International Journal of Engineering Research and Advanced Technology (IJERAT) E-ISSN : 2454-6135 DOI: 10.31695/IJERAT.2020.3671 Volume.6, Issue 12 December -2020 www.ijerat.com Page 56 Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Essence of Environmental Chemistry Matthew N. O. Sadiku, Omobayode I. Fagbohungbe, and Sarhan M. Musa Roy G. Perry College of Engineering Prairie View A&M University Prairie View, TX, USA ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Environmental chemistry studies the occurrence, movements, and transformations of chemicals in the living environments. It is an interdisciplinary field that studies the presence and impact of chemicals in soil, water, and living environment. It deals with the impact of chemicals and their effects on human health and organisms in the environment. It helps us trace and control contaminants. This paper provides the fundamentals of environmental chemistry and the effects of mankind's activities on the earth's chemical systems. Key Words: Environmental Chemistry, Chemical Pollution. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. INTRODUCTION Environmental chemistry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the production, transport, and effects of chemicals in the water, air, earth, and natural environments. It is the field that studies chemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It involves understanding the chemical processes that occur in water, air, terrestrial, and living environments. Although some key chemical concepts are fundamental to understanding environmental chemistry, it is an interdisciplinary discipline that covers analytical chemistry, aquatic and soil chemistry, atmospheric chemistry, astrochemistry, engineering, mathematics, biology, geology, ecology, toxicology, and environmental sciences. Due to its multidisciplinary nature, environmental chemistry requires the contribution and collaboration of a wide variety of scientists to succeed. Figure 1 is a typical Illustration of environmental chemistry [1]. Assessing the environmental impact may require a variety of experts: soil scientists to understand its fate in the soil, biologists to analyze the effect of the drug on living creatures, and atmospheric scientists to predict its transformations in the water and air [2]. Environmental chemistry should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source, while environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical phenomena that occur in natural places. Green chemistry involves the development of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous substances. It focuses on minimizing the environmental impact of chemistry. It reduces toxicity, minimizes waste, and saves energy. Green chemistry is not confined to industrial sector. It applies to all areas of chemistry including organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and physical chemistry [3]. 2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Importance of the environment was realized in the 1960s and reached its climax in 1970, with the celebration of “Earth Day” under the auspices of the United Nation. As a distinct field in chemistry, environmental chemistry emerged as a discipline when scientists started studying the occurrence of chemical in the natural environment. During the1960s, industries, agriculture, and households started to use more chemical compounds such as pesticides, detergents, polyester, synthetic rubber, etc. A major impetus for environmental chemistry dates from the discovery in the1970s of human health hazards caused by environmental pollution. Environmental chemists also began studying the effects of human-caused chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) on the stratospheric ozone layer. Since then, environmental chemistry expanded to include the study of chemical compounds in water, soil, biological systems.