Business 6 (1) · Section 10

of environmental pollution problems. Many business enterprises have been responsible for causing (i) air, (ii) water (iii) land, and (iv) noise pollution. These types of pollution are discussed as follows: (i) Air pollution: Air pollution is the result of a combination of factors which lowers the air quality. It is mainly due to carbon monoxide emitted by automobiles which contributes to air pollution. Similarly, smoke and other chemicals from manufacturing plants pollute the air. Resultant air pollution has created a hole in the ozone layer leading to dangerous warming of the earth. (ii) Water pollution: Water becomes polluted primarily from chemical and waste dumping. For years, business enterprises have been dumping waste into rivers, streams and lakes with little regard for the consequences. Water pollution has led to the death of several animals and posed a serious threat to human life. (iii) Land pollution: Dumping of toxic wastes on land causes land pollution. This damages the quality of land making it unfit for agriculture or plantation. Restoring the quality of the land that has already been damaged is a big problem. (iv) Noise pollution: Noise caused by the running of factories and vehicles is not merely a source of annoyance but is also a serious health hazard. Noise pollution can be responsible for many diseases like loss of hearing, malfunctioning of the heart and mental disorder. . . Need for Pollution Control Pollution prevention or control is needed to preserve precious environmental resources and to improve the environmental quality so that the preserved resources can be utilised for the benefit of mankind and the improvement of health and well- being of the people. The amount of damage to a particular medium (air, water, land) varies according to the type of pollutant, the amount of pollutant disposed of, and the distance from the source of pollution. But all pollutants alter the quality of the environment and render it, to some degree, unfit to preserve normal life. People are now raising their voice loudly against pollution generating activities. Business enterprises cannot remain unaffected by environmental destruction. They need to take suitable measures for pollution control not Environmental Problems The united nations has identified eight problems that cause damage to the natural environment. These are: (i) Ozone depletion (v) Fresh water quality and quantity (ii) Global warming (vi) Deforestation (iii) Solid and hazardous wastes (vii) Land degradation (iv) Water pollution (viii) Danger to biological diversity