CONTAMINATE according to the RAE means: “to alter noxiously the purity or normal conditions of a thing or a medium by chemical or physical agents”. When we refer to chemical agents we can think of oil spills in the sea, or sewage in rivers, or for example in pesticides used in agriculture,….. However, the physical agents are light, heat, noise, …..
Whatever the pollutant, it is clear to all of us that pollution affects our health. affects our health in many different ways. And as a summary, an image that is quite overwhelming:
In the above image only 3 types of contaminations are shown, but the sad reality is that there are many more than three times as many. Let’s make a brief summary of all the different types of types of contamination that exist:
1. Light pollution: i.e. the excess of light
2. Noise pollution: this is the prolonged exposure to noise.
3. Tourist pollution: Thousands of people invading natural ecosystems (such as beaches in summer). Or the behavior of a single person that damages an ecosystem
4. Information pollution: This includes both excessive and false information.
5. Visual or aesthetic pollution: This refers to the abuse of elements that alter the aesthetics of the environment or landscape (for example: advertising signs, cables, chimneys, antennas, buildings, ….).
6. Textile pollution: The production of fabrics and footwear is responsible for water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the garment itself may be contaminated with toxic products from the cleaning or printing processes.
7. Thermal pollution: basically changes in the temperature of an ecosystem caused by certain industries and power plants.
8. Electromagnetic pollution: produced by electronic equipment, high-voltage towers, transformers, mobile telephone antennas, household appliances, …..
9. Genetic contamination: The uncontrolled spread of genes that can be from artificial organisms (transgenic, GMOs) or natural organisms, and can contaminate both crops and wild populations.
10. Space pollution: Orbiting around the Earth there are tons of garbage: old satellites, rocket parts, paint fragments, screws…
11. Soil contamination: This is a type of chemical contamination. The most usual is the presence of pesticides from agriculture, but there are other typologies
12. Water pollution: Although oil tanker spills are very impactful, the main origin of this pollution is in livestock, agriculture, industries and cities. It is shocking to know that a very relevant source of water pollution is washing machines. washing machinesThe enormous amount of detergents and fibers they release into wastewater, which cannot be removed by wastewater treatment plants, is a major source of water pollution.
13. Atmospheric or air pollution: Humans today release tons and tons of polluting gases into the atmosphere.
14. Radioactive or nuclear contamination: The unwanted presence of radioactive substances in the environment.
15. Postal pollution: Parcel delivery has grown enormously due to online sales. This triggers the other types of contamination especially for transporting the package.
16. Contamination of the body: Introducing harmful substances into our own body is to contaminate ourselves. contaminating ourselves
After all this list…
How does your body feel?.
Which one has had the greatest impact on you?.
What can you do to avoid any of these 15 types of pollution?
