essay about water and air pollution

Essay on Water Pollution

Here we have shared the Essay on Water Pollution in detail so you can use it in your exam or assignment of 150, 250, 400, 500, or 1000 words.

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Topics covered in this article.

Essay on Water Pollution in 150-250 words

Essay on water pollution in 300-400 words, essay on water pollution in 500-1000 words.

Water pollution is a pressing environmental issue that poses a significant threat to ecosystems and human health. It occurs when harmful substances, such as chemicals, industrial waste, or sewage, contaminate water bodies, including rivers, lakes, oceans, and groundwater sources.

Water pollution has devastating consequences on aquatic life. Toxic pollutants can disrupt the balance of ecosystems, leading to the decline of fish and other marine species. Additionally, contaminated water can spread diseases to animals and humans who depend on these water sources for drinking, irrigation, and recreation.

Industrial activities, improper waste disposal, agricultural runoff, and urbanization contribute to water pollution. Efforts to reduce water pollution include stricter regulations on waste disposal, the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices, and the development of advanced wastewater treatment technologies.

Awareness and individual responsibility are crucial in combating water pollution. Simple actions like properly disposing of waste, conserving water, and avoiding the use of harmful chemicals can make a significant difference. Education and advocacy are essential to raising public awareness about the importance of protecting water resources and implementing sustainable practices.

In conclusion, water pollution is a grave environmental issue that threatens aquatic ecosystems and human well-being. It is a global challenge that requires collective action and responsible behavior. By implementing effective regulations, adopting sustainable practices, and promoting awareness, we can safeguard our water resources and ensure a healthier and more sustainable future for all.

Title: Water Pollution – A Growing Threat to Ecosystems and Human Well-being

Introduction :

Water pollution is a grave environmental issue that arises from the contamination of water bodies by harmful substances. It poses a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems and human health. This essay explores the causes and consequences of water pollution, as well as the measures required to address and prevent it.

Causes of Water Pollution

Water pollution can be attributed to various human activities and natural factors. Industrial discharge, improper waste disposal, agricultural runoff, oil spills, sewage, and chemical pollutants are among the leading causes. Rapid urbanization, population growth, and inadequate infrastructure for waste management contribute to the problem. Additionally, natural phenomena like sedimentation and erosion can exacerbate water pollution.

Consequences of Water Pollution

Water pollution has far-reaching ecological and human health implications. Contaminated water disrupts aquatic ecosystems, leading to the decline of fish and other marine species. It affects biodiversity, disrupts food chains, and damages habitats. Moreover, polluted water sources pose significant health risks to humans. Consuming or coming into contact with contaminated water can lead to waterborne diseases, gastrointestinal issues, skin problems, and even long-term health impacts.

Prevention and Remediation

Addressing water pollution requires a multi-faceted approach. Stricter regulations and enforcement regarding industrial discharge and waste management are essential. Promoting sustainable agricultural practices, such as reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and implementing proper irrigation techniques, can minimize agricultural runoff. Developing and implementing advanced wastewater treatment technologies is crucial to ensure that domestic and industrial effluents are properly treated before being discharged into water bodies.

Individual and Collective Responsibility:

Preventing water pollution is a shared responsibility. Individuals can contribute by practicing responsible waste disposal, conserving water, and avoiding the use of harmful chemicals. Public awareness campaigns and education programs play a vital role in promoting responsible behavior and fostering a culture of environmental stewardship.

Conclusion :

Water pollution is a critical environmental issue that jeopardizes the health of ecosystems and humans. It demands collective action and responsible behavior. By addressing the root causes of water pollution, implementing effective regulations, and promoting individual and collective responsibility, we can safeguard water resources and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.

Title: Water Pollution – A Looming Crisis Threatening Ecosystems and Human Well-being

Water pollution is a pressing environmental issue that poses a significant threat to ecosystems, biodiversity, and human health. It occurs when harmful substances contaminate water bodies, making them unfit for their intended uses. This essay delves into the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to water pollution, emphasizing the urgent need for collective action to address this global crisis.

Water pollution arises from various sources, both human-induced and natural. Human activities play a significant role in polluting water bodies. Industrial discharge, untreated sewage, agricultural runoff, oil spills, mining activities, and improper waste disposal are among the leading causes. Industrial wastewater often contains heavy metals, toxic chemicals, and organic pollutants, which can have devastating effects on aquatic ecosystems and human health. Agricultural runoff, laden with pesticides, fertilizers, and animal waste, contaminates water bodies and contributes to eutrophication, depleting oxygen levels and harming aquatic life.

The consequences of water pollution are far-reaching and encompass ecological, economic, and health impacts. Aquatic ecosystems bear the brunt of pollution, with devastating consequences for biodiversity and food chains. Pollutants disrupt aquatic habitats, decrease water quality, and lead to the decline of fish and other marine species. This ecological imbalance has ripple effects throughout the ecosystem, affecting the entire food web.

Water pollution also has severe implications for human health. Contaminated water sources pose significant risks, as they can transmit waterborne diseases, including cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and hepatitis. Communities that rely on polluted water for drinking, cooking, and bathing are particularly vulnerable. Prolonged exposure to polluted water can lead to various health issues, such as gastrointestinal problems, skin irritations, respiratory illnesses, and even long-term health effects like cancer.

Furthermore, water pollution has economic ramifications. Polluted water bodies reduce the availability of clean water for agriculture, industry, and domestic use. This leads to increased costs for water treatment, agricultural productivity losses, and economic disruptions in sectors that rely heavily on water resources, such as fisheries and tourism.

Solutions and Mitigation Strategies

Addressing water pollution requires comprehensive strategies and collaborative efforts. Governments, industries, communities, and individuals all have a role to play in mitigating pollution and safeguarding water resources.

a. Regulatory Measures

B. wastewater treatment, c. sustainable agriculture, d. waste management, e. education and awareness.

Effective regulations and enforcement mechanisms are essential to control and prevent water pollution. Governments should establish stringent standards for industrial effluents and enforce penalties for non-compliance. Laws should be enacted to ensure proper waste disposal and treatment practices. Additionally, zoning regulations can help prevent pollution by restricting industrial activities near sensitive water bodies.

Investing in advanced wastewater treatment infrastructure is crucial. Industries should implement appropriate treatment technologies to remove pollutants from their effluents before discharge. Municipalities must prioritize the treatment of domestic sewage to prevent contamination of water bodies. Developing countries, in particular, need support and resources to build and upgrade their wastewater treatment facilities.

Adopting sustainable agricultural practices can significantly reduce pollution from agricultural activities. Encouraging the use of organic farming methods, integrated pest management, and precision irrigation can minimize the reliance on harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Proper manure management and implementing buffer zones along water bodies can also mitigate nutrient runoff and protect water quality.

Improper waste disposal is a major contributor to water pollution. Implementing comprehensive waste management systems that include recycling, proper landfill management, and promotion of waste reduction strategies is crucial. Communities should have access to adequate waste collection services, and educational campaigns can raise awareness about the importance of responsible waste disposal.

Public education and awareness programs play a vital role in addressing water pollution. Promoting water conservation practices, encouraging responsible behavior, and highlighting the link between water pollution and human health can empower individuals to take action. Educational campaigns should target schools, communities, and industries to foster a culture of environmental stewardship.

Water pollution is a critical global issue that poses severe threats to ecosystems, biodiversity, and human well-being. It demands collective action and sustainable practices to safeguard water resources. Through stringent regulations, advanced wastewater treatment, sustainable agriculture, proper waste management, and education, we can mitigate water pollution and preserve this vital resource for future generations. By recognizing the urgency of this crisis and working collaboratively, we can ensure a healthier, cleaner, and more sustainable water future.

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Air Pollution Essay

Essay on Air Pollution

Environmental changes are caused by the natural or artificial content of harmful pollutants and can cause instability, disturbance, or adverse effects on the ecosystem. Earth and its environment pose a more serious threat due to the increasing pollution of air, water, and soil. Environmental damage is caused by improper resource management or careless human activities. Therefore, any activity that violates the original nature of the environment and leads to degradation is called pollution. We need to understand the origin of these pollutants and find ways to control pollution. This can also be done by raising awareness of the effects of pollutants.

Air pollution is any physical, chemical, or biological change in the air. A certain percentage of the gas is present in the atmosphere. Increasing or decreasing the composition of these gasses is detrimental to survival. This imbalance in gas composition causes an increase in global temperature which is called global warming.

Introduction to air pollution

The Earth and its environment are facing a serious threat by the increasing pollution of the air, water, and soil—the vital life support systems of the Earth. The damage to the environment is caused by improper management of resources or by careless human activity. Hence any activity that violates the original character of nature and leads to its degradation is called pollution. We need to understand the sources of these pollutants and find ways to control pollution. This can be also done by making people aware of the effects of pollutants.

Air with 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, and 1% of all other gasses support life on Earth. Various processes take place to sustain the regular percentage of gasses and their composition in general.

Atmospheric pollution can have natural sources, for example, volcanic eruptions. The gaseous by-products of man-made processes such as energy production, waste incineration, transport, deforestation and agriculture, are the major air pollutants.

Although air is made up of mostly Oxygen and Nitrogen, mankind, through pollution, has increased the levels of many trace gasses, and in some cases, released completely new gasses to the atmosphere.

Air pollution can result in poor air quality, both in cities and in the countryside. Some air pollutants make people sick, causing breathing problems and increasing the likelihood of cancer.

Some air pollutants are harmful to plants, animals, and the ecosystems in which they live. Statues, monuments, and buildings are being corroded by the air pollutants in the form of acid rain. It also damages crops and forests, and makes lakes and streams unsuitable for fish and other plant and animal life.

Air pollution created by man-made resources is also changing the Earth’s atmosphere. It is causing the depletion of the ozone layer and letting in more harmful radiation from the Sun. The greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere prevents heat from escaping back into space and leads to a rise in global average temperatures. Global warming affects the average sea-level and increases the spread of tropical diseases.

Air pollution occurs when large amounts of gas and tiny particles are released into the air and the ecological balance is disturbed. Each year millions of tons of gasses and particulate matter are emitted into the air.

Primary air pollutants are pollutants, which are directly released into the air. They are called SPM, i.e., Suspended Particulate Matter. For example, smoke, dust, ash, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and radioactive compounds, etc.

Secondary Pollutants are pollutants, which are formed due to chemical interactions between the atmospheric components and primary pollutants. For example, Smog (i.e. Smoke and fog), ozone, etc.

Major gaseous air pollutants include Carbon Dioxide, Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide, etc.

Natural sources are volcanic eruptions, forest fires, dust storms, etc.

Man-made sources include gasses released from the automobiles, industries, burning of garbage and bricks kilns, etc.

Effects of Air Pollution on Human Health

Air pollution has adverse effects on human health.

Breathing polluted air puts you at higher risk of asthma.

When exposed to ground ozone for 6 to 7 hours, people suffer from respiratory inflammation.

Damages the immune system, endocrine, and reproductive systems.

A high level of air pollution has been associated with higher incidents of heart problems.

The toxic chemicals released into the air are affecting the flora and fauna immensely.

Preventive Measures to Reduce Air Pollution

We can prevent pollution by utilizing raw materials, water energy, and other resources more efficiently. When less harmful substances are substituted for hazardous ones, and when toxic substances are eliminated from the production process, human health can be protected and economic wellbeing can be strengthened.

There are several measures that can be adopted by people to reduce pollution and to save the environment.

Carpooling.

Promotion of public transport.

No smoking zone.

Restricted use of fossil fuels.

Saving energy.

Encouraging organic farming.

The government has put restrictions on the amount of fossil fuels that can be used as well as restrictions on how much carbon dioxide and other pollutants can be emitted. Although the government is attempting to save our environment from these harmful gasses, it is not sufficient. We as a society need to keep the environment clean by controlling the pollution of air.

FAQs on Air Pollution Essay

1. State the Causes of Air Pollution ?

The following are the causes of air pollution.

Vehicular pollution consisting of Carbon Monoxide causes pollution.

Emission of Nitrogen oxide by a large number of supersonic transport airplanes causes deterioration of the Ozone layer and also causes serious damage to the flora and fauna.

The release of Chlorofluorocarbons into the Stratosphere causes depletion of Ozone, which is a serious concern to animals, microscopic, and aquatic organisms.

Burning garbage causes smoke, which pollutes the atmosphere. This smoke contains harmful gases such as Carbon dioxide and Nitrogen oxides.

In India, brick kilns are used for many purposes and coal is used to burn the bricks. They give out huge quantities of Carbon dioxide and particulate matter such as smoke, dust that are very harmful to people working there and the areas surrounding it.

Many cleansing agents release poisonous gases such as Ammonia and Chlorine into the atmosphere.

Radioactive elements emit harmful rays into the air.

Decomposed animals and plants emit Methane and Ammonia gas into the air.

2. What Does Global Warming Mean?

Global warming is the gradual rising average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere due to the concentration of methane in certain toxic gasses such as carbon dioxide. This has a major impact on the world climate. The world is warming. The land and the sea are now warmer than they were at the beginning and temperatures are still rising. This rise in temperature is, in short, global warming. This temperature rise is man-made. The burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere which capture solar heat and raise surface and air temperatures.

3. Name the Alternative Modes of Transport. In What Way Does it Help to Reduce Air Pollution?

Public transport could be an alternative mode of transport. Public transport like trains, buses and trams, can relieve traffic congestion and reduce air pollution from road transport. The use of public transport must be encouraged in order to develop a sustainable transport policy.

4. Mention other means of transportation! How can I help reduce air pollution?

Public transportation can be another mode of transportation. Public transport such as trains, buses and trams can reduce traffic congestion and reduce air pollution from road transport. The use of public transport and to develop sustainable transport policies should be encouraged. While one passenger vehicle has the convenience factor, other modes of transportation reduce travel costs, spend less time, reduce stress, improve health, and reduce energy consumption and parking. Other trips for work include walking/cycling, public transport, hybrid travel and transport.

5. What are the effects of pollution?

Excessive air pollution can increase the risk of heart attack, wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing, as well as irritation of the eyes, nose and throat. Air pollution can also cause heart problems, asthma, and other lung problems. Due to the emission of greenhouse gases, the composition of the air in the air is disturbed. This causes an increase in global temperature. The damaging ozone layer due to air pollution does not prevent harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun, which cause skin and eye problems in individuals. Air pollution has caused a number of respiratory and heart diseases among people. The incidence of lung cancer has increased in recent decades. Children living in contaminated areas are more likely to develop pneumonia and asthma. Many people die every year due to the direct or indirect effects of air pollution. When burning fossil fuels, harmful gases such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released into the air. Water droplets combine with these pollutants and become acidic and fall as acid rain, which harms human, animal and plant life.

6. What is the solution to air pollution?

Production of renewable fuels and clean energy. The basic solution to air pollution is to get away from fossil fuels and replace them with other energies such as solar, wind and geothermal. The government limits the amount of fossil fuel that can be used and how much carbon dioxide and other pollutants it can emit. While the government is trying to save our environment from this harmful gas, it is not enough. We as a society need to keep the environment clean by controlling air pollution. To more in detail about air pollution and its causes. To learn more about air pollution and its impact on the environment, visit the Vedantu website.

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Essay on Pollution: Samples in 100, 150 and 200 Words

Updated on
Jun 20, 2024

As the world embraced urbanization, mother nature witnessed the greener lands getting transformed into modern cities and metropolises. What followed is a trail of natural disasters signalling that something is wrong with the planet Earth. Pollution is increasingly asked under the writing section in school and college tests as well as competitive exams . This is because it is a relevant environmental issue today. This blog aims to help you with the necessary knowledge as well as tips and tricks to draft a well-written essay on pollution.

This Blog Includes:

What is pollution, types of pollution, causes and health effects of pollution, sample essay on pollution in 100 words, sample essay on pollution in 250-300 words, sample essay on pollution in 300-350 words, short essay on pollution in english.

Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These materials are called pollutants. They can be created by human activity like trash and nature like volcanic ash. Pollutants damage the quality of water, air and land. Pollution is a global problem. Air and water carry pollution into the ocean currents and migrating fish. Pollution is among the many things that harm our planet- once greener and healthier than it is now. Pollution is a dangerous phenomenon that is contributing to an array of health issues.

Nikita Puri

Nikita is a creative writer and editor, who is always ready to learn new skills. She has great knowledge about study abroad universities, researching and writing blogs about them. Being a perfectionist, she has a habit of keeping her tasks complete on time before the OCD hits her. When Nikita is not busy working, you can find her eating while binge-watching The office. Also, she breathes music. She has done her bachelor's from Delhi University and her master's from Jamia Millia Islamia.

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Table Of Contents

What is water pollution?

Water pollution is the release of substances into bodies of water that makes water unsafe for human use and disrupts aquatic ecosystems. Water pollution can be caused by a plethora of different contaminants, including toxic waste , petroleum , and disease-causing microorganisms .

What human activities cause water pollution?

Human activities that generate domestic sewage and toxic waste cause water pollution by contaminating water with disease-causing microorganisms and poisonous substances. Oil spills are another source of water pollution that have devastating impacts on surrounding ecosystems.

Sewage can promote algae growth, which can eventually result in eutrophic “dead zones” where aquatic life cannot survive because of a lack of oxygen. Microplastics are often found in marine wildlife and can become concentrated in humans who consume seafood because of biomagnification . Oil spills, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, strand and kill many different marine species.

While some studies point to human activity as a catalyst for red tide, scientists are unsure about its cause. Red tide is a common term for harmful algal blooms that often poison or kill wildlife and humans who consume contaminated seafood. Red tides can severely impact ecosystems and local economies.

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water pollution , the release of substances into subsurface groundwater or into lakes , streams, rivers , estuaries , and oceans to the point that the substances interfere with beneficial use of the water or with the natural functioning of ecosystems . In addition to the release of substances, such as chemicals , trash, or microorganisms, water pollution may include the release of energy , in the form of radioactivity or heat , into bodies of water.

Types and sources of water pollutants

Gitanjali Rao explains the fight for clean drinking water

Water bodies can be polluted by a wide variety of substances, including pathogenic microorganisms, putrescible organic waste, fertilizers and plant nutrients , toxic chemicals, sediments, heat , petroleum (oil), and radioactive substances . Several types of water pollutants are considered below. (For a discussion of the handling of sewage and other forms of waste produced by human activities, see waste disposal and solid-waste management .)

Water pollutants come from either point sources or dispersed sources. A point source is a pipe or channel, such as those used for discharge from an industrial facility or a city sewerage system . A dispersed (or nonpoint) source is a very broad unconfined area from which a variety of pollutants enter the water body, such as the runoff from an agricultural area. Point sources of water pollution are easier to control than dispersed sources, because the contaminated water has been collected and conveyed to one single point where it can be treated. Pollution from dispersed sources is difficult to control, and, despite much progress in the building of modern sewage-treatment plants, dispersed sources continue to cause a large fraction of water pollution problems.

Domestic sewage is the primary source of pathogens ( disease -causing microorganisms) and putrescible organic substances. Because pathogens are excreted in feces , all sewage from cities and towns is likely to contain pathogens of some type, potentially presenting a direct threat to public health . Putrescible organic matter presents a different sort of threat to water quality. As organics are decomposed naturally in the sewage by bacteria and other microorganisms, the dissolved oxygen content of the water is depleted. This endangers the quality of lakes and streams, where high levels of oxygen are required for fish and other aquatic organisms to survive. In addition, domestic sewage commonly contains active pharmaceutical ingredients, which can harm aquatic organisms and may facilitate antibiotic resistance . Sewage-treatment processes reduce the levels of pathogens and organics in wastewater, but they do not eliminate them completely ( see also wastewater treatment ).

Domestic sewage is also a major source of plant nutrients , mainly nitrates and phosphates . Excess nitrates and phosphates in water promote the growth of algae , sometimes causing unusually dense and rapid growths known as algal blooms . When the algae die, oxygen dissolved in the water declines because microorganisms use oxygen to digest algae during the process of decomposition ( see also biochemical oxygen demand ). Anaerobic organisms (organisms that do not require oxygen to live) then metabolize the organic wastes, releasing gases such as methane and hydrogen sulfide , which are harmful to the aerobic (oxygen-requiring) forms of life. The process by which a lake changes from a clean, clear condition—with a relatively low concentration of dissolved nutrients and a balanced aquatic community —to a nutrient-rich, algae-filled state and thence to an oxygen-deficient, waste-filled condition is called eutrophication . Eutrophication is a naturally occurring, slow, and inevitable process. However, when it is accelerated by human activity and water pollution (a phenomenon called cultural eutrophication ), it can lead to the premature aging and death of a body of water.

The improper disposal of solid waste is a major source of water pollution. Solid waste includes garbage, rubbish, electronic waste , trash, and construction and demolition waste, all of which are generated by individual, residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial activities. The problem is especially acute in developing countries that may lack infrastructure to properly dispose of solid waste or that may have inadequate resources or regulation to limit improper disposal. In some places solid waste is intentionally dumped into bodies of water. Land pollution can also become water pollution if the trash or other debris is carried by animals, wind, or rainfall to bodies of water. Significant amounts of solid waste pollution in inland bodies of water can also eventually make their way to the ocean. Solid waste pollution is unsightly and damaging to the health of aquatic ecosystems and can harm wildlife directly. Many solid wastes, such as plastics and electronic waste, break down and leach harmful chemicals into the water, making them a source of toxic or hazardous waste.

Of growing concern for aquatic environments is plastic pollution . Since the ocean is downstream from nearly every terrestrial location, it is the receiving body for much of the plastic waste generated on land. Several million tons of debris end up in the world’s oceans every year, and much of it is improperly discarded plastic litter. Plastic pollution can be broken down by waves and ultraviolet radiation into smaller pieces known as microplastics , which are less than 5 mm (0.2 inch) in length and are not biodegradable. Primary microplastics, such as microbeads in personal care products and plastic fibers in synthetic textiles (e.g., nylon ), also enter the environment directly, through any of various channels—for example, from wastewater treatment systems , from household laundry, or from unintentional spills during manufacturing or transport. Alarmingly, a number of studies of both freshwater and marine locations have found microplastics in every aquatic organism tested. These tiny plastics are suspected of working their way up the marine food chains , from zooplankton and small fish to large marine predators, and have been found in seafood. Microplastics have also been detected in drinking water. Their health effects are unknown.

Can reed beds clean contaminated groundwater?

Waste is considered toxic if it is poisonous , radioactive , explosive , carcinogenic (causing cancer ), mutagenic (causing damage to chromosomes ), teratogenic (causing birth defects), or bioaccumulative (that is, increasing in concentration at the higher ends of food chains). Sources of toxic chemicals include improperly disposed wastewater from industrial plants and chemical process facilities ( lead , mercury , chromium ) as well as surface runoff containing pesticides used on agricultural areas and suburban lawns ( chlordane , dieldrin , heptachlor). (For a more-detailed treatment of toxic chemicals, see poison and toxic waste .)

Sediment (e.g., silt ) resulting from soil erosion or construction activity can be carried into water bodies by surface runoff . Suspended sediment interferes with the penetration of sunlight and upsets the ecological balance of a body of water. Also, it can disrupt the reproductive cycles of fish and other forms of life , and when it settles out of suspension it can smother bottom-dwelling organisms.

Heat is considered to be a water pollutant because it decreases the capacity of water to hold dissolved oxygen in solution, and it increases the rate of metabolism of fish. Valuable species of game fish (e.g., trout ) cannot survive in water with very low levels of dissolved oxygen . A major source of heat is the practice of discharging cooling water from power plants into rivers; the discharged water may be as much as 15 °C (27 °F) warmer than the naturally occurring water. The rise in water temperatures because of global warming can also be considered a form of thermal pollution.

Petroleum ( oil ) pollution occurs when oil from roads and parking lots is carried in surface runoff into water bodies. Accidental oil spills are also a source of oil pollution—as in the devastating spills from the tanker Exxon Valdez (which released more than 260,000 barrels in Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989) and from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig (which released more than 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010). Oil slicks eventually move toward shore, harming aquatic life and damaging recreation areas.

Groundwater —water contained in underground geologic formations called aquifers —is a source of drinking water for many people. For example, about half the people in the United States depend on groundwater for their domestic water supply . Although groundwater may appear crystal clear (due to the natural filtration that occurs as it flows slowly through layers of soil ), it may still be polluted by dissolved chemicals and by bacteria and viruses . Sources of chemical contaminants include poorly designed or poorly maintained subsurface sewage-disposal systems (e.g., septic tanks ), industrial wastes disposed of in improperly lined or unlined landfills or lagoons , leachates from unlined municipal refuse landfills, mining and petroleum production, and leaking underground storage tanks below gasoline service stations. In coastal areas, increasing withdrawal of groundwater (due to urbanization and industrialization) can cause saltwater intrusion: as the water table drops, seawater is drawn into wells.

The impact of plastic waste on marine life

Although estuaries and oceans contain vast volumes of water, their natural capacity to absorb pollutants is limited. Contamination from sewage outfall pipes, from dumping of sludge or other wastes, and from oil spills can harm marine life, especially microscopic phytoplankton that serve as food for larger aquatic organisms. Sometimes, unsightly and dangerous waste materials can be washed back to shore, littering beaches with hazardous debris. In oceans alone, annual pollution from all types of plastics was estimated to be between 4.8 million and 12.7 million tonnes (between 5.3 million and 14 million tons) in the early 21st century, and floating plastic waste had accumulated in Earth’s five subtropical gyres, which cover 40 percent of the world’s oceans.

Understand global warming as a factor in the decline of dissolved oxygen in the ocean

Another ocean pollution problem is the seasonal formation of “ dead zones” (i.e., hypoxic areas, where dissolved oxygen levels drop so low that most higher forms of aquatic life vanish) in certain coastal areas. The cause is nutrient enrichment from dispersed agricultural runoff and concomitant algal blooms. Dead zones occur worldwide; one of the largest of these (sometimes as large as 22,730 square km [8,776 square miles]) forms annually in the Gulf of Mexico , beginning at the Mississippi River delta.

Although pure water is rarely found in nature (because of the strong tendency of water to dissolve other substances), the characterization of water quality (i.e., clean or polluted) is a function of the intended use of the water. For example, water that is clean enough for swimming and fishing may not be clean enough for drinking and cooking. Water quality standards (limits on the amount of impurities allowed in water intended for a particular use) provide a legal framework for the prevention of water pollution of all types.

There are several types of water quality standards. Stream standards are those that classify streams, rivers , and lakes on the basis of their maximum beneficial use; they set allowable levels of specific substances or qualities (e.g., dissolved oxygen , turbidity, pH) allowed in those bodies of water, based on their given classification. Effluent (water outflow) standards set specific limits on the levels of contaminants (e.g., biochemical oxygen demand , suspended solids, nitrogen ) allowed in the final discharges from wastewater-treatment plants. Drinking-water standards include limits on the levels of specific contaminants allowed in potable water delivered to homes for domestic use. In the United States , the Clean Water Act and its amendments regulate water quality and set minimum standards for waste discharges for each industry as well as regulations for specific problems such as toxic chemicals and oil spills . In the European Union , water quality is governed by the Water Framework Directive, the Drinking Water Directive, and other laws . ( See also wastewater treatment .)

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Air Pollution Essay for Students in English: 100, 200 and 500 Words

Air pollution is becoming a serious issue that’s affecting human health, flora and fauna and overall well-being of Earth. As responsible citizens of the world, it’s our duty to take care of anything that’s harming the planet and leave it in better condition for future generations. Here are a few sample essays children can use to write about air pollution and learn about different ways to mitigate this crisis.

100 Words Essay on Air Pollution

200 words essay on air pollution, 500 words essay on air pollution.

Air Pollution Essay for Students in English: 100, 200 and 500 Words

Any physical, chemical, or biological alteration in the air is referred to as air pollution. The atmosphere contains a specific portion of the gas. It is harmful to survival to change the makeup of these gases. “Global warming” is the term used to describe the rise in global temperature caused by this imbalance in gas composition. Hazardous pollutants, whether present naturally or artificially, can modify the environment and have a negative impact on the ecosystem. Ineffective resource management and reckless human activity are harming the environment and therefore it is our responsibility as inhabitants of Earth to take care of it.

Pollution is any activity that tampers with the environment's fundamental characteristics and causes damage. The air we breathe is no longer clean and fresh, it has been contaminated by pollutants. The threat to Earth and its ecosystem is getting worse as a result of the contamination of the air, water, and soil. These pollutants are causing a number of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases—our immune system is getting affected negatively, and children are at a high risk of developing asthma and other breathing problems. There are numerous factors that frequently increase this air pollution. Automobiles, transportation methods, industrialization, expanding cities, etc. are the main causes of air pollution. The contamination of the entire atmosphere is brought on by the release of various toxic gases or dangerous components from such sources.

Air pollution, which has a negative impact on the environment, also has a significant impact on the ozone layer. The primary contributor to pollution is the ever-increasing demands of the human population. Daily human activities pump harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, making it more polluted than ever and accelerating climate change. The flora and fauna are also being severely impacted by the airborne harmful chemical releases. The rising contamination of the Earth's air, water, and soil—the essential life support systems of the planet—poses a major threat to the planet and its environment.

One of today's top environmental concerns is air pollution. There are numerous factors that frequently increase this air pollution. Toxic gases, particulates, paint, and batteries containing lead are released throughout the industrialization process. The ozone layer is also being destroyed and the world is being exposed to dangerous solar rays as a result of all the contaminants in touch with the atmosphere.

Ozone is a contaminant that exists at the ground level and can be harmful to human health. But the same ozone creates a layer of defence in the stratosphere. The "good" ozone, however, is being destroyed by ozone-depleting substances—such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and chlorofluorocarbons. These chemicals were once used in coolants, foaming agents, insecticides, solvents, and fire extinguishers and occasionally still are.

Primary and secondary pollutants are the two categories that have emerged as a result of the growing number of air pollutants. Primary pollutants, which include smoke, ash, dust, fumes, mist, spray, inorganic gases, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and radioactive substances, have a direct negative impact on fresh air. Secondary pollutants are those that interact chemically with primary pollutants, as well as other elements in the atmosphere, such as sulphate trioxide, ozone, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen dioxide.

Causes of Air Pollution

The disposal of solid wastes that release methane gas and the breakdown of trash landfills are major sources of air pollution. This problem has become a severe environmental and health issue as a result of the population's rapid development, industrialisation, and greater use of cars, planes, and other transportation.

Common Effects of Air Pollution

Pollutants in the air we breathe every minute enter our bloodstream and travel to our lungs and entire body, producing a plethora of health issues. Animals can have health issues similar to people if they are exposed to air toxics in high enough quantities over an extended period of time. Air toxics also play a role in animal sickness, infertility, and birth abnormalities. Therefore, both directly and indirectly, pollution of the environment harms both plants, animals, and people.

What Can We Do

Using public transportation is a surefire short method to reduce air pollution because it uses less gas and electricity, even carpools help with the situation. A permanent, non-polluting, and extremely secure source of energy is the sun or solar power. Solar panels, which are special in design and simple to install, are also a technical benefit to society and the planet. They take in solar energy and store it to power various equipment and electronics. Another step you can take on this path is to plant more trees and live a simplistic life. Minimalist living is not only a trendy millennial lifestyle, but it also has significant societal and environmental benefits.

Air pollution may reach one million tonnes annually in the next decades if environmental protection measures are not taken seriously and effectively enforced. We need to drastically alter our everyday routines if we want to lower the level of air pollution. By making better use of raw materials, water energy, and other resources, we can reduce pollution. Human health can be safeguarded and economic wellbeing can be increased when less harmful compounds are exchanged for hazardous ones.

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Air and Water Pollution Descriptive Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

Air pollutants

Water pollutants, reference list.

Carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide are examples of air pollutants, which cause major damages to the environment. These pollutants are associated with many health problems that affect the respiratory organs. They also affect properties contributing to rusting of metal in vehicles and roofing materials.

They are classified as air pollutants because they affect the air. Carbon monoxide, which is processed by plants, is a hazardous substance emitted to the environment. Thus, it is classified as a primary pollutant because it is the most common pollutants in the environment. Carbon monoxide causes suffocation when inhaled in large quantities (Donald, 2001).

This happens in most cases, especially where people use coal to warm their houses. Carbon monoxide is emitted when coal burns in oxygen. Once emitted in abundance, it leads to death through suffocation. However, this happens when its release in the environment is relatively high.

For example, a house which lacks sufficient air circulation can cause carbon monoxide to accumulate thus affecting the occupants. In the environment, the impact of carbon monoxide is felt overtime, since it leads to respiratory problems. Consequently, Nitrogen oxide also constitutes primary pollutant.

This owe to the fact that, its production is in mass. The main sources of Nitrogen oxide emissions are; power plants and motor vehicles. Nitrogen oxide gas is produced by plants during the process of the nitrogen cycle, and despite being a pollutant; its production cannot be regulated.

In relation to the layers of the atmosphere, these two gases contribute to the destruction of the Ozone layer. The destruction takes place in such a way that it cannot be felt or noticed. However, prolonged process causes global warming. Nitrogen oxide, for example, is produced on a daily basis from plants, and thus, it cannot be controlled.

Consequently, products manufactured from industries emit these gases. The gas emitted diffuses into the environment, producing effects such as; corrosion of Ozone layers of the atmosphere which shelters the earth from dangerous rays of the sun (Donald, 2001).

The excessive emission of sun rays results in the development of skin problems brought about by ultra- violet rays, a good example of a problem caused by this phenomenon is the being skin cancer. Skin Cancer and related cases have increased sharply in the current years.

The most common water pollutants include; pesticides and chlorine. Pesticides get into the water systems when they are being applied to plants. These substances are swept by rain water into water bodies, absorbed into the soil, and in some cases, find their way through soil layers to the underground water (Parks, 2007).

However, the latter option might take a longer duration of continuous usage. Chlorine is believed to be a solution to contaminated water, but in the real sense, it pollutes the water by introducing chemicals. When chlorine interacts with decomposing vegetation, it results in toxic substances considered to form part of the causal agents of cancer.

Consequently, pesticides also play a destructive role to aquatic life. The damages they cause include; suffocating the breeding eggs, and poisoning the plants and animals that thrive in the sea or other water bodies (Parks, 2007).

Chlorine, on the other hand, leads to the formation of chloroform when it interacts with the dead and decomposing plants in water. The normal use of chloroform is to suffocate animals that are being used in experiments. When chlorine is used in a mild form, it serves as a drug that induces the coma, before an operation is conducted.

Donald, R. L. (2001). Air pollution . New York: Children’s Press.

Parks, P. J. (2007). Water pollution . Detroit: KidHaven Press.

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IvyPanda. (2019, April 1). Air and Water Pollution. https://ivypanda.com/essays/air-and-water-pollution/

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Essay on Pollution for Students and Children

500+ words essay on pollution.

Pollution is a term which even kids are aware of these days. It has become so common that almost everyone acknowledges the fact that pollution is rising continuously. The term ‘pollution’ means the manifestation of any unsolicited foreign substance in something. When we talk about pollution on earth, we refer to the contamination that is happening of the natural resources by various pollutants . All this is mainly caused by human activities which harm the environment in ways more than one. Therefore, an urgent need has arisen to tackle this issue straightaway. That is to say, pollution is damaging our earth severely and we need to realize its effects and prevent this damage. In this essay on pollution, we will see what are the effects of pollution and how to reduce it.

Effects of Pollution

Pollution affects the quality of life more than one can imagine. It works in mysterious ways, sometimes which cannot be seen by the naked eye. However, it is very much present in the environment. For instance, you might not be able to see the natural gases present in the air, but they are still there. Similarly, the pollutants which are messing up the air and increasing the levels of carbon dioxide is very dangerous for humans. Increased level of carbon dioxide will lead to global warming .

Further, the water is polluted in the name of industrial development, religious practices and more will cause a shortage of drinking water. Without water, human life is not possible. Moreover, the way waste is dumped on the land eventually ends up in the soil and turns toxic. If land pollution keeps on happening at this rate, we won’t have fertile soil to grow our crops on. Therefore, serious measures must be taken to reduce pollution to the core.

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Types of Pollution

Air Pollution
Water Pollution
Soil Pollution

How to Reduce Pollution?

After learning the harmful effects of pollution, one must get on the task of preventing or reducing pollution as soon as possible. To reduce air pollution, people should take public transport or carpool to reduce vehicular smoke. While it may be hard, avoiding firecrackers at festivals and celebrations can also cut down on air and noise pollution. Above all, we must adopt the habit of recycling. All the used plastic ends up in the oceans and land, which pollutes them.

So, remember to not dispose of them off after use, rather reuse them as long as you can. We must also encourage everyone to plant more trees which will absorb the harmful gases and make the air cleaner. When talking on a bigger level, the government must limit the usage of fertilizers to maintain the soil’s fertility. In addition, industries must be banned from dumping their waste into oceans and rivers, causing water pollution.

To sum it up, all types of pollution is hazardous and comes with grave consequences. Everyone must take a step towards change ranging from individuals to the industries. As tackling this problem calls for a joint effort, so we must join hands now. Moreover, the innocent lives of animals are being lost because of such human activities. So, all of us must take a stand and become a voice for the unheard in order to make this earth pollution-free.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

FAQs on Pollution

Q.1 What are the effects of pollution?

A.1 Pollution essentially affects the quality of human life. It degrades almost everything from the water we drink to the air we breathe. It damages the natural resources needed for a healthy life.

Q.2 How can one reduce pollution?

A.2 We must take individual steps to reduce pollution. People should decompose their waster mindfully, they should plant more trees. Further, one must always recycle what they can and make the earth greener.

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Water Pollution - List of Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

Water pollution poses a dire threat to ecosystems, human health, and economies. Essays could explore the myriad sources of water pollution, such as industrial discharges, agricultural runoff, and improper waste disposal. The discourse might extend to the examination of the impacts of water pollution on aquatic life, human health, and the broader environment. Discussions could also delve into the various measures and technologies available to prevent and mitigate water pollution, such as wastewater treatment, pollution control regulations, and community-led initiatives. Furthermore, essays might focus on case studies showcasing the challenges and successes in addressing water pollution in different regions. The interlinkages between water pollution and broader environmental issues like climate change, along with the examination of international efforts to promote clean water and sanitation, could provide a comprehensive exploration of the challenges and potential solutions surrounding water pollution. A substantial compilation of free essay instances related to Water Pollution you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Water Pollution Effects on Humans

The world population is increasing every day, bringing with it several pollution problems. Water pollution is one of the biggest examples, which generates devastating effects on human beings, such as poisoning with heavy minerals, bacterial diseases, and serious skin problems. The degree of the consequence will depend on the exposure of the person and the type of contamination that is in the water during their contact. Sometimes, the damage generated could be irreversible, concluding in chronic diseases or even death. […]

Paired Debate Speech Water Pollution and Consumerism

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Water Scarcity and Pollution

Water is one of the most important natural resources for all living organisms. A normal person could stay alive without aliment for one whole week but not without water. However, in the areas where people experienced water shortage and pollution, safe drinking water was unable to be distributed to them. Water shortage or water scarcity is a condition where there is not enough supply of water to meet human needs. It is a situation that happened in many parts of […]

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Water Pollution – Major Problem in our World Today

Water pollution is the major problem in our world today and, is a major hazard that causes many problems to the people and environment. Water pollution needs to be stopped because pollution is going into lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans and its been killing land and water animals for years. Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem. Many living things suffer from polluted water. Humans, animals, and […]

Air and Water Pollution in Tokyo

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About Air, Water and Soil Pollution

Air Pollution What health hazards are associated with living indoors? Indoor air pollution can cause big health problems. People who may be exposed to these indoor air pollutants for long periods of time are most at risk to the effects of air pollution. This includes children, adults, and people with long term chronic illnesses. Most indoor air pollution comes from sources that release gases into the air. Things such as air fresheners, and building materials constantly give off air pollution. […]

Water Pollution in China

The challenge of rising water pollution in China poses a huge threat to existing water bodies that greatly benefit indigenous people, industries, and government. This water pollution was the result of effluents from large industrial areas, which drained the chemicals of rivers and other related streams. The escalating impasse of China's water pollution requires quick and practical measures aimed at protecting a few uncontaminated water bodies and stopping further pollution of those already polluted. These efforts will help protect aquatic […]

Water Pollution: the Treatment and Management

A technology was developed to provide better treatment as science advanced our knowledge of aquatic life mechanisms and human health effects. The need for purer water was also identified. Heavy metals, toxic chemicals, and other pollutants can now be removed from domestic and industrial wastewater to an increasingly greater degree. Methods of advanced treatment include microfiltration, carbon adsorption, evaporation/distillation, and chemical precipitation. Sludge Management In sludge management, the greatest uncertainty about future trends lies in the prospects for recycling sewage […]

Save the Earth from the Plastic Pollution

Pollution is caused by some sort of toxic waste that is thrown into the atmosphere or land nearby. There are many types of pollution, the main are air pollution, plastic pollution, and water pollution, all three are very dangerous to the ecosystem. Pollution is the contamination of the environment in which we live in and it harms nature and living things around it. It is the biggest global killer affecting over 100 million people. That’s more than global diseases like […]

Plastic Pollution in the Philippines

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Kinds of Pollution: the Future of Environment

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Should the Government Regulate Ocean Pollution?

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Plastic Pollution of Earth’s Oceans

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Catastrophic Effect of the Pollution in the World

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Marine Pollution Due to Waste Water Discharge in Kuwait

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Essay About Water Pollution Water is basic to life requirements and more than 70% of the earth’s surface is cover by water. W.H.Auden said that “thousands have lived without love, not one without water”. Water is one of our most valuable and important resources because all living organisms require water to survive their life. The human body consists of more than 50% of water, so it proves that humans can survive without food but cannot survive if without water. Fish and other living organisms need water which forms lakes, rivers and oceans as their shelter. Water pollution caused by when humans started discarding sewage and toxic chemical into the ocean, effluents from industries, manufacturing and agro-based industries, dumping, oil pollution, acid rain and so on. Sewage that causes water pollution is one of the most important problem in the earth today. Rivers contaminated by sewerage contain high levels of organic pollutants, and they become breeding grounds for harmful bacteria and viruses that may cause fish and other aquatic organisms impossible to survive and become extinct. Sewage also causes many diseases such as cholera and typhoid that will detrimental to humans. For a few more times, water has been infected with sewage and human cannot enjoy clean water. Recently, the Amazon rainforest had some of the highest deforestations in the world, which has hugely affected the access to and quality of water. This causes the area of the earth to lose a lot of freshwater due to this problem. This is heartbreaking and terrifying to think that the Amazon is the largest rainforest on the planet which creates 20% of the earth’s oxygen, basically is the “lungs of the world”. People are literally destroying the miracle of home and waste a lot of water to put out the fire. Through deforestation, trees are being removed, naturally, there is a loss of support on the soil and leads to more loss of soil. Thereby causing higher rates of soil erosion that seeps into the nearby lakes, affecting the water quality of the lake. It also makes it impossible for sea creatures to survive because of the lack of clean water and the collapsed soil that fills the river’s space, the creatures cannot multiply. In Malaysia, the environmental problem that becoming more serious from time to time is water pollution. This pollution occurs when pollutants are not treated properly to remove harmful compounds are discharged into water bodies. So it is very important to prevent polluting of water bodies and remove existing contaminants or reducing the concentration of these contaminants and use it as desired. Dealing with water pollution is something that everyone including the government and local people need to get involved with. The ways of treating polluted water are industrial wastewater treatment which the raw sewage is needed to be treated carefully and correctly in a water treatment plant before it can be released into the environment. Therefore, all manufacturing industries should assure they have a well-designed treatment facility that can prevent water pollution. Besides, we should never throw rubbish away anyhow. If the rubbish bin is none around, we can take the rubbish home and put it in the rubbish bin. These include places like beaches, riverside and water bodies. We must use water wisely and do not keep the water pipe running when not in use. It can significantly prevent water shortages and reduce the amount of dirty water that needs treatment plants. Anti-pollution laws and regulations must be applied to everyone because it always played an important role to ensure water pollution are kept to the minimum. Anti-pollution laws can as well establish measures that put restrictions for water pollution. These laws are usually directed to industries, hospitals, schools and market areas on how to dispose of, treat and manage sewage.

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Essay on Water Pollution for Children and Students

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Essay on Water Pollution: Water pollution is a topic of great environmental concern in today’s context. Water is a rare resource, much essential for life on earth. It is not only water that is essential but it also must be clean and safe to use. Polluted and contaminated water is good for nothing and is also hazardous to use or consume. The main causes of water are human-induced and include activities like industrialization, agricultural activities, improper waste disposal, etc.

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Short and Long Essay on Water Pollution

We have provided below short and long essays on water pollution in English for your knowledge and information. After going through the essays, you will know what water pollution is and what are its main causes; how to stop water pollution; water pollution prevention etc. These essays will be helpful in your school/college assignments of essay writing, speech giving or paragraph writing, etc.

Water Pollution Essay 100 Words – Sample 1

Water Pollution refers to the contamination of water bodies and underground resources of water by any of the several human activities or natural causes. Human activities like, urbanization, industrialization, deforestation, waste disposal, landfills are primarily responsible for water pollution.

Some of the natural causes responsible for water pollution are volcanoes and debris from floods. Another natural cause of water pollution is algae bloom. The term “algae” is used to refer to a large and diverse group of photosynthetic organisms. Algae bloom means an increase in the population of algae in a water body, consequently resulting in its discoloration and contamination.

Water Pollution Essay 150 Words – Sample 2

The term “Water Pollution” is used when a water body like a river, lake, ocean, etc is polluted due to human activity or a natural cause. Today, water pollution has become a major environmental concern and needs to be responsibly dealt with.

Fresh water is very scarce on the planet and pollution is making it even scarcer. Every year we lose millions of liters of freshwater to industrial and other types of pollution. Pollutants consist of visible small and big pieces of garbage as well as invisible, harmful and toxic chemicals.

The visible impurities can be easily removed from a water body by manual cleaning or filtration, but the chemical pollutants are more hazardous and difficult to remove. Chemicals get mixed into water and change its properties, making it harmful to use and life-threatening.

It is only through sincere individual and collective efforts, that we can overcome the problem of water pollution and prevent a severe water crisis in future.

Water Pollution Essay 200 Words – Sample 3

Water Pollution is a matter of environmental concern as well as life and health of all living species. For a population of 7.8 billion growing at a rate of 82 million every year we have very little freshwater.

Only 2.5% of all the water available on earth is freshwater that we use for our daily needs. But, human’s desire to expand boundaries and explore commercial avenues have put stress on our freshwater resources, making them polluted as never before.

Many industries are set up near water bodies and use freshwater to carry industrial waste to the nearby water bodies. This industrial waste is toxic in nature and poses a health hazard to the flora and fauna. People in the settlements in the vicinity of polluted water bodies are observed to be suffering from serious skin, respiratory and sometimes even life-threatening other ailments.

Other the main cause of water pollution is urban waste and sewage. Every household produces tons of waste annually, consisting of plastic, wood, chemicals, and other compounds. In the absence of a proper waste disposal mechanism, this waste reaches our water bodies like rivers, lakes, streams and pollutes them. Water pollution must be prevented if we want the earth to be green, healthy and filled with life.

Water Pollution Essay 250 Words – Sample 4

Water is an essential resource for life on earth. Without water, or to be more specific, without clean and safe water, life on earth would be unimaginable. You may think that we still have plenty of water with it constituting 97.5% of the total volume of earth. But, there is a catch – that 97.5% is salt water that is found mainly in oceans; the water we do not use for our daily needs.

The remaining percentage, that is, only 2.5% is freshwater what we use. Moreover, only 0.3% of that 2.5% is the water found on the surface of the earth. To be more specific, the total volume of water on earth is 1,386,000,000 Km 3 , out of which only 10,633,450 Km 3 is freshwater. Leaving very less freshwater for a population of 7.8 billion as on December 2019 and every year 82 million people are being added to that figure. On the other hand, the volume of freshwater used by the world population took centuries to be produced and thus it can’t be afforded to be polluted at any cost.

If the pollution of water continues as it is today, within a couple of decades we could face an acute water crisis. Then we might be left with no option but only to regret what we have done. There is still time and things can be normalized if we take action today. Whether it is an individual action or a collective one, an action to conserve water and prevent its pollution is the need of the day.

Water Pollution Essay 300 Words – Sample 5

Introduction

Water Pollution occurs when external pollutants enter the otherwise clean and safe natural water resources. Due to the growing human intervention and expansion of urban settlements, water pollution has become a painful reality today.

Water Pollution Sources

The sources of water pollution are many and almost all of them are generated due to human activities. Industries emit millions of gallons of toxic smoke and material waste which is left directly into the air, water bodies and natural resources. Most of such waste from the industries are left directly into the water bodies without any kind of treatment. Most of the industrial waste is toxic in nature and in turn, increases the toxicity of the water it reaches.

Also, the domestic waste that is generated every day in the millions of households around the world contains waste plastic materials, chemicals, oils, metals, etc. Most of the households lack a proper waste disposal mechanism and mostly the waste is directly dumped into the environment.

How to Stop Water Pollution

Water pollution could be prevented considerably by making people aware of its causes and its effects on life and the planet. People must take part in cleaning campaigns wherein a group or community takes up the task of cleaning the water bodies every weekend or at least once in a month.

Moreover, strict laws need to be formed and strictly implemented with the objective of eliminating water pollution. Strict monitoring could prevent people and organizations from polluting and will improve accountability as well.

Water pollution today has become a topic of hot debate and concern for environmentalists and scientists. It threatens the future of all the living species on the planet earth. Water is an essential commodity to live added by the fact that only 2% of the water on earth is fresh water that we use. We can’t afford to pollute it further and must take steps for the reversal of the damage that we have already done.

Water Pollution Essay 350 Words – Sample 6

Water Pollution refers to the introduction of pollutants into our water bodies. These pollutants are primarily generated by human-induced activities and pose a threat to our natural water resources.

Water Pollution Prevention

There are several things one could do to prevent water pollution. Some of them are simple enough to be taken by an individual while some require collective efforts. However, the efforts need to be repeatedly done in order to preserve our natural water resources. Some of the implementable ways to prevent water pollution are given below-

Keep your drain free of Contaminants and Chemicals.

An average household generates all kinds of waste including chemicals, disposed medicines, and other hazardous compounds. We must take care while disposing of our household waste and ensure that any such waste didn’t reach the sewage system.

Prevent use of Polythene

Polythene bags are widely used today in every household. They are light, could carry heavyweight, and easy to store. But polythene bags constitute a major threat to water resources. The polythene that we dispose of our houses, finds its way into the water bodies. Being non-biodegradable, it just lays there, polluting water and making it toxic.

Conserve Water

Always try to conserve water while doing your daily activities, whether it’s cooking, shaving, bathing, gardening or cleaning, etc. Water conservation can also be achieved by repairing all the faulty taps in your house and locality as well.

Reuse and Recycle

Much of the waste that we generate in houses could be reused and recycled if only we make a little effort for it. Wastes like automobile oil are disposed into the drain and easily reach into rivers and streams. This is really hazardous to the purity of water and also to the life of organisms that live in water. On the other hand, automobile oil can be reused for several other lubrication purposes.

Water pollution today has become a cause of great concern for human health as well as the environment. Water is an essential commodity without which life can’t be imagined. It is the duty of all to take steps for keeping water pollution-free and also to conserve it, for a healthy future of the planet.

Water Pollution Essay 400 Words – Sample 7

Water Pollution refers to the contamination of water bodies like rivers, lakes, ponds and oceans. It is caused when the pollutants generated by human activities like industrialization, urban waste, littering, etc., enter our water bodies and pollute them.

Types of Water Pollution

As water comes from many sources, there are many types of water pollution. The most common types of water pollution are described below.

Agricultural/Nutrients Pollution

Some of the waste water and agricultural waste contain high nutrients levels. These nutrient-rich contaminants cause algae growth, making the water unfit for drinking and other purposes. Algae use the oxygen content in water making oxygen scarce for other organisms, resulting in their death.

Sewage and Waste Water

Sewage and waste water from urban settlements is rich in various soluble and non-soluble impurities like mercury, plastic, rotten food, debris, chemicals etc. When these pollutants reach water bodies, some of them float over the surface while some sink at the bottom. The soluble impurities change the composition of water as well. This is a dangerous situation for all the living organisms in the water body.

Oxygen Depletion

Any water body contains several microorganisms including aerobic and anaerobic organisms. When the biodegradable waste reaches into the water bodies and decays, it encourages the growth of more microorganisms, consequently using more oxygen, in turn, depleting the oxygen level.

Pollution of Ground Water

Use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers pollute the groundwater resources. The chemicals get mixed with soil and are soaked into the ground with rain, reaching the underground water reserve. This contaminated water reaches our wells and other sources of water, making its consumption harmful.

Prevention of Water Pollution

Water Pollution can be prevented by taking these simple steps –

Don’t pour down fat or oil in your kitchen sink.
Avoid improper disposing of harmful chemicals and other contaminants.
Never let unused or expired medicines reach the house drainage system.
Segregate the waste as solid, liquid, degradable and non-degradable and ensure its proper disposal.
Avoid using pesticides and chemical fertilizers as much as you can.

Water pollution is a growing environmental concern which depletes one of our very essential natural resources. It is only through great determination and political will that we can succeed in saving water from getting contaminated.

Water Pollution Essay 500 Words – Sample 8

Water Pollution refers to the contamination of water bodies, primarily due to human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, ponds, oceans and underground water resources. Water Pollution occurs when waste from industrial and other sources enter into the water bodies, resulting in the contamination of water, moreover, it is also harmful to aquatic life as well as to humans.

Causes of Water Pollution

Water is an essential natural resource and very useful for life on earth. Causes of water pollution are many and always include human activities. The various causes of water pollution are given below-

Urban Sewage: The sewage from urban settlements is usually treated with chemicals and then released into the water bodies after mixing with fresh water. Most of the time, the sewage is not treated and is left into the water bodies. It contains harmful, bacteria and pathogens, which is extremely harmful to aquatic life and to humans as well.
Industrial Waste: Large amount of toxic waste is produced by the industries. Industrial waste includes pollutants such as mercury, lead, sulfur, asbestos, and nitrates. These chemicals are not only harmful to flora and fauna but also render the water unfit to use. Due to the absence of a proper waste management system, many industries still dump harmful waste in natural water resources.
Garbage Dumping: Common household garbage contains plastic, food, wood, paper, rubber, aluminum, etc. This garbage is directly dumped into oceans and rivers or else reaches them indirectly and takes a couple of years to centuries to degrade. In both cases, it pollutes the water bodies and threatens marine life as well as the life of flora and fauna over the adjoining lands.
Oil Spills: Oil is non-soluble in water and being lighter in density, floats over it. Though the oil spills have been considerably reduced in the past decades, the incidents of oil spills still happen. For instance, in 2018, there were 137 oil spills in the United States alone. Out of 137 spills, 65 were reported as the maximum potential spills, releasing gallons of oil into the water.
Landfills Leakage: Landfills are the huge piles of garbage usually found on the outskirts of a city or urban settlement. The garbage from the landfills leaks into the water bodies with rain or reaches with the wind, resulting in their contamination. They contain a large amount of several contaminants harmful for aquatic life.

Effects of Water Pollution

The most immediate effect of water pollution is on the organisms that live in water. Moreover, it is also harmful to the surrounding plants, animals and humans those use or consume water in some form or the other.

Chemical pollutants are most harmful in this regard as they are difficult to separate physically and alter the properties of water. They get mixed with the water alter its chemical properties, making it harmful to consume or use.

Use of contaminated water causes several serious diseases in humans like – diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, dysentery, etc and could be life-threatening.

Water Pollution today has become a serious issue that concerns the health of the planet and its inhabitants. Water is a very useful resource, much needed for drinking and other essential activities by humans and animals alike. If the already scarce freshwater is made contaminated then the chances of life on the planet are considerably reduced. To save life on earth we must first save the water by keeping our water bodies clean.

Frequently Asked Questions on Water Pollution

What are the objectives of water pollution.

Water pollution is not the objective but the result of contaminants entering water bodies, harming aquatic life and ecosystems.

How do we detect water pollution?

Water pollution can be detected through various tests and measurements of water quality, including chemical analysis and biological monitoring.

What is the effects of water pollution?

The effects of water pollution include harm to aquatic life, ecosystem disruption, health risks for humans, and damage to the environment.

Why do we stop water pollution?

We aim to stop water pollution to protect aquatic ecosystems, ensure safe drinking water, and safeguard public health.

How can we protect water?

We can protect water by reducing pollutant discharge, conserving water resources, and adopting eco-friendly practices.

What is the main source of pollution?

The main sources of water pollution are industrial discharges, agricultural runoff, sewage, and improper waste disposal.

How to prevent water pollution?

Preventing water pollution involves regulating pollution sources, promoting eco-friendly practices, and raising awareness about water conservation.

What's the cause of water pollution?

The causes of water pollution include chemical pollutants, sewage, oil spills, and excessive nutrient runoff from agriculture and urban areas.

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NCBI Bookshelf. A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

Jamison DT, Breman JG, Measham AR, et al., editors. Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries. 2nd edition. Washington (DC): The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank; 2006. Co-published by Oxford University Press, New York.

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Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries. 2nd edition.

Chapter 43 air and water pollution: burden and strategies for control.

Tord Kjellstrom , Madhumita Lodh , Tony McMichael , Geetha Ranmuthugala , Rupendra Shrestha , and Sally Kingsland .

Environmental pollution has many facets, and the resultant health risks include diseases in almost all organ systems. Thus, a chapter on air and water pollution control links with chapters on, for instance, diarrheal diseases ( chapter 19 ), respiratory diseases in children and adults ( chapters 25 and 35 ), cancers ( chapter 29 ), neurological disorders ( chapter 32 ), and cardiovascular disease ( chapter 33 ), as well as with a number of chapters dealing with health care issues.

Nature, Causes, and Burden of Air and Water Pollution

Each pollutant has its own health risk profile, which makes summarizing all relevant information into a short chapter difficult. Nevertheless, public health practitioners and decision makers in developing countries need to be aware of the potential health risks caused by air and water pollution and to know where to find the more detailed information required to handle a specific situation. This chapter will not repeat the discussion about indoor air pollution caused by biomass burning ( chapter 42 ) and water pollution caused by poor sanitation at the household level ( chapter 41 ), but it will focus on the problems caused by air and water pollution at the community, country, and global levels.

Estimates indicate that the proportion of the global burden of disease associated with environmental pollution hazards ranges from 23 percent ( WHO-1997 ) to 30 percent ( Smith, Corvalan, and Kjellstrom 1999 ). These estimates include infectious diseases related to drinking water, sanitation, and food hygiene; respiratory diseases related to severe indoor air pollution from biomass burning; and vectorborne diseases with a major environmental component, such as malaria. These three types of diseases each contribute approximately 6 percent to the updated estimate of the global burden of disease ( WHO 2002 ).

As the World Health Organization (WHO) points out, outdoor air pollution contributes as much as 0.6 to 1.4 percent of the burden of disease in developing regions, and other pollution, such as lead in water, air, and soil, may contribute 0.9 percent ( WHO 2002 ). These numbers may look small, but the contribution from most risk factors other than the "top 10" is within the 0.5 to 1.0 percent range ( WHO 2002 ).

Because of space limitations, this chapter can give only selected examples of air and water pollution health concerns. Other information sources on environmental health include Yassi and others (2001) and the Web sites of or major reference works by WHO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics ( http://www.uneptie.org/ ); the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO; http://www.unido.org/ ), and other relevant agencies.

Table 43.1 indicates some of the industrial sectors that can pose significant environmental and occupational health risks to populations in developing countries. Clearly, disease control measures for people working in or living around a smelter may be quite different from those for people living near a tannery or a brewery. For detailed information about industry-specific pollution control methods, see the Web sites of industry sector organizations, relevant international trade union organizations, and the organizations listed above.

Selected Industrial Sectors and Their Contribution to Air and Water Pollution and to Workplace Hazards.

Air Pollution

Air pollutants are usually classified into suspended particulate matter (PM) (dusts, fumes, mists, and smokes); gaseous pollutants (gases and vapors); and odors.

Suspended PM can be categorized according to total suspended particles: the finer fraction, PM 10 , which can reach the alveoli, and the most hazardous, PM 2.5 (median aerodynamic diameters of less than 10.0 microns and 2.5 microns, respectively). Much of the secondary pollutants PM 2.5 consists of created by the condensation of gaseous pollutants—for example, sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ). Types of suspended PM include diesel exhaust particles; coal fly ash; wood smoke; mineral dusts, such as coal, asbestos, limestone, and cement; metal dusts and fumes; acid mists (for example, sulfuric acid); and pesticide mists.

Gaseous pollutants include sulfur compounds such as SO 2 and sulfur trioxide; carbon monoxide; nitrogen compounds such as nitric oxide, NO 2 , and ammonia; organic compounds such as hydrocarbons; volatile organic compounds; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and halogen derivatives such as aldehydes; and odorous substances. Volatile organic compounds are released from burning fuel (gasoline, oil, coal, wood, charcoal, natural gas, and so on); solvents; paints; glues; and other products commonly used at work or at home. Volatile organic compounds include such chemicals as benzene, toluene, methylene chloride, and methyl chloroform. Emissions of nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react with sunlight to eventually form another secondary pollutant, ozone, at ground level. Ozone at this level creates health concerns, unlike ozone in the upper atmosphere, which occurs naturally and protects life by filtering out ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Sources of Outdoor Air Pollution

Outdoor air pollution is caused mainly by the combustion of petroleum products or coal by motor vehicles, industry, and power stations. In some countries, the combustion of wood or agricultural waste is another major source. Pollution can also originate from industrial processes that involve dust formation (for example, from cement factories and metal smelters) or gas releases (for instance, from chemicals production). Indoor sources also contribute to outdoor air pollution, and in heavily populated areas, the contribution from indoor sources can create extremely high levels of outdoor air pollution.

Motor vehicles emit PM, nitric oxide and NO 2 (together referred to as NO x ), carbon monoxide, organic compounds, and lead. Lead is a gasoline additive that has been phased out in industrial countries, but some developing countries still use leaded gasoline. Mandating the use of lead-free gasoline is an important intervention in relation to health. It eliminates vehicle-related lead pollution and permits the use of catalytic converters, which reduce emissions of other pollutants.

Catastrophic emissions of organic chemicals, as occurred in Bhopal, India, in 1984 ( box 43.1 ), can also have major health consequences ( McGranahan and Murray 2003 ; WHO 1999 ).

The Bhopal Catastrophe. The Bhopal plant, owned by the Union Carbide Corporation, produced methyl isocyanate, an intermediate in the production of the insecticide carbaryl. On December 2, 1984, a 150,000-gallon storage tank containing methyl isocyanate (more...)

Another type of air pollution that can have disastrous consequences is radioactive pollution from a malfunctioning nuclear power station, as occurred in Chernobyl in 1986 ( WHO 1996 ). Radioactive isotopes emitted from the burning reactor spread over large areas of what are now the countries of Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, causing thousands of cases of thyroid cancer in children and threatening to cause many cancer cases in later decades.

Exposure to Air Pollutants

The extent of the health effects of air pollution depends on actual exposure. Total daily exposure is determined by people's time and activity patterns, and it combines indoor and outdoor exposures. Young children and elderly people may travel less during the day than working adults, and their exposure may therefore be closely correlated with air pollution levels in their homes. Children are particularly vulnerable to environmental toxicants because of their possibly greater relative exposure and the effects on their growth and physiological development.

Meteorological factors, such as wind speed and direction, are usually the strongest determinants of variations in air pollution, along with topography and temperature inversions. Therefore, weather reports can be a guide to likely air pollution levels on a specific day.

Workplace air is another important source of air pollution exposure ( chapter 60 ). Resource extraction and processing industries, which are common in developing countries, emit dust or hazardous fumes at the worksite ( table 43.1 ). Such industries include coalmining, mineral mining, quarrying, and cement production. Developed countries have shifted much of their hazardous production to developing countries ( LaDou 1992 ). This shift creates jobs in the developing countries, but at the price of exposure to air pollution resulting from outdated technology. In addition, specific hazardous compounds, such as asbestos, have been banned in developed countries ( Kazan-Allen 2004 ), but their use may still be common in developing countries.

Impacts on Health

Epidemiological analysis is needed to quantify the health impact in an exposed population. The major pollutants emitted by combustion have all been associated with increased respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality ( Brunekreef and Holgate 2002 ). The most famous disease outbreak of this type occurred in London in 1952 (U.K. Ministry of Health 1954 ), when 4,000 people died prematurely in a single week because of severe air pollution, followed by another 8,000 deaths during the next few months ( Bell and Davis 2001 ).

In the 1970s and 1980s, new statistical methods and improved computer technology allowed investigators to study mortality increases at much lower concentrations of pollutants. A key question is the extent to which life has been shortened. Early loss of life in elderly people, who would have died soon regardless of the air pollution, has been labeled mortality displacement, because it contributes little to the overall burden of disease ( McMichael and others 1998 ).

Long-term studies have documented the increased cardiovascular and respiratory mortality associated with exposure to PM ( Dockery and others 1993 ; Pope and others 1995 ). A 16-year follow-up of a cohort of 500,000 Americans living in different cities found that the associations were strongest with PM 2.5 and also established an association with lung cancer mortality ( Pope and others 2002 ). Another approach is ecological studies of small areas based on census data, air pollution information, and health events data ( Scoggins and others 2004 ), with adjustments for potential confounding factors, including socioeconomic status. Such studies indicate that the mortality increase for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter(μg per m 3 ) of PM 2.5 ranges from 4 to 8 percent for cities in developed countries where average annual PM 2.5 levels are 10 to 30 μg/m 3 . Many urban areas of developing countries have similar or greater levels of air pollution.

The major urban air pollutants can also give rise to significant respiratory morbidity ( WHO 2000 ). For instance, Romieu and others (1996) report an exacerbation of asthma among children in Mexico City, and Xu and Wang (1993) note an increased risk of respiratory symptoms in middle-aged non-smokers in Beijing.

In relation to the very young, Wang and others (1997) find that PM exposure, SO 2 exposure, or both increased the risk of low birthweight in Beijing, and Pereira and others (1998) find that air pollution increased intrauterine mortality in São Paulo.

Other effects of ambient air pollution are postneonatal mortality and mortality caused by acute respiratory infections, as well as effects on children's lung function, cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions in the elderly, and markers for functional damage of the heart muscle ( WHO 2000 ). Asthma is another disease that researchers have linked to urban air pollution ( McConnell and others 2002 ; Rios and others 2004 ). Ozone exposure as a trigger of asthma attacks is of particular concern. The mechanism behind an air pollution and asthma link is not fully known, but early childhood NO 2 exposure may be important (see, for example, Ponsonby and others 2000 ).

Leaded gasoline creates high lead exposure conditions in urban areas, with a risk for lead poisoning, primarily in young children. The main concern is effects on the brain from low-level exposure leading to behavioral aberrations and reduced or delayed development of intellectual or motoric ability ( WHO 1995 ). Lead exposure has been implicated in hypertension in adults, and this effect may be the most important for the lead burden of disease at a population level ( WHO 2002 ). Other pollutants of concern are the carcinogenic volatile organic compounds, which may be related to an increase in lung cancer, as reported by two recent epidemiological studies ( Nyberg and others 2000 ; Pope and others 2002 ).

Urban air pollution and lead exposure are two of the environmental hazards that WHO (2002) assessed as part of its burden-of-disease calculations for the World Health Report 2002 . The report estimates that pollution by urban PM causes as much as 5 percent of the global cases of lung cancer, 2 percent of deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, and 1 percent of respiratory infections, adding up to 7.9 million disability-adjusted life years based on mortality only. This burden of disease occurs primarily in developing countries, with China and India contributing the most to the global burden. Eastern Europe also has major air pollution problems, and in some countries, air pollution accounts for 0.6 to 1.4 percent of the total disability-adjusted life years from mortality.

The global burden of disease caused by lead exposure includes subtle changes in learning ability and behavior and other signs of central nervous system damage ( Fewthrell, Kaufmann, and Preuss 2003 ). WHO (2002) concludes that 0.4 percent of deaths and 0.9 percent (12.9 million) of all disability-adjusted life years may be due to lead exposure.

Water Pollution

Chemical pollution of surface water can create health risks, because such waterways are often used directly as drinking water sources or connected with shallow wells used for drinking water. In addition, waterways have important roles for washing and cleaning, for fishing and fish farming, and for recreation.

Another major source of drinking water is groundwater, which often has low concentrations of pathogens because the water is filtered during its transit through underground layers of sand, clay, or rocks. However, toxic chemicals such as arsenic and fluoride can be dissolved from the soil or rock layers into groundwater. Direct contamination can also occur from badly designed hazardous waste sites or from industrial sites. In the United States in the 1980s, the government set in motion the Superfund Program, a major investigation and cleanup program to deal with such sites ( U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2000 ).

Coastal pollution of seawater may give rise to health hazards because of local contamination of fish or shellfish—for instance, the mercury contamination of fish in the infamous Minamata disease outbreak in Japan in 1956 ( WHO 1976 ). Seawater pollution with persistent chemicals, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins, can also be a significant health hazard even at extremely low concentrations ( Yassi and others 2001 ).

Sources of Chemical Water Pollution

Chemicals can enter waterways from a point source or a nonpoint source. Point-source pollution is due to discharges from a single source, such as an industrial site. Nonpoint-source pollution involves many small sources that combine to cause significant pollution. For instance, the movement of rain or irrigation water over land picks up pollutants such as fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides and carries them into rivers, lakes, reservoirs, coastal waters, or groundwater. Another nonpoint source is storm-water that collects on roads and eventually reaches rivers or lakes. Table 43.1 shows examples of point-source industrial chemical pollution.

Paper and pulp mills consume large volumes of water and discharge liquid and solid waste products into the environment. The liquid waste is usually high in biological oxygen demand, suspended solids, and chlorinated organic compounds such as dioxins ( World Bank 1999 ). The storage and transport of the resulting solid waste (wastewater treatment sludge, lime sludge, and ash) may also contaminate surface waters. Sugar mills are associated with effluent characterized by biological oxygen demand and suspended solids, and the effluent is high in ammonium content. In addition, the sugarcane rinse liquid may contain pesticide residues. Leather tanneries produce a significant amount of solid waste, including hide, hair, and sludge. The wastewater contains chromium, acids, sulfides, and chlorides. Textile and dye industries emit a liquid effluent that contains toxic residues from the cleaning of equipment. Waste from petrochemical manufacturing plants contains suspended solids, oils and grease, phenols, and benzene. Solid waste generated by petrochemical processes contains spent caustic and other hazardous chemicals implicated in cancer.

Another major source of industrial water pollution is mining. The grinding of ores and the subsequent processing with water lead to discharges of fine silt with toxic metals into waterways unless proper precautions are taken, such as the use of sedimentation ponds. Lead and zinc ores usually contain the much more toxic cadmium as a minor component. If the cadmium is not retrieved, major water pollution can occur. Mining was the source of most of the widespread cadmium poisoning (Itai-Itai disease) in Japan in 1940–50 ( Kjellstrom 1986 ).

Other metals, such as copper, nickel, and chromium, are essential micronutrients, but in high levels these metals can be harmful to health. Wastewater from mines or stainless steel production can be a source of exposure to these metals. The presence of copper in water can also be due to corrosion of drinking water pipes. Soft water or low pH makes corrosion more likely. High levels of copper may make water appear bluish green and give it a metallic taste. Flushing the first water out of the tap can minimize exposure to copper. The use of lead pipes and plumbing fixtures may result in high levels of lead in piped water.

Mercury can enter waterways from mining and industrial premises. Incineration of medical waste containing broken medical equipment is a source of environmental contamination with mercury. Metallic mercury is also easily transported through the atmosphere because of its highly volatile nature. Sulfate-reducing bacteria and certain other micro-organisms in lake, river, or coastal underwater sediments can methylate mercury, increasing its toxicity. Methylmercury accumulates and concentrates in the food chain and can lead to serious neurological disease or more subtle functional damage to the nervous system ( Murata and others 2004 ).

Runoff from farmland, in addition to carrying soil and sediments that contribute to increased turbidity, also carries nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphates, which are often added in the form of animal manure or fertilizers. These chemicals cause eutrophication (excessive nutrient levels in water), which increases the growth of algae and plants in waterways, leading to an increase in cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). The toxics released during their decay are harmful to humans.

The use of nitrogen fertilizers can be a problem in areas where agriculture is becoming increasingly intensified. These fertilizers increase the concentration of nitrates in groundwater, leading to high nitrate levels in underground drinking water sources, which can cause methemoglobinemia, the life-threatening "blue baby" syndrome, in very young children, which is a significant problem in parts of rural Eastern Europe ( Yassi and others 2001 ).

Some pesticides are applied directly on soil to kill pests in the soil or on the ground. This practice can create seepage to groundwater or runoff to surface waters. Some pesticides are applied to plants by spraying from a distance—even from airplanes. This practice can create spray drift when the wind carries the materials to nearby waterways. Efforts to reduce the use of the most toxic and long-lasting pesticides in industrial countries have largely been successful, but the rules for their use in developing countries may be more permissive, and the rules of application may not be known or enforced. Hence, health risks from pesticide water pollution are higher in such countries ( WHO 1990 ).

Naturally occurring toxic chemicals can also contaminate groundwater, such as the high metal concentrations in underground water sources in mining areas. The most extensive problem of this type is the arsenic contamination of groundwater in Argentina, Bangladesh ( box 43.2 ), Chile, China, India, Mexico, Nepal, Taiwan (China), and parts of Eastern Europe and the United States ( WHO 2001 ). Fluoride is another substance that may occur naturally at high concentrations in parts of China, India, Sri Lanka, Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean. Although fluoride helps prevent dental decay, exposure to levels greater than 1.5 milligrams per liter in drinking water can cause pitting of tooth enamel and deposits in bones. Exposure to levels greater than 10 milligrams per liter can cause crippling skeletal fluorosis ( Smith 2003 ).

Arsenic in Bangladesh. The presence of arsenic in tube wells in Bangladesh because of natural contamination from underground geological layers was first confirmed in 1993. Ironically, the United Nations Children's Fund had introduced the wells in the (more...)

Water disinfection using chemicals is another source of chemical contamination of water. Chlorination is currently the most widely practiced and most cost-effective method of disinfecting large community water supplies. This success in disinfecting water supplies has contributed significantly to public health by reducing the transmission of waterborne disease. However, chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter in water to form potentially toxic chemical compounds, known collectively as disinfection by-products ( International Agency for Research on Cancer 2004 ).

Exposure to Chemical Water Pollution

Drinking contaminated water is the most direct route of exposure to pollutants in water. The actual exposure via drinking water depends on the amount of water consumed, usually 2 to 3 liters per day for an adult, with higher amounts for people living in hot areas or people engaged in heavy physical work. Use of contaminated water in food preparation can result in contaminated food, because high cooking temperatures do not affect the toxicity of most chemical contaminants.

Inhalation exposure to volatile compounds during hot showers and skin exposure while bathing or using water for recreation are also potential routes of exposure to water pollutants. Toxic chemicals in water can affect unborn or young children by crossing the placenta or being ingested through breast milk.

Estimating actual exposure via water involves analyzing the level of the contaminant in the water consumed and assessing daily water intake ( WHO 2003 ). Biological monitoring using blood or urine samples can be a precise tool for measuring total exposure from water, food, and air ( Yassi and others 2001 ).

Health Effects

No published estimates are available of the global burden of disease resulting from the overall effects of chemical pollutants in water. The burden in specific local areas may be large, as in the example cited in box 43.2 of arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh. Other examples of a high local burden of disease are the nervous system diseases of methylmercury poisoning (Minamata disease), the kidney and bone diseases of chronic cadmium poisoning (Itai-Itai disease), and the circulatory system diseases of nitrate exposure (methemoglobinemia) and lead exposure (anemia and hypertension ).

Acute exposure to contaminants in drinking water can cause irritation or inflammation of the eyes and nose, skin, and gastrointestinal system; however, the most important health effects are due to chronic exposure (for example, liver toxicity) to copper, arsenic, or chromium in drinking water. Excretion of chemicals through the kidney targets the kidney for toxic effects, as seen with chemicals such as cadmium, copper, mercury, and chlorobenzene ( WHO 2003 ).

Pesticides and other chemical contaminants that enter waterways through agricultural runoff, stormwater drains, and industrial discharges may persist in the environment for long periods and be transported by water or air over long distances. They may disrupt the function of the endocrine system, resulting in reproductive, developmental, and behavioral problems. The endocrine disruptors can reduce fertility and increase the occurrence of stillbirths, birth defects, and hormonally dependent cancers such as breast, testicular, and prostate cancers. The effects on the developing nervous system can include impaired mental and psychomotor development, as well as cognitive impairment and behavior abnormalities ( WHO and International Programme on Chemical Safety 2002 ). Examples of endocrine disruptors include organochlorines, PCBs, alkylphenols, phytoestrogens (natural estrogens in plants), and pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics and synthetic sex hormones from contraceptives. Chemicals in drinking water can also be carcinogenic. Disinfection by-products and arsenic have been a particular concern ( International Agency for Research on Cancer 2004 ).

Interventions

The variety of hazardous pollutants that can occur in air or water also leads to many different interventions. Interventions pertaining to environmental hazards are often more sustainable if they address the driving forces behind the pollution at the community level rather than attempt to deal with specific exposures at the individual level. In addition, effective methods to prevent exposure to chemical hazards in the air or water may not exist at the individual level, and the only feasible individual-level intervention may be treating cases of illness.

Figure 43.1 shows five levels at which actions can be taken to prevent the health effects of environmental hazards. Some would label interventions at the driving force level as policy instruments. These include legal restrictions on the use of a toxic substance, such as banning the use of lead in gasoline, or community-level policies, such as boosting public transportation and reducing individual use of motor vehicles.

Figure 43.1

Framework for Environmental Health Interventions

Interventions to reduce pressures on environmental quality include those that limit hazardous waste disposal by recycling hazardous substances at their site of use or replacing them with less hazardous materials. Interventions at the level of the state of the environment would include air quality monitoring linked to local actions to reduce pollution during especially polluted periods (for example, banning vehicle use when pollution levels reach predetermined thresholds). Interventions at the exposure level include using household water filters to reduce arsenic in drinking water as done in Bangladesh. Finally, interventions at the effect level would include actions by health services to protect or restore the health of people already showing signs of an adverse effect.

Interventions to Reduce Air Pollution

Reducing air pollution exposure is largely a technical issue. Technologies to reduce pollution at its source are plentiful, as are technologies that reduce pollution by filtering it away from the emission source (end-of-pipe solutions; see, for example, Gwilliam, Kojima, and Johnson 2004 ). Getting these technologies applied in practice requires government or corporate policies that guide technical decision making in the right direction. Such policies could involve outright bans (such as requiring lead-free gasoline or asbestos-free vehicle brake linings or building materials); guidance on desirable technologies (for example, providing best-practice manuals); or economic instruments that make using more polluting technologies more expensive than using less polluting technologies (an example of the polluter pays principle).

Examples of technologies to reduce air pollution include the use of lead-free gasoline, which allows the use of catalytic converters on vehicles' exhaust systems. Such technologies significantly reduce the emissions of several air pollutants from vehicles ( box 43.3 ). For trucks, buses, and an increasing number of smaller vehicles that use diesel fuel, improving the quality of the diesel itself by lowering its sulfur content is another way to reduce air pollution at the source. More fuel-efficient vehicles, such as hybrid gas-electric vehicles, are another way forward. These vehicles can reduce gasoline consumption by about 50 percent during city driving. Policies that reduce "unnecessary" driving, or traffic demand management, can also reduce air pollution in urban areas. A system of congestion fees, in which drivers have to pay before entering central urban areas, was introduced in Singapore, Oslo, and London and has been effective in this respect.

Air Pollution Reduction in Mexico City. Mexico City is one of the world's largest megacities, with nearly 20 million inhabitants. Local authorities have acknowledged its air quality problems since the 1970s. The emissions from several million motor vehicles (more...)

Power plants and industrial plants that burn fossil fuels use a variety of filtering methods to reduce particles and scrubbing methods to reduce gases, although no effective method is currently available for the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. High chimneys dilute pollutants, but the combined input of pollutants from a number of smokestacks can still lead to an overload of pollutants. An important example is acid rain, which is caused by SO 2 and NO x emissions that make water vapor in the atmosphere acidic ( WHO 2000 ). Large combined emissions from industry and power stations in the eastern United States drift north with the winds and cause damage to Canadian ecosystems. In Europe, emissions from the industrial belt across Belgium, Germany, and Poland drift north to Sweden and have damaged many lakes there. The convergence of air pollutants from many sources and the associated health effects have also been documented in relation to the multiple fires in Indonesia's rain forest in 1997 ( Brauer and Hisham-Hashim 1998 ); the brown cloud over large areas of Asia, which is mainly related to coal burning; and a similar brown cloud over central Europe in the summer, which is caused primarily by vehicle emissions.

Managing air pollution interventions involves monitoring air quality, which may focus on exceedances of air quality guidelines in specific hotspots or on attempts to establish a specific population's average exposure to pollution. Sophisticated modeling in combination with monitoring has made it possible to start producing detailed estimates and maps of air pollution levels in key urban areas ( World Bank 2004 ), thus providing a powerful tool for assessing current health impacts and estimated changes in the health impacts brought about by defined air pollution interventions.

Interventions to Reduce Water Pollution

Water pollution control requires action at all levels of the hierarchical framework shown in figure 43.1 . The ideal method to abate diffuse chemical pollution of waterways is to minimize or avoid the use of chemicals for industrial, agricultural, and domestic purposes. Adapting practices such as organic farming and integrated pest management could help protect waterways ( Scheierling 1995 ). Chemical contamination of waterways from industrial emissions could be reduced by cleaner production processes ( UNEP 2002 ). Box 43.4 describes one project aimed at effectively reducing pollution.

Water Pollution Control in India. In 1993, the Demonstration in Small Industries for Reducing Wastes Project was started in India with support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. International and local experts initiated waste (more...)

Other interventions include proper treatment of hazardous waste and recycling of chemical containers and discarded products containing chemicals to reduce solid waste buildup and leaching of toxic chemicals into waterways. A variety of technical solutions are available to filter out chemical waste from industrial processes or otherwise render them harmless. Changing the pH of wastewater or adding chemicals that flocculate the toxic chemicals so that they settle in sedimentation ponds are common methods. The same principle can be used at the individual household level. One example is the use of iron chips to filter out arsenic from contaminated well water in Bangladeshi households ( Kinniburgh and Smedley 2001 ).

Intervention Costs and Cost-Effectiveness

This chapter cannot follow the detailed format for the economic analysis of different preventive interventions devised for the disease-specific chapters, because the exposures, health effects, and interventions are too varied and because of the lack of overarching examples of economic assessments. Nevertheless, it does present a few examples of the types of analyses available.

Comparison of Interventions

A review of more than 1,000 reports on cost per life year saved in the United States for 587 interventions in the environment and other fields ( table 43.2 ) evaluated costs from a societal perspective. The net costs included only direct costs and savings. Indirect costs, such as forgone earnings, were excluded. Future costs and life years saved were discounted at 5 percent per year. Interventions with a cost per life year saved of less than or equal to zero cost less to implement than the value of the lives saved. Each of three categories of interventions (toxin control, fatal injury reduction, and medicine) presented in table 43.2 includes several extremely cost-effective interventions.

Median Cost per Life Year Saved, Selected Relatively Low-Cost Interventions (1993 U.S. dollars).

The cost-effective interventions in the air pollution area could be of value in developing countries as their industrial and transportation pollution situations become similar to the United States in the 1960s. The review by Tengs and others (1995) does not report the extent to which the various interventions were implemented in existing pollution control or public health programs, and many of the most cost-effective interventions are probably already in wide use. The review did create a good deal of controversy in the United States, because professionals and nongovernmental organizations active in the environmental field accused the authors of overestimating the costs and underestimating the benefits of controls over chemicals (see, for example, U.S. Congress 1999 ).

Costs and Savings in Relation to Pollution Control

A number of publications review and discuss the evidence on the costs and benefits of different pollution control interventions in industrial countries (see, for example, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1999 ). For developing countries, specific data on this topic are found primarily in the so-called gray literature: government reports, consultant reports, or reports by the international banks.

Examples of cost-effectiveness analysis for assessing air quality policy include studies carried out in Jakarta, Kathmandu, Manila, and Mumbai under the World Bank's Urban Air Quality Management Strategy in Asia ( Grønskei and others 1996a , 1996b ; Larssen and others 1996a , 1996b ; Shah, Nagpal, and Brandon 1997 ). In each city, an emissions inventory was established, and rudimentary dispersion modeling was carried out. Various mitigation measures for reducing PM 10 and health impacts were examined in terms of reductions in tons of PM 10 emitted, cost of implementation, time frame for implementation, and health benefits and their associated cost savings. Some of the abatement measures that have been implemented include introducing unleaded gasoline, tightening standards, introducing low-smoke lubricants for two-stroke engine vehicles, implementing inspections of vehicle exhaust emissions to address gross polluters, and reducing garbage burning.

Transportation policies and industrial development do not usually have air quality considerations as their primary objective, but the World Bank has developed a method to take these considerations into account. The costs of different air quality improvement policies are explored in relation to a baseline investment and the estimated health effects of air pollution. A comparison will indicate the cost-effectiveness of each policy. The World Bank has worked out this "overlay" approach in some detail for the energy and forestry sectors in the analogous case of greenhouse gas reduction strategies ( World Bank 2004 ).

The costs and benefits associated with interventions to remove chemical contaminants from water need to be assessed on a local or national basis to determine specific needs, available resources, environmental conditions (including climate), and sustainability. A developing country for which substantial economic analysis of interventions has been carried out is China ( Dasgupta, Wang, and Wheeler 1997 ; Zhang and others 1996 ).

Another country with major concerns about chemicals (arsenic) in water is Bangladesh. The arsenic mitigation programs have applied various arsenic removal technologies, but the costs and benefits are not well established. Bangladesh has adopted a drinking water standard of 50 μg/L (micrograms per liter) for arsenic in drinking water. The cost of achieving the lower WHO guideline value of 10 μg/L would be significant. An evaluation of the cost of lowering arsenic levels in drinking water in the United States predicts that a reduction from 50 to 10 μg/L would prevent a limited number of deaths from bladder and lung cancer at a cost of several million dollars per death prevented ( Frost and others 2002 ).

Alternative water supplies need to be considered when the costs of improving existing water sources outweigh the benefits. Harvesting rainwater may provide communities with safe drinking water, free of chemicals and micro-organisms, but contamination from roofs and storage tanks needs to be considered. Rainwater collection is relatively inexpensive.

Economic Benefits of Interventions

One of the early examples of cost-benefit analysis for chemical pollution control is the Japan Environment Agency's (1991) study of three Japanese classical pollution diseases: Yokkaichi asthma, Minamata disease, and Itai-Itai disease ( table 43.3 ). This analysis was intended to highlight the economic aspects of pollution control and to encourage governments in developing countries to consider both the costs and the benefits of industrial development. The calculations take into account the 20 or 30 years that have elapsed since the disease outbreaks occurred and annualize the costs and benefits over a 30-year period. The pollution damage costs are the actual payments for victims' compensation and the cost of environmental remediation. The compensation costs are based on court cases or government decisions and can be seen as a valid representation of the economic value of the health damage in each case. As table 43.3 shows, controlling the relevant pollutants would have cost far less than paying for damage caused by the pollution.

Table 43.3. Comparison of Actual Pollution Damage Costs and the Pollution Control Costs That Would Have Prevented the Damage, for Three Pollution-related Disease Outbreaks, Japan (¥ millions, 1989 equivalents).

Comparison of Actual Pollution Damage Costs and the Pollution Control Costs That Would Have Prevented the Damage, for Three Pollution-related Disease Outbreaks, Japan (¥ millions, 1989 equivalents).

A few studies have analyzed cost-benefit aspects of air pollution control in specific cities. Those analyses are based mainly on modeling health impacts from exposure and relationships between doses and responses. Voorhees and others (2001) find that most studies that analyzed the situation in specific urban areas used health impact assessment to estimate impacts avoided by interventions. Investigators have used different methods for valuing the economic benefits of health improvements, including market valuation, stated preference methods, and revealed preference methods. The choice of assumptions and inputs substantially affected the resulting cost and benefit valuations.

One of the few detailed studies of the costs and benefits of air pollution control in a specific urban area ( Voorhees and others 2000 ) used changing nitric oxide and NO 2 emissions in Tokyo during 1973–94 as a basis for the calculations. The study did not use actual health improvement data but calculated likely health improvements from estimated reductions in NO 2 levels and published dose-response curves. The health effects included respiratory morbidity (as determined by hospital admissions and medical expenses), and working days lost for sick adults, and maternal working days lost in the case of a child's illness. The results indicated an average cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 6, with a large range from a lower limit of 3 to 1 to an upper limit of 1 to 44. The estimated economic benefits of reductions in nitric oxide and NO 2 emissions between 1973 and 1994 were considerable: US$6.78 billion for avoided medical costs, US$6.33 billion for avoided lost wages of sick adults, and US$0.83 billion for avoided lost wages of mothers with sick children.

Blackman and others' (2000) cost-benefit analysis of four practical strategies for reducing PM 10 emissions from traditional brick kilns in Ciudad Juárez in Mexico suggests that, given a wide range of modeling assumptions, the benefits of three control strategies would be considerably higher than the costs. Reduced mortality was by far the largest component of benefits, accounting for more than 80 percent of the total.

Pandey and Nathwani (2003) applied cost-benefit analysis to a pollution control program in Canada. Their study proposed using the life quality index as a tool for quantifying the level of public expenditure beyond which the use of resources is not justified. The study estimated total pollution control costs at US$2.5 billion per year against a monetary benefit of US$7.5 billion per year, using 1996 as the base year for all cost and benefit estimates. The benefit estimated in terms of avoided mortality was about 1,800 deaths per year.

El-Fadel and Massoud's (2000) study of urban areas in Lebanon shows that the health benefits and economic benefits of reducing PM concentration in the air can range from US$4.53 million to US$172.50 million per year using a willingness-to-pay approach. In that study, the major monetized benefits resulted from reduced mortality costs.

Aunan and others (1998) assessed the costs and benefits of implementing an energy saving and air pollution control program in Hungary. They based their monetary evaluation of benefits on local monitoring and population data and took exposure-response functions and valuation estimates from Canadian, U.S., and European studies. The authors valued the average total benefits of the interventions at US$1.56 billion per year (with 1994 as the base year), with high and low bounds at US$7.6, billion and US$0.4 billion, respectively. They estimated the cost-benefit ratio at 1 to 3.4, given a total cost of interventions of US$0.46 billion per year. Many of the benefits resulted from reduced mortality in the elderly population and from reduced asthma morbidity costs.

Misra (2002) examined the costs and benefits of water pollution abatement for a cluster of 250 small-scale industries in Gujarat, India. Misra's assessment looked at command-and-control, market-based solutions and at effluent treatment as alternatives. In a cost-benefit analysis, Misra estimated the net present social benefits from water pollution abatement at the Nandesari Industrial Estate at Rs 0.550 billion at 1995–96 market prices using a 12 percent social discount rate. After making corrections for the prices of foreign exchange, unskilled labor, and investment, the figure rose to Rs 0.62 billion. It rose still further to about Rs 3.1 billion when distributional effects were taken into account.

Implementation of Control Strategies: Lessons of Experience

The foregoing examples demonstrate that interventions to protect health that use chemical pollution control can have an attractive cost-benefit ratio. The Japan Environment Agency (1991) estimates the national economic impact of pollution control legislation and associated interventions. During the 1960s and early 1970s, when the government made many of the major decisions about intensified pollution control interventions, Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was growing at an annual rate of about 10 percent, similar to that of the rapidly industrializing countries in the early 21st century. At that time, Japan's economic policies aimed at eliminating bottlenecks to high economic growth, and in the mid 1960s, industry was spending less than ¥50 billion per year on pollution control equipment. By 1976, this spending had increased to almost ¥1 trillion per year. The ¥5 trillion invested in pollution control between 1965 and 1975 accounted for about 0.9 percent of the increase in GDP per capita during this period. The Japan Environment Agency concluded that the stricter environmental protection legislation and associated major investment in pollution control had little effect on the overall economy, but that the resulting health benefits are likely cumulative.

The broadest analysis of the implementation of control strategies for air pollution was conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the late 1990s ( Krupnick and Morgenstern 2002 ). The analysis developed a hypothetical scenario for 1970 to 1990, assuming that the real costs for pollution control during this period could be compared with the benefits of reduced mortality and morbidity and avoided damage to agricultural crops brought about by the reduction of major air pollutant levels across the country during this period. The study estimated reduced mortality from dose-response relationships for the major air pollutants, assigning the cost of each death at the value of statistical life and the cost of morbidity in relation to estimated health service utilization. The study used a variety of costing methods to reach the range of likely present values presented in table 43.4 . It assumed that the reduction of air pollution resulted from the implementation of the federal Clean Air Act of 1970 and associated state-level regulations and air pollution limits.

Present Value of Monetary Benefits and Costs Associated with Implementation of the U.S. Clean Air Act, 1970–90 (1990 US$ billions).

The analysis showed a dramatically high cost-benefit ratio and inspired debate about the methodologies used and the results. One major criticism was of the use of the value of statistical life for each death potentially avoided by the reduced air pollution. A recalculation using the life-years-lost method reduced the benefits for deaths caused by PM from US$16,632 billion to US$9,100 billion ( Krupnick and Morgenstern 2002 ). The recalculated figure is still well above the fifth percentile estimate of benefits and does not undermine the positive cost-benefit ratio reported. Thus, if a developing country were to implement an appropriate control strategy for urban air pollution, it might derive significant economic benefits over the subsequent decades. The country's level of economic development, local costs, and local benefit valuations will be important for any cost-benefit assessment. WHO's (2000) air quality guidelines are among the documents that provide advice on analytical approaches.

We were unable to find an analysis for water similar to the broad analysis presented for air, but the examples of water pollution with mercury, cadmium, and arsenic described earlier indicate the economic benefits that can be reaped from effective interventions against chemical water pollution. Since the pollution disease outbreaks of mercury and cadmium poisoning in Japan, serious mercury pollution situations have been identified in Brazil, China, and the Philippines, and serious cadmium pollution has occurred in Cambodia, China, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Thailand. Arsenic in groundwater is an ongoing, serious problem in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal and a less serious problem in a number of other countries.

WHO has analyzed control strategies for biological water pollution and water and sanitation improvements in relation to the Millennium Development Goals ( Hutton and Haller 2004 ). The analysis demonstrated the considerable benefits of water and sanitation improvements: for every US$1 invested, the economic return was in the range of US$5 to US$28 for a number of intervention options. Careful analysis of the same type is required for populations particularly vulnerable to chemical water pollution to assess whether control of chemical pollution can also yield significant benefits.

Research and Development Agenda

Even though a good deal of information is available about the health risks of common air and water pollutants, further research is needed to guide regulations and interventions. The pollutants that were most common in developed countries in the past are still major problems in developing countries; however, direct application of the experiences of developed countries may not be appropriate, because exposed populations in developing countries may have a different burden of preexisting diseases, malnutrition, and other factors related to poverty. Research on specific vulnerabilities and on relevant dose-response relationships for different levels of economic development and for various geographic conditions would therefore be valuable for assessing risks and targeting interventions. In addition, global chemical exposure concerns, such as endocrine disruptors in air, water, and food, require urgent research to establish the need for interventions in both industrial and developing countries.

An important research topic is to clearly describe and quantify the long-term health effects of exposure to air pollution. The existing literature indicates that long-term exposure may have more adverse health effects than short-term exposure and, hence, have higher cost implications. Another topic is to assess the health issue pertaining to greenhouse gases and climate change, which are related to the same sources as urban air pollution ( Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2001 ). Research and policy analysis on how best to develop interventions to reduce health risks related to climate change need to be considered together with the analysis of other air pollutants.

In addition, to improve analysis of the economic costs of health impacts, better estimates are needed of the burden of disease related to chemical air and water pollution at local, national, and global levels. Cost-effectiveness analysis of air and water pollution control measures in developing countries needs to be supported by further research, as cost levels and benefit valuations will vary from country to country, and solutions that are valid in industrial countries may not work as well in developing countries. Strategies for effective air and water resource management should include research on the potential side effects of an intervention, such as in Bangladesh, where tube wells drilled to supply water turned out to be contaminated with arsenic (see box 43.2 ). Research is also needed that would link methodologies for assessing adverse health effects with exposure and epidemiological studies in different settings to permit the development of more precise forecasting of the health and economic benefits of interventions.

The variety of health effects of urban air pollution and the variety of sources create opportunities for ancillary effects that need to be taken into account in economic cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis. These are the beneficial effects of reducing air pollution on other health risks associated with the sources of air pollution. For example, if the air pollution from transportation emissions is reduced by actions that reduce the use of private motor vehicles by, say, providing public transportation, not only are carbon dioxide levels reduced; traffic crash injuries, noise, and physical inactivity related to the widespread use of motor vehicles also decline ( Kjellstrom and others 2003 ).

One of the key challenges for policies and actions is to find ways to avoid a rapid buildup of urban air pollution in countries that do not yet have a major problem. The health sector needs to be involved in assessing urban planning, the location of industries, and the development of transportation systems and needs to encourage those designing public transportation and housing to ensure that new sources of air pollution are not being built into cities.

Decades of economic and industrial growth have resulted in lifestyles that increase the demands on water resources simultaneous with increases in water pollution levels. Conflicts between household, industrial, and agricultural water use are a common public health problem ( UNESCO 2003 ). The developing countries need to avoid the experiences of water pollution and associated disease outbreaks in industrial countries. Strategies to ensure sufficient pollution control must be identified at the same time as strategies to reduce water consumption. High water use depletes supplies and increases salinity in groundwater aquifers, particularly in coastal regions. The impact of climate change must also be taken into consideration ( Vorosmarty and others 2000 ).

Conclusion: Promises and Pitfalls

Evidence shows that a number of chemicals that may be released into the air or water can cause adverse health effects. The associated burden of disease can be substantial, and investment in research on health effects and interventions in specific populations and exposure situations is important for the development of control strategies. Pollution control is therefore an important component of disease control, and health professionals and authorities need to develop partnerships with other sectors to identify and implement priority interventions.

Developing countries face major water quantity and quality challenges, compounded by the effects of rapid industrialization. Concerted actions are needed to safely manage the use of toxic chemicals and to develop monitoring and regulatory guidelines. Recycling and the use of biodegradable products must be encouraged. Technologies to reduce air pollution at the source are well established and should be used in all new industrial development. Retrofitting of existing industries and power plants is also worthwhile. The growing number of private motor vehicles in developing countries brings certain benefits, but alternative means of transportation, particularly in rapidly growing urban areas, need to be considered at an early stage, as the negative health and economic impacts of high concentrations of motor vehicles are well established. The principles and practices of sustainable development, coupled with local research, will help contain or eliminate health risks resulting from chemical pollution. International collaboration involving both governmental and nongovernmental organizations can guide this highly interdisciplinary and intersectoral area of disease control.

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Water, Air, & Soil Pollution

An International Journal of Environmental Pollution

Covers chemical, physical, and biological processes affecting flora, fauna, water, air, and soil.
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Environmental pollution ‑ the release of harmful substances into the air, soil, freshwater and the ocean ‑ poses a grave threat to both natural ecosystems and human health. OECD analysis and policy recommendations seek to help countries reduce and manage pollution caused by everything from industry and agriculture to transport, sewage and household waste.

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Air pollution

Clean air is essential for healthy people and thriving ecosystems. However, air pollution remains one of the key global environmental risk factors that lead to premature mortality due to various causes, including lung cancer and strokes. Air pollutants also lead to diseases, such as asthma, limit plant growth, worsen global warming, and reduce worker productivity. Driven by a broad range of activities, including energy, industry, and agriculture, air pollution is transboundary in nature and requires comprehensive action at multiple scales. The OECD supports co-ordinated action to tackle air pollution and reduce the associated health and economic burden.

Plastic pollution

Global plastics production has grown relentlessly in recent decades. Plastics are vital for preserving food, insulating buildings, for electronics and for making vehicles more fuel-efficient, among many other applications. Yet, the magnitude of plastics consumption in our societies results in a high production-related carbon footprint, huge volumes of waste, persistent pollution and harm to wildlife and ecosystems. In recent years, growing awareness of ubiquitous plastic pollution has steered public opinion and paved the way for stronger policy intervention. The OECD's work on plastics seeks to inform and support these efforts.

Water quality management

Water pollution, a pressing environmental concern, occurs when contaminants such as industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and untreated sewage affect water bodies, compromising their quality. This jeopardises aquatic ecosystems, endangers biodiversity, and poses severe risks to human health, as polluted water contributes to waterborne diseases. Addressing water pollution calls for comprehensive regulatory measures, sustainable practices, and global co-operation to safeguard these vital resources for current and future generations. The OECD equips governments with practical policy recommendations to tackle water pollution and achieve environmental quality objectives.

The costs and benefits of regulating chemicals

Chemicals play an important role in the everyday life of people around the world. They are used for personal care, house cleaning, equipment and manufacturing but also to prevent and cure disease. They provide countless other benefits that make life better for people. However, chemicals need to be soundly managed to avoid risks to human health and the environment. The OECD has worked with governments and industry since the 1970s to improve chemical safety and biosafety and to harmonise approaches to their assessment and management to save resources for both government and industry. More recently, the OECD is carrying out work to support the socio-economic analysis of chemicals by helping to better quantify and monetise their morbidity and environmental impacts.

Despite some progress, exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) remains high

Mean population exposure to fine particulate matter has generally decreased across the OECD; however, most member countries still exceeded the WHO guideline of 5 ug/m3 in 2020. Elsewhere in the world, exposure is persistently high and levels are exceptionally severe in some countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Inadequate disposal of plastic waste is the main driver of global plastic leakage

Estimated global plastics leakage to the environment (terrestrial and aquatic) was 22 Mt in 2019. This value is projected to double, reaching 44 Mt by 2060. The vast majority are macroplastics - recognisable items such as beverage bottles- and most find their way into the natural environment as a result of inadequate collection and disposal. Other leakage routes include littering or fly-tipping, and marine activities. Microplastics -small pieces of plastic less than 5 mm (0.2 inch) in length - also make up a sizeable share of total leakage, largely reaching the environment through wear to tyres and road markings, as well as the accidental loss of plastic pellets and washing of synthetic textile fibres.

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Fireworks Are Not Patriotic—They’re Harmful. Here’s Why.

15 minutes of ooh-ing and ah-ing isn’t worth the wildfire risk, pollution, and trauma to wildlife

Don't miss a moment of the 2024 Tour de France! Get recaps, insights, and exclusive takes with Velo's daily newsletter. >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Sign up today! .

Call me Buzzkill Jill, because I’m about to say something that’s certain to bum out—even tick off—plenty of people, including my mom. Fireworks, that perennial symbol of wholesome family fun, are really bad for the environment and our health.

I can already hear the whining: What’s so bad about a 15-minute pyrotechnics show that brings people joy? To that I’d say two things. First, fireworks do not bring joy to everyone. In fact, they can cause real harm to veterans and others who suffer from PTSD. (Chances are your dog hates them , too.) Second, all that razzle-dazzle takes a serious toll in the form of wildfires, poor air quality, pollution, and wildlife trauma. Not to mention the fact that in 2022 fireworks sent 10,200 people to the emergency room and caused 11 deaths .

Fireworks Cause Wildfires—Lots of Them

Fireworks sparked an estimated 31,302 fires in 2022 that caused an estimated $109 million in direct property damage, according to Michele Steinberg from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). More than 85 percent of those were wildfires. In 2017, a 15-year old boy chucked a firecracker into a dry riverbed on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge during a fire ban. It sparked the Eagle Creek fire, which destroyed 50,000 acres, impacted air quality all the way to Canada, trapped 147 hikers amid the blaze, and took more than three months and $40 million to snuff. The boy who started the blaze was sentenced to 1,920 hours of community service and fined $37 million.

Various types of consumer fireworks stacked on an outdoor table

Still, fireworks are legal in all states except Massachusetts, where they were outlawed in 2020. The proliferation of consumer fireworks makes many who work in the fire fighting industry hot under the collar. “The NFPA does not support the use of any consumer fireworks,” says Steinberg. “Professional fireworks shows are safer because the providers have to be licensed and permitted. There’s a lot more control over the usage and first responders and emergency personnel can be at the ready. Consumer fireworks are never safe.”

Safety precautions for professional shows need to be rigorous, too. The late Bill Gabbert, founder of the website Wildfire Today and a fire management officer for the park service, developed a rigorous checklist to determine whether fireworks shows could go on safely at various NPS sites. Organizers had to obtain a Spot Weather Forecast from the National Weather Service, examine wind speed, and confirm the availability of qualified firefighters, and evaluate the likelihood that a stray ember could ignite a potential fuel source, like a ponderosa pine.

Fireworks Cause Air, Land, and Water Pollution

What goes up must come down. When fireworks explode, they rain down plastic, gun power, heavy metals like lead, copper, cadmium, titanium, and aluminum, and toxic chemicals like perchlorates . These impact air quality, human health,waterways, and soil.

In a 2015 paper on the impact of fireworks on air quality, climate scientist Dian Seidel found that the 4th of July brings with it a pronounced spike in pollution across the nation. The study, which was co-authored with her student, Abigail Birnbaum, focused on the presence of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in the days surrounding Independence Day.

“PM 2.5 is the type of particulate matter that’s most damaging to our health,” says Seidel. “When you breathe dirty air, blow your nose, and see all that nasty dirt, those are larger particles of pollution. But the finer particles that lodge deep in your lungs, the ones that carry heavy metals and other carcinogens that damage cardiovascular and respiratory systems, those are the PM 2.5 particles.”

Seidel’s study, which captured air quality metrics from stations all over the country over multiple years, found an average 42 percent spike in PM 2.5 in the hours following fireworks. The amount of pollution varies depending on the proximity to the fireworks, weather conditions, and the size of the display: Seidel found an increase of several hundred percent at one station close to the launch zone.

“If you watch fireworks close to the launch point, you’ll be exposed to high rates of PM 2.5, especially if you’re downwind,” Seidel says. “This can be quite serious for susceptible people: the young, the old, and anyone with respiratory conditions.”

The health perils are not limited to big professional fireworks shows. Consumer fireworks also emit dangerous toxins , including lead, at even closer ranges.

The chemicals and plastic that fireworks leave behind impact more than just human health. 5 Gyres, a nonprofit focused on reducing plastics pollution, almost always finds bits of fireworks in their regular trash cleanups, says Marcus Erikson, a researcher for the organization. “Collectively, fireworks add up to a tsunami of pollution in the environment–little plastic cones and stems, half-melted plastic cords, cellophane wrappers. It’s a tragedy of commons,” he says. All those microplastics are toxic on a cellular, genetic, and neurological level for animals, according to a 2022 paper published in Science of the Total Environment.

A 2022 study of The River of Thames in England showed an enormous increase in microplastic pollution following the New Year’s Eve firework show. And a U.S. Geological Survey report in 2016 found elevated levels of perchlorate in groundwater and soil samples in the area where Mount Rushmore’s annual fireworks show takes place. Perchlorate interferes with the function of the human thyroid gland and also remains in the environment for long periods of time, impacting soil, flora, and fauna.

Fireworks Freak Out Wildlife

If you own a pet, you know how scared they can get when fireworks start popping. The same goes for wildlife. In a 2023 paper , Professor Bill Bateman of Curtin University studied fireworks’ impact on animals and found both immediate and long-lasting effects. Noise and lights caused short-term fear responses, “like animals leaving an area and then coming back,” he says. There were significant long-term consequences as well. “Disturbances to roosting or nesting animals caused harmful expenditure of energy and in some cases reduced breeding success,” he says. The toxic haze of heavy metals and pollutants also influenced animal health.

“The effects of fireworks were multifarious and profound,” Bateman says. “We were pretty much blown away by the extent of them. Fireworks are not a minor problem. My feeling is that the time of fireworks is over. We need to consider other options, such as drone displays.”

Hundreds of drones laid out on a tennis court in preparation for a fireworks show

The Case for Drone Fireworks—A Better Way to Celebrate

Heat domes and droughts are the new normal these days, so it might indeed be time to move toward a gentler and just-as-cool way to celebrate. That’s why many cities, like Salt Lake City, Utah; Napa, California; and Nashville, Tennessee have switched from combustible fireworks to drone shows.

Tahoe City, California, dropped fireworks in favor of drones in 2022, following the Caldor fire (started by a bullet strike) which torched over 220,000 acres, took more than two months to contain, wreaked havoc on air quality, and forced the evacuation of more than 50,000 people. “It was a terrifying experience,” recalls Katie Biggers, executive director of Tahoe City Downtown Association. “Fire safety, as well as environmental pollution, was the primary driver behind our move away from a combustible 4th of July celebration.”

Tahoe’s 2023 drone fireworks show was a big success with 2,500 people watching from the lakefront and another 100 on boats. The 15-minute show used 300 drones, synched to music which was broadcast on local radio stations.

"Lake Tahoe" illunimated in night sky during a drone fireworks show with a crowd of people in foreground.

Biggers says the community loves the new eco-friendly drone fireworks show. “Our lake, our surrounding mountains, our wildlife—these are the reasons people live and visit here, so sustainability and stewardship are core values in Tahoe City,” she says. “When you look at the fire danger we’ve lived through here, 4th of July fireworks just don’t make sense.”

“Change can be hard and we had a few people complain that not doing traditional fireworks was unpatriotic,” says Biggers. “But more importantly, we also heard from veterans and members of their families who were thrilled to be able to celebrate together without navigating the fear of getting triggered by the loud explosions.”

Doing right by the planet can make you happier, healthier, and—yes—wealthier. Outside’s head of sustainability, Kristin Hostetter, explores small lifestyle tweaks that can make a big impact. Sign up for her twice monthly newsletter or write to her at [email protected].

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Watch CBS News

Indoor air systems crucial to curbing spread of viruses, aerosol researchers say

By Jon LaPook

Updated on: June 30, 2024 / 7:00 PM EDT / CBS News

This is an updated version of a story first published on Oct. 29, 2023. The original video can be viewed here .

With new strains of COVID continuing to appear, and flu season just months away, we thought now is a good time to consider what the pandemic has taught us about preventing the spread of potentially deadly respiratory infections.

It turns out, viruses like the one that causes COVID-19 can travel much farther than six feet. So public health advice focusing on social distancing, handwashing, and masking wasn't enough. Air quality scientists say, from the start of the pandemic , it also should have focused on improving the air we all breathe … indoors.

As we first reported last fall, some companies are now doing just that – for the health of their workers and the health of their bottom line.

Joe Allen: The original sin of the pandemic was the failure to recognize airborne transmission.

Professor Joe Allen of Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health believes the rapid spread of COVID in early 2020 was preventable.

Joe Allen: Think about the public health gains we've made over the past hundred years. We've made improvements to water quality, outdoor air pollution, our food safety, we've made improvements to sanitation: absolute basics of public health. Where has indoor air been in that conversation? It's totally forgotten about. And the pandemic showed what a glaring mistake that was.

Dr. Jon LaPook: What do you think was lost because of that lag in understanding of how this was spread?

Joe Allen: Tens of thousands of lives in the U.S., many more globally. It's not an exaggeration.

It's also no exaggeration to say those early days of COVID were unforgettable. In the U.S. by March 2020, the virus began taking its toll in places like the Life Care Center nursing home in Kirkland, Washington. Sixty miles away in Mount Vernon, Washington, the Skagit Valley Chorale held one of its weekly rehearsals in a church. Half the members stayed away. But the other half showed up. Among them were board members Debbie Amos, Mark and Ruth Backlund, and Coizie Bettinger.

Coizie Bettinger: We just thought hand sanitizer, wash your hands a lot, you know, don't hug each other, 'cause that's touch.

None of it was good enough. Within a few days, chorale members began to get sick. In all, COVID hit 53 of the 61 people there that night. Two of them, both in their 80s, died.

Ruth Backlund: We were going, "This-- this has got to be spread some other way." It--

Dr. Jon LaPook: Really?

Ruth Backlund: Because we were good. We were good.

Dr. Jon LaPook: So COVID was percolating and you thought you were doing everything you were supposed to do?

Marck Backlund: Yes.

Debbie Amos: Right.

Skagit County health officials said the rehearsal "could be considered a superspreading event" – one of the earliest in the country – and concluded that choir members had "an intense and prolonged exposure" to surfaces, droplets and possibly even microscopic airborne particles called "aerosols," containing the virus. That caught the attention of Linsey Marr, a Virginia Tech university professor specializing in aerosol science, and several of her fellow researchers. Even though the medical community was focused on droplets, surfaces and handwashing, these researchers strongly believed COVID was mostly an airborne disease, but needed more proof. So they launched their own analysis.

Linsey Marr: I thought, "Wow. This is even worse than I thought "This has to be airborne. There's really no other explanation for it." Some people are gonna say, "Oh, they all touched the same doorknob." But, after the first few people touch that doorknob, there's no more virus left.

Linsey Marr: That's what happens with our exhaled breath.

Professor Marr used a portable fogger to help explain how so many choir members could have gotten sick.

Linsey Marr: When they're singing, they are releasing virus particles into the air constantly, probably, like this. And those are going to drift around in the room. Notice they're not just falling to the ground. And now as we continue to sing, there's more and more of them in the room. And you can see, as they're drifting around they're reaching these other people nearby. And they were there for two and a half hours. And you can imagine that after that amount of time the other people would've breathed in enough of them to get sick themselves.

Dr. Jon LaPook: Especially if at night the HVAC system was turned off.

Linsey Marr: As far as we know, it wasn't running and so there were very – there was very poor ventilation in that room when this was all happening.

An HVAC unit, short for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, is the heart and lungs of any building. The researchers suspected the thermostat most likely shut off the HVAC unit because the chorale members were generating enough heat on their own.

Dr. Jon LaPook: And right now, there's no ventilation?

Linsey Marr: Very, very low.

Dr. Jon LaPook: OK.

Linsey Marr: And actually, it's similar to what was in the church where the group was rehearsing.

Then, Professor Marr turned up the circulation to show us how better air flow could have helped remove aerosols and slow the spread of virus.

Linsey Marr: Instead of just drifting all over the room --

Dr. Jon LaPook: Oh…

Linsey Marr: You can actually see it, right, going up through there--

Dr. Jon LaPook: I sure can. That is dramatic to see that.

The analysis led to one of the most significant papers on the importance of ventilation published during the pandemic. Then, in 2022, a study in Italy went further. It found that by using a school's fans and air ducts to mechanically exchange indoor air with outdoor air five times an hour, the risk of COVID-19 infections decreased by at least 80 percent. But, in the U.S. it took until May of 2023 for the CDC to recommend an air exchange rate at all.

Joe Allen: If you look at the way we design and operate buildings, and I mean offices, schools, local coffee shop, we haven't designed for health. We have bare minimum standards. In schools the minimum air change, by design, is about three air changes per hour. Remember, we want at least four to six.

Dr. Jon LaPook: If we'd had these indoor air quality targets before the pandemic, how do you think the pandemic would have unfolded differently?

Joe Allen: We still would have had spread. This isn't an "end-the-pandemic" thing. We would have had a lot less of it, and we would have a lot less of these superspreading events. Think about the early days of the pandemic, with "flatten the curve"---"stay home." Why wasn't "Improve indoor air quality" part of "flatten the curve"? We had tools to protect ourselves. Masking: great tool, it's a filter. But we ignored the building side of this.

Face mask effectiveness: What science knows now

Buildings are Allen's business. As the founder of Harvard's Healthy Buildings program, he diagnoses problems in air quality systems and comes up with solutions for clients that include CBS's parent company, Paramount, and commercial real-estate companies like Beacon Capital Partners, with buildings like this one in downtown Boston. And, he advised Amazon before these new 22-story towers opened last year in Arlington, Virginia, where he gave us a tour.

Dr. Jon LaPook: What does a state-of-the-art building look like in terms of air?

Joe Allen: We see a lot of the elements in this building. You have a dedicated outdoor air system that's delivering air above the minimum requirements. Then it's going through two MERV-13 filter banks, and you have highly filtered air.

MERV stands for minimum efficiency reporting value. A rating of 13 means it catches up to 90 percent of airborne particles… depending on their size… as the first line of defense not just against COVID, but other airborne respiratory viruses like flu and RSV.

Dr. LaPook and Joe Allen look at MERV filters

Joe Allen: This is the part of the building nobody ever sees. But this determines whether or not you're healthy or sick in the building, really, what happens in this space.

At Amazon's new offices, the top floor is a maze of motors, pipes, and air ducts… part of a $2.5 million HVAC system that begins with massive rooftop vents and dampers.

Joe Allen: Right here, this is the whole air handling system. This is where the air comes into the building, it's filtered, it's cooled, and then delivered. This determines how much air actually reaches the office space where people are working, and how clean that air is.

Downstairs, each floor has a sensor that tells building engineers about the quality of the indoor air … such as levels of carbon dioxide, known as CO2.

Dr. Jon LaPook: We breathe out the carbon dioxide.

Joe Allen: That's right

Dr. Jon LaPook: The less carbon dioxide, the better the ventilation?

Joe Allen: Really straightforward. High carbon dioxide means you're not getting enough outdoor air from that system we just looked at. If it's low, you're in good shape. Then we also measure particles. That tells us things about, like, outdoor air pollution.

The entire system can be monitored and controlled from the basement.

Joe Allen: Remember we talked about carbon dioxide is an indicator for ventilation? Well, I can see in this building all of these are under 800 parts per million.

Dr. Jon LaPook: So that's good?

Joe Allen: That's great. And really important: if a lot of people went into a space, the CO2 level would rise, this system would recognize it. The dampers would open up and bring in a lot more outdoor air.

Katie Hughes, Amazon's director of health and safety, pointed to the waves of wildfire smoke that have swept down from Canada as the ultimate test of the indoor air quality system.

Dr. Jon LaPook: Not too long ago, Washington and Virginia were sort of smothered by this smoke coming down from Canada. What happened in this building?

Katie Hughes: You would expect the air quality within the facility to not be great. Our buildings were performing very well.

Amazon says it has updated and continues to monitor its HVAC systems…including in its warehouses.

A recent survey of facility managers in the U.S. and Canada found that since March 2020, roughly two-thirds of respondents have upgraded their MERV filters and increased their air exchange rates. In New York City, JPMorgan Chase says its new headquarters will have state of the art air quality controls. And this new skyscraper called 1 Vanderbilt already runs a modern HVAC system.

Katie Hughes: COVID shifted everybody's mindset in terms of air quality in terms of communicable or infectious diseases.

Dr. Jon LaPook: Are you finding that Amazon is making a business decision partially by saying, "Look, it's okay for you to come back to work, because we're telling you that the air inside this building is safe"?

Katie Hughes: I think it's one of many reasons why we expect or would like people back in the office. That is-- a good thing to have, it's probably one of many things.

A well-operating HVAC system is not only good for the health of employees. It can be good for the health of companies, too, especially with people working remotely, leaving many commercial building owners looking for tenants.

Dr. Jon LaPook: There's empty office space, in New York City and elsewhere. How do you think this new thinking might affect that in terms of people even wanting to come to work?

Joe Allen: The dynamic has changed: It's a total buyers' or tenants' market. All else equal, which building are you gonna go to? You have your choice right now: This building that put in healthy building controls, or this building that's designed the way we've always designed buildings, and is prone to being a sick building?

Dr. Jon LaPook: So it actually can help the bottom line in addition to, of course, improving health?

Joe Allen: Yeah.

Dr. Jon LaPook: What about retrofitting a building that's old?

Joe Allen: I think it's a misconception that old buildings can't be healthy buildings. Some of these fixes don't take much. Improving the level of filtration? That's easy; it's cheap; protects against COVID-19; influenza; also protects against wildfire smoke and outdoor air pollution; protects against allergens. Simple, absolute basic things that can be done.

The Skagit Valley Chorale rehearsals are now in a different church with a new HVAC system. For the last year, doors were left open to let in fresh air, regardless of the season, and there are even portable carbon dioxide monitors to track ventilation.

Debbie Amos: We've been through a traumatic experience. And we've tried to learn from that. And did help the science with the aerosol study. And now, we're moving on in a way that we can still sing-- but in a more safe manner.

Dr. Jon LaPook: Do you worry that when the spotlight of the pandemic starts to fade, that people will forget and that they won't act the way they should, in terms of buildings?

Joe Allen: I'm a bit more optimistic than that. I think there are fundamental shifts that have happened. The scientific and medical literature's being rewritten. The government and standard setting bodies are setting new health-based standards. Businesses are responding and won't forget what this meant to their employees' health, and their business. So I don't think we're gonna forget these lessons. We better not.

Produced by Andrew Wolff. Associate producer, Tadd J. Lascari. Broadcast associate, Eliza Costas. Edited by Matt Richman.

Jon LaPook, M.D. is the award-winning chief medical correspondent for CBS News, where his reporting is featured on all CBS News platforms and programs. Since joining CBS News in 2006, LaPook has delivered more than 1,200 reports on a wide variety of breaking news and trending stories in the health and medical fields, as well as feature stories on music, lifestyle and profiles of entertainment stars.

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What it means for the Supreme Court to block enforcement of the EPA’s ‘good neighbor’ pollution rule

Emissions rise from smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal power plant, near Emmett, Kan., Sept. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

The Supreme Court building is seen, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency will not be able to enforce a key rule limiting air pollution in nearly a dozen states while separate legal challenges proceed around the country, under a Supreme Court decision Thursday.

The EPA’s “good neighbor” rule is intended to restrict smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution.

Three energy-producing states — Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia — challenged the rule, along with the steel industry and other groups, calling it costly and ineffective.

The Supreme Court put the rule on hold while legal challenges continue, the conservative-led court’s latest blow to federal regulations.

The high court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, has increasingly reined in the powers of federal agencies, including the EPA, in recent years. The justices have restricted EPA’s authority to fight air and water pollution, including a landmark 2022 ruling that limited EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming.

The court is also weighing whether to overturn its 40-year-old Chevron decision , which has been the basis for upholding a wide range of regulations on public health, workplace safety and consumer protections.

A look at the good neighbor rule and the implications of the court decision.

What is the ‘good neighbor’ rule?

The EPA adopted the rule as a way to protect downwind states that receive unwanted air pollution from other states. Besides the potential health impacts from out-of-state pollution, many states face their own federal deadlines to ensure clean air.

States such as Wisconsin, New York and Connecticut said they struggle to meet federal standards and reduce harmful levels of ozone because of pollution from out-of-state power plants, cement kilns and natural gas pipelines that drift across their borders.

Ground-level ozone, commonly known as smog, forms when industrial pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, refineries and other sources chemically react in the presence of sunlight. High ozone levels can cause respiratory problems, including asthma and chronic bronchitis. People with compromised immune systems, the elderly and children playing outdoors are particularly vulnerable.

Judith Vale, New York’s deputy solicitor general, told the court that for some states, as much as 65% of smog pollution comes from outside its borders.

States that contribute to ground-level ozone must submit plans ensuring that coal-fired power plants and other industrial sites do not add significantly to air pollution in other states. In cases where a state has not submitted a “good neighbor” plan — or where EPA disapproves a state plan — a federal plan is supposed to ensure downwind states are protected.

What’s next for the rule?

The Supreme Court decision blocks EPA enforcement of the rule and sends the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is considering a lawsuit challenging the regulation that was brought by 11 mostly Republican-leaning states.

An EPA spokesman said the agency believes the plan is firmly rooted in its authority under the Clean Air Act and “looks forward to defending the merits of this vital public health protection” before that appeals court.

The spokesman, Timothy Carroll, said the Supreme Court’s ruling will “postpone the benefits that the Good Neighbor Plan is already achieving in many states and communities.’'

While the plan is on pause, “Americans will continue to be exposed to higher levels of ground-level ozone, resulting in costly public health impacts that can be especially harmful to children and older adults,’' Carroll said. Ozone disproportionately affects people of color, families with low incomes, and other vulnerable populations, he said.

Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, said he was pleased that the Supreme Court “recognized the immediate harm to industry and consumers posed by this reckless rule. No agency is permitted to operate outside of the clear bounds of the law and today, once again, the Supreme Court reminded the EPA of that fact.’'

With a stay in place, Nolan said the mining industry looks forward to making its case in court that the EPA rule “is unlawful in its excessive overreach and must be struck down to protect American workers, energy independence, the electric grid and the consumers it serves,.”

Few states participate

The EPA rule was intended to provide a national solution to the problem of ozone pollution, but challengers said it relied on the assumption that all 23 states targeted by the rule would participate. In fact, only about half that number of states were participating as of early this year.

A lawyer for industry groups that are challenging the rule said it imposes significant and immediate costs that could affect the reliability of the electric grid. With fewer states participating, the rule may result in only a small reduction in air pollution, with no guarantee the final rule will be upheld, industry lawyer Catherine Stetson told the Supreme Court in oral arguments earlier this year.

The EPA has said power-plant emissions dropped by 18% in 2023 in the 10 states where it has been allowed to enforce its rule, which was finalized last year . Those states are Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. In California, limits on emissions from industrial sources other than power plants are supposed to take effect in 2026.

The rule is on hold in another dozen states because of separate legal challenges. The states are Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

Administrative overstep or life-saving protection?

Critics, including Republicans and business groups, call the good neighbor rule an example of government overreach.

The EPA rule and other Biden administration regulations “are designed to hurriedly rid the U.S. power sector of fossil fuels by sharply increasing the operating costs, ... forcing the plants’ premature retirement,” Republican lawmakers said in a brief filed with the high court.

Supporters disputed that and called the “good neighbor’’ rule critical to address interstate air pollution and ensure that all Americans have access to clean air.

“Today’s move by far-right Supreme Court justices to stay commonsense clean air rules shows just how radical this court has become,’' said Charles Harper of environmental group Evergreen Action.

“The court is meddling with a rule that would prevent 1,300 Americans from dying prematurely every year from pollution that crosses state borders. We know that low-income and disadvantaged communities with poor air quality will bear the brunt of this delay,’' Harper said.

Roger Reynolds, senior legal director of the environmental group Save the Sound, said the decision hinders the EPA from protecting states such as Connecticut and New York that suffer from ozone pollution generated in the Midwest.

“We cannot reach healthy air quality for our residents without addressing upwind pollution, in addition to local sources,” Reynolds said.

The rule applies mostly to states in the South and Midwest that contribute to air pollution along the East Coast. Some states, such as Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Wisconsin, both contribute to downwind pollution and receive it from other states.

Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut contributed to this story.

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Supreme Court Blocks Biden Plan on Air Pollution

Three states challenged the administration’s “good neighbor” plan, meant to protect downwind states from harmful emissions.

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Smoke stacks billowing behind a large house and a grassy field.

By Adam Liptak

Reporting from Washington

The Supreme Court temporarily put on hold on Thursday an Environmental Protection Agency plan to curtail air pollution that drifts across state lines, dealing another blow to the Biden administration’s efforts to protect the environment.

The ruling followed recent decisions chipping away at the agency’s authority to address climate change and water pollution .

Under the proposal, known as the “good neighbor” plan, factories and power plants in Western and Midwestern states must cut ozone pollution that drifts into Eastern ones. The emissions cause smog and are linked to asthma, lung disease and premature death.

The ruling was provisional, but even the temporary loss for the administration will suspend the plan for many months and maybe longer.

The vote was 5 to 4. Writing for the majority, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch said the court’s ruling was modest, pausing the administration’s plan in light of developments in lower courts. He said the Supreme Court’s stay would remain in place while a federal appeals court in Washington considered the matter and, after that, until the Supreme Court acts on any appeal.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined by the court’s three liberal members, issued a spirited dissent predicting that the majority had created a “yearslong exercise in futility.”

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Home — Essay Samples — Environment — Air Pollution — Air Pollution: Causes and Effects

Air Pollution: Causes and Effects

Categories: Air Pollution Environmental Issues Pollution

About this sample

Words: 723 |

Updated: 30 November, 2023

Words: 723 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Video Version

Air Pollution Essay: Hook Examples

The Silent Killer: Delve into the invisible threat that surrounds us every day, affecting our health, environment, and future generations – air pollution.
Gasping for Breath: Paint a vivid picture of individuals struggling to breathe in polluted cities, highlighting the urgency of addressing this pressing issue.
Nature’s S.O.S: Explore how wildlife and ecosystems send distress signals through the impact of air pollution, underscoring the interconnectedness of all living beings.
The Economic Toll: Uncover the hidden costs of air pollution on healthcare, productivity, and quality of life, revealing the far-reaching consequences of our actions.
Clean Air, Clear Future: Imagine a world where we embrace cleaner technologies and sustainable practices, offering a vision of hope and change in the fight against air pollution.

Works Cited

Agarwal, A., & Agarwal, S. (2020). Air Pollution: Sources, Effects, and Control. CRC Press.
Cohen, A. J., Brauer, M., Burnett, R., Anderson, H. R., Frostad, J., Estep, K., … & Balakrishnan, K. (2017). Estimates and 25-year trends of the global burden of disease attributable to ambient air pollution: an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2015. The Lancet, 389(10082), 1907-1918.
Guttikunda, S. K., & Gurjar, B. R. (2012). Role of meteorology in seasonality of air pollution in megacity Delhi, India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 184(5), 3199-3211.
He, G., Ying, Q., Ma, Y., Cheng, L., Wang, Y., & Liu, Y. (2016). Health risks of air pollution in China: a special focus on particulate matter. Environmental Pollution, 211, 17-30.
Heyder, J., Gebhart, J., Rudolf, G., & Schiller, C. (1986). St deposition in the human respiratory tract as determined by cyclone techniques. Environmental Health Perspectives, 66, 149-159.
Khan, M. N., Islam, M. M., Siddiqui, M. N., & Islam, M. S. (2019). Sources and Impact of Air Pollution on Human Health. In Sustainable Environment and Transportation (pp. 307-334). Springer.
Kumar, P., Kumar, A., & Goyal, P. (2020). Air Pollution: Measurement, Modelling and Mitigation. CRC Press.
Lelieveld, J., Evans, J. S., Fnais, M., Giannadaki, D., & Pozzer, A. (2015). The contribution of outdoor air pollution sources to premature mortality on a global scale. Nature, 525(7569), 367-371.

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National Politics | Supreme Court halts enforcement of EPA plan to…

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National politics | state farm seeks ‘massive’ insurance rate hike for california homeowners, national politics, national politics | supreme court halts enforcement of epa plan to limit downwind pollution from power plants.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is putting the Environmental Protection Agency’s air pollution-fighting “good neighbor” plan on hold while legal challenges continue, the conservative-led court’s latest blow to federal regulations.

The justices in a 5-4 vote on Thursday rejected arguments by the Biden administration and Democratic-controlled states that the plan was cutting air pollution and saving lives in 11 states where it was being enforced and that the high court’s intervention was unwarranted.

The rule is intended to restrict smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution. It will remain on hold while the federal appeals court in Washington considers a challenge to the plan from industry and Republican-led states.

The Supreme Court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, has increasingly reined in the powers of federal agencies, including the EPA, in recent years. The justices have restricted the EPA’s authority to fight air and water pollution — including a landmark 2022 ruling that limited the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. The court also shot down a vaccine mandate and blocked President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program .

The court is currently weighing whether to overturn its 40-year-old Chevron decision , which has been the basis for upholding a wide range of regulations on public health, workplace safety and consumer protections.

Three energy-producing states — Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia — have challenged the air pollution rule, along with the steel industry and other groups, calling it costly and ineffective. They had asked the high court to put it on hold while their challenge makes it way through the courts.

The challengers pointed to decisions in courts around the country that have paused the rule in a dozen states, arguing that those decisions have undermined the EPA’s aim of providing a national solution to the problem of ozone pollution because the agency relied on the assumption that all 23 states targeted by the rule would participate.

The issue came to the court on an emergency basis, which almost always results in an order from the court without arguments before the justices.

But not this time. The court heard arguments in late February, when a majority of the court seemed skeptical of arguments from the administration and New York, representing Democratic states, that the “good neighbor” rule was important to protect downwind states that receive unwanted air pollution from other states.

The EPA has said power plant emissions dropped by 18% last year in the 10 states where it has been allowed to enforce its rule, which was finalized a year ago . Those states are Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. In California, limits on emissions from industrial sources other than power plants are supposed to take effect in 2026.

The rule is on hold in another dozen states because of separate legal challenges. Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

States that contribute to ground-level ozone, or smog, are required to submit plans ensuring that coal-fired power plants and other industrial sites don’t add significantly to air pollution in other states. In cases in which a state has not submitted a “good neighbor” plan — or in which the EPA disapproves a state plan — the federal plan was supposed to ensure that downwind states are protected.

Ground-level ozone, which forms when industrial pollutants chemically react in the presence of sunlight, can cause respiratory problems, including asthma and chronic bronchitis. People with compromised immune systems, the elderly and children playing outdoors are particularly vulnerable.

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What the Supreme Court Chevron decision means for environmental rules

The decision could make it easier for courts to block ambitious climate and wildlife regulations.

The Supreme Court on Friday curtailed the power of federal agencies to regulate the environment, public health and other fundamental aspects of American life.

The 6-3 ruling , written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., could make it easier for courts to block regulations aimed at addressing air pollution, combating climate change and protecting endangered species, lawyers say.

Here’s what to know about the ruling and its potential impact on environmental protections in the United States:

What did the Supreme Court decide?

The pair of cases — Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce — challenged a federal rule that requires the herring industry to cover the costs of observers on fishing boats.

In the decision released Friday, the Supreme Court struck down the rule, issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service, finding it to be overly burdensome. Lower courts had previously upheld the rule, finding it to be a reasonable interpretation of federal law.

The decision effectively overturns a long-standing precedent known as the Chevron doctrine.

What is the Chevron doctrine?

The doctrine says that courts should defer to an agency’s interpretation of a law, as long as that interpretation is reasonable. It was established by the Supreme Court’s landmark 1984 ruling in Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council .

The 1984 decision represented a victory for the Reagan administration and a loss for environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council. Under President Ronald Reagan (R), the Environmental Protection Agency had issued a rule that allowed manufacturing plants to install or modify one piece of equipment without obtaining a federal permit.

Environmental groups had challenged the rule, saying it violated the Clean Air Act and would cause more air pollution. But in the unanimous 6-0 decision, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the court should defer to the EPA’s reading of the Clean Air Act, and to other agencies’ interpretations of other statutes.

At the time, Chevron was not seen as a historic ruling. But it became a major precedent once it filtered through the lower courts, and it eventually gave future administrations more power to issue stronger environmental rules than those of the Reagan era.

Supreme Court 2024 major cases

Who supported overturning Chevron?

A wide array of conservative advocacy groups have urged the court to overturn Chevron. But petrochemicals billionaire Charles Koch has played a particularly influential role.

Both cases were backed by conservative legal organizations — the Cause of Action Institute and New Civil Liberties Alliance — that have received millions of dollars from the Koch network , founded by Charles Koch and his late brother, David Koch. Charles Koch is the CEO of Koch Industries and a fierce critic of federal regulations.

Asked about this funding, Ryan Mulvey, counsel at the Cause of Action Institute, said the focus should be on the fishermen.

“Like any public interest law firm, Cause of Action Institute took this case to defend the rights of individuals who do not have the resources to challenge unconstitutional actions on their own,” Mulvey said in an emailed statement. “This case has always been about vindicating their interests.”

Who supported retaining Chevron?

Ironically, many environmental groups supported retaining Chevron , even though the original 1984 decision handed them a defeat.

Two heavyweights in the environmental movement — the Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council — both submitted amicus briefs urging the justices not to overturn Chevron . The environmental law firm Earthjustice also filed a joint brief in defense of the doctrine on behalf of Conservation Law Foundation, Ocean Conservancy and Save the Sound.

Additional support for Chevron came from a wide range of other individuals and groups, including Democratic senators , the American Cancer Society and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law .

Will this affect efforts to combat climate change?

That’s according to David Doniger, senior strategic director of the climate and clean energy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, who argued the Chevron case. Doniger said the ruling released Friday could prevent agencies from using older environmental laws to tackle newer environmental problems — such as climate change — as they arise.

“The real goal of the interest groups on the right that are backing this litigation is to enfeeble the federal government’s ability to deal with the problems that the modern world throws at us,” Doniger said. “We could end up with a weaker federal government, and that would mean that interest groups would be freer to pollute without restraint.”

Still, President Biden ’s signature climate law gave the EPA more authority to curb planet-warming emissions, Doniger said. For the first time, the climate law, known as the Inflation Reduction Act , defined greenhouse gases as air pollutants that the EPA can regulate under the Clean Air Act.

Will this affect efforts to protect endangered species?

In litigation over protections for vulnerable plants and animals, courts have often deferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s interpretation of the Endangered Species Act. That could change in response to Friday’s ruling, said Damien Schiff, a senior attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative public interest law firm that supported overturning Chevron .

“ Chevron has been invoked to justify a very broad level of discretion for how endangered species are protected,” Schiff said.

Will this affect efforts to regulate toxic chemicals?

Probably not.

The EPA assesses the health risks posed by specific chemicals by interpreting scientific studies, not by interpreting ambiguous statutes, said Madeleine Boyer, a principal at the firm Beveridge & Diamond who represents clients in the chemical industry.

Chevron “isn’t intended to address the deference that should be given to an agency’s interpretation of its own facts and science,” Boyer said.

What will be the near-term impact of the ruling?

There could be a spike in lawsuits over actions by federal agencies — not only environmental agencies such as the EPA, but also the Departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services. It could take years for this litigation to play out.

In the meantime, the ruling could prompt Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill to intensify their oversight of the Biden administration’s environmental rules, staff for the House Republican Study Committee wrote in a memo released Monday.

“If Chevron is rolled back or overturned, this will be a landmark decision which could open the door to Congress ... rolling back Biden’s woke and weaponized administrative agenda," the memo says.

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Air	Lung cancer, heart disease, asthma and respiratory problems	Lung cancer, heart diseases, asthma and respiratory problems
Water	Oil spills, rapid urbanisation, improper sewage system, chemical and radioactive waste dumping.	Cholera, Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Polio, Dysentery and Diarrhea
Noise	Man-made noises like construction, loudspeakers, etc. and natural noises like thunderstorms and animals.	Headaches, high blood pressure, loss of hearing, problems with reasoning and behavioural changes
Soil	Waste disposal, industrial and agricultural activities, excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides.	Loss of fertility, cancer, damage to the nervous system and kidney and liver failure

Essay on Water Pollution

Essay on Water Pollution in 150-250 words

Introduction :

Causes of Water Pollution

Consequences of Water Pollution

Prevention and Remediation

Individual and Collective Responsibility:

Conclusion :

Solutions and Mitigation Strategies

a. Regulatory Measures

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