Environmental Science and Engineering

Lesson 4: Introduction to Pollution

INTRODUCTION TO POLLUTION

▪ Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment.

Air Pollution Emissions:

1. Natural: Lightning, Volcanoes, Wildfire, Forest
2. Area: Cities and Livestock
3. Stationary: Industries, Powerplant, Sewage Treatment
4. Mobile: Airplanes, cars, trucks, buses and motorcycle

Sources of Pollution:
POINT SOURCE POLLUTION - is easy to identify. As the name suggests, it comes from a single place.
NON-POINT SOURCE POLLUTION - is harder to identify and harder to address. It is pollution that
comes from many places, all at once.

Type of Pollution Point Source Non-point Source

Air ▪ Factories, Powerplants ▪ Agricultural activities
▪ Airports, Shipping ports ▪ Fertilizer and
▪ Agricultural Operations pesticide
▪ Animal Feeding ▪ Livestock
operations ▪ Urban and Suburban Area
▪ Crop Burning ▪ Vehicle emissions,
▪ Natural Sources construction sites,
▪ Volcanic Eruptions ▪ Natural Sources
▪ Wildfires ▪ Wildfires, volcanic
▪ Municipal Sources activity
▪ Waste incineration ▪ Industrial and Commercial
▪ Sewage Activities
Treatment Plants ▪ Small-scale
industries
▪ Atmospheric Deposition
▪ Dust and pollen
Water Pollution ▪ Industrial Facilities ▪ Agricultural Activities
▪ Municipal Sources ▪ Urban and Suburban
▪ Agricultural Operations Areas
▪ Mining Activities ▪ Forestry Activities
▪ Oil and Gas extraction ▪ Construction Sites
▪ Atmospheric Deposition
▪ Mining Activities

Soil Pollution ▪ Factories ▪ Fertilizers and Pesticides

▪ Mining Operations ▪ Livestock operations
▪ Pesticide and Fertilizer ▪ Stormwater runoff
Application ▪ Residential areas
▪ Landfills ▪ Logging operation
▪ Industrial Waste ▪ Erosion and Sediment
▪ Oil Spills ▪ Airborne Pollutants
▪ Chemical Leaks ▪ Acid Mine Drainage
▪ Sewage Sludge
Environmental Science and Engineering
Lesson 4: Introduction to Pollution
Effects of Pollution:
Air Pollution
▪ Health Issues: Air pollution can lead to respiratory diseases, cardiovascular problems, and even
cancer in humans. It also affects animals, causing similar health issues.
▪ Climate Change: Pollutants like carbon dioxide and methane contribute to global warming and
climate change, leading to extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and loss of biodiversity.
Water Pollution
▪ Ecosystem Damage: Contaminants in water bodies can harm aquatic life, leading to reduced
biodiversity and disruption of ecosystems.
▪ Human Health: Polluted water can cause diseases such as cholera and dysentery, affecting
communities that rely on these water sources.
Soil Pollution
▪ Agricultural Impact: Pollutants in the soil can reduce crop yields and contaminate food supplies,
posing risks to human health.
▪ Loss of Fertility: Soil pollution can lead to the loss of soil fertility, making it difficult for plants to
grow and affecting the entire food chain.
Noise Pollution
▪ Human Stress: Prolonged exposure to noise pollution can cause stress, hearing loss, and other
health issues in humans.
▪ Wildlife Disruption: Excessive noise can disrupt animal communication, breeding, and navigation,
leading to negative impacts on wildlife populations.
Plastic Pollution
▪ Marine Life: Plastic waste in oceans and waterways can entangle marine animals, cause ingestion-
related deaths, and introduce toxic substances into the food chain.
▪ Environmental Degradation: Plastics take hundreds of years to decompose, leading to long-term
environmental damage

Pollution Control - in environmental engineering, any of a variety of means employed to limit damage
done to the environment by the discharge of harmful substances and energies.

Introduction to Regulatory Frameworks

▪ General Legislations
▪ Air Quality Management
▪ Water Quality Management
▪ Solid Waste Management
▪ Hazardous Waste Management

Environmental Legislation and Regulations:

▪ PD 1151 Philippine Environmental Policy
- The Philippine Environmental Policy mandates an intensive and integrated national
environmental protection program mainly by requiring environmental impact assessments
and statements.
- It was created to address the individual and conflicting demands of population growth,
urbanization, industrial expansion, rapid natural resources on, and increasing
▪ PD 1586 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System of 1978
- The Environment Impact Assessment System was formally established in 1978 with the
enactment of PD 1586 to facilitate the attainment and maintenance of a rational and orderly
balance between socio-economic development and environmental protection.
- This policy established the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System
(PEISS) as the framework for all environmental impact assessment activities nationwide.
▪ PD 1586 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System of 1978
- Environmental Compliance Certificate must be secured by environmentally critical
project or areas
▪ DAO 03-30/ EMB Memo 2014-005
- Strengthens the implementation of PD 1586
Environmental Science and Engineering
Lesson 4: Introduction to Pollution
- Contains the Scope of the EIS System
▪ RA 8749 Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999
- The law aims to achieve and maintain clean air that meets the National Air Quality guideline
values for criteria pollutants throughout the Philippines while minimizing the associated
economic impacts.
▪ RA 9275 Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004
- The law aims to protect the country’s water bodies from pollution from land-based sources
(industries and commercial establishments, agriculture, and community/ household
activities).
- It provides a comprehensive and integrated strategy to prevent and minimize pollution
through a multi- sectoral and participatory approach involving all the stakeholders.
▪ PD 1067 Water Code of the Philippines
- Governs the ownership, allocation, utilization, control, conservation, and overall
administration of all water and water resources in the country through the National Water
Resources Board.
▪ RA 9003 Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000
- The law aims to adopt a systematic, comprehensive, and ecological solid waste management
program that shall ensure the protection of public health and the environment.
- The law ensures proper segregation, collection, storage, treatment, and disposal of solid
waste through the formulation and adaptation of the best eco-waste products.
▪ RA 6969 Toxic Substances, Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990
- The law aims to regulate, restrict or prohibit the importation, manufacture,
processing, sale, distribution, use, and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures
that present an unreasonable risk to human health.
- It likewise prohibits the entry, even in transit, of hazardous and nuclear wastes
and their disposal into the Philippine territorial limits for whatever purpose; and to provide
advancement and facilitate research and studies on toxic chemicals.
▪ RA 9729 Climate Change Act of 2009
- It integrates climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies into policy
formulation and development activities of all government agencies. It also created
the Climate Change Commission, chaired by the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
▪ PD 856 The Philippine Sanitation Code
- Sets sanitary standards for drinking water, food, and other business establishments,
industrial hygiene, schools, health services, markets, slaughterhouses, transport vehicles,
terminals and other services stations, lodging areas, and infrastructures, among many
others.