Environmental Pollution – is any alteration in the physical, chemical, or biological properties of the environment (air, water, and land).
Water Pollution • Physical Pollutants o Color o Temperature o Odor and Taste o Turbidity • Chemical Pollutants o Acids and alkalis (pH, such as sulphuric, HCl, NaOH, and others) o Dissolved Inorganic Substances (other non-Carbon based) o Organic Chemicals (Carbon-based, foods, and others) o Refractory Substances (bricks, cements, and others) o Radioactive materials (uranium and others) • Total Solids o Settleable Solids – is the measurement of solids through a 1-liter sample that will settle at the bottom.
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o Dissolved Solids – are materials that pass the filter or it is called residue (for water: TDS or Total Dissolved Solids are function of Water Conductivity, for wastewater: TDS are not function of Conductivity, due to some organic wastes present). o Total Solids – TSS + TDS = Total Suspended Solids or Settleable Solids plus TDS
Measurement of Pollutants • Dissolved Oxygen (DO) – relative measure of the amount of oxygen that is dissolved in water (mg/L) • Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD or BOD5) – amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms in a body of water to breakdown organic material present in a given sample of water at certain temperature over a specific time period (mg/L). BOD is undergone incubation of 5 days and 20OC. It is often measures the degree of organic pollution of water.
