Prior to industrialization, water pollution was usually caused by contamination from animal and human waste, leading to outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne diseases. Before the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century, humans produced relatively small amounts of refined metals and organic materials. The production of various alloys of copper, tin, lead, and zinc by heating the mineral ores or by using natural copper metal was also minor. During the Industrial Revolution, however,... więcej

Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2023. 3p.