Other types of pollution

OTHER TYPES OF POLLUTION

ABHISHEK KUMARVIII-(B)

ESSAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

LIGHT POLLUTIONLight pollution, also known as photopollution/luminous pollution, is

excessive or obtrusive artificial light.Any adverse effect of artificial light -sky glow, glare, light trespass, light

clutter, decreased visibility at night, and energy waste.Light pollution obscures the stars in the night sky for city dwellers,

interferes with astronomical observatories, and, like any other form of pollution, disrupts ecosystemsand has adverse health effects. Light pollution can be divided into two main types:

• annoying light that intrudes on an otherwise natural or low-light setting .

(2) excessive light (generally indoors) that leads to discomfort and adverse health effects.

Since the early 1980s, a global dark-sky movement has emerged, with concerned people campaigning to reduce the amount of light pollution.

Light pollution is a side effect of industrial civilization. Its sources include building exterior and interior lighting, advertising, commercial properties, offices, factories, streetlights, and illuminated sporting venues. It is most severe in highly industrialized, densely populated areas of North America, Europe, and Japan and in major cities in the Middle East and North Africa like Tehran and Cairo, but even relatively small amounts of light can be noticed and create problems. Like other forms of pollution (such as air, water, and noise pollution) light pollution causes damage to the environment.

Two categories of light pollution

Light Glare

Glare is the unused light that shines out and up.

Light Trespass

Lighting that trespasses into your windows or property

Prevents you from getting a good sleep

Skyglow

• Skyglow manifests itself primarily in major cities as a hazy glow above the horizon caused by light escaped into the atmosphere from misdirected and badly designed sources. This form of light pollution is of particular concern to astronomers as it is responsible for creating a blinding effect over the night sky. In weather conditions, such as rain, wind, and high pollution, skyglow makes it very hard for astronomers to see anything but the most luminous stars and planets. Adverse behavioral effects have been recorded in many species of animals, such as sea turtles and birds, that rely on the night sky for breeding and navigational purposes. Over-illumination is simply put, an over use of lighting for a given situation, and by far the largest contributor to the waste of our natural resources.

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Over-lighted Parking Areas and Commercial Establishments – Note the Glare

Sag Lens (Cobra Head) Street Light Fixtures -- Especially Sodium Vapor

35% to 50% of all Light Pollution Comes from Streetlights

CausesCauses

Effects

Energy waste

Human health and psychology

-- Disruption of ecosystems

Disruption of ecosystems

Who and What does bad lighting effect?

Our Sleeping Patterns & HealthBirds

Effect on astronomy

Residential Property Owners & Builders

On New Construction utilize fully shielded exterior lighting fixtures.

On Existing Construction replace old fixtures with fully shielded exterior lighting fixtures.

Cut off exterior lighting fixtures after midnight

Where necessary, utilize fully shielded area lighting fixtures

Residential Wall Mounted Lights

SOLUTIONSSOLUTIONS

Actions that can be taken Actions that can be taken to Reverse the Effects of to Reverse the Effects of Light PollutionLight Pollution

Turn-off signs and parking lot lighting fixtures after business hours

Commercial Property Owners & Builders

On Existing Sites replace old fixtures with fully shielded exterior lighting fixtures

On New Construction utilize fully shielded exterior lighting fixtures.

Reduce light levels on store fronts and in parking lots.

Commercial WallMounted Fixtures

More actions that can be More actions that can be taken to Reverse the taken to Reverse the Effects of Light PollutionEffects of Light Pollution

Full Cut OffParking Lot Fixtures

Facts• Termed 'light pollution', all those lights wash out the night

sky ruining the beauty of the cosmos for all. It's particularly bad in larger cities. One avid astrophotographer who lives in Hong Kong refers to his city as 'a city without stars'.

• Business and residence owners often claim that non-polluting lights compromise advertising and/or security. However, unless aliens are teleporting down from outer space to your business or home (doubtful, except at some coffee shops), it's doubtful that all that light shining upward is doing much good.

• Light pollution control advocates don't suggest turning all of your outdoor lighting off. We just want you to aim your lights in an appropriate direction and to use fixtures that prevent light from going up into the sky.

Of all the pollutions we face, light pollution is Of all the pollutions we face, light pollution is perhaps the most easily remediedperhaps the most easily remedied. .

Sound

pollution

Noise pollution is unwanted human-created sound that disrupts

the environment. The dominant form of noise pollution is from transportation

sources, principally motorvehicles, referred to as environmental noise. The

word noise comes from the Latin word nausea meaning seasickness.

CAUSES

• The overarching cause of most noise worldwide is generated by transportation systems, principally motor vehicle noise, but also including aircraft noise and rail noise. Hybrid vehicles for road use are the first widely sold automobiles in 100 years to achieve significant noise source reduction. Poor urban planning may also give rise to noise pollution, since position of industrial to residential land uses, for example, often results in adverse consequences for the residential acoustic environment.

EFFECTS ON HUMANS• The mechanism for chronic exposure to noise leading

to hearing loss is well established. The elevated sound levels cause trauma to the cochlear structure in the inner ear, which gives rise to irreversible hearing loss. The pinna (visible portion of the human ear) combined with the middle ear amplifies sound levels by a factor of 20 when sound reaches the inner ear.

Cardiovascular healthHigh noise levels can contribute to Cardiovascular effects and

exposure to moderately high (e.g. above 70 dBA) during a single eight hour period causes a statistical rise in blood pressure of five to ten mmHg; a clear and measurable increase in stress ; and vasoconstriction leading to the increased blood pressure noted above as well as to increased incidence of coronary artery disease.

EFFECTS ON ENVRONMENTNoise pollution can also be harmful to animals. High

noise levels may interfere with the natural cycles of animals, including feeding behavior, breeding rituals and migration paths. The most significant impact of noise to animal life is the systematic reduction of usable habitat, which in the case of endangered species may be an important part of the path to extinction. Perhaps the most sensational damage caused by noise pollution is the death of certain species of beaked whales, brought on by the extremely loud (up to 200 decibels) sound of military SONAR.

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An impact of noise on animal life is the reduction of usable habitat that noisy areas may cause, which in the case of endangered species may be part of the path to extinction.

How is noise measured?

Noise or sound is measured in decibels (dB). The typical sound levels measured in the surrounding are as follows:

140 ------------------------------------- Jet Engine (at 25 meters)120 ------------------------------------- Rock and Roll Concert

110 ------------------------------------- Pneumatic Chipper90 ------------------------------------- Chainsaw

80 ------------------------------------- Heavy Truck Traffic70 ------------------------------------- Business Offices

60 ------------------------------------- Conversational Speech50 ------------------------------------- Library

40 ------------------------------------- Bedroom30 ------------------------------------- Secluded Woods

20 ------------------------------------- Whisper

There are a variety of strategies for mitigating roadway noise including: use of noise barriers, limitation of vehicle speeds, alteration of roadway surface texture, limitation of heavy vehicles, use of traffic controls that smooth vehicle flow to reduce braking and acceleration, and tire design. Aircraft noise can be reduced to some extent by design of quieter jet engines, which was pursued vigorously in the 1970s and 1980s.

Another solution to this problem is to use electric, or hybrid-electric, automobile. Hybrid vehicles are so quite, in fact, that legislation is pending to actually make them louder.

many conflicts over noise pollution are handled by negotiation between the emitter and the receiver. noise pollution often persists because only five to ten percent of people affected by noise will lodge a formal complaint. many people are not aware of their legal right to quiet and do not know how to register a complaint.

Facts• The decibel scale is logarithmic; each 10-decibel increase

represents a tenfold increase in noise intensity. Human perception of loudness also conforms to a logarithmic scale; a 10-decibel increase is perceived as roughly a doubling of loudness. Thus, 30 decibels is 10 times more intense than 20 decibels and sounds twice as loud; 40 decibels is 100 times more intense than 20 and sounds 4 times as loud; 80 decibels is 1 million times more intense than 20 and sounds 64 times as loud. Distance diminishes the effective decibel level reaching the ear. Thus, moderate auto traffic at a distance of 100 ft (30 m) rates about 50 decibels. To a driver with a car window open or a pedestrian on the sidewalk, the same traffic rates about 70 decibels; that is, it sounds 4 times louder.

• At a distance of 2,000 ft (600 m), the noise of a jet takeoff reaches about 110 decibels< approximately the same as an automobile horn only 3 ft (1 m) away.