In different areas of the world it is found that the presence of arsenic, lead, and cadmium is hazardous to the health of the general population. In Burkina Faso high concentrations of arsenic dominated the groundwaters (BGS). A similar case occurred within California with the existence of lead and cadmium. Similar to Arsenic in the groundworks of Burkina Faso, there was a significantly large amount of lead found in the water system in California affecting the nervous system, kidneys of children (Rios, Michael). Cadmium has also been found in California, because the metal is known to cause cancer and developmental harm there are several laws preventing certain amount of cadmium in drinking water (Monserrat, Laurie).
The lead in the environment is formed naturally in the earth’s crust mainly as Lead Sulphide. The main exposure channels of lead entering the environment through atmospheric lead is predominantly from automobile emissions. Other lead exposure routes include lead-acid batteries, paint chips, fertilizers, utilized ammunition, pesticides, and other industrial byproducts. The means of conveying lead from key emission sources is mainly through the air. Concerning the sources of lead in drinking water, normally lead reaches into the residents’ water after it is channeled from their water treatment plant or the wells. To be more precise, the source of lead in people’s water supply largely emanates from their households’ pipes or lead solder from plumbing. The most typical cause of the lead formation is from the corrosion reaction by the lead pipes or solders and the water. The acidity as a result of the low pH, dissolved oxygen, and little mineral contents in the water are main reasons of the corrosion. The lead amounts in the water become high if the water spends a long duration of time stagnated inside the old pipes.
Arsenic is well known for its dangerous toxic features it brings to humans and the environment. But, it was not until the late 1980’s did scientists and public health officials realized that even at low doses of ingestion, arsenic is very dangerous and can cause serious health effects (Bolt, 2013). Till this day arsenic continues to be a huge public health issue, not only in parts of the United States but in developing countries worldwide (Bolt, 2013). The main trend that researchers have been focusing on is the amount of arsenic that is contaminating drinking water. Arsenic has been known to be a health issue in water for many years, but it was not until the 1980’s and later that the government and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started to really crack down on monitoring it (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry [ATSDR] , 2010). Before 2001 the legal amount of arsenic that was allowed in drinking water was 50 parts per billion (ppb), but since then public health officials and the government realized that this amount of arsenic in the water was making people sick (ATSDR, 2010). So on January 22, 2001, the EPA adopted a new standard of 10 ppb of arsenic is drinking water (ATSDR, 2010). This level has been tested to be the safest allowable amount of arsenic in drinking water to be ingested by humans. To this day parts of the world and about 2% of the United States are still having issues with keeping the
The current water crisis in Flint, Michigan stems from government officials changing water sources. The government of Flint switched from using the water of Lake Huron, which they had used for over 50 years, to using the water of the Flint River, which had a high level of chloride. The high chloride level eventually led to the corrosion of water pipes allowing unhealthy levels of chlorine and lead contamination. Additionally, irresponsible and unreliable water treatment allowed even more contaminates to enter the city’s water source. All this pollution ultimately ended up in the homes of thousands of people, poisoning families throughout the city. Lead poisoning can have disastrous effects on the human body, with some symptoms including “memory loss, anemia (lack of healthy red blood cells), kidney dysfunction, and in severe
All the inhabitants of Flint communities regardless of their location had irreversible, permanent brain damage due to lead-contaminated water. It started when traces of E. coli and total coliform were found in the Flint River. The city addressed this problem by increasing chlorine levels in the water, causing the pipes to corrode, releasing lead into the waters. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) were also formed in the water (they are carcinogenic to humans).TTHM is a disinfection byproduct that occur when chlorine interacts with organic matter in the water. At this stage, The lead levels in the water was 13,200 ppb. Water is considered hazardous waste at 5,000ppb (NPR 2016). This tragedy goes to show that this toxic runoff, or even the miss-handling of the water resources in a watershed can affect everyone as the downstream water was piped up into the upstream communities.
There are three main mechanisms by which the chemical composition of groundwater, which is our natural source of drinking water, may be changed: by natural processes, by man's waste-disposal practices such as those for sanitary wastes, liquid industrial wastes, solid wastes, and radioactive wastes, and by spills, leaks, and agricultural activities and other sources unrelated to disposal. The degree of risk posed by contaminants varies according to many factors. These include the volume and toxicity of the contaminant, its concentration in the aquifer, its persistence in the environment, and the degree of human and environmental exposure to the contaminant. In addition, the number of persons affected, or likely to be affected, over time and the percentage of available groundwater both locally and regionally should be taken into consideration. If the contaminants in the groundwater exceed the standards set for drinking water by the federal government, for example, then the water is hazardous for the use for which it was designated under the standards. These standards include, however, only a limited number of chemicals, and thus they do not necessarily protect humans or the environment against either the short-term or the long-term effects of every contaminant that might be found in
The lead effects in the drinking water have caused a massive public health crisis (“Scientific Opinion on the risks”, 2015). The whole crisis was as a result of poor management practices employed in the Flint water plant. The city decided to switch the
Many service lines leading into homes are leaching lead into the water. This problem happened because the city of Flint decided to not treat the water properly with corrosion control (Ganrin, 2016). This proves that officials did not care about those living in Flint. They chose to save money but instead they destroyed many lives. So this proves that our government is not there to help the people out, but instead to cut money wherever they feel necessary to not have to take it from other places. Lead poisoning can affect IQ and behavior. This can cause some people to become score low on standardized test and to become violent and to sometimes harm others. No level of lead is ever safe in any person or animal (Ganrin, 2016). The water source in Flint is currently undrinkable and very unsafe and will continue to be for months ahead ("Researcher: Flint water 'like Russian roulette'," 2016). Flint water is not a safe water source and has not been for many months. According to federal regulations Flint's water supply still does not meet standards. Since August 2015 the water supply has improved, but it still is not safe ("Researcher: Flint water 'like Russian roulette'," 2016). The people of Flint have been poisoned under their noses without even knowing it, secretly being sickened by their own government. Flint’s water is not safe it's an unreliable water
River water near the spill showed elevated levels of lead and thallium, Mercury and arsenic cadmium and lead exceeding Clean Water Act standards designed to protect aquatic life as well as humans who come in contact with the water. Which can cause birth defects and nervous and reproductive system disorders?
The rules for lead and copper have changed over the years, so let’s start at the beginning. Lead was originally regulated under the Public Health Service Act of 1962, which established a guideline of 0.050 mg/L (ppm) for lead in drinking water. This was carried over into the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. It wasn’t until 1991 that regulation changed significantly under the Lead and Copper Rule. This rule regulates how public water supplies must deal with the potential of lead and copper in the drinking water. Additionally, there is also the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act, which regulates the amount of lead that can be in products that could come into contact with drinking water, like pipes, plumbing fitting, fixtures, solder and flux.
Thousands of residents have been exposed the the lead in the water. This has caused health defects such as hair loss, rashes, and also sickness. Certain areas contain more lead than others, those which hold poor and african american population. It makes you wonder if they were targeted even more. “Many of those advocates assert that environmental racism is a major reason black people in Louisiana's factory-laden “Cancer Valley” contract the disease at higher rates”, said (“John Eligon”).
While nitrates are one of the major contaminants in the area, San Joaquin Valley residents face drinking water pollution from many other sources including arsenic, coliform bacteria, and pesticides. Arsenic is a naturally occurring semi-metal element that is found in different types of rocks. While arsenic primarily occurs naturally, human activities impact the amount of arsenic in groundwater. Arsenic is not only toxic at high concentrations, but also harmful after prolonged exposure at moderately elevated levels. California recognizes arsenic as a human carcinogen and believes prolonged exposure to the element to be associated with various cancers, including skin, bladder, kidney, lung, and liver cancers. A study in Maine found a connection between water contaminated
In 2000, WHO assessed the global burden of disease due to a number of risk factors associated with lead. (3)
For this cohort, the study uses 524 children ranging in ages from 1, 12, and 20-40 months (Rodrigues et al, 2016). Their study examines the blood lead, arsenic, and manganese, but for our purposes we will focus on arsenic concentration. The study stated that the increased water arsenic levels were associated with a decrease in cognitive scores based on the above average arsenic concentration (Rodrigues et al, 2016). These women and children were recruited from areas the scientists knew the water was contaminated with arsenic. The areas included, Sirajdikhan and Pabna regions between the years 2008 and 2011. Tests to examine their cognitive level ranged from language function, motor skills, verbal abilities, and long-term memory. These tests showed that there was a relation between arsenic and lower neurodevelopment, with Pabna having higher levels than Sirajdikhan (Rodrigues et al,
A massive epidemic emerges as the water on which millions of people rely on is exposed to high levels of arsenic, a silent killer. Depending on whether carbon is involved, the arsenic ion combines with other elements to form either an organic compound or an inorganic compound, which is typically found in the contaminated waters (“ARSENIC...WebMD”). When comparing the two forms, the inorganic compound is more toxic than the organic compound (“Arsenic”). According to the regulations of the US Environmental Protection agency, if water exceeds 10 micrograms of arsenic per liter then it should not be consumed. A prolonged consumption of water containing high levels of inorganic arsenic is linked to various health issues such as skin damage, problems with the circulatory system, several types
Inorganic chemicals is one of most important causes to water pollutants. These inorganic pollutants naturally found in environment but due to human develepment activities, these pollutant amount has been increasing rapidly and released into water bodies. The most common inorganic pollutants from water are ammonium, phosphorus, arsenic, cadmiun, zinc, lead etc. It is highly toxic to human and environment (Choi et al., 2011). The inorganic pollutant such as ammonia and phosphorus promote eutrophication, which excessive amounts of these inorganic pollutant releasing into the water can accelerate this phenomena in a few years (Donald M et al., 2002). The overgrowth of plants and subsequent death have been created green layer on the surface of water bodies. These layer can be blocked the penetration of light and oxidation process into the water bodies. Thus, depletion of dissolved oxygen can be occurred in the water and affected aquatic life. The death and decay of aquatic life contribute unpleasant smells and increasing the turbidity of water bodies (Conley et al., 2009). In additional, the heavy metal such as arsenic can causes skin, lung, bladder, and kidney cancer as well as pigmentation changes, skin thickening (hyperkeratosis) neurological disorders, muscular weakness, loss of appetite, and nausea (Mohan and Pittman, 2007). The long term exposure to cadmium causes various types of acute and chronic disorders like pulmonary odema, erythrocyte destruction, skeletal