One of the major threats that our environment is facing today is environmental pollution, increasing with every passing year and causing grave and irreparable damage to the atmosphere. The mechanization of society, the urbanization, introduction of motorized vehicles, and the explosion of the human population have caused an exponential growth in the increase of waste by-products. The indiscriminate discharge of untreated industrial and domestic wastes into waterways, the "throwaway" attitude towards thousands of tons of solid wastes and other particulates into the atmosphere have resulted in major environmental disasters.

What is Environmental Pollution?

Environmental pollution is any discharge of material or energy into water, land, or air that causes or may cause acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term) detriment to the Earth's ecological balance or that lowers the quality of life in the environment.

OR

Environmental pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a habitat that causes harm, instability, disorder or discomfort to the living organisms in the habitat.

Pollutants:

Pollutants can be classified as primary or secondary.

Primary pollutants are substances that are directly emitted into the atmosphere from sources. The main primary pollutants known to cause harm in high enough concentrations are the following:
• Carbon compounds, such as CO, CO2, CH4,
• Nitrogen compounds, such as NO, N2O, and NH3
• Sulfur compounds, such as H2S and SO2
Halogen compounds, such as chlorides, fluorides, and bromides
• Particulate Matter either in solid or liquid form.
Secondary pollutants are not directly emitted from sources, but instead form in the atmosphere from primary pollutants (also called “precursors”). The main secondary pollutants known to cause harm in high enough concentrations are the following:
• NO2 and HNO3 formed from NO
• Ozone (O3) formed from photochemical reactions of nitrogen oxides
• Sulfuric acid droplets formed from SO2, and nitric acid droplets formed from NO2
• Sulfates and nitrates aerosols