point source pollution
{{Short description|Single identifiable source}}
{{Other uses|point source (disambiguation)}}
File:Common Point Source Discharges - EPA 2010.png
A point source of pollution is a single identifiable source of air, water, thermal, noise or light pollution. A point source has negligible extent, distinguishing it from other pollution source geometrics (such as nonpoint source or area source). The sources are called point sources because in mathematical modeling, they can be approximated as a mathematical point to simplify analysis.{{Cite book |title=Risk Assessment of Chemicals: An Introduction, 2nd Ed.|last=van Leeuwen |first=C.J. |publisher=Springer |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4020-6101-1 |location=Dordrecht, The Netherlands }} Pollution point sources are identical to other physics, engineering, optics, and chemistry point sources and include:
- Air pollution from an industrial source (rather than an airport or a road, considered a line source, or a forest fire, which is considered an area source, or volume source){{cite web |url=https://www3.epa.gov/airquality/emissns.html |title=Air Pollution Emissions Overview |author= |date=2016-06-08 |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |location=Washington, D.C.}}
- Water pollution from factories, power plants, municipal sewage treatment plants and some farms (see concentrated animal feeding operation).{{cite book |date=2001 |editor1-last=Harrison |editor1-first=Roy M. |title=Pollution: Causes, Effects and Control |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kFbRYQUqcAC&pg=PA2 |edition=4th |location=Cambridge, UK |publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry |page=2 |isbn=0-85404-621-6}} The U.S. Clean Water Act also defines municipal separate storm sewer systems and industrial stormwater discharges (such as construction sites) as point sources.United States. Clean Water Act. Section 402(p), {{usc|33|1342(p)}}.
- Man-made, natural, and groundwater reservoirs can all be contaminated by point source pollution which can threaten human health and safety.{{Cite web |title=Choose your library affiliation |url=https://docs.shib.ncsu.edu/ds/ncsu/WAYF?entityID=https%3a%2f%2fprox.lib.ncsu.edu%2fezproxy%2fshibboleth&return=https%3a%2f%2flogin.prox.lib.ncsu.edu%2fShibboleth.sso%2fDS%3fSAMLDS%3d1%26target%3dezp.2aHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLnNwcmluZ2VyLmNvbS8xMC4xMDA3Lzk3OC05ODEtMTAtMDY2OS0y |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=docs.shib.ncsu.edu |doi=10.1007/978-981-10-0669-2}}
- Noise pollution from a jet engine{{cite web |url=http://blog.soton.ac.uk/soundwaves/wave-basics/point-sources-inverse-square-law/ |title=Point sources |author= |website=Sound Waves |publisher=University of Southampton |access-date=2018-01-24}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nonoise.org/library/envnoise/#propagation |title=Environmental Noise Propagation |author=Brüel & Kjær, Nærum, Denmark |website=Noise Pollution Clearinghouse |location=Montpelier, VT |access-date=2018-01-24}}
- Disruptive seismic vibration from a localized seismic study{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264785140 |title=Estimating the uncertainty of seismic point source solutions |author1=Stähler, Simon |author2=Hosseini, Kasra |author3=Zhang, Ran |author4=Sigloch, Karin |date=2014 |id=Conference: EGU General Assembly 2014, held 27 April - 2 May, 2014 in Vienna, Austria, id.9911}}
- Light pollution from an intrusive street light{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nightskies/sources.htm |title=Light Pollution Sources |author= |website=Night Skies |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=2018-01-24}}
- Radio emissions from an interference-producing electrical device