Environmental Pollution Effects on Humans, Other Animals & Plants

General Environmental Pollution Effects

Miguel A. Santos notes that a very important aspect of the effect of pollution is its dose (or concentration) required to cause environmental damage. (10)
He defines pollution response as “the change in the effect of a pollutant in response to a change in its concentration”. (11)
In this respect, he identifies 3 different types of response evoked by the environment to different pollution concentrations: (12)

• Linear effect
• Greater-than-linear effect
• Threshold effect

In the linear effect, environmental damage increases linearly with pollution concentrations. In other words, “ the total damage or risk is directly proportional to the accumulated exposure”. (13)
This effect occurs with radioactive substances as well as mercury, lead, cadmium and asbestos.
In the greater-than-linear effect, environmental damage increases with an increase in pollution concentrations but at a decreasing rate. This means that, as pollution concentrations continue to increase the environmental damage will continue to decrease. (14)
This is the case with thermal pollution.
In the threshold effect, pollution produces no effect until a certain threshold in pollution concentrations is achieved. In other words, “so long as a given threshold is not exceeded, the damage from pollution would be completely repaired as quickly as it is produced”. (15)
This effect is found with biodegradable pollutants.
It is also important to mention synergistic effects of pollutants on the environment. While interacting with each other, pollutants can produce greater impacts than when acting individually. (16)
A good example of that is a synergy between asbestos exposure and smoking in causing lung cancer. (17)

There is no doubt that excessive levels of pollution are causing a lot of damage to human & animal health, plants & trees (including tropical rainforests) as well as the wider environment.
All types of environmental pollution – air, water and soil pollution – have an impact on the living environment.
The effects in living organisms may range from mild discomfort to serious diseases such as cancer to physical deformities (for example, extra or missing limbs in frogs).
Experts admit that environmental pollution effects are quite often underestimated and that more research is needed to understand the connections between pollution and its effects on all life forms.

Environmental Pollution Effects on Humans

We know that pollution causes not only physical disabilities but also psychological and behavioral disorders in people.
We are discussing the effects of air pollution and specific air pollutants in more detail in the Air Pollutants article.
The following effects of environmental pollution on humans have been reported:

Air Pollution in Philippines
Photo: Jim D Stitch

Air pollution (18, 19)

• Reduced lung functioning
• Irritation of eyes, nose, mouth and throat
• Asthma attacks
• Respiratory symptoms such as coughing and wheezing
• Increased respiratory disease such as bronchitis
• Reduced energy levels
• Headaches and dizziness
• Disruption of endocrine, reproductive and immune systems
• Neurobehavioral disorders
• Cardiovascular problems
• Cancer
• Premature death

We discuss air pollution effects in more detail here.

Water pollution (20)
Waterborne diseases caused by polluted drinking water:

• Typhoid
• Amoebiasis
• Giardiasis
• Ascariasis
• Hookworm

Waterborne diseases caused by polluted beach water:

• Rashes, ear ache, pink eye
• Respiratory infections
• Hepatitis, encephalitis, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, vomiting, and stomach aches

Conditions related to water polluted by chemicals (such as pesticides, hydrocarbons, persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals etc):

• Cancer, incl. prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Hormonal problems that can disrupt reproductive and developmental processes
• Damage to the nervous system
• Liver and kidney damage
• Damage to the DNA
• Exposure to mercury (heavy metal):
  
  • In the womb: may cause neurological problems including slower reflexes, learning deficits, delayed or incomplete mental development, autism and brain damage
  • In adults: Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and even death

Other notes:

• Water pollution may also result from interactions between water and contaminated soil, as well as from deposition of air contaminants (such as acid rain)
• Damage to people may be caused by fish foods coming from polluted water (a well known example is high mercury levels in fish)
• Damage to people may be caused by vegetable crops grown / washed with polluted water (author’s own conclusion)

Soil contamination (21)

• Causes cancers including leukaemia
• Lead in soil is especially hazardous for young children causing developmental damage to the brain
• Mercury can increase the risk of kidney damage; cyclodienes can lead to liver toxicity
• Causes neuromuscular blockage as well as depression of the central nervous system
• Also causes headaches, nausea, fatigue, eye irritation and skin rash

Other notes:

• Contact with contaminated soil may be direct (from using parks, schools etc) or indirect (by inhaling soil contaminants which have vaporized)
• Soil contamination may also result from secondary contamination of water supplies and from deposition of air contaminants (for example, via acid rain)
• Contamination of crops grown in polluted soil brings up problems with food security
• Since it is closely linked to water pollution, many effects of soil contamination appear to be similar to the ones caused by water contamination

An Extreme Oil Pollution Case

Pollution of pristine Ecuador rainforest by Texaco / Chevron oil corporation represents perhaps one of the most outrageous cases of oil pollution ever.
Some levels of pollutants left by the company on its sites of oil exploration have been calculated to exceed the US safety standards by as much as 1,000 times, causing such side effects as children born with fused fingers and deformed eyes, high cancer rates, etc.
For more details, check out the Oil Pollution of Ecuador Rainforest article.
Source : http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com/

Sources of Environmental Pollution

Fossil Fuel Sources of Environmental Pollution

Fossil Fuel Pollution
Photo: Rachel Scopes

In modern industrialized societies, fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) transcended virtually all imaginable barriers and firmly established themselves in our everyday lives.
Not only do we use fossil fuels for our obvious everyday needs (such as filling a car), as well as in the power-generating industry, they (specifically oil) are also present in such products as all sorts of plastics, solvents, detergents, asphalt, lubricating oils, a wide range of chemicals for industrial use, etc. (8)
Combustion of fossil fuels produces extremely high levels of air pollution and is widely recognized as one of the most important “target” areas for reduction and control of environmental pollution.
Fossil fuels also contribute to soil contamination and water pollution. For example, when oil is transported from the point of its production to further destinations by pipelines, an oil leak from the pipeline may occur and pollute soil and subsequently groundwater. When oil is transported by tankers by ocean, an oil spill may occur and pollute ocean water.
Of course, there are other natural resources whose exploitation is a cause of serious pollution; for example, the use of uranium for nuclear power generation produces extremely dangerous waste that would take thousands of years to neutralize.
But there is no reasonable doubt that fossil fuels are among the most serious sources of environmental pollution.
Power-generating plants and transport are probably the biggest sources of fossil fuel pollution.
Common sources of fossil fuel pollution are: (9)

Industry:

• Power-generating plants
• Petroleum refineries
• Petrochemical plants
• Production and distribution of fossil fuels
• Other manufacturing facilities

Transport:

• Road transport (motor vehicles)
• Shipping industry
• Aircraft

Fossil fuel combustion is also a major source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and perhaps the most important cause of global warming. Learn more about the causes and effects of global warming here.

Other (Non-Fossil Fuel) Sources of Environmental Pollution

Among other pollution sources, agriculture (livestock farming) is worth mentioning as the largest generator of ammonia emissions resulting in air pollution. Chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers are also widely used in agriculture, which may lead water pollution and soil contamination as well.
Trading activities may be another source of pollution.
For example, it’s been recently noted that packaging of products sold in supermarkets and other retail outlets is far too excessive and generates large quantities of solid waste that ends up either in landfills or municipal incinerators leading to soil contamination and air pollution.
Residential sector is another significant source of pollution generating solid municipal waste that may end up in landfills or incinerators leading to soil contamination and air pollution.

We discuss air pollution causes in more detail here.
Source : http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com

Introduction to Environmental Pollution

Although pollution had been known to exist for a very long time (at least since people started using fire thousands of years ago), it had seen the growth of truly global proportions only since the onset of the industrial revolution during the 19th century.

Environmental Pollution
England, 19th Century
Courtesy: Wikimedia.org

The industrial revolution brought with it technological progress such as discovery of oil and its virtually universal use throughout different industries.
Technological progress facilitated by super efficiency of capitalist business practices (division of labour – cheaper production costs – overproduction – overconsumption – overpollution) had probably become one of the main causes of serious deterioration of natural resources.
At the same time, of course, development of natural sciences led to the better understanding of negative effects produced by pollution on the environment.
Environmental pollution is a problem both in developed and developing countries. Factors such as population growth and urbanization invariably place greater demands on the planet and stretch the use of natural resources to the maximum.
It has been argued that the carrying capacity of Earth is significantly smaller than the demands placed on it by large numbers of human populations. And overuse of natural resources often results in nature’s degradation.

It’s interesting to note that natural resources had been stored virtually untouched in the Earth for millions of years.
But since the start of the industrial revolution vast amounts of these resources had been exploited within a period of just a couple of hundred of years at unimaginable rates, with all the waste from this exploitation going straight in to the environment (air, water, land) and seriously damaging its natural processes.

Source  : http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com/

Air Pollution

Air pollution, both indoor and outdoor, is a significant cause of health problems worldwide. Urban and rural outdoor environments contain infections, allergens, irritants and chemical toxins that can reduce the quality of life and cause disease. Inhaled air pollution is directed at the the nose, throat and lungs. The exposed airway allows hazardous pollutants to enter the body and all tissues are ultimately exposed.
Air pollution was first noticed as problem of city dwellers, poisoning themselves, but more recently, air pollution is acknowledged as a problem of global significance. The tolerance for environmental destruction is ancient and human history is littered with civilizations that failed because humans exploited natural resources and spoiled their own nest. Humans adapt easily to deteriorating conditions and will persist in following daily routines even when air pollution is severe, traffic is congested, water and food supplies are at risk, and social order is unstable.
Fine-particulate air pollution is known to contribute to cardiovascular and lung disease, increasing the risk of heart attacks and a heart-related death. Researchers at Brigham Young University and Harvard School of Public Health compared changes in air pollution from 1980 to 2000 with residents’ life expectancies, They concluded that a reduction in air pollutants in 51 U.S. cities between 1980 and 2000 added an average of five months to life expectancy. Residents in cities that made the most significant improvements in air quality, such as Pittsburgh, PA,  lived almost 10 months longer. For every microgram per cubic meter decrease in fine-particulate air pollution, life expectancies rose by more than seven months.
Airborne chemicals contaminate food and water. Airborne chemicals contaminate food and water sources. Airborne chemicals are ingested; they collect in the nose and throat and are swallowed, often in mucus that attempts to protect exposed surfaces. Airborne chemicals entering the digestive system include well-known toxins such as pesticides, organophosphate, PCBs, dioxin, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. In addition occupational exposures to airborne pathogens can be intense and can cause cancer.
While ambient air pollution is a major concern, indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air. Building materials and furnishings are a source of volatile chemicals. A decrease in indoor air quality is the result of reduced ventilation and efficient construction practices, sealing homes, stores and office buildings from the outdoor environment
Smoking tobacco remains a personal method of producing air pollution that remains popular worldwide, despite overwhelming evidence that tobacco smoke produces a long list of disabling and fatal diseases. It is estimated that 30% of all fatal cancers could be prevented if tobacco smoking were eliminated from the list of air pollutants.
The really sad part of our current predicament is that all the right ideas for creating a healthy environment  have been around for decades and have been clearly articulated in many forms by a host of intelligent people. The right ideas involve unselfish and compassionate behavior. The right ideas involve long-term planning, conservation and deep commitment to preserving the natural world. Without a healthy natural environment, there will be few or no healthy humans.
Our big environmental problems are built from many small, personal decisions - little mistakes that add up over time. If there is a solution, it will emerge from the collective value of millions of better decisions made by individuals all over the globe. The environmental action plan is to think globally and act locally - it does make sense.