Overview of main
health effects on humans from some common types of pollution.[26][27][28]
Adverse
air quality can kill many organisms including humans. Ozone pollution can cause
respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, throat inflammation, chest pain,
and congestion. Water pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths per day,
mostly due to contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage in developing
countries.
An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet,
and 1,000 Indian children die of diarrhea every day.[29] Nearly 500 million
Chinese lack access to safe drinking water.[30] 656,000 people die prematurely
each year in China because of air pollution. In India, air pollution is
believed to cause 527,700 fatalities a year.[31] Studies have estimated that
the number of people killed annually in the US could be over 50,000.[32]
Oil
spills can cause skin irritations and rashes. Noise pollution induces hearing
loss, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep disturbance. Mercury has been
linked to developmental deficits in children and neurologic symptoms. Older
people are majorly exposed to diseases induced by air pollution. Those with
heart or lung disorders are under additional risk. Children and infants are
also at serious risk. Lead and other heavy metals have been shown to cause
neurological problems. Chemical and radioactive substances can cause cancer and
as well as birth defects.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollution
has been found to be present widely in the environment. There are a number of
effects of this:
• Biomagnification describes situations where
toxins (such as heavy metals) may pass through trophic levels, becoming
exponentially more concentrated in the process.
• Carbon dioxide emissions cause ocean
acidification, the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans as CO2
becomes dissolved.
• The emission of greenhouse gases leads to
global warming which affects ecosystems in many ways.
• Invasive species can out compete native species
and reduce biodiversity. Invasive plants can contribute debris and biomolecules
(allelopathy) that can alter soil and chemical compositions of an environment,
often reducing native species competitiveness.
• Nitrogen oxides are removed from the air by
rain and fertilise land which can change the species composition of ecosystems.
• Smog and haze can reduce the amount of
sunlight received by plants to carry out photosynthesis and leads to the
production of tropospheric ozone which damages plants.
• Soil can become infertile and unsuitable
for plants. This will affect other organisms in the food web.
• Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can
cause acid rain which lowers the pH value of soil.
ENVIRONMENTAL
HEALTH INFORMATION
The
Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP)[33] at the
United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) maintains a comprehensive
toxicology and environmental health web site that includes access to resources
produced by TEHIP and by other government agencies and organizations. This web
site includes links to databases, bibliographies, tutorials, and other
scientific and consumer-oriented resources. TEHIP also is responsible for the
Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET)[34] an integrated system of toxicology and environmental
health databases that are available free of charge on the web.
TOXMAP is a Geographic
Information System (GIS) that is part of TOXNET. TOXMAP uses maps of the United
States to help users visually explore data from the United States Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory and Superfund Basic Research
Programs.
REGULATION AND
MONITORING
Main article:
Regulation and monitoring of pollution
To
protect the environment from the adverse effects of pollution, many nations
worldwide have enacted legislation to regulate various types of pollution as
well as to mitigate the adverse effects of pollution.
POLLUTION
CONTROL
Pollution
control is a term used in environmental management. It means the control of
emissions and effluents into air, water or soil. Without pollution control, the
waste products from consumption, heating, agriculture, mining, manufacturing,
transportation and other human activities, whether they accumulate or disperse,
will degrade the environment. In the hierarchy of controls, pollution
prevention and waste minimization are more desirable than pollution control. In
the field of land development, low impact development is a similar technique
for the prevention of urban runoff.
PRACTICES
·
recycling
·
reusing
·
Waste
minimisation
·
mitigating
·
preventing
·
compost
POLLUTION
CONTROL DEVICES
·
Dust
collection systems
Baghouses
Cyclones
Electrostatic
precipitators
·
Scrubbers
Baffle
spray scrubber
Cyclonic
spray scrubber
Ejector
venturi scrubber
Mechanically
aided scrubber
Spray
tower
Wet
scrubber
·
Sewage
treatment
Sedimentation
(Primary treatment)
Activated sludge
biotreaters (Secondary treatment; also used for industrial wastewater)
Aerated lagoons
Constructed
wetlands (also used for urban runoff)
·
Industrial
wastewater treatment
API oil-water
separators[15][35]
Biofilters
Dissolved air
flotation (DAF)
Powdered
activated carbon treatment
Ultrafiltration
·
Vapor
recovery systems
·
Phytoremediation