During the British Industrial Revolution, pollution was a defining negative consequence of rapid industrialization, taking two main forms: air pollution and water pollution. Coal-fired factories, steam engines, and home heating released dense smoke and soot over industrial cities, while factories and overcrowded urban populations discharged industrial waste and untreated sewage directly into rivers. Together, these two forms of contamination triggered serious public health crises, including respiratory illness and waterborne disease outbreaks such as cholera.