Pollution's Impact: Environmental Devastation And Health Risks

Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials, known as pollutants, can be natural, such as volcanic ash, or created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land, and have a detrimental impact on human health and the planet as a whole. Air pollution, for example, is caused by solid or liquid particles and certain gases suspended in the air, and can cause respiratory diseases, cancers, and other health problems.

Air pollution and health

Air pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials, known as pollutants, can be natural, such as volcanic ash, or created by human activity, such as burning fossil fuels. Air pollution is now the world's fourth-largest risk factor for early death, with nearly seven million deaths attributed to it annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Air pollution is caused by solid or liquid particles and certain gases suspended in the air. These particles and gases can come from car and truck exhaust, factories, dust, pollen, mould spores, volcanoes, and wildfires. The solid and liquid particles suspended in the air are called aerosols. Many aerosols enter the atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum, and wood. Some of the particles and gases come directly from these sources, while others form through chemical reactions in the air.

Ozone is a major cause of air pollution in cities. Ozone is a powerful lung irritant and can cause inflammation and other damage that can impact multiple body systems. When inhaled, ozone reacts with the delicate lining of the small airways. Ozone exposure can also shorten lives. Ground-level ozone is created when sunlight reacts with certain chemicals that come from burning fossil fuels, such as factories or car exhausts. When particles in the air combine with ozone, they create smog, a type of air pollution that makes it difficult to see.

Particle pollution, also known as particulate matter (PM), is a deadly and growing threat to public health. Fine particles are too small to be visible, but when pollution levels are high, they can make the air appear thick and hazy. Sources of particle pollution include motor vehicles, factories, power plants, equipment, wood burning, and wildfires. While our bodies' natural defences can keep the coarse particles we inhale out of the deepest parts of our lungs, these defences do not keep smaller fine or ultrafine particles from penetrating deep into the lungs and even into the air sacs. Many of these particles get trapped there, while the smallest can pass from the air sacs into the bloodstream and disperse to other organs of the body.

Both ozone and particle pollution can impact the functioning of the immune system and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections. Air pollution also increases the risk of chronic lung and cardiovascular diseases, which put people at higher risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19. Research has shown that children, pregnant women, older adults, and individuals with pre-existing heart and lung disease are more susceptible to air pollutants. People in low socioeconomic neighbourhoods and communities may be more vulnerable to air pollution because of various factors, including proximity to industrial sources of air pollution.

Water pollution

Water is known as a ""universal solvent"," meaning it can dissolve more substances than any other liquid on Earth. This makes it easily polluted. Water pollution is the release of substances into bodies of water, making it unsafe and unfit for human use, as well as disrupting aquatic ecosystems.

The effects of water pollution are far-reaching and detrimental. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), polluted water is water that has become toxic and unusable. This means it cannot be consumed or used for essential purposes like agriculture, and it also poses significant health risks. The WHO estimates that around 2 billion people are forced to drink water contaminated by excrement, exposing them to diseases such as cholera, hepatitis A, dysentery, typhoid, and poliomyelitis. Waterborne diseases linked to a lack of hygiene cause the deaths of about 1,000 children every day worldwide.

Polluted water also introduces toxins into the food chain. For example, fishing in contaminated waters and using wastewater for agriculture can result in harmful substances entering the food we eat. This issue affects both wealthy and poor countries, with the United Nations (UN) stating that billions of people globally lack access to clean drinking water and sanitation, particularly in rural areas.

Soil pollution

One study examined the health impacts of waste landfill sites on local populations across Europe, finding higher rates of school absenteeism and increased demand for health services among residents of polluted areas. Another study investigated the effects of living near polluted mining and industrial sites, concluding that soil pollution was associated with lower birth weights, poorer health among children, an increased risk of chronic diseases in adults, and higher premature mortality rates.

The adverse effects of soil pollution on human health are not yet fully understood and require further research. However, it is clear that soil pollution is a significant contributor to pollution-related diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, which account for more than 60% of pollution-related illnesses. Other health issues linked to soil pollution include metabolic and mental disorders, cancers, and respiratory problems.

Climate change

Air pollution is defined as the contamination of the air by toxic or polluting particles and gases. These particles and gases are detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that indoor and outdoor air pollution is responsible for nearly seven million deaths globally each year.

Air pollution and climate change are two sides of the same coin, with the same sources often contributing to both issues. For example, the burning of fossil fuels for power generation, industry, and transport are major sources of both air pollution and CO2 emissions. As such, it is vital to tackle these challenges together. This means swapping fossil fuel-based power for renewables, greening public transport, cutting industrial emissions, and reducing emissions from agriculture.

Some air pollutants, known as Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs), have a more potent warming effect on the planet than carbon dioxide, despite remaining in the atmosphere for much shorter periods. These include methane, black carbon (soot), and tropospheric ozone, which contribute to global warming and harm ecosystems, biodiversity, and human health.

Addressing air pollution and reducing SLCP emissions can deliver dual benefits: improving air quality and human health, while also mitigating climate change. Regulatory initiatives, partnership programs, and individual actions can all contribute to reducing air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, thereby improving the planet's climate and ecosystems.

Environmental justice

Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials, known as pollutants, into the environment. These pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash, or they can be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land, and are detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole.

The environmental justice movement has generated hundreds of studies showing that exposure to environmental harm is inequitably distributed, with people of colour and those with low incomes bearing the brunt of the negative effects of pollution. This is due to the historical siting of highways and polluting facilities in or next to low-income neighbourhoods and communities of colour, as well as the fact that poor people and people of colour often work in the most dangerous jobs and live in the most polluted neighbourhoods.

The movement has also brought attention to the issue of environmental racism, where communities of colour have been forced to live, work, and play closest to sources of pollution. Protesters have taken action to stop the construction of hazardous waste landfills in their communities and to prevent trucks filled with contaminated soil from reaching proposed landfill sites. The environmental justice movement has achieved some success in rich countries, but this has resulted in environmental burdens being shifted to the Global South, through practices such as extractivism and the global waste trade.

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