Saastavate

Saastavate is an Estonian adjective form meaning polluting or pollution-causing. It is derived from the noun saaste, pollution, and the verb saastama, to pollute, through the participial stem saastav. In usage, saastavate describes things that produce or contribute to pollution, such as substances, processes, or activities.

The term is commonly found in environmental science, policy, and media. It appears in phrases describing emissions, contamination, or impacts, for example in references to saastavate ühendite heitmed (emissions of polluting compounds) or saastavate ainete sisaldus (content of polluting substances). It functions as a descriptive modifier that agrees with the noun it accompanies in number and case.

Grammatically, saastavate is a participial form used to modify plural nouns. Its exact ending adapts to the syntactic context, and it is typically used in front of a plural noun in compounds or attributive phrases. The word is part of a broader Estonian vocabulary related to environmental protection, regulation, and public health, alongside related terms such as saaste (pollution), saasteained (pollutants), and heitgaasid (emissions).

In summary, saastavate serves as a standard descriptive term in Estonian for anything related to pollution that is plural or refers to multiple polluting substances or actions. Its use helps specify the pollution-causing nature of items within ecological, regulatory, and scientific discussions.