| Types of Pollutant | ||
It is a fairly commonly held belief that pollutants are those chemicals, (often with unpronounceable names),produced by large chemical manufacturing companies, and this may be true for a large number of cases. However pollutants come in all shapes and sizes and may also be biological in nature. In fact it has been estimated that 80% of the disease affecting people in developing countries is caused by water supplies that are contaminated by pathogenic micro-organisms, i.e. biological (bacterial) pollution. Although categorising pollutants does not reduce their effect it can help to clarify the subject and may aid in the process of making policy and developing legislation. |
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Consider the list of pollutants below. How would you arrange these into individual groups? |
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Asbestos Oil Radon Sulphur dioxide Mercury Benzene Cryptosporidium Carbon (soot) Nitrogen dioxide Coliform Bacteria |
Tri-Butyl-tin Polychlorinated biphenyls Dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane Ozone Lead Heat Nitrate Fertiliser Freon |
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