Air, Water and Soil

Human activities release a variety of substances into the biosphere, many of which negatively affect the environment. Pollutants discharged into the environment can accumulate in the air, water, or soil. Chemicals discharged into the air that have a direct impact on the environment are called primary pollutants. These primary pollutants sometimes react with other chemicals in the air to produce secondary pollutants.

A wide variety of chemicals and organisms are discharged into lakes, rivers and oceans daily. Left untreated, this sewage and industrial waste has a serious impact on the water quality, not only in the immediate area, but also downstream.
The eight classes of air pollutants are:

• oxides of carbon,
• sulfur,
• nitrogen,
• volatile organic compounds,
• suspended particulate matter,
• photo-chemical oxidants,
• radioactive substances and
• hazardous air pollutants.

Oxides of carbon include carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2).

All these pollutants have some effect on the environment that we live in. Most of them are Toxic to human and animal life on this planet.

Yes, these pollutants do occur naturally in the environment and are essential for our survival, but what make them toxic, is the concentration of the elements that make them toxic. Like the saying goes "too much of a good thing is not always good for you" This is the case when these elements gets concentrated, the benefit becomes a threat to the environment.

We need to look at a better way of disposing of the concentrated elements that we as humans release back into the environment. Researchers are working on solving this exact problem. The question is, will the solution come too late?