FACULTY OD NATURAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS AND

EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

MOSTAR

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

Student: Professor:

Tedi Penjak doc.dr.sc.Milea Ajduk Kurtovic

Mostar, january 2023.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1

1 AIR POLLUTION...............................................................................................................2

1.1 Sources of air pollution................................................................................................3

2 WATER POLLUTION........................................................................................................3

2.1 Consequences of water pollution.................................................................................4

2.2 Acid rain.......................................................................................................................5

2.3 Water protection...........................................................................................................5

3 SOIL POLLUTION.............................................................................................................6

4 WASTE POLLUTION........................................................................................................6

4.1 Types of waste..............................................................................................................7

4.2 Handling with waste.....................................................................................................8

CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................9

LITERATURE..........................................................................................................................10
INTRODUCTION

Pollution (lat. contaminatio) means contamination of the body, objects, clothes and
footwear, foodstuffs, environmen with infectious germs and poisonsor radioactive substances,
heavy metals. Man endangers and pollutes the soil, air and water with his actions. Pollution
can cause illness and even death (in chronic patients). Environmental pollution is one of the
biggest environmental problems today. The floor pollution refers to infectious germs, poisons,
radioactive substances, heavy metals, which they cause disastrous consequences for the living
conditions of plant and animal life and endanger them human health. Cities, villages, rivers,
seas are affected by this disaster that is us caused and are still causing. This is one of the
biggest flaws of the man of the latest age. People should pay more attention to nature before
it's too late, because unlike in the past the future has not been written yet and it depends only
on us how it will look like. Thanks to industrialization, we now have different types of
pollution.

The environment is polluted by various things such as:

o waste in nature (various garbage from our homes)

o oil spills from ships (which is increasingly common on the shores of the Adriatic Sea)
o disposal of old iron (washing machine, refrigerators, old bicycles...)
o light pollution (artificial lighting of the sky with poor artificial lighting)

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1 AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution harms human health and the environment. Emissions have decreased
significantly in Europe of numerous air pollutants over the past decades, leading to improved
quality air in the entire region. However, air pollutant concentrations are still too high and a
problem air quality has not been removed. A significant share of the European population
lives in areas, especially in cities, where air quality standards are exceeded: ozone pollution,
nitrogen dioxide and floating particles are serious threats to health. There are several countries
exceeded one or more limit values of emissions from 2010 by the big four air pollutants.
Therefore, reducing air pollution remains important.

Air pollution is a local, pan-European and global problem. Air pollutants released in one
country can reach other places through the atmosphere, where they can cause or contribute to
poor air quality.

Air pollution is harmful to our health. Shortens human life expectancy, on average,
more than eight months in all of Europe and for more than two years in the most polluted
cities and regions. The member states must comply with the quality standards as soon as
possible air of the European Union and reduce emissions of air pollutants.

Air pollution also harms our environment.

o Acidification decreased significantly between 1990 and 2010 in Europe areas with
sensitive ecosystems that have been exposed to acid deposition excessive amount of
sulfur and nitrogen.
o Eutrophication, a major environmental problem caused by the introduction of excess
nutrients into ecosystem, has not recorded similar progress. Areas with sensitive
ecosystems that are under the influence of excessive amounts of atmospheric nitrogen
were slightly reduced in the period from 1990 to 2010.
o Exposure to high concentrations of ozone causes damage to crops. A large number of
agricultural crops is exposed to ozone levels that exceed the European long-term goal
of the Union intended for the protection of vegetation. This especially applies to a
significant part agricultural areas, especially in the southern, central and eastern parts
of Europe.

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1.1 Sources of air pollution

There are many sources of pollutants in the atmosphere. They can be natural -
volcanoes, pollen and the like, or caused by human activities. In order to reduce pollution,
there is a whole series of national, regional and local measures aimed at improving air quality.

Today's economy is based on fossil fuels - oil, gas and coal, whose combustion
represents the most important source of human-caused pollution. By burning fossil fuels
today, most of the energy needed in industry, agriculture and our households is produced.

A very important source of pollution is transport, the volume of which is increasing the
fastest. Within the sector of transport, the largest increase is recorded in transport by private
cars, which is the most important source of pollutants in cities. The number of cars in cities is
constantly increasing, due to the growing number of urban populations, but also due to the
increase in the standard of living of citizens.

In addition, lifestyles are changing: in the last thirty years, the average distance from
house to workplace has doubled. More and more people are going to distant shopping places
to purchase centers, and the car is increasingly used in free time, for trips and leisure.

2 WATER POLLUTION

It is known that watercourses have the ability to self-purify or self-purify. Since when
there is a living world on Earth water was used and somewhat polluted by plant, animal and
human waste, so-called organic pollution. In the beginning, it had little effect on pollution
water, because organic waste was broken down by air, mainly into useful substances.
Therefore, nature was then capable of purifying those quantities of water by itself.

However, with the development of the human community, the increase in the number of
inhabitants and their concentration in large cities, the amount of organic waste water has
increased significantly. Their concentrated release into rivers prevented the process of self-
purification i natural biological purification. In addition, with the development of industry at
the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, man uses water more and more, and as
a result of industrial production, not only organic, but also chemical water pollution. Two
billion people in the world are deprived of basic sanitary units, and the problem is drinking

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water pollution does not only affect developing countries. World Health Organization
published the latest data indicating that this year alone, around 1.6 people will lose their lives
million people due to the consumption of polluted water, write. From diseases of polluted
water 4000 people die every day around the world, warned James Bertram, program
coordinator for water, sanitation and health at WHO.

2.1 Consequences of water pollution

The effects of water pollution are far-reaching and affect not only the environment, but
also human beings and animals. Water pollution affects our oceans, lakes, rivers and drinking
water, which becomes widespread and global issue mostly due to numerous diseases, health
problems and even of deaths that come from water pollution. Water is considered polluted
when discovered causative agents that caused the contamination.

The causes of water pollution are usually human factors, for example farmers who often
use chemicals to protect their crops, industrial processes that can produce toxic waste that
filters into the water, industrial accidents and sunken ships. In addition to the human factor,
there are also natural disasters as a cause of water pollution. For example, large ones, disasters
such as storms, earthquakes, acid rain, floods and volcanic eruptions are known to they can
disrupt the ecological system and pollute water. Garbage on land or in water is also a source
water pollution.

The effects of water pollution are numerous; the food we eat can be contaminated, then
infectious diseases such as cholera and typhoid which can be obtained from polluted water
etc... As a conclusion, we can say that water pollution has a huge impact on our environment
and health, and that it can also disturb the delicate balance between nature and man. That's
why undertake efforts on all fronts in order to prevent and eliminate water pollution on local
and global level.

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2.2 Acid rain

Acid rain is one of the main causes of forest dieback because sulfur dioxide, which is by
far the most harmful substance in the air, turns into sulfuric acid when combined with water
which has a devastating effect on the entire flora. Sulfuric acid has an extremely negative
effect effect especially on green plants because it disrupts the process of photosynthesis. This
has the consequence of damage to the leaves, which subsequently results in the death of the
forest.

In addition to plants, acid rain also seriously pollutes water, which drastically reduces
the Ph value, and the result is the disruption of the entire ecosystem, because a large reduction
in Ph values leads to the extinction of microorganisms, and it is clear that there is also a
drinking problem water.

2.3 Water protection

In order to effectively protect water from pollution, it is necessary to manage water

quality, it is necessary to monitor water pollution and do numerous other research activities,
planning and elimination of causes of water pollution. Water is a common good that, due to
its natural properties, cannot be owned by anyone. Water as a public good has special
protection of the Republic of Croatia. Therefore in the legal system

In the Republic of Croatia, water protection against pollution and contamination by the
following is ensured legal regulations and ordinances:

o Environmental Protection Act

o Water Law

The protection of surface and underground is also mentioned in the following laws:

o Law on Spatial Planning and Construction

o Law on Mining

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3 SOIL POLLUTION

The biggest polluter is agriculture, which is linked to the use of pesticides and
fertilizers. Pesticides are substances used to suppress or destroy various types of pests: insects,
weeds, birds, rodents etc. Numerous human intervention constantly threatens and pollutes this
layer with various waste materials and toxic substances substances such as chemicals,
pesticides, artificial fertilizers, uncontrolled municipal waste disposal, uncontrolled
urbanization of the area, etc. It works on land living nature; which participates in the creation
of soil or in its damage and pollution, as well as various human activities.

Land damage can be divided into several types:

o Land degradation is caused by the introduction of toxic substances during fertilization

and protection plants, and due to disturbance of soil structure and erosion.
o Destruction is more severe land damage, which occurs under the influence of
wastewater and solids waste (PET, PVC)
o Total land damage can be temporary (e.g. by construction of surface mines for
exploitation of mineral raw materials, waste dumps, camps, playgrounds, etc.) and
permanently (e.g. by building settlements, roads, water reservoirs, airports, etc.

Modern agriculture uses chemical agents - pesticides, to control plant diseases, pests and
weeds. Pesticides are difficult to dissolve in soil and water, where they reach by road soil
dusting. The soil is also polluted indirectly through acidic rain, which change the acidity of
the soil. Also, they are often used to irrigate arable land polluted, i.e. waste water, containing
toxic heavy metals, such as: copper, zinc, mercury, lead, strontium, cadmium, etc.

4 WASTE POLLUTION

Man and industry pollute the soil not only with chemical toxic substances but also with
disposal large quantities of bulky waste - from packaging to bulky communal waste: old
refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, cars, car tires, tin cans, plastic bags, bottles and
the like. Through slow decomposition, this waste remains in the human environment for a
long time, and increasing new amounts of waste reduce the available surfaces soil. The term
garbage is often used as a synonym for waste, which is used to denote and mix things up

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waste from household, industry, etc. In the layman's sense, the term waste is understood as
everything that is used in a certain activity appears as a worthless by-product. According to
the Waste Act, objects and things belonging to a natural or legal person are considered waste
rejected, intends or must reject them. That definition is not complete and should be changed
so that it refers only to substances and/or objects, which are accurately classified in a special
catalog waste.

Differences in the amount of technological waste are many times greater in favor of
industrially developed ones countries. The annual amount of industrial waste in more
developed countries amounts to several hundreds of tons per inhabitant, and in undeveloped
areas they can be even less than the municipal amount waste.

4.1 Types of waste

According to the place of origin, they differ:

o municipal waste: generated in the household (similar generated in the economy

andinstitutions) and cleaning public areas;
o technological waste: which is generated in production processes, and according to its
composition and properties differs from municipal waste.

According to its properties, waste can be:

o hazardous waste: which has the following properties: explosiveness, reactivity,

flammability, corrosiveness, irritation, harmfulness, toxicity, infectivity,
carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and the property of releasing toxic gases. Hazardous
waste is considered any waste that contains more than 0.1% carcinogenic or more than
1% toxic component;
o inert waste: which contains almost no substances that are subject to physical, chemical
and biological decomposition, so they do not endanger the environment.

Waste can be useful waste from which we obtain secondary raw materials that we can
recycle and reuse (eg metals, plastics, glass, paper). Organic residues can be humified
(recycled into fertilizer) and fuel can be used to burn. The opposite is useless waste. In any
case, it is made up of waste that they do not use, and often it is all waste due to the lack of

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processing and selection. Part of the industrial pa i hospital waste unfortunately also ends up
in municipal landfills. Hence that one waste can be hazardous. Most of municipal waste, or
about 75%, consists of combustible household waste: food, paper and plastic. The remaining
25% are non-combustible and difficult to decompose metals, glass, ceramics and ash.

4.2 Handling with waste

The basic goals of waste management are:

o avoiding and reducing the generation of waste and reducing its hazardous waste
properties;
o preventing handling of waste without supervision;
o exploitation of valuable properties and its processing before disposal;
o disposal of waste at landfills, remediation of waste-contaminated surfaces.

In order to reduce the amount of waste, it is recommended to encourage and teach citizens to
they compost their own part of the organic waste. So they can produce their own quality
compost, without significant investment in equipment, with minimal own work.

Waste disposal is an inevitable link in any waste disposal system, and sometimes the
only one. The technique of waste disposal has developed very rapidly in the last ten years. EU
members accepted the regulation on the construction of permanent waste disposal sites in
1994, and a new o regulation on waste disposal is being prepared. It will limit the disposal of
waste containing more of 5% carbon of organic origin. The waste that is disposed of is very
active. By process decomposition of the organic part creates landfill gas, and when waste
comes into contact with water, they are formed seepage water.

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CONCLUSION

The origin of the Earth and life on it, and the maintenance of the development of flora
and fauna to the present day it is conditioned by the use of energy and the existence of the
atmosphere. Man with his activities and persistently pollutes the environment (soil, water, air,
noise, etc.). Every day there are more and more inhabitants. Also, he has not yet perfected
recovery techniques and does not know how to deal with environmental disasters. Only some
ecological disasters are indicators that nature is suffering irreversibly and thus destroys
people. Since "dangerous" sources of energy such as oil, gas and nuclear reaction meet most
of the energy needs, the suffering of the environment seems inevitable as long as does not
increase the share of energy obtained from the sun, wind and liquid water. If the path of
destruction continues, animals and plants will not be the only ones who will have a hard time
surviving it, but future generations will remember us as the generation that started the total
decline our environment.

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LITERATURE

1. Eban S. Goodstein - Economy and environment

2. Nevenka Herceg, Svjetlana Stanić, Mario Šiljeg - Man and the environment
3. International journal – Enviromental pollution
4. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/pollution

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