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WaterPollutionTypes

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CausesofWaterPollution
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TypesofWaterPollution

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SOILPOLLUTIONinformationabout

Is your water safe to drink?

pollutedsoilanditseffectsonhumanhealth
Trichloroethylene

$49 Water Testing

AIRPOLLUTIONairandgascontamination
arethemostdangerousformofpollution
HeavyMetalPollution

Test your water now!

WATERPOLLUTIONhealthcanbe
seriouslyaffectedbyexistingpollutantsfrom
thewaterwedrinkdaily
HeavyMetalPollution

RADIATIONPOLLUTIONinformationon
themostcommonradiationcontaminants
HeavyMetalPollution

FOODPOLLUTIONalsoknownasfood
intoxication,foodpollutionhassevere
consequencesaffectingyourhealth
HeavyMetalPollution

CHEMICALPOLLUTIONlearnwhat
happenswhenchemicalwasteisillegalor
improperlydisposed
Perchloroethylene
Trichloroethane

EnvironmentalPollutionNews

TYPESOFWATERPOLLUTION
Therearevarioustypesofwaterpollutionbasedonthevariouscausesofwaterpollution.
Variousclassificationscanbemade,basedonvariouswaterpollutioncauses:
1.Thetypeofthewaterpollutantsbasedonthisclassificationcriteria,waterpollution
canbe:
I)Chemicalwhenvariouschemicalsarethewaterpollutioncauses.Thefollowing
chemicalsarethemostcommonwaterpollutants:
Crudeoilandvariouspetroleumproducts(includinggasoline,dieselfuel,kerosene,
motorandlubricatingoils,jetfuel).Thesecompoundsarelighterthanwaterandthus
alwayssitontopofwaterformingsheensoffreeproduct.However,partofthese

ARTICLES

June24th,2010BreakingNewsDangerfor
HumansfromPollutedSeafood
June20th,2010IssuesRaisedbyBPOilSpill
intheGulfofMexico
May27,2010UpdatesonBPspillinGulfof
Mexico:EnvironmentalMonitoring
May26,2010UpdatesonBPspillinGulfof
Mexico:Cleanupapproaches
May4,2010MassiveOilSpillintheGulfof
MexicoOneoftheWorstU.S.Ecological
Disasters
March10,2010NitrobenzeneMaybeListed
byCaliforniasEPAasKnowntoCause
ReproductiveToxicity
March9,2010PotentialWidespread
EnvironmentalDistributionofPerchloratea
ChemicalDisturbingThyroidFunction

compoundsdissolveinwaterand,eveninsmallamountsmaybeharmfulandatthe
sametimemayremainunnoticeablebytheeye.

March8,2010Lead(fromBullets)Pollutionof
LakeMichiganPointedoutbyaPetitionFilled
beforetheU.S.SupremeCourt

Fertilizers(includingnitratesandphosphates)whilesmallamountsareusefultolife,
higheramountsofnitratesandphosphatesinwaterareonlybenefictoalgaeand
harmfulmicroorganismsandarepoisonoustohumanandaquaticlife.These

March2,2009RegulatorsConcernedforAir
QualityaroundSchools
Readallenvironmentalpollutionarticles

contaminantscannotbeseenthemselvesinwater(astheydonotformsheensorcolor
thewater),buttheireffectscan.Thetypicaleffectofwaterpollutionbyfertilizers(usually
throughagriculturalrunoff)isthefastandabundantwatergrowth.
Chlorinatedsolvents(includingTCE,PCE,1,1,1TCA,carbontetrachloride,Freons)
whichsinkinwater(aredenserthanwater)andarequitepersistentandtoxic.These
compoundsthus,cannotbeseenbytheeye,incontrastwithpetroleumproductsthat
areeasilyseenassheensontopofwatersurface.
Petroleumsolvents(includingbenzene,toluene,xylenes,ethylbenzene)
Otherorganicsolventsandchemicals(suchasacetone,methylethylketone,alcohols
suchasethanol,isopropanoloroxygenatecompoundssuchasMTBE)
Antibioticsandotherpharmaceuticalproducts
Perchlorateperchloratesaltsareusedinrocketfuels,aswellasmanyother
applicationssuchasfireworks,explosives,roadflares,inflationbags,etc.This
contaminantisusuallyassociatedwithmilitarybases,constructionsites(when
explosivesareused).However,naturalformationinaridareasmayaccountfor
perchlorateinwater,too(e.g.,inChile,TexasorCaliforniawherenaturalformationof
perchloratehasbeenobserved)

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4/6/2016

WaterPollutionTypes
Trihalometanestheseareusuallybyproductsofwaterchlorinationandmaypollute
groundwaterandsurfacewatervialeakingsewerlinesanddischarges.Examplesof
suchcompoundsare:chloroform,bromoform,dichlorobromomethane
Metalsandtheircompoundsofhigherhealthriskaretheorganometalcompounds
whichmayformwhenmetalsfromwaterreactwithorganiccompoundsfromwater.
CommonexamplesincludeHg,As,andCrpoisoningofwater.Thus,ifwaterispolluted
withbothmetalsandorganiccompoundsthehealthriskishigher.Andsoistheeffectof
waterpollutiononaquaticlife.
Pesticides/insecticides/herbicidescomprisealargenumberofindividualchemicals
thatgetintowaterduetoagriculturalactivitiesdirectly(bysprayingoverlargeareas)or
indirectlywithagriculturerunoff.TheinsecticideDDTisatypicalexampleofsuchtype
ofwaterpollutant.
PCBsinspiteoftheirrecentban,theirubiquitousenvironmentalpresencemakes
thesecontaminantsusuallyassociatedwithurbanrunoffs.
II)Radiologicalwhenradioactivematerialsarethewaterpollutantcauses.Pleaseread
moreatRadiationPollution.
III)Biologicalwhenvariousmicroorganisms(e.g.,bacterialspeciesandviruses),worms,
and/oralgaeoccurringinalargenumberarethewaterpollutioncauses.Thistypeof
pollutioniscausedbydecayingorganicmaterialinwater,animalwastes,aswellas
improperdisposalofhumanwastes.
2.Thetype(grouping)ofthesourceofwaterpollutants:
Pointsourcesincludinganylocalizedsourcesuchasanindustrialprocess,mining
activity,etc.Thesesourcesareusuallyregulatedandthustheireffectmaybepredicted
andoflowimpact.However,anexceptionrelatedtoaccidentalleaksandspills.
Nonpointsourcesincludeunlocalizedsourcesfromwhichpollutantsarecarried
awaybywaterdischargesandrunoffs.Thus,nonpointpollutionmayinvolveabroad
rangeofpollutantsusuallyatloweramountsthanthepointsources

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