Soil and Noise Pollution
NCERT Class 12 • Biology • Chapter "Environmental Issues" | NCERT Class 10 • Science • Chapter "Our Environment"
Soil and Noise Pollution
Soil pollution is the addition of substances that reduce the soil's fertility or make it harmful to plants and animals. Noise pollution is unwanted sound loud enough to disturb people, and although it leaves no residue, its health effects are real and cumulative.
Soil Pollution and Solid Waste
- Excess fertiliser changes soil chemistry, while pesticide residue kills useful soil organisms along with pests.
- Industrial waste adds heavy metals that stay in the soil for decades.
- Solid waste dumped without treatment leaches harmful liquid into the soil and groundwater.
- Plastic is the most persistent waste because it is non biodegradable and remains in the soil for centuries.
- Biodegradable waste such as food and paper is broken down by decomposers; non biodegradable waste such as plastic, glass and metal is not.
- Waste management follows segregation at source, composting of wet waste, recycling of dry waste and safe disposal of the rest.
- The guiding approach is reduce, reuse and recycle, with reduction the most effective step.
Noise Pollution
- Sources include traffic, industry, construction, loudspeakers, generators and fireworks.
- Noise is measured in decibel, and the scale is logarithmic, so a small rise in number means a large rise in intensity.
- Prolonged exposure above about 80 to 85 decibel can damage hearing.
- Effects include hearing loss, sleep disturbance, high blood pressure, irritability and reduced concentration.
- Noise particularly harms patients, students, infants and the elderly.
- Control measures include silencers on vehicles and generators, sound absorbing material, restriction on loudspeakers and horns, and silence zones around hospitals and schools.
- Planting trees along roads helps because vegetation absorbs and scatters sound.
- E waste from discarded electronics is a fast growing problem because it mixes valuable metals with toxic ones.
- Extended producer responsibility makes the manufacturer accountable for collecting back its product after use.
| Type | Main Cause | Main Control |
|---|---|---|
| Soil pollution | Chemicals, industrial and solid waste | Segregation, composting, recycling |
| Plastic waste | Non biodegradable material | Reduce, reuse, recycle |
| Noise pollution | Traffic, loudspeakers, machinery | Silencers, silence zones, tree cover |
Non biodegradable waste — waste such as plastic, glass and metal that decomposers cannot break down, so it persists in the environment.
Exam me kaise aata hai
- Noise is measured in — decibel
- Waste that decomposers cannot break down is — non biodegradable
- Areas around hospitals and schools are declared — silence zones
- The most effective step in waste management is — reduce
UPSC/State PSC ke liye
- Reduction is the most effective step because waste that is never generated needs no collection, transport, treatment or disposal at all.
- Noise pollution is often underestimated because it leaves no visible residue, yet its effects on sleep, blood pressure and concentration accumulate over years.
Yahan confuse hote hain
✗ All waste eventually decomposes | Non biodegradable waste persists for centuries | ✓
✗ Recycling is better than reducing | Reducing is the most effective step | ✓
✗ Noise pollution leaves lasting residue in the environment | It leaves no residue but its health effects accumulate | ✓
Ek nazar me
- Soil pollution comes from chemicals, industrial waste and untreated solid waste.
- Biodegradable waste decomposes; plastic, glass and metal do not.
- Manage waste by segregation, composting, recycling and safe disposal.
- Noise is measured in decibel and controlled by silencers, silence zones and tree cover.