Revised On: Feb. 25, 2024 - 9:00 a.m.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify what pollution is and where it comes from
• Describe how pollution is managed or released

What is P2? 

What comes to mind when you think of pollution? You may start to think of harmful chemicals entering waterways, industrial smokestacks pouring out smoke, or trash piling up in the environment. All of these instances are examples of pollution, but what’s generating pollution is not always so visible. Pollution can seem challenging when first trying to understand what it is. This training will follow the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) definition of pollution. The EPA’s definition is, “any substances in water, soil, or air that degrade the natural quality of the environment, offend the senses of sight, taste, or smell, or cause a health hazard. The presence of pollutants and contaminants usually impairs the usefulness of the natural resource.” You can think of this definition as the release of harmful materials to the environment.

Many sources of pollution span from industry to your daily life. Here are some examples:

• Power plants burning fossil fuels (coal and natural gas) 
• Agricultural activities that can lead to excess fertilizers, pesticides, and manure being contained in runoff water
• Manufacturing facilities with mismanaged waste that leads to spills or other releases
• Urban runoff caused by rain carrying and collecting pollutants such as oil, harmful chemicals, and trash
• Emissions from daily commutes and transportation of goods/waste
• Using single-use plastics and disposing of them in the trash
  

When looking at industry, there are procedures in place to mitigate the amount of pollution being generated. Not all harmful waste generated by industry is immediately polluting the environment. An example of a safeguard for pollution is the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which was signed into law in 1976. This law established a framework to manage hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. Solid waste is generally any material being discarded and doesn’t necessarily have to be physically solid. Hazardous wastes are wastes that have properties that make it dangerous or capable of harming human health or the environment. RCRA sets forth requirements for on-site management, off-site transport, treatment, and disposal that have protected against significant pollutant releases. However, even with these management requirements, there is still the potential for release of pollutants in each step of the materials end of life process:

On-site Management

• Spills, leaks, and emissions from improper storage of wastes or accidents
• Mixing of hazardous and non-hazardous waste streams. This can cause waste to require more resources to process (e.g. waste that wouldn’t normally undergo treatment or special transportation would now meet those requirements)
  

Off-site Transportation

• Spills, leaks, and emissions from the transfer of waste or accidents
• Emissions from transportation, such as carbon dioxide
  

Treatment

• Spills, leaks, and emissions from improper storage of wastes or accidents
• Spills and leaks from chemical treatment approaches
• Emissions from incineration or other thermal treatment
  

Disposal

• Spills and leaks from improper storage of wastes, accidents, or natural disasters.
• Leaks and runoff water from failure to maintain landfill controls
  

When releases of pollutants to our air, water, and land do occur it can lead to many different negative impacts on the environment. Air pollution, such as greenhouse gases and particulate matter, can remain in the atmosphere for an extended period of time and contribute to air quality issues. These issues can extend past the surrounding communities as the wind can carry pollutants far from their original source. Water pollution, such as harmful runoff or industrial discharges, can harm aquatic life and make water unsuitable for recreation or drinking. Soil Pollution, such as chemical spills or mismanaged waste, can be absorbed by plants and make its way into human and wildlife food supplies. In addition, when these pollutants seep further into the soil, groundwater can then be contaminated and require additional treatment. 

Considering the impact of releases and the vast potential sources of pollution, the only sure way to eliminate the potential for releases is to not have to manage the waste at all. The next lesson will introduce pollution prevention, which is a solution to reduce potential and actual releases of pollution.