TERMIUM Plus®

The Government of Canada’s terminology and linguistic data bank.

POLLUTANT [1 record]

Filter results by subject field Alphabetical list of terms

Filter results by subject field

Alphabetical list of terms

Record 1 2016-12-21

English

Subject field(s)
  • Pollutants
  • Air Pollution
DEF

... any thing, living or not living, or any physical agent (e.g., heat, sound) that in its excess makes any part of the environment undesirable; if water, undesirable for drinking, recreation, visual enjoyment, or as a habitat for the aquatic life normal to it; if air, undesirable for breathing, for the condition of buildings and monuments exposed to it, or for animal and plant life; if soil and land, undesirable for raising food and fiber, animals, or for recreation or aesthetic enjoyment.

OBS

In common usage, "pollutant" is a term applied usually to non living, man-made substances or other nuisances, and it refers to their being in excess in a particular location. Often the same substances are produced by natural causes ... but [generally], however, ... they are not by themselves principal threats ....

French

Domaine(s)
  • Agents de pollution
  • Pollution de l'air
DEF

[...] substance naturelle ou d'origine strictement anthropogénique que l'homme introduit dans un biotope donné dont elle était absente ou encore dont il modifie et augmente la teneur (dans l'eau, l'air ou les sols selon le biotope) lorsqu'elle y était spontanément présente.

OBS

polluant : terme normalisé par l'AFNOR.

OBS

matière polluante; agent polluant; substance polluante : termes extraits du «Glossaire de l’environnement» et reproduits avec l’autorisation de l’Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques.

Spanish

Campo(s) temático(s)
  • Agentes contaminantes
  • Contaminación del aire
DEF

Sustancia ajena a un equilibrio ambiental, que se presenta en el medio como un agente perturbador.

OBS

Algunos autores distinguen entre contaminante y polutante. Consideran un contaminante como una sustancia que resulta de la actividad humana sin tener necesariamente efectos biológicos mientras que el polutante tiene origen en la actividad humana y produce efectos nocivos.

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