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Pollutant
 
 
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A pollutant is a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil.

Three factors determine the severity of a pollutant: its chemical nature, the concentration and the persistence. Some pollutants are biodegradable and therefore will not persist in the environment
Environment (biophysical)

The biophysical environment is the symbiosis between the physics environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and include all variables that comprise the Earth's biosphere....
 in the long term.

ble pollutants include the following groups:

utants can cross international borders and therefore international regulations are needed for their control.






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Encyclopedia


A pollutant is a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil.

Three factors determine the severity of a pollutant: its chemical nature, the concentration and the persistence. Some pollutants are biodegradable and therefore will not persist in the environment
Environment (biophysical)

The biophysical environment is the symbiosis between the physics environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and include all variables that comprise the Earth's biosphere....
 in the long term.

Notable pollutants

Notable pollutants include the following groups:
  • Greenhouse gas
    Greenhouse gas

    Greenhouse gases are gases in an atmosphere that Absorption and Emission radiation within the Infrared#Different regions in the infrared range....
    es
  • Heavy metals
  • Persistent organic pollutant
    Persistent organic pollutant

    Persistent organic pollutants are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical decomposition, biodegradation, and photolysis processes....
    s
  • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon

    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are chemical compounds that consist of fused aromatic simple aromatic ring and do not contain heteroatoms or carry substituents....
    s
  • Volatile organic compound
    Volatile organic compound

    Volatile organic compounds are organic chemical compounds that have high enough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere....
    s


Regulation


International

Pollutants can cross international borders and therefore international regulations are needed for their control. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which entered into force in 2004, is an international legally binding agreement for the control of persistent organic pollutants. Pollutant Release and Transfer Register
Pollutant Release and Transfer Register

Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers are systems to collect and disseminate information on environmental releases and transfers of toxic chemicals from industrial and other facilities....
s (PRTR) are systems to collect and disseminate information on environmental releases and transfers of toxic chemicals from industrial and other facilities.

European Union

The European Pollutant Emission Register
European Pollutant Emission Register

The European Pollutant Emission Register is a Pollutant Release and Transfer Register providing access to information on the annual pollution of industrial facilities in the Member States of the European Union , as well as Norway....
 is a type of PRTR providing access to information on the annual emissions of industrial facilities in the Member States of the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
, as well as Norway.

United States

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards
National Ambient Air Quality Standards

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards are standards established by the United States United States Environmental Protection Agency that apply for outdoor air throughout the country....
 (NAAQS) are standards developed for outdoor air quality. The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants

The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants are emission standard set by the United States United States Environmental Protection Agency for an Air pollution not covered by National Ambient Air Quality Standards that may cause an increase in fatalities or in serious, irreversible, or incapacitating illness....
 are emission standards that are set by the Environmental Protection Agency which are not covered by the NAAQS.

See also

  • Conventional pollutant
    Conventional pollutant

    A conventional pollutant is a term used in the USA to describe a water pollutant that is amenable to treatment by a municipal sewage treatment plant....
  • List of environmental issues
    List of environmental issues

    This is a list of environmental issues that are due to human activity. These articles relate to the anthropogenic effects on the natural environment....
  • Pollutant Standards Index
    Pollutant Standards Index

    The Pollutant Standards Index, or PSI, provides a uniform system of measuring pollution levels for the major air pollutants. It is based on a scale devised by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to provide a way for broadcasts and newspapers to report air quality on a daily basis....