ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

WATER POLLUTIONCauses of Water PollutionWater Pollution Facts

WATER POLLUTION Causes of Water Pollution :1) Residential Waste2) Industrial Waste3) Sewage and Wastewater4) Oil Spill5) Heat (Global Warming)6) Atmospheric Deposition (Air Pollution)7) Sediments

RESIDENTIAL WASTE Personal Care Products, Household

Cleaning Products, and Pharmaceuticals We should realize that almost all of it goes down

the drain when we do laundry, wash our hands, brush our teeth, bathe, or do any of the other myriad things that incidentally use household water. Similarly, when we take medications, we eventually excrete the drugs in altered or unaltered form, sending the compounds into the waterways

RESIDENTIAL WASTE Study of the effects of these chemicals getting

into the water is just beginning, but examples of problems are now popping up regularly:

Scientists are finding fragrance molecules inside fish tissues.

Ingredients from birth control pills are thought to be causing gender-bending hormonal effects in frogs and fish.

The chemical nonylphenol, a remnant of detergent, is known to disrupt fish reproduction and growth.

RESIDENTIAL WASTE

INDUSTRIAL WASTE Industry is a huge source of water pollution, it produces

pollutants that are extremely harmful to people and the environment.

Pollutants from industrial sources include: Asbestos – This pollutant is a serious health hazard and

carcinogenic. Asbestos fibres can be inhaled and cause illnesses such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, lung cancer, intestinal cancer and liver cancer.

Lead – This is a metallic element and can cause health and environmental problems. It is a non-biodegradable substance so is hard to clean up once the environment is contaminated. Lead is harmful to the health of many animals, including humans, as it can inhibit the action of bodily enzymes.

INDUSTRIAL WASTE Mercury - This is a metallic element and can cause

health and environmental problems. It is a non-biodegradable substance so is hard to clean up once the environment is contaminated. Mercury is also harmful to animal health as it can cause illness through mercury poisoning.

Nitrates – The increased use of fertilizers means that nitrates are more often being washed from the soil and into rivers and lakes. This can cause eutrophication, which can be very problematic to marine environments. Phosphates - The increased use of fertilisers means that phosphates are more often being washed from the soil and into rivers and lakes. This can cause eutrophication, which can be very problematic to marine environments.

INDUSTRIAL WASTE Heavy metals such as mercury and lead, and human-made

organic chemicals such as pesticides, biomagnify as they move up the food chain, resulting in tumors and death for predatory animals, such as lake trout, herring gulls, and even humans.

Effect of acid deposition on organisms – The low pH of water in which the fish lived caused the abnormal bone development that ultimately resulted in the death of the fish

INDUSTRIAL WASTE Mining companies in developing countries

sometimes dump mining waste directly into rivers or other bodies of water as a method of disposal.

Mining causes water pollution in a number of ways:

The mining process exposes heavy metals and sulfur compounds that were previously locked away in the earth. Rainwater leaches these compounds out of the exposed earth, resulting in "acid mine drainage" and heavy metal pollution that can continue long after the mining operations have ceased. Similarly, the action of rainwater on piles of mining waste (tailings) transfers pollution to freshwater supplies.

INDUSTRIAL WASTE Almost all bodies of water in the world have some level of

pollution from chemicals and industrial waste. n the United States, 34 billion liters per year (60%) of the

most hazardous liquid waste—solvents, heavy metals, and radioactive materials—is injected directly into deep groundwater via thousands of "injection wells." Although the EPA requires that these effluents be injected below the deepest source of drinking water, some pollutants have already entered underground water supplies in Florida, Texas, Ohio, and Oklahoma.

SEWAGE & WASTEWATER Sewage disposal is a major problem in developing countries as

many people in these areas don’t have access to sanitary conditions and clean water.

In developing countries, an estimated 90% of wastewater is discharged directly into rivers and streams without treatment. Even in modern countries, untreated sewage, poorly treated sewage, or overflow from under-capacity sewage treatment facilities can send disease-bearing water into rivers and oceans. In the US, 850 billion gallons of raw sewage are sent into US rivers, lakes, and bays every year by leaking sewer systems and inadequate combined sewer/storm systems that overflow during heavy rains. Leaking septic tanks and other sources of sewage can cause groundwater and stream contamination.

SEWAGE & WASTEWATER

Raw sewage flowing to the White Nile

OIL & GASOLINE SPILL Oceans are polluted by oil on a daily basis from oil

spills, routine shipping, run-offs and dumping. Oil spills make up about 12% of the oil that enters the

ocean. The rest come from shipping travel, drains and dumping.

Oil spills cause a very localised problem but can be catastrophic to local marine wildlife such as fish, birds and sea otters.

Oil cannot dissolve in water and forms a thick sludge in the water. This suffocates fish, gets caught in the feathers of marine birds stopping them from flying and blocks light from photosynthetic aquatic plants.

OIL & GASOLINE SPILL

Oil harms many organisms, especially if a spill occurs near an estuarine zone.

It may take two to ten years for aquatic life to recover from a spill.

HEAT (GLOBAL WARMING) An increase in water temperature can result in the death of

many aquatic organisms and disrupt many marine habitats. For example, a rise in water temperatures causes coral bleaching of reefs around the world. This is when the coral expels the microorganisms of which it is dependent on. This can result in great damage to coral reefs and subsequently, all the marine life that depends on it.

The rise in the Earth's water temperature is caused by global warming.

ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION (AIR POLLUTION) Atmospheric deposition is the pollution of

water caused by air pollution. Pollutants like mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitric

oxides, and ammonia deposit out of the air and then cause problems like mercury contamination in fish, acidification of lakes, and eutrophication (nutrient pollution). Most of the air pollution that affects water comes from coal-fired power plants and the tailpipes of our vehicles, though some also comes from industrial emissions.

SEDIMENTS Sediment, the leading water pollutant in the United

States, is a by-product of erosion resulting from poorly managed timber cutting, agriculture, ranching, mining and construction.

Sediment destroys spawning and feeding grounds for fish, reduces fish and shellfish populations, destroys pools used for resting, smothers eggs and fry, fills in lakes and streams, and decreases light penetration, thus endangering aquatic plants.

SEDIMENTS

Muddy river polluted by sediment. Photo courtesy of United States Geological Survey.

WATER POLLUTION FACTS Asian rivers are the most polluted in the world.

They have three times as many bacteria from human waste as the global average and 20 times more lead than rivers in industrialized countries.

In 2004, water from half of the tested sections of China's seven major rivers was found to be undrinkable because of pollution.

WATER POLLUTION FACTS Thirty percent of Ireland's rivers are

polluted with sewage or fertilizer. The Sarno is the most polluted river in Europe,

featuring a nasty mix of sewage, untreated agricultural waste, industrial waste, and chemicals.

SARNO RIVER

WATER POLLUTION FACTS Greece has the cleanest coastal waters,

followed by Spain and Germany. Lithuania and Estonia have the dirtiest coastal waters.

The King River is Australia's most polluted river, suffering from a severe acidic condition related to mining operations.

KING RIVER

WATER POLLUTION FACTS An estimated 700 million Indians have no access

to a proper toilet, and 1,000 Indian children die of diarrheal sickness every day.

Millions depend on the polluted Ganges River

WATER POLLUTION FACTS Bangladesh has some of the most

polluted groundwater in the world. In this case, the contaminant is arsenic, which occurs naturally in the sediments. Around 85% of the total area of the country has contaminated groundwater, with at least 1.2 million Bangladeshis exposed to arsenic poisoning and with millions more at risk.

WATER POLLUTION FACTS Pasig River is one of polluted rivers in the Philippines. There

have been a number of projects aimed at rehabilitating the Pasig River: Piso para sa Pasig, Sagip Pasig and now Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig spearheaded by the TV network giant ABS-CBN. The aim is to see Pasig River alive and supporting aquamarine and human life just like it was decades ago. Pasig River pollution is one of Philippines environmental issues that need the most urgent action

WATER POLLUTION FACTS Around 80% of the pollution in seas and

oceans comes from land-based activities. In one week, a typical cruise ship

generates: 210,000 gallons of sewage; 1,000,000 gallons of "gray water" from showers, sinks,

dishwashers and clothes washers; 37,000 gallons of oily bilge water; more than eight tons of solid waste; and toxic wastes from onboard operations like dry cleaners

and photo processing laboratories.

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Raw sewage flowing to the White NileTHANK YOU!