Water Pollution

Reading articles on water pollution is a depressing and a very

complicated subject to get into, but even the quick facts on water
pollution are enough to give any conscientious person the chills:
Researcher Larry West estimates that every day, 14,000 people die
because of water pollution.
According to official classification, 41.3% of the United States’ water is
polluted.
China is the latest victim of impure water tragedies. Emissaries around
the globe are working nonstop to help China prevent a polluted-water
epidemic before their contaminants spread even further. Some facts
on water pollution in China:
70% of Chinese lakes and rivers are polluted, not to mention 90% of
their groundwater (which constitutes most of the “potable” water
people use for drinking, cooking, etc.) This pollution means that 320
million Chinese citizens have no clean drinking water.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently estimated that 75% of
all disease in China comes from water pollution.
WHO puts the number of Chinese water-pollution-related deaths at
100,000 per year.

Water pollution in China is largely due to lax restrictions. In 2005 a

Chinese petro-chemical plant exploded, shooting 100 tons of benzene
into the Songhua River—and as usual, the company would have gotten
off scot-free if the international community had not noticed something
amiss and raised the alarm.
International distress is well-placed. Consumers of Chinese goods, who
number in the millions, are upset by reports of unhygienic practices
because of the overwhelmingly numerous Chinese imports distributed
worldwide.
Children’s toys are largely made in China and this is a particular
concern. Many people are smart enough to realize that sources of
water pollution have an extremely pervasive vehicle in which to
transmit toxins. Citizens of the USA’s Pacific Coast are especially
worried that China’s polluted water will reach them in tidal currents.
The environment is extremely fragile. Recent pollution offenses include
mountaintop mining in the Appalachians, oil drilling at both the Arctic
and Antarctic poles which results in massive wildlife death, and oil
spills that sicken people, as was recently the case in Puerto Rico.
So, after all of this sobering and unpleasant information, one question
remains: how to stop water pollution? There are many technicalities
involved, but the most comprehensive and pressing solution is better
regulation. Government oversight needs a dramatic facelift.
A recent, disgraceful slump is due to a 2002 ruling by British courts
which, incredibly enough, stated that heavy industrial mining waste
was not dangerous and could be dumped into any water source at any
time without permission. Articles on water pollution in the news reflect
the consequences.
This ruling has given rise to a scandal currently unfolding in the
Appalachian Mountains—West Virginian senator Robert Byrd, backed
by profit-hungry mining companies and the Corps of Engineers, are
literally “blowing the tops off mountains” to get at the ore inside and
then dumping their poisonous leftovers directly into nearby streams,
making them direct sources of water pollution.
They have even insulted public intelligence with their ludicrous claim
that there is no better way to dispose of this waste. Well, if ultimately
drinking it is the best solution, then here’s a toast to Senator Byrd. But
if it turns out that putting heavy mining slag into our bodies isn’t the
best solution, then here’s hoping that the government steps in to
regulate pollution—and soon.

Air Pollution

The researchers conducted the experiment on pregnant, non-

smoking black and Dominican American women between the ages of
18 and 35 who were living in the New York City neighborhoods of
Harlem, South Bronx or Washington Heights. The participants wore
personal air monitors during pregnancy, providing the researchers
accurate data on the women's exposure to a class of air pollutants
known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The participant's
children were then subjected to standardized IQ tests at age five.

"These results provide evidence that environmental PAHs at levels

encountered in New York City air can affect children's IQ adversely,"
the researchers concluded.

PAHs are produced by the burning of fossil fuels and other organic
materials, including tobacco. The major source of PAH pollution in
urban areas is automobile exhaust.

The researchers found that after adjusting for other factors that might
affect IQ, children of mothers who had high PAH exposure during
pregnancy had IQ scores an average of 4.31 points lower than children
of mothers with lower exposure. The difference in verbal IQ scores was
even higher, with children of high-exposure mothers scoring an
average of 4.61 points lower. This IQ difference is equivalent to that
seen in children with low-level lead exposure.

"These findings are of concern because these decreases in IQ could be

educationally meaningful in terms of school performance," lead author
Frederica Perera said.

High PAH exposure was defined as higher than the participants'

median exposure level, 2.26 nanograms per cubic meter. It was a
comparative measure used for the purposes of the study only, and not
linked to any health recommendations.

Previous research has already suggested that PAH exposure can cause
cancer and damage the neurological and reproductive systems.
Project
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Submitted by:
Billy Joe U. Austria