Over 700 million people worldwide drink contaminated water.
Water pollution has been a growing problem for decades. Every year, over 1.2 trillion gallons of sewage is dumped into rivers and streams from households, industries, and restaurants in the United States, with over 250 million people succumbing to diseases related to water impurity. As human societies become more complex to sustain the growing population, limited thought is being given to how the environment is being impacted. Many common pollutants, such as pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, and pesticides are being found in growing numbers in the aquatic environment.
Pharmaceuticals
Over two billion dollars worth of unused pharmaceuticals are flushed down the toilet by American consumers. Furthermore, over 100 different types of pharmaceuticals were detected in rivers and streams around the world, with more than 32 different kinds of pharmaceuticals detected at Lake Michigan itself, one of the United States’s most prominent lakes for clean water supply.
In 2010, a researcher analyzed pharmaceutical concentrations and found seven recurring classes of pharmaceuticals prevalent in rivers and streams across North America. These are:
In 2010, a researcher analyzed pharmaceutical concentrations and found seven recurring classes of pharmaceuticals prevalent in rivers and streams across North America. These are:
- steroidal estrogens and progesterones
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- antidepressants
- azoles
- fibrates
- antibiotics
- other classes
Heavy Metals
Heavy metals are highly toxic to the aquatic environment, and can cause severe damage to aquatic life. Since the Industrial Revolution, these elements have found their way into aquatic biosphere, and continue to increase on a daily basis.
Some of the most common heavy metals include:
High levels of lead and chromium have been detected in multiple rivers and streams across the United States. With more states, especially in the South, becoming industrially advanced, these elements are being found in alarming quantities in the aquatic environment. Lead is known to cause severe side effects in humans, while chromium contamination has been linked to certain forms of cancer.
Some of the most common heavy metals include:
- Cadmium
- Chromium
- Copper
- Lead
- Mercury
- Nickel
- Zinc
High levels of lead and chromium have been detected in multiple rivers and streams across the United States. With more states, especially in the South, becoming industrially advanced, these elements are being found in alarming quantities in the aquatic environment. Lead is known to cause severe side effects in humans, while chromium contamination has been linked to certain forms of cancer.
Pesticides
There are about 2.2 million farms in the United States, covering up to 922 million acres of land. With so many farms in the United States, it is not a surprise that pesticides are commonly used on the plants. There are up to 1 billion tons of pesticides used on American farms alone. However, increased pesticide usage also means that there is an increased amount of pesticides polluting our waters.
There are many classes of pesticides, these include:
Of all the pesticide classes, herbicides are the most commonly used in the United States and worldwide.
Some of the most common pesticides are:
A study completed by the EPA examined 26 river sites, and results revealed that Atrazine was found in 100% of all the river sites, which is quite alarming.
Overall, pesticide usage is not only harmful to just humans, but can severely damage our aquatic life.
There are many classes of pesticides, these include:
- insecticides
- herbicides
- rodenticides
- fungicides
Of all the pesticide classes, herbicides are the most commonly used in the United States and worldwide.
Some of the most common pesticides are:
- glyphosate
- Atrazine
- Chlorpyrifos
- Metolachlor
- Metam sodium
A study completed by the EPA examined 26 river sites, and results revealed that Atrazine was found in 100% of all the river sites, which is quite alarming.
Overall, pesticide usage is not only harmful to just humans, but can severely damage our aquatic life.
So how do you properly dispose of these
contaminants?
Pharmaceuticals
The problem of pharmaceuticals ending up in our aquatic environment is caused by us, consumers of these drugs, improperly disposing of them, not aware of the downstream impacts of what they have done. See, 90% of pharmaceuticals are not detected by any sort of filtration system, and thus, these drugs end up in our aquatic environment. These drugs cause such drastic effects on the aquatic life, causing problems anywhere from mutations to birth defeats to even death. This can severely affect the aquatic food chain, which can even eventually circle back to us. We eat these fish as seafood, and the amount of drugs in these fish could actually even hurt us. If a 50 year old women takes Toprol-XL for her heart, and throws away the rest of her medicine, this same medicine can be traced in a fish now being eaten by a healthy 9 year old child, thus transferring amounts of Toprol-XL into her body. This could cause severe health problems for the child. Furthermore, most pharmaceuticals are found mixed in our waters, which could create a deadly concoction of drugs, which would make things 100 times worse.
To avoid all of these things from happening, properly dispose of your pharmaceuticals. Many pharmacies and police stations have drug-take back programs, where they properly dispose of the pharmaceuticals. Walgreens, for instance, started a drug take back program last year, and most locations are actively participating in this program. It is easier to just throw away the unused drugs or flush them down the toilet, but taking the extra time to properly dispose of these drugs can go a long way. Make our environment safer for generations to come.
To avoid all of these things from happening, properly dispose of your pharmaceuticals. Many pharmacies and police stations have drug-take back programs, where they properly dispose of the pharmaceuticals. Walgreens, for instance, started a drug take back program last year, and most locations are actively participating in this program. It is easier to just throw away the unused drugs or flush them down the toilet, but taking the extra time to properly dispose of these drugs can go a long way. Make our environment safer for generations to come.
Heavy Metals
Heavy metals get into the aquatic environment because of industries and consumers discarding the waste in waters. Mining companies tend to be the biggest contributor to heavy metal levels in water.
There have been multiple disasters recorded in the past involving the mass release of heavy metals into our aquatic environment. The United States itself, only accounting for about 4.5% of the world's population, uses about 20% of the world's metals.
The reason why heavy metals tend to become a problem mixed with water is because when these heavy metals find their way into our aquatic biosphere, tend to lower the pH of water, which can make the water more toxic. Furthermore, the organisms that live in these waters take in this contaminated water, and this can cause severe mutations, and potentially death, for these organisms.
Humans, as well can be affected by the high level of heavy metals in our waters. Most filtration systems don't detect these heavy metal concentrations in our water supply, and we can actually intake the contaminated water. There was an issue at Flint, Michigan in 2015 involving lead concentrations finding its way into the drinking water supply. This contaminated water caused severe brain abnormalities, birth defects, and other serious concerns among the Flint residents.
The problem at Flint involved just one heavy metal. Imagine what could happen if a combination of heavy metals ended up in the drinking water supply worldwide.
There have been multiple disasters recorded in the past involving the mass release of heavy metals into our aquatic environment. The United States itself, only accounting for about 4.5% of the world's population, uses about 20% of the world's metals.
The reason why heavy metals tend to become a problem mixed with water is because when these heavy metals find their way into our aquatic biosphere, tend to lower the pH of water, which can make the water more toxic. Furthermore, the organisms that live in these waters take in this contaminated water, and this can cause severe mutations, and potentially death, for these organisms.
Humans, as well can be affected by the high level of heavy metals in our waters. Most filtration systems don't detect these heavy metal concentrations in our water supply, and we can actually intake the contaminated water. There was an issue at Flint, Michigan in 2015 involving lead concentrations finding its way into the drinking water supply. This contaminated water caused severe brain abnormalities, birth defects, and other serious concerns among the Flint residents.
The problem at Flint involved just one heavy metal. Imagine what could happen if a combination of heavy metals ended up in the drinking water supply worldwide.
Pesticides
Farmers are the primary reason pesticides end up in our waters. Large-scale farmers use many machines to spray their acres of crops with pesticides so that more crops can be harvested. However, as soon as a farmer waters his or her crops, a large quantity of these pesticides are washed off, and ends up in the aquatic environment. Once these pesticides enter our aquatic environment, they easily mix into the water. Aquatic organisms, once again, are at risk of birth defeats, mutations, and aggressive behavior. Furthermore, water treatment plants cannot filter out pesticides, so they end up in our drinking water supply. Pesticide consumption is known to cause neurodegenerative problems, as well as mental retardation.
Usage of pesticides can be reduced to avoid this problem. However, there is a better alternative to this problem. Inventions such as crop rotation and polyculture can help reduce the usage of pesticide. Furthermore, organic farming eliminates pesticide usage completely, as well as using natural remedies (such as entomopathogenic fungi) to prevent predators from consuming the crops. Even if only a few large-scale farms reduce their pesticide usage and/or turn to other alternatives, our waters will improve significantly.
Usage of pesticides can be reduced to avoid this problem. However, there is a better alternative to this problem. Inventions such as crop rotation and polyculture can help reduce the usage of pesticide. Furthermore, organic farming eliminates pesticide usage completely, as well as using natural remedies (such as entomopathogenic fungi) to prevent predators from consuming the crops. Even if only a few large-scale farms reduce their pesticide usage and/or turn to other alternatives, our waters will improve significantly.
We can't clean our waters without community initiative.
Take the right step.
Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. -- Rachel Carson