Impacts of

Water pollution

Water - Source of life

Photo by Risab Jain

But look at what we are doing to it

Photo by Subijoy Dutta

Photo by Sudhanshu Malhotra

Do you know it affects us all?

Natural

Chemical

Anthropogenic

Microbial

WATER POLLUTION

Natural pollution Groundwater in certain areas is rich in some

inorganic chemical compounds such as fluorides, arsenic etc.

These chemicals bio accumulate in the body.

They are not excreted out of the body easily and if rate of intake is higher than rate of excretion, they accumulate in the body.

Fluorosis

©Ruhani Kaur/UNICEF India http://www.fannz.org.nz

20 states in India have groundwater that is rich in fluoride

Dental FluorosisSkeletal Fluorosis

Excess fluoride in the body

(above 1.5 – 2 ppm)

Natural pollution

How does fluorosis impact people

Handicapped

Social outcastes

Lose livelihood

Poverty

Medical costs that they can’t meet

http://gbgm-umc.org/nwo/99ja/india3.jpghttp://farm1.static.flickr.comhttp://www.heal.co.uk/images/child-labour-3.jpgA young girl living on the streets in India. Photograph: Rob Elliott/AFP/Getty Images

Arsenicosis causes

Liver damage (jaundice, cirrhosis)

Vascular disease

Cancers of the

lung kidney bladder

liver

skin

Natural pollution

Anthropogenic water pollution

Chemical

Microbial

Impacts:

Health Aquatic lifeOther impacts

Nitrates• Sources

– Fertilizers– Unsanitary conditions– Leaks– Unhygienic practices

Chemical contamination and its impacts

Drinking water contaminated with nitrates can lead to serious, even fatal consequences particularly for infants.

In human body, nitrate is converted to nitrite which then combines with haemoglobin to form metheamoglobin which reduces oxygen levels in the blood. This causes cyanosis (blue baby syndrome) and in severe cases it can cause death

Anthropogenic pollution

Chemical contamination and its impacts

Mercury: Widespread use in industrial processes and in various products (e.g. batteries, lamps and thermometers)

These compounds bio-accumulate in our bodies and are dangerous to health and life. Many cause cancer, affect various vital organs and can

cause death.

Anthropogenic pollution

Heavy Metals

Lead: Industrial effluents from battery manufacturing industries, industries which have a paint shop etc.

Cadmium: Marine and aerospace applications; some fertilisers, detergents and refined petroleum products.

Chemical contamination and its impactsAnthropogenic pollution

Lead: Kidney, nerve and brain damage; anaemia – leads to death. Children most susceptible

Cadmium: Kidney damage, genetic mutations

Mercury: Damage to brain and central nervous system

Dyes

Chemical contamination and its impactsAnthropogenic pollution

Synthetic Organic ChemicalsThese compounds bio-accumulate in our bodies and are dangerous to

health and life.

Plastics

Pesticides

Cause cancers, damage to the nervous system, reproductive system, endocrinal system

Bio-magnification

Accumulation of these compounds

increases as we go up the food chain.

Organisms higher in the food chain are exposed to contamination from different sources.

Minamata disease Industrial wastewater from the Chisso corporation (manufacturing fertilizers

and other chemicals) was released into the Minamata Bay in Japan

The waste water was rich in methyl mercury

Mercury content in shellfish in that region increased

People ate the shellfish and the cats ate the leftovers

Anthropogenic pollution

Strange things started to happen – cats had convulsions and died, crows fell from the sky, dead fish floated..

Young children had convulsions and difficulty in walking and speaking

People died Investigation showed organic mercury poisoning affecting the nervous system First discovered in 1956 Lawsuits and claims continue till today

Minamata disease

Anthropogenic pollution

Water-borne Diseases

Water-washed Diseases

Water-based Diseases

Water-related vector borne

Diseases

Health impacts of Microbial contamination of water

Anthropogenic pollution

Water borne diseases (also water-washed and food borne)

Diseases caused by ingestion of water contaminated by human

or animal excrement, which contain pathogenic microorganisms• Cholera• Diarrhoeal diseases (dysentry)• Typhoid• Infective jaundice• Polio• Roundworm

One gram of human excreta can contain:

• 10,000,000 viruses

• 1,000,000 bacteria

• 1,000 parasite cysts

• 100 parasite eggs

Source: United Nations Children’s Fund, Sanitation for All: Promoting Dignity and Human Rights. UNICEF, New York, 2000.

Faeces - the most dangerous pollutant

The Faecal-Oral Route of Disease Transmission

Food

Excreta

HandsWater Flies

Mouth

The Faecal-Oral Route of Disease Transmission

Diarrhoeal disease Children in developing countries most affected Responsible for the deaths of 7,00,000 million people every year (WHO, 2004) Over 7,00,000 deaths in India in 1999 (works out to abt 1600 per day) (World Bank, 1999)

Water washed diseaseDiseases caused by poor personal hygiene and skin and eye contact with contaminated water

• Scabies• Skin sepsis and ulcers• Leprosy• Lice and typhus• Trachoma• Conjunctivitis• Dysenteries• Ascariasis• Paratyphoid

How Trachoma spreads

Water washed diseases

Scabies

Trachoma

Not enough water to keep clean

Water based diseases

• Schistosomiasis• Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease)

Life Cycle of guinea worm infection

Schistosomiasis affects over 200 million people worldwide, of whom 88 million are under 15 years of age

Water Based Diseases

Life cycle of the guinea worm infection (dracunculiasis)

Parasitic infections for which aquatic and semi-aquatic snails function as intermediate hosts

Water related vector borne diseases Transmission by insects having aquatic immature stages

• Dengue• Filariasis • Malaria • Onchocerciasis• Trypanosomiasis • Yellow fever

http://www.worldwater.org/drinkwat.gif

Populations without access to safe drinking water

Affect of anthropogenic water pollution on freshwater aquatic populations

Sewage / Organic pollution in lakes – eutrophication (all life in lake dies)

Industrial effluents dumped into rivers – fish kills and loss of underwater plants

Affect of anthropogenic water pollution on marine biodiversity

• Oil spills in oceans – huge damage to marine biodiversity• Garbage in oceans – mistaken for food and consumed by marine animals. Causes death• Chemical pollution – from land based sources, damage marine biodiversity

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Acid rain

• Affects the hatching of fish eggs

• pHs lower than 5 can kill adult fish.

• Has eliminated insect life and some fish species

• Kills microbes in the soil and alters soil chemistry

Acid rain – rain in which SO2, oxides of nitrogen, chlorine, CO2 etc. are dissolved

Acid rain

High altitude forests are especially vulnerable as they are often surrounded by clouds and fog which are more acidic than rain.

Acid rain – rain in which SO2 and oxides of nitrogen are dissolved

Damages buildings and historical monuments Sulphuric acid in the rain reacts chemically with the calcium compounds in the stones - limestone, sandstone, marble and granite - to create gypsum, which then flakes off.