Basic Science JSS1 First Term

Week 8

Environmental pollution 2

Performance objectives:

1. Identify various pollutants and causes

Content

Causes of air pollution

1.Carbon dioxide from exhausts of motor vehicles.

2.Industrial processes like refineries, coal mines etc.

 

Consequences & Control Measures of Air Pollution

1. Carbon monoxide: In low concentration dizziness, headache, nausea, and tiredness are caused. If inhaled for a long period even in low concentration, causes brain damage, at a higher concentration, it can cause unconsciousness and eventually death. It reacts with haemoglobin in the blood preventing it from taking oxygen and forms carboxyhemoglobin, which can lead to death by suffocation.

• Sulphur Dioxide: It causes lung diseases in humans. It changes the green colour of plants’ leaves and corrodes metals.

• Nitrogen oxides: This causes lung irritation, suffocation, a disease in plants, and corrosion of metallic objects.

• Hydrogen sulphide: It has a rotten egg smell which is irritating and can cause suffocation to humans.

• Dust: This can cause injury to the eyes, noses and ears.

• Smoke: This causes injury to the lung of the respiratory tracts and discomfort to man. Smoke from cigarettes causes lung cancer, asthma, and chronic bronchitis. It also causes eye irritation, respiratory ailment, and nausea.

• Radioactive: Radioactive rays are very dangerous to health and can destroy genes.

Sources of Soil Pollution

Soil pollutants are the waste materials that affect the quality of our soil.

These are:

1. Agricultural pollutants: When farmers clear land for growing crops, the soil is exposed to the weather. In a drier climate, the soil dries out and the wind easily carries it away. Also in areas where the soil is exposed to rapidly flowing water, large amounts of soil can be carried away quickly. it also includes the excessive use of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.

2. Chemical pollutants: These are industrial wastes and chemicals deposited on the soil such as lead compounds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. These are harmful to the soil when they are in excess.

3. Non-biodegradable materials: These are materials that are not capable of being broken down by the action of living things. They are dangerous to the soil e.g plastics, nylon, bottles, etc.

4. Irrigation: In a very dry land, irrigation can poison the soil by dissolving the salt which is left after water evaporation on the topsoil. Most plants cannot grow in topsoil that contains too much salt.

Effects & Control of Soil Pollution

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1. Soil pollutants reduce nutrients values in the soil.
2. Soil pollutants will hinder the provision of habitats, nourishment, and protection for plants and animals, i.e it will kill soil organisms.
3. Soil pollutants will lead to poor yield.
4. The economy of a country like Nigeria will not grow because the exportation of cocoa is still in progress.
5. Farmers will not be able to earn their living because they won’t have enough farm products for sale.
6. Discarded materials make the land/environment untidy, unattractive, and unsafe for human beings.

Control of Soil Pollution

1. Recycling non-biodegradable materials helps to reduce the need for raw materials.
2. Manufacturers can reuse materials to make new products.
3. Old plastics should be recycled to make new ones.
4. Waste materials can be properly disposed of, by controlled burning.
5. Regular environmental sanitation should be encouraged in all the states of the federation.

Causes of Water Pollution

 

 

Water pollution is the introduction of chemical, biological and physical matter into large bodies of water that degrade the quality of life that lives in it and consumes it. Wastes from domestic, industrial and agricultural activities are major sources of water pollution.

When water loses its natural, physical properties and becomes coloured with offensive odour and bad taste, the water is said to be polluted. It could be directly or indirectly discharged into water. Wastes from homes that can cause pollution are called domestic wastes while those from industries are called industrial waste.

	Domestics waste	Industrial waste
1.	Soaps and detergents used in washing clothes, plates, and cars	Acids from agricultural processing e.g cassava (cyanic acid)
2	Vegetable oil, kerosene, and engine oil	Oil spillage from broken pipelines to water
3.	Dumping of animal wastes at the riverbank	Chemical compounds such as lead, sulphide, fertilizer