poluante

Poluante is a term used in Portuguese to refer to a substance or agent that contaminates the environment, causing adverse effects on health or ecosystems. It can describe a wide range of materials, including chemical, physical, and biological factors, that degrade air, water, soil, or food.

Poluants are commonly categorized by the media they affect: air pollutants, water pollutants, and soil pollutants. They are also classified as primary pollutants, which are emitted directly in a harmful form, or secondary pollutants, which form through chemical or biological transformations in the environment. Typical examples include particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ground-level ozone, volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, plastics and microplastics, nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates, and thermal pollution.

Sources of poluantes include industrial processes, energy production, transportation, agriculture, mining, and waste management. The fate of pollutants involves dispersion, deposition, chemical reactions, and potential bioaccumulation in organisms, which can propagate through ecosystems.

Measurement and regulation rely on concentration or loading benchmarks expressed in units suitable for each medium (for example, micrograms per cubic meter for air, milligrams per liter for water). Monitoring networks, environmental impact assessments, and legal standards guide management and remediation efforts.

Health and ecological impacts of poluantes range from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases to cancer risk and ecological disturbances, affecting aquatic life, soil quality, and biodiversity. Mitigation strategies include pollution control technologies, wastewater treatment, cleaner production, substitution of harmful substances, recycling, and policy tools such as emission limits and economic incentives to reduce releases.