Industrial Water Pollutants
- Sewer pipes are one type of point source for pollutants.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
With a single point source of pollutants, an individual source, such as a deep water oil rig, can be identified as the point of origin of the pollutant. Non-point source pollutants come from many locations and sources. Storm water runoff is an example of this type of pollutant discharge. Rain washes off parking lots and roof tops. The runoff flows into streams, and eventually combines in lakes along with all the residue and pollutants. Point sources of pollutants are much easier to identify and control through prevention. - Plastic and polystyrene foam pollute the appearance of the harbor.Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images
Water pollutants can harm a body of water without being toxic. The pollutant may add a smell or trash to a pristine lake, decreasing the entertainment service the lake provides. Effluents or discharges containing sulfur add a rotten egg smell to the water. Plastic bottles and polystyrene-foam cups from a factory's parking lot float on the water and give the lake or harbor a negative appearance. Industrial pollutants affect the smell, color and clarity of the water. - Warm water discharges help manatees survive Florida winters.Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
Among other purposes, factories use water for cooling. The factory discharges the water at a higher temperature than the ambient water in the river or lake. If the temperature difference is too great, it could kill some of the organisms. On the other hand, manatees in Florida use power plant discharge points to stay warm in winter. The Clean Water Act sets temperature discharge standards. - Mercury is used in the production of fluorescent light bulbs, thermometers, barometers and batteries.Spike Mafford/Photodisc/Getty Images
Toxic chemicals enter the environment through storm water runoff and, to some extent, factory discharges. The Clean Water Act has curtailed the amount of toxic industrial chemical pollutants discharged into the environment by single point sources. Toxic pollutants cause problems such as death, physical stress, neurological complications and cancer. These pollutants include heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons leach from asphalt and flow into the water system. - Pesticides sprayed on an industrial farm could eventually find their way into the water system.Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
Fertilizers and pesticides are non--point source pollutants. These substances are used by industrial farms and golf courses. Rain washes the excess chemicals into the water system, creating an environmental problem. Fertilizers cause algae to grow rapidly, consuming the oxygen contained in the water and causing the fish to asphyxiate. Pesticides can cause cancer in organisms and interfere with embryonic development of fish and amphibians.
