Chemically Chemicals
Whether pleasant or off-putting, these materials travel to the nose.
Volatiles
A material class used around metal working to limit corrosion and lubricate, also used as binder with aggregate for road surfaces.
SVOCs
Material that originally derives from plants, now linked to portable energy sources
Petroleum
This material from humans causes fish to asphyxiate when too great.
Oxygen demanding materials
Descriptor of a biological pollutant that causes human disease.
Pathogen
Broad range of materials to limit everything from cockroaches to weevils.
Pesticides
Low melt point and slippery, used in plumbing, paint and old gasoline.
Lead
Can come from electrical power production but not through the air.
Heat
This material comes from detergent use and plant breakdown.
Phosphorous
A measure of how deadly a substance is.
Toxcity
Material that attacks members of a different phylum than humans whose TEA is carbon dioxide.
Herbicides
Linked to "Old Lace" in a theater show, can be a deadly killer.
Arsenic
Not realized until the 1990s, these materials can disrupt bodily cycles of water consumers.
Endocrine disrupters
From water softening or winter roadway maintenance, this material peppers fish into oblivion.
Salt
Natural processes that function as treatment to degrade.
Assimilation
Not a natural material and now outlawed, persistence has caused worldwide extent.
PCBs
Easy to measure and fairly easy to treat, these materials mostly do damage by causing metals to mobilize.
Acids and bases
Prescribed to help, leftovers can hurt.
Pharmaceuticals
The most natural of all pollutants, this material can cause problems from entombment or disrupted navigation.
Sediment
The characteristic of the amount in a typical exposure.
Dose
New to our awareness, base material in common products, likely to be a big headache for water users and companies alike.
PFAS
Erroneously thought to cause glowing, these materials cause cell damage sufficient to cause cancer.
Radioactive metals
Daily go go is a no-go in the environment.
Caffine
This material is a natural byproduct of animal urine.
Nitrate
The measure of how long a compound can last in the environment.
Persistence.