a book called Silent Spring, which the landfill leak into the earth in which they are
discussed the dangers of DDT. She argued that buried. Plants that grow in the earth may be
it could contribute to cancer in humans. She contaminated, and the herbivores that eat the
also explained how it was destroying bird eggs, plants also become contaminated. So do the
which caused the number of bald eagles, brown predators that consume the herbivores. This
pelicans, and ospreys to drop. In 1972, the process, where a chemical builds up in each
United States banned the use of DDT. Many level of the food web, is called
other countries also banned it. But DDT didn’t bioaccumulation.
disappear entirely. Today, many governments
support the use of DDT because it remains the Pollutants leaked from landfills also leak into
most effective way to combat malaria. local groundwater supplies. There, the aquatic
food web (from microscopic algae to fish to
Trash is another form of land pollution. Around predators such as sharks or eagles) can suffer
the world, paper, cans, glass jars, plastic from bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals.
products, and junked cars and appliances mar
the landscape. Litter makes it difficult for plants Some communities do not have adequate
and other producers in the food web to create garbage collection systems, and trash lines the
nutrients. Animals can die if they mistakenly eat side of roads. In other places, garbage washes
plastic. up on beaches. Kamilo Beach, in the U.S. state of
Hawai'i, is littered with plastic bags and bottles
Garbage often contains dangerous pollutants carried in by the tide. The trash is dangerous to
such as oils, chemicals, and ink. These ocean life and reduces economic activity in the
pollutants can leech into the soil and harm area. Tourism is Hawai'i’s largest industry.
plants, animals, and people. Polluted beaches discourage tourists from
investing in the area’s hotels, restaurants, and
Inefficient garbage collection systems recreational activities.
contribute to land pollution. Often, the garbage
is picked up and brought to a dump, or landfill. Some cities incinerate, or burn, their garbage.
Garbage is buried in landfills. Sometimes, Incinerating trash gets rid of it, but it can
communities produce so much garbage that release dangerous heavy metals and chemicals
their landfills are filling up. They are running into the air. So while trash incinerators can help
out of places to dump their trash. with the problem of land pollution, they
sometimes add to the problem of air pollution.
A massive landfill near Quezon City,
Philippines, was the site of a land pollution Reducing Pollution
tragedy in 2000. Hundreds of people lived on Around the world, people and governments are
the slopes of the Quezon City landfill. These making efforts to combat pollution. Recycling,
people made their living from recycling and for instance, is becoming more common. In

Address: Tupan St., Tigbauan, Iloilo

Tel No.: (033) 323-8217 | (033) 323 – 8223
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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ILOILO
TIGBAUAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
TUPAN ST., TIGBAUAN, ILOILO
recycling, trash is processed so its useful regions of the river where they once could not
materials can be used again. Glass, aluminum survive.
cans, and many types of plastic can be melted
and reused. Paper can be broken down and But even as some rivers are becoming cleaner,
turned into new paper. others are becoming more polluted. As
countries around the world become wealthier,
Recycling reduces the amount of garbage that some forms of pollution increase. Countries
ends up in landfills, incinerators, and with growing economies usually need more
waterways. Austria and Switzerland have the power plants, which produce more pollutants.
highest recycling rates. These nations recycle
between 50 and 60 percent of their garbage. Reducing pollution requires environmental,
The United States recycles about 30 percent of political, and economic leadership. Developed
its garbage. nations must work to reduce and recycle their
materials, while developing nations must work
Governments can combat pollution by passing to strengthen their economies without
laws that limit the amount and types of destroying the environment. Developed and
chemicals factories and agribusinesses are developing countries must work together
allowed to use. The smoke from coal-burning toward the common goal of protecting the
power plants can be filtered. People and environment for future use.
businesses that illegally dump pollutants into
the land, water, and air can be fined for millions Source:
of dollars. Some government programs, such as https://education.nationalgeographic.org/reso
the Superfund program in the United States, can urce/pollution
force polluters to clean up the sites they
polluted. ******************************************

International agreements can also reduce One of the most effective ways to prevent
pollution. The Kyoto Protocol, a United Nations climate change is to reduce greenhouse gas
agreement to limit the emission of greenhouse emissions. This can be done by increasing the
gases, has been signed by 191 countries. The use of renewable energy sources, such as solar,
United States, the world’s second-largest wind, and hydro power, and by implementing
producer of greenhouse gases, did not sign the energy efficiency measures. Additionally,
agreement. Other countries, such as China, the governments, businesses, and individuals can
world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, invest in research and development of new
have not met their goals. technologies that can help to reduce emissions,
such as carbon capture and storage.
Still, many gains have been made. In 1969, the
Cuyahoga River, in the U.S. state of Ohio, was so Another way to prevent climate change is by
clogged with oil and trash that it caught on fire. promoting sustainable transportation. This can
The fire helped spur the Clean Water Act of be done by investing in public transportation,
1972. This law limited what pollutants could be encouraging the use of electric vehicles, and
released into water and set standards for how promoting active transportation such as biking
clean water should be. Today, the Cuyahoga and walking. By reducing the number of
River is much cleaner. Fish have returned to

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ILOILO
TIGBAUAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
TUPAN ST., TIGBAUAN, ILOILO
vehicles on the road, it helps to decrease
emissions and improve air quality.

Another way to prevent climate change is

through reforestation, afforestation and
restoration of ecosystems. Trees and other
vegetation absorb carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere, helping to mitigate the effects of
climate change. Additionally, restoring
ecosystems can help to preserve biodiversity
and provide habitats for wildlife.

Lastly, individuals and governments can also

prevent climate change by adopting
sustainable consumption and production
patterns. This includes reducing the use of
single-use plastics, promoting environmentally-
friendly products, and supporting companies
that have sustainable practices. Additionally,
individuals can make conscious choices on their
diets, by reducing meat consumption which is a
major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
By changing consumption patterns, it can help
reduce emissions and decrease the demand for
goods and services that contribute to climate
change.

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