Sources of Pollution

Production Side

When we think of pollution, the first thing that naturally comes to mind is manufacturing.

And that is no surprise. Images of enormous chimneys emitting heavy dirty fumes into the air are very powerful indeed, and are directly associated with pollution.

Manufacturing includes numerous industries which are in fact sources of all types of pollution - air, land and water.

We have grouped manufacturing industries into 5 large sectors, as you can see in the diagram below:

So each of these sectors including their own sub-sectors is a source of pollution:

• Raw materials extraction
• Raw materials processing
• Heavy industry (ex. equipment manufacturing and transport manufacturing)
• Light industry (ex. textiles and pulp & paper)
• Construction

This classification aims to give us an idea of the "pollution's points of origin" from the manufacturing perspective. It is in no way an exhaustive list of polluting industries.

Power generation is another huge source of pollution which is nowadays associated with smoky chimneys even more than manufacturing.

The classical example here is the burning of fossil fuels to generate power. Carbon dioxide and other harmful gases are emitted in the process and cause serious ecological damage for many years to come.

Nuclear power is far from being a clean source of energy, even though its lobbyists may claim so. The toxic radioactive waste produced as a result of its generation takes thousands of years to decompose and become harmless. So don't fall for the lie of looking at nuclear as a "green" source of energy just because it doesn't emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

So here are some major sources of pollution from the power-generation sector:

• Fossil fuel-based energy 

• Oil-based generation
• Gas-based generation
• Coal-based generation
• Nuclear Energy 

• Uranium-based generation

Public transport & shipping are also significant contributors to global pollution levels. All of them use fossil fuels for operation. Rail transport is probably the cleanest of all the types, and air transport is assumed to be one of the least efficient ones.

Sources of pollution by types of transportation:

• Road transport
• Rail transport
• Air transport
• Sea shipping

The public often doesn't realize just how significant a source of pollution agriculture & timber production have become.

Livestock farming uses vast amounts of resources and produces a lot of waste. Harmful fertilizers are widely used to grow cereals and other plants - such chemicals affect negatively the wider environment as well as human health.

Timber production is a major cause of global deforestation which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Sources of pollution from the agricultural sector:

• Livestock / cattle farming
• Cereals & other plants growing
• Timber production

Consumption Side

While production sectors are obvious examples of "pollution creation", consumption presents a more subtle side to this issue.

When we look at individual consumers, a lot of pollution comes from landfill disposal of post-consumption waste which could actually be recycled. At the same time, there are many consumer goods which cannot be recycled - and they end up on the landfill as well.

As for the wider residential sector, domestic gas heating systems and private transport are no doubt some of the major contributors to global pollution. On top of that, many residential items which can or cannot be recycled (ex., domestic furniture) are also sent to landfills.

Sources of pollution by individual consumers and residential sector:

• Food
• Clothing
• Other personal goods
• Private housing
• Private transport

We have a similar situation with the commercial & social sectors. Any waste generated from the use of premises as well as transportation all contribute to pollution levels in many different ways.

The social sector may include both governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Sources of pollution by commercial & social sectors:

• Commercial premises
• Commercial transport
• Governmental & non-governmental bodies' premises
• Transport for use by governmental & non-governmental bodies