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TOXIC POLLUTION OF THE WATER WE DRINK, AND THE FOOD WE EAT, EVERYDAY OF OUR LIVES |
The toxic pollutants that affect the food we eat and the water we drink comes from many and varied sources. The pollutants can be airborne, water based or ground based when they reach the particular area where they contaminate the water and food. Basically, there are two types of contamination, direct and indirect. Direct examples are people who prepare food are exposed to pesticide spraying or other contaminants and never wash or inadequately wash their hands or the containers for the food or drink. Other examples are airborne toxic pollutants settled on food and water meant for consumption. Even certain additives in preserved drinks and food are toxic to our body. Certain food dyes are detrimental to our body systems. Even barbecue meat on open grill contains chemicals which may be carcinogen to our body cells. Indirect contamination involves the consumption of food e.g. fish, animals, chickens, vegetables and fruits which have been contaminated in the first place and the contaminant levels they accumulate pose a health risk to human. With reference to bio-accumulative pollutants, advisories in the U.S. have been issued for a total of 45 chemical contaminants. These chemical contaminants are biologically in the tissues of aquatic organisms at concentration many times higher than normal. In addition, these chemical contaminants persist in sediments for relatively long periods where they are accumulated by bottom dwelling animals and pass up the food chain to fish. Concentrations of contaminants in the tissues of aquatic organisms may be increased at such successive level. As a result, top predators in a food chain, such as trout, salmon, or walleye, may have chemicals in their fatty tissues that can be a million times higher than the concentrations in water. PCBs, chlordane, dioxins, and DDT (and its degradable products DDE and DDD) were responsible for almost 95% of all fish consumption advisories in effect, in 1996 in the U.S. Different states in the U.S. have advisories for different contaminants, such as mercury, PCBs, etc and are arising significantly.
TOXIC POLLUTION FROM INDUSTRIAL SOURCES
Toxic pollution from Industrial Sources that contaminate water and food also derived from many industries as those covered by Toxic Pollution of the Air we breathe in and besides those, there are by products of these industrial sources and are the following:-
Thallium
It is a metal found in natural deposits as ores and is used in specialized
electronic research equipment. The leaching of thallium from ore
processing is the major source of elevated thallium concentrations in water.
It accumulates in aquatic life or migrates into ground water. Short-term
exposure to thallium can cause gastrointestinal irritation and nerve damage
if contaminant levels are above the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL).
Long-term level exposure to thallium above MCL can cause changes in blood
chemistry, damage to liver, kidney, intestinal and testicular tissues and
hair loss.
Copper
It is a metal found in natural deposits and widely used in household
plumbing materials. Copper is an essential nutrient, required by
the body in very small amounts. However, if the level of contamination
is above the MCL in water or food supply, then people exposed to it can
be affected by stomach and intestinal distress, liver and kidney damage
and anaemia. Most of the contamination are due to copper mining and
smelting operations and municipal incineration.
Lead
It is also found in natural deposits and is sometimes being used in
household plumbing materials or in water service lines used to bring water
from the main to the home. Lead can cause many types of ill health
effects when exposed to drinking water contamination or food prepared from
it at levels above the MCL, even for short periods of time. It is
detrimental to the red blood cell chemistry, delays in normal physical
and mental development in babies and young children, slight deficits in
the attention span, hearing and learning abilities of children, and increases
the blood pressure of some adults. Lead mining and smelting operators
form the largest contamination sources.
Selenium
It is also found in natural deposits. It is widely used in everyday
components, such as glass, rubber, metal alloys, textiles, petroleum, photographic
emulsions and medical therapeutic agents. Selenium is an essential
nutrient at low levels but above MCL even for relatively short periods
of time, hair and fingernail changes, damage to the peripheral nervous
system and fatigue cum irritability. Long-term exposure can cause
hair and fingernail loss, damage to the kidney and liver tissues, as well
as the nervous and circulatory systems.
Nitrates/Nitrites
They are nitrogen-oxygen chemical units which combine with various
organic and inorganic compounds. When ingested, nitrates are converted
to nitrites. Nitrites are widely used as fertilizers. Most nitrogenous
materials in natural waters tend to be converted to nitrate, so all sources
of combined nitrogen, particularly organic nitrogen and ammonia, should
be considered as potential nitrate sources. Primary sources of organic
nitrates include human sewage and livestock manure, especially from feedlots.
Excessive levels of nitrate in drinking water have caused serious illness
and sometimes death in short term exposure. The serious illness in
infants is due to the conversion of nitrate to nitrite by the body which
interferes with the oxygen-carrying capacity of the child’s blood and health
deteriorates rapidly over a period of days with symptoms of shortness of
breath and blueness of the skin.
Long-term exposure can cause diuresis, increased starchy deposits and
hemorrhaging of the spleen.
Antimony
It is also found as a metal in natural deposits - as ores and is widely
used as flame retardant in the form of antimony trioxide compound.
It is also used in batteries, pigments and ceramics/glass. Short-term
consumption of drinking water with contamination above MCL of 6 ppb can
cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, while long-term can cause cancer
as Antimony is a known human carcinogen.
Beryllium
It is a metal found in natural ores deposits and its greatest use is
in making metal alloys for nuclear reactors and the aerospace industry.
Short-term exposure to beryllium above the MCL can cause inflammation of
the lungs when inhaled, but less toxic in water, whereas long-term can
cause damage to bones and lungs and can cause cancer.
Cyanide
It is a carbon-nitrogen chemical unit which can combine with many organic
and inorganic compounds. Hydrogen cyanide is mainly used to make
compounds needed to make nylon and other synthetic fibers and resins.
Other cyanides are used as herbicides. When exposed to relatively
short periods of time, rapid breathing, tremors and other neurological
effects will occur, whereas long-term exposure to levels above MCL, weight
loss, thyroid effects and nerve damage can occur. The major cyanide
releases into water are discharges from metal finishing industries, iron
and steel mills, and organic chemical industries.
Asbestos
It is a fibrous mineral occurring in natural deposits and are used
in roofing materials, brake pads and cement pipes used in distributing
water for human consumption. When the level of asbestos in drinking
water is above MCL and on a long-term basis can cause cancer and lung disease.
Barium
It is a lustrous, machinable metal and exists in ores containing mixtures
of elements. It is widely used in electronic components, in metal
alloys, bleaches, dyes, fireworks, glass and ceramics.
Consumption of water above MCL for relatively short periods of time
can cause gastrointestinal disturbances and muscular weakness, whereas
long-term exposure can cause high blood pressure.
Cadmium
It is a metal found in natural deposit as ores and is primarily used
in metal plating and coating operations, machinery and baking enamels,
photography, television, nickel-cadmium and solar batteries and also in
pigments.
When exposed to levels above MCL for relatively short periods of time,
nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea , muscle cramp, salivation, sensory disturbances,
convulsions, liver damage, shock and renal failure and long-term exposure
can cause damage to kidney, bone, liver and blood.
Chromium
It is a metal found in natural deposits as ores. It is used in
metal alloys, such as stainless steel, protective coatings on metal, magnetic
tapes, paints’ pigments, cement, paper, rubber and other materials.
Short-term exposure above MCL cause skin irritation and ulceration, whereas
long-term exposure causes damage to liver, kidney, circulatory, and nerve
tissues, as well as skin irritation. They are very persistent in water
as sediments and have a tendency to accumulate in aquatic life.
Mercury
It is a liquid metal found in natural deposits as ores and used in
electrical products, such as dry-cell batteries, fluorescent light bulbs,
switches and other control equipment. Large amounts of mercury are
released naturally from the earth’s crust. Combustion of fossil fuels,
metal smelters, cement manufacturers, municipal landfills, sewage, metal
refining operations are sources of mercury contamination. Short or long-term
exposure to mercury can cause kidney damage.
TOXIC POLLUTION FROM AGRICULTURE SOURCES
The United States has over 330 million acres of agriculture land and
the most recent National Water Quality Inventory reports that agricultural
Non-point Source (NPS) pollution is the leading source of water quality
impacts to surveyed rivers and lakes, the third largest source of impairments
to surveyed estuaries, and also a major contributor to ground water contamination
and wetlands degradation.
Agricultural activities that cause NPS pollution included confirmed
animals facilities, grazing, plowing, pesticide spraying, irrigation, fertilizing,
planting and harvesting. The major agricultural NPS pollutants that
result from these activities are sediment, nutrients, pathogens, pesticides,
and salts.
Fertilizers and manure contain phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium,
when applied in excess of plant needs are washed into aquatic ecosystems
where they also create a foul taste and odor in drinking water and kills
fish. High concentration of nitrates in drinking water can cause
methemoglobinemia, a potentially fatal disease in infants, also known as
blue baby syndrome.
Confined animals are the major source of animal waste and the runoffs
can carry pathogens (bacteria and viruses), nutrients, and oxygen depleting
substances that contaminate shell fishing areas and major water quality
problems. Shellfish are contaminated by the bacteria and viruses
and ends up in the stomach of humans during consumption of the shellfish.
Ground water are also contaminated by seepage and well water drawn
for consumption by humans, invariably end up in the stomach of the consumer.
Likewise, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides used for control of pests,
weeds and fungus, also end up the way as animal waste contaminating everything
before them.
TOXIC POLLUTION FROM TIMBER INDUSTRY SOURCES
The effects of forestry activities on water quality have been widely studied and documentated. On Federal lands, such as national forests, many water quality problems are attributed to the effects of timber harvesting and related activities.
Sedimentation
Sediment is often the primary pollutant associated with forestry activities.
When it settles, it fills interstitial spaces in lake bottoms or streambeds
and eliminates essential habitat, covering food sources and spawning sites
and smothering bottom-dwelling organism and periphyton. Suspended
sediments increase water turbidity and turbid waters tend to have higher
temperatures and lower dissolved oxygen concentrations which may kill aquatic
vegetation, fish and benthic invertebrates, thereby contaminating the water
with dead vegetation and fish.
Nutrients
Nutrients from forest fertilizers, such as nitrogen and phosphorus
absorbed to sediments, in solution or transported by aerial deposition
can cause harmful effects in receiving water forming drinking water for
human consumption.
Forest Chemicals
Herbicides, insecticides and fungicides (collectively termed as pesticides)
are used to control forest pests and undesirable plant species can be toxic
to aquatic organisms or have the tendency to bio-accumulate in the bodies
of aquatic animals. Pesticides are applied to foliage or soils or are applied
by aerial means are readily transported to surface waters and ground waters.
Some pesticides are extremely soluble in water and is carried along the
stream and eventually to reservoirs and may seep into the underground water
table. Other chemicals that contaminate the water that may be released
during forestry activities include fuel, oil and coolants used in equipments
for harvesting and road building in the forest.
TOXIC POLLUTION FROM NON-POINT SOURCES (NPS)
NPS pollution occurs when water runs over land or through the ground,
picks up pollutants, and deposits them in surface water or introduces them
into ground water. The National Water Quality Inventory reports that
runoff from urban areas is the largest source of water quality impairments
to surveyed lakes and rapidly growing urban areas will increasingly degrade
this water quality.
Urbanization increases the variety and amount of pollutants transported
to receiving waters. Sediment from development and new construction,
oil grease and toxic chemicals from automobiles, nutrients and pesticides
from turf management and gardening, viruses and bacterial from failing
septic systems, road salts and heavy metals. In older cities, this
polluted runoff is often released directly into the water, without any
treatment and can harm and contaminate fish and wildlife populations, kill
or contaminate native vegetation and foul drinking water supply.
Consumption of fish and sea animals contaminate by these pollution
can lead to ill health or even death of the person concerned. In
Japan, where many people consumed sea-weeds from the sea are similarly
affected due to the pollution of vegetation of the sea.
TOXIC POLLUTION FROM NATURAL SOURCES
This type of pollution occurs when natural events happen such as when
forest fire occurs through natural trigger, such as lightning on dry timber
and the resultant combustion of fossil fuels, natural deposits of mercury
ores, tallium, lead, antimony effects dangerous airborne pollutants which
eventually contaminates drinking water and the food cycle.
Exposure of ores from underground sources through soil erosions by
rain or river is another natural source of toxic pollution and mercury
is especially dangerous because it can evaporate when released to water
or soil. Also, microbes can convert inorganic forms of mercury to
organic forms which can be accumulated by aquatic life and pass up the
food cycle and also drinking water quality is also affected. Other
natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions can expel and the wind can
transport through the air naturally occurring toxic chemical pollutants
and the combustion resultant toxic pollutants of the volcanic activities
to great distances from original point, to contaminate the drinking water
and food cycle.
Acid rain is another form of toxic pollution from natural sources and
are the result of manmade pollution of the atmosphere and the natural pollution
of the air created by volcanic eruptions, tornados or hurricanes
which caused toxic pollutants to be swept up into the atmosphere and disperse
everywhere and thus eventually polluting drinking water and the food chain.
Even earthquakes in many occasions, exposed large deposits of dangerous
toxic ores which were brought up or exposed through the earthquake activities
exposing the toxic ores to the elements of wind and rain, the resultant
would be the same in contaminating water and food sources for the human
race as well as other living organism.
The temperatures of this earth also play a part in the widespread contamination
as rising hot air also conveys toxic pollutants from ground levels to the
upper part of the sky to intermix with the clouds and then transported
by wind due to differences of temperature - warm air arises and cool air
rushes in from the surroundings, thereby effecting the widespread distribution
of toxic pollutants from a local source to wide distribution areas.
Again, the whole events unfold, such as these toxic pollutants may be passed
along the food chain and drinking water from the microbes to algae, fishes,
birds, animals and eventually to humans.
The drinking water and food that humans partake are subjected to multiple pathway toxic exposure ranging from natural sources to manmade sources, directly or indirectly contaminating or polluting our sustenance. Our sustenance can be subjected to acute exposure, i.e. heavy contamination sustenance ingested in a day or two or to chronic exposure, i.e. consumption of contaminated sustenance over a long period or a substantial portion of the individual’s lifetime. Some of the toxic substances ingested are neutralized by the body’s digestive juices or by the liver’s detoxification function, whereas some can never be detoxified. Some of the toxin may pass out from the body and some remain, notably mercury and lead, which lead to degeneration of the body system and the brain. Whatever the types of toxic pollution that enters our body systems will definitely cause damages and harm to our body systems and functions, contributing to the degeneration of the body such as debilitating diseases e.g. diabetes, arthritis, Parkinson disease, etc. The body by nature has an efficient system to remove most of the toxic pollution in the body but unfortunately the amount and diversity of the current toxic pollution overwhelms our body systems causing it to break down slowly but surely, and in some cases to be quicker and more dramatic than others, such as heart attacks and strokes. The present generations of human and of course the future generations are consuming so much toxic substances that many young children are having toxins in their body cells already, as in the case of consuming milk from cows eating pesticide contaminated grass and hence the toxin going up the food chain to humans. It is almost impossible to eliminate all the toxic substances around the world as most developed, developing or emerging countries in the world are constantly polluting the air with their smoking chimneys and toxic industrial discharge into the rivers and eventually the sea. The agriculture industries are also using too much pesticides which include herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc. as well as fertilizers which eventually will be washed into the rivers and the sea. The entire world’s motor vehicles are constantly polluting the world with their exhaust gases and oil change and discharges which generally end up in the river and the sea. In fact the amount, variety, type and combination of toxic pollution are staggering and they all help to pollute the water we drink and the food that we consume everyday from agriculture products to fishes from the river and the sea and it is no wonder that many people tend to go through life easily sick, constantly lethargic and prone to disease and sickness whether they are young or old and there seemed to be no real solution in sight for the world despite that we are supposed to be very advanced in the scientific age.