The Importance Of Chemical Communication

     Heavy metals, such as copper, lead, mercury, and selenium are another group of toxins that pollute the water as well as the rest of the environment. The source of many of these pollutants are industries, automobile exhaust, mines, and even natural soil.

Chemicals harm the growth of plants and animals, chemicals can lead animals to death. Many of the water animals

Often, toxic substances are being drained into the air, waterways, and undergrounds wells. According to the report by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over 60 million pounds of deadly chemicals are produced by industries in Florida. Notably, Florida’s water has been suffering mercury contamination until the state’s department of migration issues a circular regularly for regulations of eating freshwater fish in the region (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission). In fact, such metals emanate from coal combustion’s emissions which run into water bodies. Not to mention, pesticides and herbicides utilized by government and homeowners pollute the environment (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission). Indeed, all chemicals released into the atmosphere find themselves in rivers.

Since this is my fist toxicology course, I found it interesting to learn the variety of pathways that toxicants access to enter the human body and aquatic organisms. Even more so, the way our cells respond to the intake of such toxicants. In addition, learning the way aquatic organisms are impacted by toxicants in stream and stream sediments. Furthermore, I can use this knowledge in a career and also for my own curiosity to investigate my surroundings or spread awareness.

The health hazards for humans who come in contact with contaminants from exposure to polluted water can have long term effects on the body causing possible organ failure and death. Contaminants and chemicals such lead and mercury can bring about many minor illnesses ranging from nausea, lung irritation, skin rash, vomiting, and dizziness, to the major diseases that include cancer, liver and kidney damage, disorders of the nervous system, damage to the immune system, birth defects and even death.

Due to more and more zinc in the environment, water is being polluted with zinc. With the presence of this massive amount of zinc, the wastewater of industrial plants is not purified satisfactory. Zinc-polluted sludge contaminating the rivers is one of the consequences that is called upon due to the large quantities of zinc. This is a problem as it is possible for large quantities of zinc to increase the acidity of waters. Therefore, only some fish of which live in zinc-contaminated waterways can accumulate zinc. When zinc enters the bodies of these fish, these fish may bio magnify up the food chain. Zinc, as science has proven is an essential need for humans, an essential nutrient, however, excessive amounts are never healthy and even worse may be harmful. Humans getting their hands on excessive amounts of zinc may occur through drinking contaminated water. As stated before, zinc has been contaminating the water pipes and industrial releases as well as wastewaters and it is very adequate for humans to gain access, which may result exposure of zinc to potentially harmful levels. The effects that may be caused by this cause of action may include stomach cramps, skin irritations, vomiting, nausea, and anemia. Exposure to zinc with very high concentration may as well damage the pancreas, disturb the protein metabolism, cause arteriosclerosis and may further cause respiratory disorders. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of zinc may cause something called “metal fume fever”, which affects the lungs and the body's temperature control

Based on the results of the present work, one may be tempted to infer that hepatopancreas levels as low as 50 µg/g dw may be life threatening to C. aspersus juveniles. This metal was not only frequently reported to accumulate to higher concentrations in the hepatopancreas of different land snail species without causing lethality, but it is also homeostatically regulated in eukaryotes (Balamurugan and Schaffner, 2006), thus drastically limiting the use of gastropod soft tissue levels as a toxicicity biomarker. Therefore, such reference values are difficult to be used for assessing the environmental hazard of soil copper. However, recent data provide evidence that rhogocytes from the hepatopancreas of land pulmonates may function as a sensitive endpoint for this purpose. These cells contain Cu in granular form, which unlike the metallothionein-bound form, is responsive to overphysiological uptake (Dallinger et al., 2005). As a result, future studies should be conducted for assessing tissue levels over which it can induce toxic effects on terrestrial gastropods. It is also necessary to identify the precise contribution of various additional factors (e.g., chemical form, snail age, species, and metabolic status, etc.) on the degree to which this metal accumulates in land snails and the corresponding toxic effects. Moreover, it is suggested to develop molecular biological techniques to strengthen and facilitate this research. Emphasis should be on gene(s) involved in synthesizing the specific metallothioneins and gastropod homologues of genes for copper tolerance in other invertebrates (Nica et al., 2013). Such fundamental work must be accomplished before standardizing a targeted ecotoxicological test with C. aspersus juveniles

A healthy pH in water for aquatic organisms ranges from 6.5 to 8.2. Our water samples ranged from 6.5-8.5. Although there did not seem to be any significant differences in our results of freshwater versus seawater samples, the most notable contrast seemed to be that the freshwater obtained a pH of 8.5. This can be a result from metal pipe corrosion which produces high levels of copper, lead and iron in the water. Corrosion can occur due to low pH, so operators will change the pH to comply with the high levels of these elements, thus making the water moderately basic (LaMotte

This article addresses the misconceptions students have about chemical and physical changes that occur. When trying to understand the difference between physical and chemical changes, students often try to look for something that stands out between the two. A few common misconceptions are thinking that all chemical changes have to be a something new formed and physical changes always have to be reversible. This article explains how it is not always the case when it comes to physical and chemical changes. A few examples the article gave was when an egg gets broken and how it is nonreversible but would still be considered a physical change and not a chemical one. Another example the article gave was mixing a drink mix powder and how the substance is now different but nothing chemical really occurred during the process. Therefore, the article explains that relying on these common misconceptions is not the best when trying to teach physical and chemical change.

Ground water forms a large percent of all the used water on the earth. And as it cannot be seen, it is usually overlooked or ignore when considering all the water on the earth. Since aquifer is valuable source, protecting it form pollution and managing its use carefully will guarantee its future as an important part of eco-system and human activity. Recently, industrial applications of toxic heavy metals have caused dangerous environmental problems. This essay will show the effect of aquifer polluted by some contaminants such as Cr (III), Fe(III), Cu(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) or radioactive materials on people, plants and animals. In addition, it will demonstrate the best treatment and preventative methods. Furthermore, it will argue that the pretreatment of industrial wastes is the best way to prevent the pollution in ground water.

Pollution affects all living species and almost all ecosystems. Studies have shown a link between air pollution and increased deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory problems. But, humans are not the only ones who are affected by air pollution. Dangerous toxins, like mercury, have shown to settle on plants and in water. Animals then consume the water and plants and then they become affected. The health effects of these poisons then go up through the food chain until it has reached the top. Animals at the top of the food chain are the ones with the largest concentrations of these toxins. Water pollution is another impactful factor in our ecosystems. Clean water is vital to the survival of life. Water is used for drinking, irrigating crops, and other recreational means. But water can easily be contaminated with improperly disposed industrial waste, agricultural runoff, mining activities, and waste treatment plants. Although most people can fight harmful bacteria and viruses, some with compromised immune systems, may not be able to fight them off. Life threatening conditions could occur; it could also affect wildlife in a harmful way. Soil contamination, which consist of harmful liquids or solids mixed with soil, can also affect humans and wildlife in a harmful way. If dangerous chemicals, or other harmful substances, mix with soil, they then can take root in plants that grow on them. If

P. oceanica meadows are met in transparent and pure waters of Mediterranean area. The prevalence of Posidonia meadows in clear water is a useful tool for biomonitoring the clearness of the desired area. Along with Mytilus galloprovincialis, the Mediterranean mussel, Posidonia is a natural reservoir of different metals acquired from the environment. These metals are released from industrial, agricultural and urban activities in the coastal area and are one of the most persisting pollutants in the environment (Bethoux et al. 1990). Due to its sessile property, Posidonia is an ideal organism for biomonitoring. In a study conducted to compare the bioaccumulation level between M. galloprovincialis and P. oceanica, for cadmium, cobalt, chromium, nickel and lead, P. oceanica

Many consumers today are confused about the controversy about fish and its health effects. Researchers have discovered that fish contains methyl mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and dioxins that may put one’s health at risk (“Harvard College”). The industrial processes cause mercury to be released into the air, then the chemical ends up in the lakes. Therefore, the contaminants come from bacteria that live in lakes that are then absorbed in species. When people consume fish, they are also taking in bacteria that came from unspecialized lakes indirectly through fish consumption. Although people could be harmed by eating contaminated fish, a diet that includes fish can also benefit the body. Fish has become especially popular

Contamination of the ecosystem by non-regulated emerging contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticide residue and organic compounds is a human and environmental health concern (Kabata-Pendias, 2010; Choppala et al., 2013). Several of these inorganic and organic compounds are not efficiently removed through wastewater treatment. Soil and water resources contaminated by heavy metals are a growing problem in various locations around the world. Even though at trace levels several elements are natural components of soils, anthropogenic activities such as mining, industry, and localized agriculture have contributed to undesirable toxic levels in the ecosystem (Meers et al., 2005; Lewandowski and Schmidt, 2006). Many contaminants

Brine from thermal plants is contaminated with copper due to corrosion. In RO desalination plant brine contain bits of iron, nickel, chromium and molybdenum. In RO plant, the contamination with metals is usually below the dangerous level. Copper concentration in RO plants rejects streams is between 15–100 μg/L. the copper concentrations in oceanic are naturally between 0.1 -100 μg/L.in GCC the concentration of heavy metals are very low. For example copper concentration in Qatar is , Desalination, vol. 185, pp. 57-70.