Pollution and pollution are commonly heard of and when it is done, it is usually done as if they were perfectly interchangeable synonyms. In reality, although both words are very similar and tend to be interchangeable in most conversations or speeches, the reality is that they have small nuances that distinguish them. If you want to know what is the difference between pollution and pollution keep reading the following Green Ecology article and we'll tell you about it.
What is contamination
To understand what is contamination, beyond generalities, it is best to go to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy. According to its definition, contamination would be the result of introducing "physical or chemical agents" into a specific environment, and having the effect of "injuriously alter"the original or normal state of the environment in question where these physical or chemical agents have been introduced. As can be seen, it is a fairly generic definition, in which, practically, any element that acts as an agent foreign to nature would fit of the medium in question.
What is pollution
Carrying out the same exercise of going to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, and looking for the definition of pollution instead of pollution, we find a very similar definition. However, it is true that, in this case, it emphasizes an important differentiating element. On the one hand, pollution is defined as "intense and harmful pollutionIn other words, we understand that pollution is always going to be a type of pollution, but that, in addition, it has a high intensity character. The definition continues to refer, in this case, not to a medium in general, but to "water or air", which implies that it is necessarily an intense pollution and that it tends to present only in fluids. Finally, the definition ends by qualifying that the origin of pollution is "produced by waste from industrial or biological processes."
In this way, we would have a definition of pollution as a type of concrete contamination, that is, more limited and more determined, characterized by being always intense and harmful, as well as being present in fluids (water or air), in addition to being the result of both industrial and biological processes.
What is the difference between pollution and pollution
As we can see, the difference between pollution and pollution is sometimes difficult to determine. However, to simplify and have a more concrete idea, we can say that all pollution will be some kind of pollution, while not all pollution is pollution. In this way, we can understand the pollution as a type of pollutionbut not the other way around.
If we think about pollution, we would find some examples, in the pollution produced by factories by releasing harmful gases into the atmosphere, which would be pollution of industrial origin. Or, for example, in untreated gray water discharges, which would be an example of pollution of biological origin (due to the high concentration of bacteria that are present in these waters).
On the contrary, if we think of some examples of pollution that would not be pollution, we could take as an example:
- The landfills of physical waste, which would act as pollution but not as pollution.
- However, if these wastes were to produce intense chemical contamination of, for example, nearby aquifers or groundwater, we could speak of pollution, since a different level of range would have been reached.
Differentiation according to the degree of damage it causes to ecosystems
On the other hand, beyond the definitions provided by the Royal Academy, we can say that both pollution and pollution are words that are used almost identically In most cases. In the same way, it can also be considered in a general way that pollution is more harmful, or more urgent to combat, than pollution in general.
In this way, when a type of contamination put health and environmental safety at serious risk of a specific environment, one could be talking about pollution. Whereas, when the presence of these agents is harmful, but not in an extreme or urgent way, one could speak of contamination. However, as we have mentioned, the reality is that both words are used practically synonymously with each other, although it is important to know the small nuance that differentiates one from the other in specific cases.
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