Area sources are sources of pollution which emit a substance or radiation from a specified area.

Air pollution

For example, area sources of

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different typ ...

are air pollutant emission sources which operate within a certain locale. The

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...

has categorized 70 different categories of air pollution area source.

Locomotives A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

operating on certain linear tracks are examples of a

line source A line source, as opposed to a point source, area source, or volume source, is a source of air, noise, water contamination or electromagnetic radiation that emanates from a linear (one-dimensional) geometry. The most prominent linear sources ...

, whereas locomotives operating within a railyard are an example of an area source of pollution. Other area sources of air pollution are: * Multiple flue gas stacks within a single industrial plant * Open burning and

forest fires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

* Evaporation losses from large spills of volatile liquids

Water pollution

Water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. ...

manifestations of an area source—often called nonpoint source pollution—include: * Surface runoff of fertilizer or pesticides from rainfall or irrigation water * Widespread failure of a

septic drain field Septic drain fields, also called leach fields or leach drains, are subsurface wastewater disposal facilities used to remove contaminants and impurities from the liquid that emerges after anaerobic digestion in a septic tank. Organic materials in ...

* Dispersal of an oil spill in a water body. In the 1950s or earlier

hydrology transport model An hydrological transport model is a mathematical model used to simulate the flow of rivers, streams, groundwater movement or drainage front displacement, and calculate water quality parameters. These models generally came into use in the 1960s a ...

s appeared to calculate surface runoff, primarily for flood forecasting. Beginning in the early 1970s computer models were developed to analyze the transport of runoff carrying

water pollutant Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...

s, which considered

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

rates of various chemicals, infiltration into soils and ultimate pollutant load delivered to

receiving waters Receiving may refer to: * ''Kabbalah'', "receiving" in Hebrew * Receiving department (or receiving dock), in a distribution center * Receiving house, a theater * Receiving line, in a wedding reception * Receiving mark, postmark * Receiving par ...

. One of the earliest models addressing chemical dissolution in runoff and resulting transport was developed in the early 1970s by the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

.C. Michael Hogan, Leda Patmore, Gary Latshaw, Harry Seidman et al. 1973 This

computer model Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be deter ...

formed the basis of much of the regulatory framework that led to strategies for water pollution control via

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long ...

and chemical handling techniques. People produce so much trash that half of it goes in water sources.

References

* C. Michael Hogan, Leda Patmore, Gary Latshaw, Harry Seidman et al. 1973. ''

Computer model Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be deter ...

ing of pesticide transport in soil for five instrumented watersheds'',

Southeast Water laboratory, Athens, Ga. by

ESL Inc. ESL Incorporated, or Electromagnetic Systems Laboratory, was a subsidiary of TRW, a high technology firm in the United States that was engaged in software design, systems analysis and hardware development for the strategic reconnaissance market ...

, Sunnyvale, California * Arnold W. Reitze, J. B. Shapiro and Maurice C. Shapiro. 2005. ''Stationary Source Air Pollution Law'', Published by Environmental Law Institute, 500 pages ,

Line notes

{{reflist Pollution

Air pollution

Water pollution

See also

References

Line notes