Types of Pollution Sources (College Board AP® Environmental Science): Study Guide

Point-source pollution is easy to identify as there is a clear source of the pollutant, such as smoke from a smokestack of a factory, untreated sewage coming out of a pipe into a river and vehicle exhaust coming out of a car's tailpipe

A key feature of point source pollution is the plume, which is the area where the pollution is strongest

This makes it easy to control since the type of pollutant and its location are known

Easy to fine the pollutor if they do not comply with the terms of their permit

Easy to monitor if the pollutant is above or below allowed limits

Nonpoint-source pollution happens when pollutants come from diffused sources that are hard to pinpoint or from many sources spread out over a large area, such as urban runoff or pesticide spraying

Nonpoint-source pollution that flows with water or enters water is called 'runoff'

Car exhausts are called nonpoint-source pollution because the emissions looks like they comes from a wide area, not just one specific car

Nonpoint-source pollution is hard to monitor and requires many monitoring stations

It is difficult to find and fine offenders