Effects Of Contaminated Water On Human Health – The harmful effects of water pollution are one of the major environmental concerns of the modern world. Several types of anthropogenic activities such as industrialization, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, and discharge of domestic and radioactive waste add tons of pollutants to water bodies. Water pollution changes the composition of water to a toxic extent that it is no longer suitable for drinking and other purposes.
According to WHO (2019), at least 2 billion people worldwide do not have an adequate supply of drinking water. Developing countries are more exposed to the risks associated with water pollution due to inadequate waste management and water treatment systems. A study published in
Effects Of Contaminated Water On Human Health
Biological contaminants, such as bacteria and viruses, also known as microbes, cause immediate effects on humans immediately after drinking Contaminated water. The most common diseases caused by drinking contaminated water are discussed below:
Harmful Algal Outbreaks And Drinking Water
, a bacterium is the main causative agent of cholera that results in a serious infection of the intestinal tract. If not treated properly, it can lead to severe diarrhea and dehydration in patients, and even be fatal. The disease is widespread in rural areas with poor sanitation and hygiene. Worldwide, 100,000 people die annually from contracting cholera.
Diarrhea is the most common waterborne disease characterized by frequent and loose bowel movements. Consuming food or water contaminated with microbes such as viruses, bacteria and protozoa. results in this Health condition. This can lead to fluid loss and severe dehydration. Children are at high risk of mortality due to diarrhea. In fact, the United Nations reports 85,700 annual child deaths related to diarrhea caused by water pollution.
Typhoid fever is mainly characterized by acute fever along with intestinal infection and ulceration. A bacterium called
That causative agent of typhus. The disease is widespread in underdeveloped countries with unsafe drinking water supplies. An estimated 20 million people contract typhoid every year, globally.
Disease Impact Of Unsafe Water
Hepatitis A is a liver infection caused by ingesting food or water contaminated with the Hepatitis A virus. The disease is relatively short-lived and patients recover after a few weeks. But the infection is highly contagious and can become severe in some cases.
Causes this highly contagious disease known as giardiasis. A person can contract the disease if they consume unsafe water or food contaminated with it
Several types of chemicals such as pesticides, heavy metals, bleach, salts and nitrogen are released into water bodies. Mainly it happens as a result of intensive agricultural practices and inadequate treatment of industrial wastewater. This eventually leads to groundwater contamination. In most cases, consumption of water contaminated with chemicals does not result in immediate health effects, but they act as a slow poison and can disrupt various biological processes over time.
Various types of chemical pollutants can cause skin diseases due to direct contact with contaminated water during swimming or washing clothes. The severity of the disease can vary depending on the toxicity of the contaminated water. Most often, it results in skin lesions, rashes and itching. The effects may last depending on the causative chemical pollutant present in the water.
Soaking Up Our Waste: Water Contamination
Fluorosis is a dental disorder, prevalent in children during the period of formation of permanent teeth. Consumption of water highly contaminated with fluoride mainly results in fluorosis. Symptoms of fluorosis include mild discoloration or banding or faint white lines on the teeth. Typically, it is not a disease, but it causes several psychological effects.
Lead poisoning occurs due to the accumulation of lead in the human body over a long period of time. It can lead to various effects on physical and mental health and its severity mainly depends on the concentration of lead in the body. Children are more susceptible to lead poisoning because they are more likely to put unusual things in their mouths, such as items contaminated with lead paint. A high concentration of lead in the body can be fatal.
Arsenicosis or arsenic poisoning occurs in the human body after ingestion of water or food contaminated with high levels of arsenic. Arsenic is extremely poisonous and ingesting its small concentration over time can lead to adverse health effects such as skin cancer, bladder cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes etc. Communities living around industrial areas are more likely to suffer from arsenic poisoning.
Ingesting drinking water contaminated with chemical contaminants can result in neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and even several types of cancer. The presence of chemicals in drinking water has a harmful effect on Human Health, worsening the symptoms of other diseases. Rarely, they result in immediate illness. However, exposure to chemical pollutants over time damages various metabolic processes in the body, eventually leading to fatal diseases.
How Can I Prevent Water Pollution?
In short, water pollution kills. There is an urgent need to address water pollution at source level. Furthermore, the installation of functional filtration units may prove beneficial in reducing the harmful effects of contaminated drinking water on human health. To read how we can protect our water supplies, check out Ways we can protect our water supply. Water pollution refers to the contamination of water with substances that make it unsafe for drinking, cooking, cleaning, swimming and other activities according to Harvard School of Public Health T. H. Chan. Water pollution damages the ability of natural ecosystems to function properly and is harmful to plants, animals, soil and air.
Common sources of pollution include naturally occurring toxic geological agents such as heavy metals, agricultural and industrial chemicals, hydrocarbon fuels, mining waste, nuclear waste, garbage, septic tank and landfill runoff, wastewater, pharmaceutical drugs, and bacterial, parasitic, and viral pathogens. .
Human contact with contaminated water through drinking, skin contact or even consumption of food grown or prepared with contaminated water poses a significant health hazard. Contaminants in water can directly cause disease or act as poisons.
Hazardous chemicals from farms, industries, and homes that pollute water sources can cause acute toxicity and immediate death, or chronic toxicity complicated by neurological problems and cancer.
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Infectious pathogens contaminating water through sewage can lead to gastrointestinal diseases, which are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide.
Sources of water pollution refer to those human activities or practices through which harmful chemical substances are allowed to enter water bodies. The most common and destructive sources of water pollution are the runoff of agricultural waters contaminated with pesticides and the indiscriminate disposal of industrial, communal and domestic waste in waterways, rivers, streams and lakes. The main industries that contribute to water pollution are food, agriculture, fertilizer factories, petrochemicals, mining, steel and pharmaceuticals.
Globally, agriculture accounts for 70% of total water consumption, resulting in unavoidable pesticide contamination. Agricultural runoff is the most common source of agricultural water pollution. In the past 50 years, the development of chemically invasive agriculture using pesticides applied in solution, suspension or as wet concentrates and powders to control weeds, insects and other pests has caused serious water pollution problems with widespread contamination of drinking water and supply of groundwater to wells and rivers.
Typical sources of agricultural pollution include runoff from farms or warehouses, field runoff, drainage/subsoil runoff, or spray application of various pesticides. This image of an Iowa farm field during heavy rains shows how both topsoil and fertilizers are washed away and eventually enter larger waterways. Image courtesy of the US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
What Are The Causes Of Water Pollution?
The extent of agricultural water pollution is so great that the United States Geological Survey reports that every stream and most of all groundwater sources tested in the United States contain at least one agricultural chemical contaminant.
Sewage is waste water from things like toilets, sinks, bathrooms, showers, washing machines and dishwashers. As well as runoff from streets, lawns, farms and other land surfaces that may contain chemicals, oils, pesticides, fertilizers and animal droppings.
While modern wastewater treatment plants keep much more wastewater out of the environment than in the past, the reality is that much wastewater still ends up in rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans through groundwater or direct discharge. Especially in developing countries with weaker regulations and enforcement. This becomes a problem when untreated wastewater reaches drinking water sources and begins to pose a significant health risk to the community.
For example, drinking water contaminated with sewage is often the cause of cholera in developing countries. The WHO reports that there are approximately 2.9 million cases and 95,000 deaths due to cholera annually in at least 47 endemic countries. Cholera is a type of bacterial gastroenteritis caused by Vibrio cholerae and is characterized by copious “rice water” stools, often accompanied by fever and vomiting.
Human Health Impacts Of Climate Change
This video from Vice News tells the story of how a sewage leak from a UN base in Haiti led to a cholera outbreak that killed ten thousand people after the 2010 earthquake.
Litter that pollutes rivers, lakes, streams, and streams is called “aquatic litter” by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
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