The Effects Of Long Term Industrial Pollution

Air pollution has been a major problem throughout world for the past 5 decades i.e. a few years after the industrial revolution. There are two types of air pollutions a) Natural and b) Anthropogenic, of which the natural causes (volcanoes, forest fires and tornadoes) are not in the control of man (Mosley 2010). Anthropogenic air pollution on the hand is a type of anomaly in the atmosphere where foreign objects are released into the air entirely by man and his activities (Industries, transport) and are controllable.

Since the Industrial Revolution in 1760, the effect of human activities has been amplified with the introduction of new technology and new energy sources. While pollution itself has no clear definition, several different types have been designated, including air, water, and sound. A painting by Frida Kahlo, an influential Mexican artist from the twentieth century, clearly portrays the difference between the United States and Mexico. In the background of the painting, smokestacks billowing from a factory are clear to see, demonstrating the dirtiness of the industrialized world (Kahlo). Air pollution today remains a very large problem in not only advanced countries, but in developing countries as well. Carbon emissions have escalated in the

Deposition of the various wastes from the excavation process has a significant effect on the composition of micro-organisms on the environment. The remains are composed of biocides and heavy metal which have a significant effect on the environment and its inhabitants. Natural gases that escape such as methane mix with vapor from the environment, resulting in increased acidity of the soil. This reduces the productivity of land as crops do very poorly under such saline conditions (DiGiulion, Wilkin, Miller & Oberley, 2011). The acid levels leak to the earth’s surface changing the oxygen and bacterial contents of the soil structure. This in return results in the plants being unable to fix nitrogen, the consequence being the reduced hydration capability if the plant hampering the formation of cellulose hence weak and contaminated plants will be

In order to develop the local soil criteria for identifying soils that would result in Pb concentrations in agricultural produce over food quality standard, it is crucial to establish the links between Pb contamination in soils and foods (Zhang et al., 2018a; Zhang et al., 2018b). Numerous studies have investigated the Pb as well as other trace metals soil-plant relationships. For Pb, higher levels in foods such as vegetables often found where soil levels were relatively higher (Samsøe-Petersen et al., 2002; Zhang et al., 2018b). Bioconcentration factors (BCFs), with a linear uptake assumption were often used to link the soil-plant contamination levels. Despite of some successful attempts (Samsøe-Petersen et al., 2002), results overall were not consistent especially for Pb (Ding et al., 2016; Samsøe-Petersen et al., 2002; Zhang et al., 2018b).

Heavy metals are widely present in the environment and arise from either natural or man-made source. However, Human behavior coupled with the increasing technological advancement has resulted in increased production of waste products in unadulterated environments across the globe. Furthermore, these acts of environmental pollution could be either accidental or sometimes deliberate; nonetheless, more of these toxic heavy metals are finding their way into the food chain.

Parc mine, a former Pb/Zn mine, is located in north Wales, and Bwlch Glas mine is located in central Wales. Both are assessed to determine the extent of pollution leaking from the mines. At Parc mine, the mine entrance is upstream of the sample area, with Fe – bearing water draining outwards. Downstream, a capped tailings dam dominates the landscape. 28 soil samples and 4 moss samples were collected, to determine the bioavailability of any metals or metalloids present. Soil samples represent surface soil to soil 40cm deep. The deeper samples penetrated into the tailings, whilst the shallower samples taken represented the topsoils. Some deeper samples could not be reached by sampling equipment due to the presence of quarry waste, used to isolate

Deprivation of accepted resources is perhaps one of the lethal lapses mankind has ever prepared in its voyage of progress and civilization. All the natural resources are contaminated with lethal lapses. Among them the land and water resources are worst affected and under continuous stress with both biotic and abiotic, due to anthropogenic interventions. If we talk about the soul of infinite life i.e., SOIL then it seems to appear the primary recipient by design or accident of a myriad of waste products and chemicals used in modern society. Soil contamination can be defined as the, addition of any substance to soil that may exert adverse effects on its functioning and capacity to yield a crop. Contamination of heavy metal is of special worry

Heavy metals are not removed from the environment because of the toxic nature of some organic materials and include a class of stable and non - biodegradable pollutants. These elements enter the environment as a result of natural activities such as volcanic eruptions and human activities such as mining and producing industrial waste waters, urban sewage, and some pesticides and could find their ways into the food

As time goes on, the environment alternates its patterns to conform with the needs of it habitants. A variety of things that can damage the environment can be as small as throwing a piece of paper on the floor, to owning a company which pumps harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. Most of these affecting factors are caused by people, but some can be caused by things like natural disasters, which can't really be avoided. Others can be due to people poisoning the atmosphere which, over time, causes great damage towards our habitats. All through history, and even today, there are many factors in which causes damage to the earth and create a large, worldwide, issue.

Water contamination due to increased population and industrial activities is one of the most challenging issues to the researchers, because it is continuously increasing threats to both human health and the environment. With the rapid development of industries such as metal plating facilities, mining operations, fertilizer industries, tanneries, batteries, paper industries and pesticides, etc.,(1,2) heavy metals wastewaters are directly or indirectly discharged into the environment increasingly, especially in developing countries. Unlike organic contaminants, heavy metals are not biodegradable and tend to accumulate in living organisms. Many heavy metal ions are known to be toxic or carcinogenic and cause high blood pressure, anemia, cancer, renal kidney disease, nervous system

Although pollution seems like a concept that will never impact you or your society, it is a problem that is affecting the lives of over 100 million people across the world. Beginning in the Industrial Revolution, the invention of factories caused pollution to become an issue because they released immeasurable amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The severity of pollution makes it a worldwide problem because it is slowly destroying the environment and harming the entire human race.

Across England, urban areas typically have higher soil background concentrations of Pb than the surrounding countryside; Ander et al 2013 suggested an overall mean of 820 mg kg-1 for urban areas as against 180 mg kg-1 for the countryside. A recent high-density geochemical soil survey of the Greater London Area (GLA; BGS 2011) showed that the inner central region of the oldest and most intensely urbanized and industrial areas, about 25% of the GLA area, typically have concentrations > 346 mg kg-1; this value is greater than the proposed new contaminated land category four screening levels for residential land and allotment land-use (CL4SL 2014).

However, when Pb and As were added to Cd-spiked soil one after another, intestinal bioaccessibility of Cd in KBA and TAA soils increased relative to soils spiked with single Cd at the early stage of aging (data in Table 4.5 marked with *). In contrast, bioaccessibility of As and Pb were not influenced by the presence of Cd. Compared to binary mixtures of As, Cd and Pb, the co-existence of As, Cd and Pb in the same soil sample may lead to competitive sorption on soils due to the increased loading of metals/metalloid. Prior studies have noted that Pb was absorbed in preference to Cd thus increasing the observed solubility of Cd (Serrano et al., 2005; Appel et al., 2008). In this study, this preference was reflected on the observation that bioaccessibility of Pb in four types of soils was stable after 7 days aging, which indicates fast reaction between Pb and soil components. Besides, strong affinity of As to organic carbon, Fe oxide and Al oxide has been extensively reported (Solaiman et al., 2009; Komarek et al., 2013). Therefore, there was a high

2015). Yet, agricultural soils are moderately contaminated by heavy metals due to a long-term of phosphoric fertilizers use, sewage sludge application, dust from smelters, industrial waste and unsuitable watering practices (Yadav 2010). Soil contamination is mainly located in areas of large industrial activities, where surrounding agricultural areas are affected by atmospheric deposition of heavy metals (Puschenreiter et al. 2005). In these areas, agriculture faces a major problem due to heavy metal transfer into crops and subsequently into the food chain (Puschenreiter et al. 2005). The main problem is that heavy metals are non-biodegradable, and their excessive accumulation in agricultural soils could pose a risk to public health (Liu et al. 2012). Thereby, people pay increased attention to food safety because of increasing environmental contamination (Yu et al. 2014). The major route by which humans are exposed to these contaminants is through the soil-crop-food pathway (Liu et al. 2012). Crops growing on contaminated sites can take up and accumulate these metals, causing health problems when consumed by humans and animals (Fu et al., 2008). Therefore, the prolonged consumption of unsafe concentrations of heavy metals may lead to the disruption of numerous biological and biochemical processes in the human body (Balkhair and Ashraf 2015). Furthermore, heavy metals

Phytoremediation is the process by which plants and trees are used to remove or stabilize hazardous pollutants that exist in soil, sediments, surface water or groundwater. The EPA (environmental protection agency) estimates that more than 30,000 sites in the U.S. are in need of environmental treatment, and a great number of these sites are contaminated with highly toxic metals. Abandoned or under-used commercial and industrial facilities, termed as “brownfields,” are a major contributor to this environment concern. “Brownfields” pose significant health risks to nearby residential populations and threaten the plant and animal life close to them. Phytoremediation provides a very