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Effects Of Water Pollution
All types of water pollution adversely affect health of humans, animals, plant and marine life. |
The effects of water pollution are usually long term. Various pollutants affect the healthy living organisms, including humans, in different ways.Heavy metals like lead and mercury from industrial effluents discarded into nearby lakes and rivers can accumulate, and over time result in various neurological disorders Heavy metals can cause retarded development in children, result in birth defects, and some are carcinogenic. An example of this is the Minamata Bay disaster where millions of fish died. Those humans and animals that consumed the fish from those waters suffered from neurological disorder like severe trembling, inability to grasp objects, and inability to walk steadily. On investigation, it was found that an industrial unit was discharging mercury into water, and these were all consequences of mercury poisoning.
Toxins from industrial waste discharged into water can cause immune suppression, reproductive failure or acute poisoning on consuming that contaminated water.
Microbial pollutants from sewage often result in microbiological pollution. This is a major problem in the developing world, with diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever being the primary cause for infant mortality. Moreover, there is a danger of an epidemic, if not controlled on time.
The pollution due to depletion of oxygen in water can adversely affect the marine life that thrives on oxygen. For example, fish and algae will die when there is depletion of oxygen in the water.
Sewage is another major pollutant that affects living organisms. Not only is it harmful for human drinking that water, but it also poisons shellfish (such as cockles and mussels) that grow near the shore. People who eat poisoned shellfish risk suffering from an acute -- and sometimes fatal --illness called paralytic shellfish poisoning. In fact, the problem is so severe that shellfish is no longer caught along many shores because it is invariably polluted with sewage or toxic chemical effluents discharged from the industrial units in the vicinity.
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Effects Of Water Pollution
