Factory related pollution is the number one source of pollution in the United States. Factory pollution accounts for more than half the volume of all water pollution, as well as for the most deadly of pollutants. More than 365,000 manufacturing factories consume vast quantities of fresh water to carry away wastes of several different types.
This waste water from industrial factories is discharged into lakes, oceans and streams, which eventually disperse the polluting effluent substances. The United States Environmental Protection Agency stated in 1996 to Congress that about 40% of the country’s surveyed rivers, estuaries and lakes were too polluted for such elementary uses as swimming, fishing and drinking water supply.
Common factory-emitted water pollutants include phosphates, asbestos, mercury, nitrates, grit, caustic soda and other sodium compounds, sulfuric acid, sulfur, oils and petrochemicals.
Additionally, many manufacturing factories discharge undiluted poisons, corrosives and other completely noxious substances. Construction related factory discharge includes gypsum, metals, cement, abrasives and poisonous solvents. One dangerous type of contaminant that has been entering the food chains are the polychlorinated biphenyl compounds, which are components in adhesives, plastic wrap and various lubricants.
In other findings, power plants cause thermal pollution when they increase water temperatures. These increases of temperature affect the amounts of oxygen that are suspended in a volume of water. Changing the oxygen levels of water disrupts the ecological balance of a body of water. This can kill of animal and plant species, at the same time it encourages the overgrowth of other plant and animal species.
Contaminants of the air are classified as gases and particulates. Particulates are tiny particles which are further grouped by their sizes. Generally speaking, the smaller the particulates are of a noxious substance, the