Major Atmospheric Pollutants

Atmospheric pollutants are substances that build up in the air to the point where they are harmful to living organisms or materials exposed to the air. Smoke, smog, and gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen and sulphur oxides, and hydrocarbon fumes are examples of common air pollutants. While gaseous pollutants are generally imperceptible, solid or liquid pollutants in smoke and smog are readily visible. 

When sulfuric and nitric acid combine with atmospheric moisture, they produce sulfuric and nitric acid, which is a particularly noxious form of air pollution. When acids are carried to Earth in the form of acid rain, they cause damage to lakes, rivers, vegetation, buildings, and other objects. Damage may occur far from pollution sources because sulphur and nitrogen oxides can travel long distances in the atmosphere before being removed by precipitation.

What are atmospheric pollutants?

Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of chemical and biological processes that occur in natural settings. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to eliminate pollution at its source. It is the study of the origins, interactions, movement, impacts, and destinies of chemical species in the air, soil, and water environments, as well as the impact of human and biological activities on these. Environmental chemistry is an interdisciplinary discipline that includes atmospheric, aquatic, and soil chemistry, as well as analytical chemistry and links to other fields of study. 

Environmental chemists use a variety of ideas from chemistry and other environmental disciplines to aid in their research of what is happening to a chemical species in the environment. Understanding chemical processes and equations, solutions, units, sampling, and analytical methods are all critical topics in general chemistry.

Types of pollutants

1. Soil Pollutants: Some soil pollutants include cadmium, chromium, copper, zinc, or mercury, pesticides or herbicides, organic chemicals, oils and tars, explosive or toxic gases, combustible or radioactive materials, biologically active compounds, and asbestos. They reduce crop yield by contaminating the farm soil. 

The following are the causes of soil pollution: 

• As a result of poor agricultural practises
• Landfill Leakage Industrial Waste Material
• Household Waste Material
• Garbage dumping in open areas is a result of a lack of sewage treatment plants.

2. Air Pollutants: Ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, and lead are examples of air pollutants. These are the most dangerous pollutants, as they can endanger human life. Because of air pollutants, the atmospheric balance is being disrupted. 

The following that are the sources of air pollution: 

• Unacceptable industrial practises
• Inadequate transportation
• In factories, there is excessive shunting.
• Automobile fuel of poor quality
• Vehicle density is high.
• Use of low-quality combustion fuel
• Waste material from factories containing dangerous chemicals is dumped into the environment. Poor resource management, such as the use of useful gases present in the atmosphere.

3. Water Pollutants: Mercury, nitrates, phosphorus, and bacterial pollution are examples of water pollutants. The level of water pollutants is rising on a daily basis. 

The following are the sources of water pollution: 

• Poor filtering techniques
• Leakage in sewage treatment plants
• Dumping of waste without permission
• Accumulation of water There is no use of rainwater; it accumulates here and there and eventually becomes a major source of water pollution. 
• There is no cleaning of tanks where water is stored for household purposes.
• Rivers are polluted by waste, which gives rise to bacteria.

4. Noise Pollutants: A noise pollutant is any unwanted sound that causes an imbalance in the atmosphere or human environment. 

Noise pollution is caused by the following factors: 

• The Sound in industries and the planes and the trains and the boats
• The Increasing vehicle traffic
• The Loud music and other unwelcome sounds in the home

Major sources of atmospheric pollutants

• Carbon monoxide: Carbon monoxide is emitted into the atmosphere as a result of incomplete combustion of fuels in vehicles, fireplaces, and various industries.

• Carbon dioxide: Carbon dioxide, a naturally occurring gas in the atmosphere, is required by plants. It is released into the atmosphere as a result of the combustion of fuels in homes and factories.

• Sulfur dioxide: Sulfur dioxide is a common pollutant produced when sulphur-containing coal and petroleum are burned.

• Sulfur trioxide: Sulfur trioxide is formed in the atmosphere when SO2 is oxidised in the presence of sunlight.

• Nitrogen oxides: Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are the most significant air pollutants among nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere. The primary source of nitrogen oxides is the combustion of fossil fuels in automobiles and thermal power plants.

Conclusion 

Atmospheric pollutants are substances that build up in the air to the point where they are harmful to living organisms or materials exposed to the air. It is the study of the origins, interactions, movement, impacts, and destinies of chemical species in the air, soil, and water environments, as well as the impact of human and biological activities on these. Environmental chemists use a variety of ideas from chemistry and other environmental disciplines to aid in their research of what is happening to a chemical species in the environment. Carbon monoxide is emitted into the atmosphere as a result of incomplete combustion of fuels in vehicles, fireplaces, and various industries. It is released into the atmosphere as a result of the combustion of fuels in homes and factories.