Composition: Water Related Environmental Health Issues (Term Paper Sample)

Water Related Environmental Health Issues
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Water Related Environmental Health Issues
Introduction
This essay seeks to analyze and explore the question of water pollution and its ramifications on the life and activities of human beings. Water pollution is the in vogue topic that keeps on eliciting varied position on how to handle it from stakeholders including governments. The unequivocal fact however, is that water pollution is real and its consequences can already be seen. This essay will start by outlining the background of the issue. Here, I will basically lay the foundation for the discussion that will ensue in this essay. Thereafter, I will analyze and assess the potential or likely exposure and the health impact on the populations of the world. Later, I will systematically analyze and assess the public health impact of water pollution. Finally, I will conclude by describing public health actions, including activities, policies, or procedures to address the issues. In this section, I will endeavor to make recommendations on the appropriate interventions applicable in addressing this concern.
Background
Water is the most valuable treasure in the world. A scarce resource, it still constitutes 75% of the earth’s surface CITATION AGI15 \l 1033 (AGI, 2015). Of the 75%, only 3% is actually fit for human consumption. This scarcity has provided the rationale for various countries in the world to enact regulations that will lead to effective management of this resource. Majority of countries in the world have made specific provisions in their constitutions and laws that recognize rights to water. Adoption of the international instrument on socio-economic rights has to a large extent facilitated the embodiment of this right in the various laws of different nations CITATION Uni15 \l 1033 (UN, 2015).
Despite these interventions, pollution is the major challenge in so far as access to water is concerned. Environmental pollution affects water directly. As a result, the 3% of the water fit for human consumption has also been polluted. Polluted water could be simply defined as that water originally fit for human consumption but that after the pollution it is hazardous to the health of the very human beings. Some of the environmental health concerns as a result of this pollution include the emergence of water borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and skin diseases. Contaminated water found in large or small surroundings around homes and habitats has led to many diseases as a result of people contracting these diseases. Further, the release of radiology substances into water has dire effects in so far as cancer is concerned.
Water pollution has serious implications on public health. This is mainly because: a) Safe drinking of water is vital for human survival to prevent dehydration. b) Water is essential for basic hygiene and modern sanitation methods including wastewater treatment. c) Water is a key economic development component for production of goods and services. d) Uncontaminated water is vital for food production and livestock health CITATION Mei15 \l 1033 (Meinhardt, 2015). The significance of water pollution on public health is that as a result of water pollution and lack of sanitation many people lose lives yet these deaths could have been easily prevented.
Assessment of Exposure
Air-quality.org.uk. (2015). Effects of Acid Rain on Buildings. Retrieved 25 June 2015, from -quality.org.uk/12.php
This article focuses on the effects of acid rain formed as a result of the interaction of water and sulphur dioxide, nitric dioxides and nitrogen dioxides on buildings. The article estimates that emissions of sulphur dioxides in the UK were approximately 1.2 million tones.
According to this article, building stones and bricks, particularly under projecting parts, often crumble in large urban areas that experience more air pollution levels compares to remote areas that do lot experience higher levels of air pollution. These findings are based on observation and experiments on the strength of the building materials in these two areas. The research will be very vital in the drawing the effects of acid rain on construction materials and some of the initials that can be adapted to the reduction of this effect.
Further, in this article it suggested that monuments are more at risk than modern buildings. The reason offered for this position is simply because the monuments were made of limestone and calcareous stones that corrode easily. Taj Mahal, Cologne, Notre Dame and the Westminster Abbey are some of the monuments the article sites as under threat.
Assessment
According to CITATION Her02 \l 1033 (Herman Koren, 2002) acid rain as a result of air pollution causes immense environmental and economic concerns in many parts of the United States and the world. The crumbling of bricks as a result of corrosion is a major health risk. The stability and durability of the buildings is reduced by such corrosions that it is no longer safe to stay in the houses. Also, the chemicals remain in the buildings and continue reacting. One of the potential health risks in this case would be the product of sulphur reacting with water and other chemicals being deposited on the human skin. If these chemicals such as sulphur were to make contact with the skin, then there is a chance that the skins of the people living in those houses will start corroding as well. This is a serious health risk.
Acid Rain and Its Effect on Surface Water. (2015). Retrieved 25 June 2015, from http://www2.vernier.com/sample_labs/ESV-16-COMP-acid_rain.pdf
This article concentrates on the impacts of acid rain on surface water including lakes and rivers. It also focuses on the effects of acid rain on living organisms that live in water as well as on land. Furthermore, it looks at its impacts on stone buildings and monuments. Also, the article further illustrates how Carbon dioxide naturally forms acid rain which in turn has dire effects on plants and animals depended on this water. The paper also highlights how acid rain impacts the environment. The concept of water buffering capacity is brought up and its relation to PH change is clearly explained. From this article, acid rain could seriously cause damage to some areas and less damage to others.
Analysis
The potential exposure for human beings to this polluted water would be in three ways. Firstly, direct interaction with this water either during washing or drinking. Secondly, through the consumption of the edible organisms from rivers such as fish. The chemicals that probably killed these water organisms could still find their way in the bodies of human beings. Thirdly, through intake of the plants that have been affected by this pollution human beings could be exposed to these chemicals. The potential health hazard as a result of this intake would be death as a result of chemical uptake. Such deaths could reduce the human populations significantly. Further, through such chemicals uptake human beings could develop health complications that could even affect their ability to procreate and as result the human populations could be reduced significantly.
Acid rain and its ecological consequences. (2015). Retrieved 25 June 2015, from http://jeb.co.in/journal_issues/200801_jan08/paper_02.pdf
This article focuses on the effects of acid rain on the ecology. The research is based on experimental methods that help in drawing out some of the impacts of acid rain. According to the findings of the experiments carried out, increase or lowering of soil PH may lead to a change in the characteristics of soil chemicals and thus reducing the fertility, which consequently leads to an adverse effect on productivity and growth of crops and forests.
Anita Singh and Madhoolika Agrawal in this article explain the important role that soil quality plays in the maintenance of structural diversity of Boreal forest ecosystem. However, acidic rain reduces the quality of soil immensely. Even though, soil has a very high buffer capacity as compared to water it will also be degraded by continued exposure to acidic rain. They also list areas that have been affected by acidic rain in Europe and Northern America.
In this article they also highlight the effect of acidity on aquatic ecosystems. Norway and Belgium illustrate this effect clearly. Acidity in these regions led to the death of many fish, phytoplankton and even snails. Further, they posit that acidic rain has serious implications on crop plants. Acid rain reduces the yields of these plants because they do not thrive on high acidity. This has a direct impact on the health of human beings because acidity reduces food production. As such, there is a chance that some people would not get quality food and as result their health will suffer.
Analysis
In this paper, it is argued that acidic rain has indirect effects on the health of human beings. When human beings come into contact with the materials that have been contaminated by acidification, their health could be affected. For instance, where food stuffs have been contaminated by this acidification and without knowing one partakes of such a meal they have very high chances of falling sick.
Also, this paper highlights another health issue to the human population which is eye irritation. According to them Sulphur dioxide could cause eye irritation if it exceeds certain limits. They also use Tokyo to further illustrate how dangerous the gases could be to the health of human beings. In Tokyo, they explain that polluted drizzle droplets resulted in eye and skin irritations.
The other impact on health of human beings is that they get asthma, dry coughs, and headache, nose and eye irritations as a result of consumption of the metals from the atmosphere which dissolve in the water and food human beings take. The ultimate result is a very unhealt...