Pollution and hazardous substances

Fine particles and gases from traffic, industry, burning and heating building up in outdoor air to levels that harm lungs and hearts.

Also: smog, particulate pollution

Sustained or sudden emission of pollutants from one stack, plant or site that exposes the surrounding area.

Also: stack emission

Smoke and gases from cooking, heating and lighting with solid fuels or kerosene that accumulate indoors.

Also: indoor smoke, cooking smoke

Soot particles from incomplete combustion that harm health, darken snow and ice and warm the air.

Also: soot

Sulphur and nitrogen compounds falling as acid rain, snow or dust that damages soils, lakes, forests and stone.

Also: acid rain

Sunlit chemical build-up of ozone near the ground that inflames lungs and damages crops.

Also: photochemical smog

Burning of household, plastic and industrial waste in the open that releases toxic smoke, soot and persistent pollutants into neighbourhoods.

Also: open burning of rubbish, plastic burning

Seasonal burning of crop residues and cleared land that spreads thick smoke across regions, driving severe air pollution episodes and respiratory illness.

Also: crop residue burning, stubble burning

Ammonia released from manure and fertiliser that forms fine particles in the air and deposits nitrogen on land and water, harming health and ecosystems.

Also: ammonia from livestock and fertiliser

Nutrients, pesticides, sediment and litter washed off land by rain into streams, lakes and coasts from many scattered sources.

Also: nonpoint pollution

Toxic substances in soil from industry, mining, waste or spills that enter crops, water and people.

Also: contaminated land

Toxic or hazardous substances entering rivers, lakes, groundwater or supply systems from industry, mining, farming or accidents.

Also: polluted drinking water, river pollution

Release of crude oil or fuel onto water or land that smothers wildlife and shorelines and halts fishing and tourism.

Also: fuel spill

Tiny plastic particles accumulating in water, soil, food and bodies, with long-term and poorly known effects.

Contaminants in the food chain, such as residues, metals or toxins, above safe levels, causing illness or trade bans.

Also: food safety incident

Fungal toxins growing on crops in the field or in storage and poisoning the people and livestock that eat them.

Also: aflatoxin

Algal or bacterial toxins accumulating in shellfish and fish, causing poisoning and forcing harvest closures.

Also: shellfish poisoning, ciguatera

Harm to people, pollinators and aquatic life from pesticide use, drift, residue or misuse.

Build-up of nitrate from fertiliser and manure in groundwater and wells, endangering infants and linked to other long-term health harm.

Also: nitrate pollution, blue baby syndrome

Long-lived organic chemicals that travel far, build up in food chains and harm health and wildlife.

Also: POPs

Highly persistent fluorinated chemicals from foams, coatings and industry that contaminate water and blood and resist removal.

Also: forever chemicals, fluorinated compounds

Mercury from mining, burning and industry that builds up in fish and harms the developing nervous system.

Lead from paint, pipes, fuel, batteries and smelters that damages children's brains and adult organs.

Cadmium from batteries, phosphate fertiliser and smelting that accumulates in crops and kidneys.

Natural or mining-related arsenic in groundwater that causes cancers and skin disease in people who drink it for years.

Too much or too little of elements such as fluoride and iodine in water and diet, causing bone, thyroid and developmental disease.

Also: fluoride excess, iodine deficiency

Inhaled asbestos fibres from damaged or demolished materials that cause lung disease and cancer decades later.

Exposure to benzene and related hydrocarbons from fuels, solvents and industry that raises the risk of cancer and blood disease.

Uncontrolled release of a hazardous liquid or gas from a tank, pipe, vehicle or process into the surroundings.

A cloud of poisonous gas, such as chlorine, ammonia or hydrogen sulphide, escaping a plant, store or vehicle and drifting downwind.

Also: chlorine release, ammonia release, hydrogen sulphide release

A gas that displaces oxygen in a confined or low-lying space, such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide, suffocating people without warning smell.

Colourless gas from incomplete burning that builds up in enclosed spaces and poisons occupants, often during power cuts and cold spells.

Also: CO poisoning

Spill or leak of strong acids or bases that burn tissue, corrode structures and contaminate water.

Intentional use of a toxic chemical agent against people, in war, terrorism or crime.

Also: chemical weapon use, nerve agent

Loss of control of a reactor or its cooling that releases radioactive material or threatens to.

Also: reactor accident

Loss, theft, leak or dispersal of radioactive sources or materials outside a reactor, exposing people and contaminating places.

Also: lost radioactive source, dirty bomb

An explosion from a nuclear weapon or device, with blast, heat, prompt radiation and fallout.

Also: nuclear weapon

Leakage or fire at a store or disposal site holding radioactive waste.

Uncollected, dumped or burned municipal waste that breeds disease, blocks drains and pollutes air and water.

Also: uncollected waste, open dumping

A landfill collapsing, burning or leaking so that waste slides, smoke spreads and leachate reaches water.

Also: landfill fire, waste slide

Improper handling, dumping or loss of toxic, infectious or chemical waste, including hospital waste, that exposes workers and communities.

Also: medical waste, toxic dumping

Toxic metals and fumes from informal dismantling and burning of discarded electronics that harm workers, children and soil.

Also: e-waste

Plastic litter piling up on land, rivers and coasts, blocking drains and harming wildlife and fisheries.

Also: plastic litter

Floating and sunken waste, including lost nets and containers, that entangles wildlife, fouls propellers and washes up on shores.

Also: ghost nets, ocean litter

Raw or poorly treated sewage and industrial effluent entering rivers, coasts or land, spreading disease and nutrients.

Also: sewage discharge

Collapse, overtopping or breach of the embankment or bund holding mine-waste slurry, manure or other liquid waste, sending a toxic flow downstream.

Also: tailings dam failure, mine waste dam break, waste lagoon breach

Rubble, wrecked vehicles and mixed waste left by disasters and war that blocks recovery and can hold asbestos, munitions and human remains.

Also: rubble

Build-up of plastic particles too small to see in water, food, air and body tissues, including the brain and placenta, with suspected harm to heart, brain and development.

Also: nanoplastics, plastic particles in human tissue

Fine rubber and road particles shed by traffic, with their chemical additives, that pollute air, rivers and soils and can kill aquatic life.

Also: tyre dust, road dust particles, tyre chemical runoff

Exposure to chemicals in plastics, cosmetics, pesticides and packaging that interfere with hormones, linked to reduced fertility, developmental harm, metabolic disease and wildlife decline.

Also: hormone-disrupting chemicals, bisphenols, phthalates, endocrine disruptors

Residues of medicines released from manufacturing, sewage and farming into rivers, groundwater and soils, harming fish and wildlife and spreading drug resistance.

Also: drug residues in water, medicine pollution

Build-up and spread of drug-resistant bacteria and their resistance genes in sewage, rivers, soils and farms, creating reservoirs that return resistance to people and animals.

Also: resistance genes in the environment, resistant bacteria in wastewater

Daily exposure to mixtures of many chemicals that are each judged safe alone but may combine to harm health and ecosystems, outside most safety assessment.

Also: cocktail effect, combined chemical exposure

Release of manufactured nanoscale materials from products and factories into air, water and soil, where their behaviour and long-term toxicity are poorly understood.

Also: nanomaterial pollution, nanoparticle release

Unhealthy air inside buildings from poor ventilation, trapped pollutants and infiltration of outdoor smoke, raising respiratory illness, spread of infection and poor concentration.

Also: sick building, ventilation failure, indoor air crisis

Persistent damp and mould growth in poorly built, overcrowded or flood-damaged homes that triggers asthma, lung infection and allergy, with children at highest risk.

Also: mould in housing, damp homes, post-flood mould

Release of irritant and harmful gases from building materials, furniture, cleaning products and appliances that accumulate indoors and affect breathing and long-term health.

Also: formaldehyde emissions, volatile organic compounds indoors

Dangerous heat building up inside poorly designed or top-floor homes, care homes and schools during hot weather, often exceeding outdoor heat and killing vulnerable occupants.

Also: overheated homes, heat-trapping buildings

Breathing other people's tobacco smoke at home, work or in public places, causing heart disease, lung cancer and childhood respiratory illness.

Also: passive smoking, environmental tobacco smoke

Persistent loud sound from traffic, aircraft, industry and work that disturbs sleep, raises stress and blood pressure, damages hearing and drives heart disease.

Also: traffic noise, aircraft noise, noise-induced hearing loss

Excess artificial light at night that disrupts human sleep and body clocks and confuses insects, birds, turtles and other wildlife, contributing to their decline.

Also: artificial light at night, skyglow

Rising noise in seas and rivers from shipping, construction and surveys that disturbs, injures or displaces whales, fish and other marine life.

Also: ocean noise, shipping noise, seismic survey noise

Release of heated water from power plants and industry into rivers, lakes and coasts that lowers oxygen and kills or displaces fish and other aquatic life.

Also: cooling water discharge, heated effluent