POLLUTANT HAZARDS
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There are many different types of pollution that affect our environment and our health each and every day while creating atmospheric issues.
Air Pollutants
Lets start with “Air Pollution” which is created by both human and natural resources including but not limited to CO, SO2, most hydrocarbons, most particulates, CO2, NO, NO2, HNO2, HNO3, H2O2, SO3, H2SO4. Air pollution is a big atmospheric issue that continues to become a greater concern, especially when it comes to the health of living things including humans, animals and plants on our earth.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) can derive from vehicles, factories, furnaces, and etc. Carbon monoxide is poisonous …show more content…
and reduces the blood’s ability to transport oxygen Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) Air Pollutants Chlorofluorocarbons cause solar UV reaches Earth’s surface Ground-level ozone (O3) Sunlight; Nitrogen Oxides, Volatile Hydrocarbons which when all combined create the component called Photochemical
Smog, ozone reduces air visibility and causes health Ground-Level can reduce plant vigor, and create chronic ozone exposure (of long duration); it can also lowers crop yields. The Ground-Level Ozone is associated with global warming and a contributor to the consistent forest decline Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) Sulfur trioxide and water Sulfuric Acid damages plants and irritates the respiratory tracts of humans and other animals
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However, some pollutants may not have direct health effects. Air pollutants are contributed by vehicles, factories, the burning of plastics, various gases released into the air, along with several other contributing factors.
Air Pollutant’s can cause the respiratory systems to be irritated and cause COPD, Asthma and other chronic respiratory illnesses. Air pollutants can also reduce the blood’s ability to transport oxygen throughout the body. (In brief; Heart aches for clean air, Harvard Health Letter) Air Pollutants affects our bodies and the abilities for our bodies to function effectively in a healthy state as well as the environmental surrounding and animals that live within the environment. Over the last several years, different groups of epidemiologists from all over started to look beyond the lungs and research how air pollution might affect cardiovascular disease. (In brief; Heart aches for clean air, Harvard Health Letter) Through the findings and facts of the epidemiologist research, there was very little doubt to the conclusion that there is a connection between the fine particles in air pollution and cardiovascular disease; however, the association of air pollution and cardiovascular disease is not as significant as the association of cigarette smoking leading to cardiovascular disease, which increase an individuals chance of being diagnosed and dying from cardiovascular disease. (In brief; Heart aches for clean air, Harvard Health Letter ) “A review of studies published last year in Circulation found that each 10-
Pollutant Hazards Pg 3 microgram-per-cubic-meter increase in particle pollution hikes cardiovascular disease risk by 8%-18%. Put another way, breathing the air in a polluted city increases cardiovascular risk about half as much as living with a smoker”. (In brief; Heart aches for clean air, Harvard Health Letter)
Water Pollutants When speaking of water pollutants, we will discuss both fresh water pollutants and Ocean Water Pollutants and a few of their challenges. Fresh water pollutants are contributed by both human activities and natural resources. Water pollutants come from soil, livestock waste, pesticides, salt, mining waste, construction sediments as well as other contributors. (Kennedy, Robert F., Jr. "Who speaks for the environment?) Another challenge fresh water faces among the pollution, is called “aquifer depletion”, which is the removal or absorption of fresh water rapidly than it can be replenished by the precipitation or melting snow. Fresh water is also subjected to “saltwater intrusion”, this is the flow or movement of seawater into a freshwater Aquifer near the coast and is also a challenge for fresh water. There are Urban runoff pollutants which go into fresh water that are caused by residential home or businesses. Such pollutants that are released are as follows;
• Zinc, which comes from the weathering or age of pipes; • Copper, which can come from brake linings, worn pipes and fittings;
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• Used Motor Oil; • Organic Waster such as garbage, animals droppings, leaves and grass clippings; • Nitrogen and Phosphorus from lawn and garden fertilizers
All of the above pollutants are distributed through the storm drains and into the fresh water streams and rivers, causing our fresh water supply to be significantly polluted. (Kennedy, Robert F., Jr. "Who speaks for the environment?)
There are also polluted runoffs which go into fresh water and occurs when precipitation over and through the soil. This causes the pollutants to be picked up and carried away being delivered into our lakes, rivers, oceans and other wetlands, such pollutants are as follows;
• Fertilizer • Pesticides • Live stock • Mining waste • Construction sediments • Soil erosions and etc.
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With our Fresh Water supply facing the many factors than continue to cause our water supply to constantly be polluted, also causing a depletion in our fresh water supply. For a human to consume water that is contaminated on a regular daily basis can create enormous health hazards to both human and animals. (Kennedy, Robert F., Jr. "Who speaks for the environment?) Ocean water pollutants are contributed by land, river’s emptying in the ocean, oil spills, gas spills, marines, fisherman and many others.
Ocean waters may suffer from “byecatch”, which is when dolphins, turtles, and other sea or ocean creatures are unintentionally killed by fisherman. Then there is what they call “habitat destruction”, which occurs when trawl catching nets that are dragged along the Ocean floor to catch fish destroy the habitats taking everything with it or pulling it from the Ocean floor and to drop it in another location when it is released from the net. The pollutants that are released into the ocean water ultimately effects our fish and the quality of our produce that we feed off of as well as slowing the rate in which sea and/or ocean animals may …show more content…
populate.
Ground Pollutants
Ground pollutants are contributed by both air and water pollution, which is hazardous for all growing plants including but not limited to crops as well as humans and
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animals that feed from those plants and crops. Ground pollution is also caused by the everyday garbage found on the streets within your community, along with terrestrial land which is being used as a land fill for everyone’s garbage including recyclable, because it is commonly overlooked.
When it comes to our environment suffering and the individuals that live within our environment that suffering from the hazards of pollutions, it is time to make changes. There is no good impact when discussing the issues of pollution.
Reaching Sustainability
One way to lesson the air pollutants released each day would be to reduce the amount of driving and transporting each person does everyday commuting back and forth from place to place. I think that it would help if factories and other corporations found other means of energy versus releasing large amount of air pollutants into the environment each day. There needs to be more individuals that take an interest in not only helping their environment but as well as their health. It is time fore every individual to become aware of the health risks that air pollutants cause to them, their children and unborn children due to the mother inhaling the pollutants, it also affects animals and plants that required air to breathe to continue their existence. Due to the health risks that air pollutions can also cause, it is suggested that during the time we are trying to undergo
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control of the air pollution that all individuals cut down on and all physical activity during high-pollution days.
(In brief; Heart aches for clean air. Harvard Health Letter) “The Environmental Protection Agency has a Web site, dubbed Air Now (www.epa.gov/airnow), that lists particulate and ozone levels throughout the country.” (In brief; Heart aches for clean air. Harvard Health Letter) “High temperatures in the days ahead increase ground-level ozone, but the seasonality of particulate pollution depends on where you live.” (In brief; Heart aches for clean air. Harvard Health Letter) “East of the Mississippi, levels are highest starting about now through September because sulfates are more readily formed from sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants in warm temperatures.” (In brief; Heart aches for clean air. Harvard Health Letter) “In the western half of the country, levels are higher from October to December because much of the particulate pollution there is in the form of nitrates, which form as temperatures cool off.” (In brief; Heart aches for clean air. Harvard Health
Letter)
Water pollution seems like a harder pollution to try to sustain; or we could make it a little simple and take out of the contributing factors that lead to water pollution and not use them. It is a fact that water pollution can never be 100% cured but we can make the effort to better it, such as taking away the pesticides and using natural resources that have been proven to work for the same purpose that the pesticide is being used. Then there are the garbage droppings, fertilizer and oils from vehicles that run into the water,
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“Clean up after yourself and your animals people”, all it takes is a moments. There are a lot of factors that contribute to water pollution that can be eliminated.
Ground pollutants would be manageable and contained by the time that the air pollution and water pollution were under control. However, I would make it mandatory for every residence or business to recycle. I would mandate certain times wherein community service would be exercised to clean up our streets and remove any garbage that and enforce a large fine upon those that continue to freely pollute by disregarding garbage and other materials freely upon land and not disposing of them properly.
Within this plan come exceptional benefits such as healthier individuals, cleaner air, water, and surroundings, and the conservation of our environment. Within this land lie many challenges and the first one being that of the individuals taking responsibility for their own actions and changing a routine that most people have become all too comfortable with. Conserving our environment is not a one person job nor can 50% of our world’s population complete this task on its own, this takes the effort of everybody and the support and funds from the government. I do not for see seeking global support being a complication considering a significant amount of people are working to gain control and reduce the amount of pollution we are subjected to each day. However, changes that need to be made and enforced will require funds
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from the government to help assist such as financing solar panels, providing each place of residence or business a recycle bin and possible taking a few of the abandoned building that have been forgotten about because of new terrestrial land being destroyed and making recycling factories that run off of natural energy that are placed in more local and convenient areas.
Our world is a place that requires care and compassion and the time and patients to conserve our land while we as individuals that enjoy our health.
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References
"In brief; Heart aches for clean air." Harvard Health Letter (July 2005): N/A. General OneFile. Gale. Apollo Library. 5 Oct. 2008
Kennedy, Robert F., Jr. "Who speaks for the environment?." Canadian Parliamentary Review 23.3 (Fall 2000): 6-13. General OneFile. Gale. Apollo Library. 5 Oct. 2008
System Model of Ground Probation; www.cs.berkeley.edu/~zf/papers/mcm _pollution.pdf
Morton, S. D. (1976). Water pollution: causes and cures. Madison, Wis: Mimir.