Causes of Pollution

The ultimate cause of pollution is human activity itself. Pollution is a human contribution to nature. Science has evolved technologies and technologies have helped the human welfare. In the process, the pollution has been a part of technology and therefore a part of human miseries.

Human activities mainly include:

• Industries for various human needs - directly and indirectly

• Agriculture for food production and industrial needs

• Health care for health of human beings and animals

• Transport for mobility of human beings

• Dwelling for settlement in city or villages

• Energy for various direct human needs and industrial needs.

All of them contribute to pollution in one way or other and therefore cause miseries. All of them are aimed to be part of human welfare programmes. Along with welfare, all of them have brought the maladies of pollution.

Each one is discussed in detail as below. The pollutant (a material causing pollution) may greatly differ and dimension of problem may also greatly differ in such causes.

Industries

A vast array of industries can cause pollution contrary to popular perception that only a chemical industry can cause pollution. The nature and intensity of pollution may be different in different industry. In some industries, the pollution is out rightly visible and substantial. In others, it may be invisible, indirect or negligible. In such a broad sense, no industry is free of pollution. Classified list of industries causing different types of pollution is presented in table.

Type of industries	Type of pollution
Manufacture of chemicals, pesticides, medicines	Water pollution, air pollution
Manufacture of gases	Air pollution
Cement, steel and other mine based industries	Air pollution and solid wastes, noise pollution
Textile industries and their ancillaries	Water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution
Transport vehicle manufacturing	Solid wastes, noise pollution, air pollution
Petroleum based industries	Water pollution, air pollution
Forest dependent industries	Air pollution, solid wastes and sound pollution
Food industries	Water pollution, air pollution, food pollution
Paper industries	Water pollution, air pollution, solid wastes, sound pollution
Sugar industry	Water pollution, air pollution, solid wastes
Brick industry	Air pollution, water pollution
Aircraft industry	Solid wastes, water pollution, air pollution
Electrical appliances and electric goods industries	Solid wastes, air pollution
IT based industries	Air pollution
Telecom industries	Solid wastes and air pollution

 

Although all these industries have potentiality to generate pollutants in the environment. Some of them cause serious pollution then others. They are

• Chemicals, pesticides, medicines manufacturing industries

• Cement, steel industries

• Textile manufacturing and processing industries

• Petroleum based industries

• Paper industries

• Sugar industries

• Food industries

All industries other than above cause relatively lesser pollution and are less dangerous than above industries.

Most of these industries are established as core industries for progress of human society. Hence, it is undisputable that they have to exist for human existence and development. The only disputable point is how they have to be managed to make them free of pollution. The cause of pollution - in many situations - is not the industry itself, but the technology adopted by such industry. As the scientific research progresses, new technologies for industries are added. New technologies to minimise the pollution are also generated in every industry. How far these technologies are adopted will decide the nature and extent of pollution.