Surface runoff, also called nonpoint source pollution, from a farm field in Iowa, the United States during a rainstorm. Topsoil, as well as farm fertilizers and other potential pollutants, runoff unprotected farm fields when heavy rains occur.
Part of a series on
Pollution
Air pollution from a factory
Air
Air quality index
Atmospheric dispersion modeling
Chlorofluorocarbon
Combustion
Exhaust gas
Haze
Global dimming
Global distillation
Indoor air quality
Ozone depletion
Particulates
Persistent organic pollutant
Smog
Soot
Volatile organic compound
Waste
Biological
Biological hazard
Genetic
Introduced species
Invasive species
Digital
Information
Electromagnetic
Light
Ecological
Overillumination
Radio spectrum
Natural
Ozone
Radium and radon in the environment
Volcanic ash
Wildfire
Noise
Transportation
Health effects from noise
Marine mammals and sonar
Noise barrier
Noise control
Soundproofing
Radiation
Actinides
Bioremediation
Depleted uranium
Nuclear fission
Nuclear fallout
Plutonium
Poisoning
Radioactivity
Uranium
Radioactive waste
Soil
Agricultural
Land degradation
Bioremediation
Defecation
Electrical resistance heating
Soil guideline values
Phytoremediation
Solid waste
Advertising mail
Biodegradable waste
Brown waste
Electronic waste
Foam food container
Food waste
Green waste
Hazardous waste
Industrial waste
Litter
Mining
Municipal solid waste
Nanomaterials
Plastic
Packaging waste
Post-consumer waste
Waste management
Space
Space debris
Thermal
Urban heat island
Visual
Air travel
Advertising clutter
Overhead power lines
Traffic signs
Vandalism
War
Chemical warfare
Herbicidal warfare
Agent Orange
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear fallout
Nuclear famine
Nuclear winter
Scorched earth
Unexploded ordnance
War and environmental law
Water
Agricultural wastewater
Biosolids
Diseases
Eutrophication
Firewater
Freshwater
Groundwater
Hypoxia
Industrial wastewater
Marine
Monitoring
Nonpoint source
Nutrient
Ocean acidification
Oil spill
Pharmaceuticals
Freshwater salinization
Septic tanks
Sewage
Shipping
Sludge
Stagnation
Sulfur water
Surface runoff
Turbidity
Urban runoff
Water quality
Wastewater
Topics
History
Pollutants
Heavy metals
Paint
Misc
Area source
Debris
Dust
Garbology
Legacy
Midden
Point source
Waste
Lists
Diseases
Law by country
Most polluted cities
Least polluted cities by PM2.5
Treaties
Categories
By country
Environment portal
Ecology portal
v
t
e
A pollutant or novel entity[1] is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oil) or anthropogenic in origin (i.e. manufactured materials or byproducts). Pollutants result in environmental pollution or become public health concerns when they reach a concentration high enough to have significant negative impacts.
A pollutant may cause long- or short-term damage by changing the growth rate of plant or animal species, or by interfering with resources used by humans, human health or wellbeing, or property values. Some pollutants are biodegradable and therefore will not persist in the environment in the long term. However, the degradation products of some pollutants are themselves polluting such as the products DDE and DDD produced from the degradation of DDT.
Pollution has widespread negative impacts on the environment.[1] When analyzed from a planetary boundaries perspective, human society has released novel entities that well exceed safe levels.[1]
^ abcPersson L, Carney Almroth BM, Collins CD, Cornell S, de Wit CA, Diamond ML, et al. (February 2022). "Outside the Safe Operating Space of the Planetary Boundary for Novel Entities". Environmental Science & Technology. 56 (3): 1510–1521. Bibcode:2022EnST...56.1510P. doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c04158. PMC 8811958. PMID 35038861.
A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of...
is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances called pollutants in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living...
substances such as oil, metals, plastics, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, and industrial waste products. Another is stressful conditions such as...
Air Pollution Index, and Singapore's Pollutant Standards Index. Computation of the AQI requires an air pollutant concentration over a specified averaging...
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that are resistant to degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. They...
The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) is a Pollutant Release and Transfer Register providing access to information on the annual...
Legacy pollution or legacy pollutants are persistent materials in the environment that were created through a polluting industry or process that have polluting...
Atmospheric dispersion modeling is the mathematical simulation of how air pollutants disperse in the ambient atmosphere. It is performed with computer programs...
A conventional pollutant is a term used in the USA to describe a water pollutant that is amenable to treatment by a municipal sewage treatment plant....
Air pollutant concentrations, as measured or as calculated by air pollution dispersion modeling, must often be converted or corrected to be expressed...
impaired learning in schools. Common pollutants of indoor air include: secondhand tobacco smoke, air pollutants from indoor combustion, radon, molds and...
The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) is a type of air quality index used in Singapore, which is a number used to indicate the level of pollutants in air...
pronounced /ˈnæks/ naks) are limits on atmospheric concentration of six pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, and other health hazards. Established by the...
liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies...
promulgated regulations limiting the allowable concentrations of gaseous pollutants in the ambient air or in emissions to the ambient air. Such regulations...
health impact of a pollutant source. Intake fraction is the ratio of the mass of a pollutant inhaled or ingested to the mass of the pollutant emitted. Traditionally...
The AP 42 Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors is a compilation of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s emission factor information...
The term environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutants (EPPP) was first suggested in the nomination in 2010 of pharmaceuticals and environment as...
Measures of pollutant concentration are used to determine risk assessment in public health. Industry is continually synthesizing new chemicals, the regulation...
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental treaty, signed on 22 May 2001 in Stockholm and effective from 17...
The National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) is a database of Australian pollution emissions managed by the Australian Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments...
Dutch Standards are environmental pollutant reference values (i.e., concentrations in environmental media) used in environmental remediation, investigation...
pollutant uptake by the respiratory system can determine how the resulting exposure contributes to the dose. In this way, the mechanism of pollutant uptake...
The National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) are air pollution standards issued by the United States Environmental Protection...
plastics industry and in consumer products, industrial by-products and pollutants, heavy metals and even some naturally produced botanical chemicals. Some...
and established the current definition. The CWA introduced the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), a permit system for regulating point...
Sulfolane (also tetramethylene sulfone, systematic name: 1λ6-thiolane-1,1-dione) is an organosulfur compound, formally a cyclic sulfone, with the formula...
A pollutant release and transfer register (PRTR) is a system for collecting and disseminating information about environmental releases and transfers of...
Global Information
