Pollutant Properties

Question 1

State of matter

Answer 1

Whether the pollutant is solid, liquid or gas form affects its ability to be dispersed.

Question 2

Energy form

Answer 2

Pollutants that are energy forms e.g. eat, noise, light vary in the impacts.

Question 3

Density

Answer 3

Density of a material affects how easily it is dispersed e.g denser materials require more kinetic energy to move to are likely to be deposited nearer to the source.

Question 4

Persistence

Answer 4

Measure of how long a pollutant remains in the environment before it degrades.
CFCs or DDT are highly persistent pollutants

Question 5

Toxicity

Answer 5

How poisonous a substance is to living organisms

Question 6

Specificity

Answer 6

Variations in toxicity to different groups of organisms.
Specific toxins are more toxic to some groups of animals than others so may be safer to use.

Question 7

Reactivity

Answer 7

How reactive a pollutant is affects the severity of pollution caused.