Pollution & Environmental Health

What is pollution?

The introduction of harmful substances or contaminants into the environment, causing damage to ecosystems or human health

What is a point source of pollution?

Pollution that comes from a single, identifiable source, such as a factory smokestack or a pipe discharging into a river

What is a non-point source of pollution?

Pollution that comes from many diffuse sources rather than one identifiable point, such as runoff from farms, roads, or lawns across a wide area

What causes smog?

A combination of air pollutants, especially from vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions, reacting with sunlight to form ground-level ozone and particulate haze

What is acid rain?

Precipitation that has become abnormally acidic due to pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere, often from burning fossil fuels