How does water pollution affect human health?
1 Answer
Pollution can be understood as the chemical or physical alteration of the qualities of air, water and soil.
Explanation:
Water is one of the essential elements of human life, accounting for about 70% of the constitution of the mass of the human body, and is essential in the biological processes of living beings and ecosystems.
In addition to its ecological function, water also has its importance as a productive element, being used for the production of clothing, food, among other things,
Despite its great importance and being a very abundant element on planet earth, only about 2.7% of the total volume of water on the planet is sweet, but only 0.3% is available for direct use by living beings.
The typology of pollution affecting water resources is diverse, and may be of natural origin or, in most cases, anthropic. Among the natural forms of pollution of water resources are: sedimentary and biological, affect in the physical and chemical quality of the water, usually in the alteration of the turbidity, increase in the concentration of organic matter, decrease of the free oxygen and consequent increase in the demand Of oxygen.
Among the forms of anthropic pollution are: residential, industrial, that affect the chemical and thermal quality of water bodies, producing changes in their dynamics.
Water pollution is one of the biggest dangers to health, after all, we can not survive without drinking water and if it is polluted, it can cause serious health problems when ingested.
The various types of pollutants affect human health in different ways. Some microorganisms, such as bacteria, that can develop naturally in water or are introduced with the types of pollution cited, can cause serious illness to humans.
Typhoid fever, cholera, hepatitis, dysentery and polio are some examples of diseases caused by pathogens in water. These diseases are mainly dangerous to children and are responsible for almost 60% of child mortality worldwide, especially in developing countries, which do not have an adequate water and sewage treatment network.
Chemical pollutants do not cause disease directly, however, they provide great long-term health damage, even at low levels of concentration. These pollutants end up being accidentally consumed by fish and are accumulated in their tissues. When these fish are consumed, the pollutants eventually enter our body - in the future, diseases can arise from this high concentration.
