Point source pollution

Industrial point sources of air pollution.

A point source of pollution is a single identifiable source of air, water, thermal, noise or light pollution. A point source has negligible extent, distinguishing it from other pollution source geometries. The sources are called point sources because in mathematical modeling, they can be approximated as a mathematical point to simplify analysis^[1]. Pollution point sources are identical to other physics, engineering, optics, and chemistry point sources and include:

Air pollution from an industrial source, rather than an airport or a road, considered a line source or a forest fire which is considered an area source, or volume source.
Water pollution from an oil refinery wastewater discharge outlet^[2]
Noise pollution from a jet engine
Disruptive seismic vibration from a localized seismic study
Light pollution from an intrusive street light
Thermal pollution from an industrial process outfall
Radio emissions from an interference-producing electrical device

References

^ van Leeuwen, C.J. (2010). Risk Assessment of Chemicals: An Introduction, 2nd Ed. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4020-6101-1.
^ C.Michael Hogan. 2010. Water pollution. Encyclopedia of Earth, Topic ed. Mark McGinley, ed. in chief C.Cleveland, National Council on Science and the Environment, Washington DC

[1] van Leeuwen, C.J. (2010). Risk Assessment of Chemicals: An Introduction, 2nd Ed. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4020-6101-1.

[2] C.Michael Hogan. 2010. Water pollution. Encyclopedia of Earth, Topic ed. Mark McGinley, ed. in chief C.Cleveland, National Council on Science and the Environment, Washington DC

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