ART 3170 Civic Engagement: Social Issues "Action" Project
The Disastrous Effects of Pollution's Impact on Human Health
By Christian Castillo
Pollution's catastrophic impact does not end with the devastation of the environment and the Earth. All different types of pollution negatively affect our health in numerous ways. This blog will highlight the repercussions that various pollution types have on human health to the people within our communities.
Water Pollution and Human Health
The first type of pollution I will discuss is the negative effects of water pollution on the human body. Many may not think about this, but water pollution can be lethal. The death toll in 2015 was 1.8 million due to water pollution. Additionally, approximately 1 billion people worldwide get sick from unsafe water every year. People who are threatened by unclean drinking water and polluted local water are people who live in low-income neighborhoods. This is because these homes are usually close to polluting corporations. It is a cruel injustice and inhumane to put these people's health in danger.
These illnesses and diseases from water pollution come in many different forms. Some can originate from pathogens in the water from animal or human waste, which is one of the leading causes of illness. Some diseases caused by polluted water are cholera, typhoid, and giardia. These diseases cause diarrhea and dehydration, which can be fatal to those without safe drinking water. This causes a vicious cycle of drinking contaminated water and becoming dehydrated and drinking more contaminated water because that is all that is available. This becomes fatal in low-income areas in which safe drinking water is scarce. This is why companies like Lifestraw are essential when providing means for safe drinking water to be accessible to the less fortunate. They give life-saving straws that can filter out viruses, bacteria, and pollutants in water to those in low-income areas that need it to survive. Here is a video showcasing the Life Straw product and its impact: "LifeStraw."
Bacteria and viruses aren't the only cause of unsafe drinking water. In the U.S, thousands of people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease, which is obtained from water sources from piped water and cooling towers. Similarly, in Flint, Michigan, corner-cutting fused with an old water pipe system has lead to an extremely unsafe water supply not suitable for human consumption along with consumption of any living creature. The water contains heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury, when consumed, can cause health problems ranging from cancer to hormone disruption to altered brain function.
Plastic Pollution and Human Health
Now, I would like to explain how plastic pollution, thought to only be harmful to the environment and animals, can also negatively affect the people within our communities, especially people in low-income neighborhoods. If we see plastic in the different stages of its life cycle, we can see how they affect human health. The four stages of plastic's life cycle are extraction and transportation, refining and manufacturing, consumer use, and waste management. As a society, we have become very dependent on plastic and interact with it daily. We never stop to think about the dangers plastic and plastic production may pose to our health and our environment.
Extraction and Transportation
The fossil fuels utilized when extracting materials that make plastic release toxic substances into the air, and water can affect human health. Inhaling these substances can cause cancer, neurotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and an impairment of the immune system.
Refining and Manufacturing
The production of plastic resins and additives has a byproduct of carcinogens and other toxic substances into the air. Health impacts may include cancers, neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, low birth weight, and eye and skin irritation.
Consumer Use
Inhalation or ingestion of microplastic particles and hundreds of toxic substances can impact health greatly. It can affect renal, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological, reproductive, and respiratory systems. Some diseases include cancers, diabetes, and developmental toxicity.
Waste Management
Incineration of plastics discharges poisonous substances including heavy metals, for example, lead and mercury, corrosive gases, and particulate matter, which can enter the air, water, and soil, posing both direct and indirect dangers for workers. Diseases from these include cancers and damages to neurological, immune, reproductive, nervous, and endocrine systems.
This video delivers useful information regarding microplastics. Air Pollution & Human Health
Finally, I would like to highlight how air pollution from factories and corporations negatively impacts people's health within our communities. When factories are running, we all know that they produce massive amounts of pollution when they release their smog and soot into the air. Smog is a mixture of smoke and fog in the air. Soot can be made up of chemicals, smoke, allergens, soil, or dust. They are both released from factories, power plants, incinerators, and engines. All of these operations require fossil fuels, such as gas, coal, or natural gas. This is important to know because even the tiniest particle of soot, in either gas or solid form, can invade the lungs and the bloodstream. This can make bronchitis worse for patients that have it already and can also lead to heart attacks or early death. People more susceptible to this are people in low-income areas and people of color due to environmental racism.
Industrialized cities surround low-income communities, specifically around people of color. While some may argue that the industries create jobs for them, the health issues these groups face and the inconveniences of living near them can be seen as a case of environmental racism. A real-life example we can use is Vernon, located in the outskirts of Downtown Los Angeles. Vernon itself has a very slim population, but the majority of the residents living around this city are Hispanic/Latino and below the poverty line. Animal-agriculture-related businesses such as Farmer John's Slaughterhouse deeply affect them. Other plants in Vernon use these "remaining" animal parts to use for other products such as pet food, fertilizer, and soap, further creating more air pollution in the area. Not only are residents forced to endure the stomach-turning stench of spoiled meat, carcasses, and animal waste, but they also face other health risks, including nausea, respiratory problems, brain damage, depression, and birth defects. As of 2017, air-quality regulators adopted new rules to reduce the odors that come from these plants. But the community continues to endure the stomach-turning odors.
I drive through the city of Vernon every day that I would go to school, and there were countless times I would have to drive through some of the most appalling smells possible. It got to the point in which I was used to the smell. It got me thinking about the people who live near the factories and plants in the city Vernon, and it makes me feel horrible knowing some people have had to endure that daily in their lives. I have family members that live in the city of Vernon, and they never mentioned it, as if it was something natural until I brought it up. My family members are being directly impacted by these horrible living conditions. They are unknowingly being put in harm's way due to these factories. They produce numerous pollutants in the air.
Unsurprisingly, there are even more hazardous materials that are being released into the air. The most prevalent are lead, mercury, dioxins, and benzene. These are usually produced by factories or power plants that utilize gas or coal combustion for energy. Now, I will explain how each of these hazardous wastes affects our health.
Lead: In large amounts can damage children's kidneys and brain. In small amounts can impede a child's learning ability and slow cognitive processes.
Mercury: Can cause damage to the central nervous system, digestive systems, lungs, and kidneys and be lethal.
Dioxins: May damage the liver in the short term and harm the immune, nervous, and endocrine systems and reproductive functions.
Benzene: A carcinogen that can cause lung, eye, and skin irritation in the short term but can also cause blood disorders in the long term.
Here's what you can do to protect yourself from air pollution:
Limit physical activity for you and children if air pollution levels are particularly high on certain days.
During physical activity, try to stay away from streets with lots of traffic.
After being outside, shower and wash clothes to remove fine particles stuck to your body and clothes.
Depending on the severity of the air quality, it may be best to stay indoors with the windows shut.
Use sunscreen when outside because due to air pollution, the ozone layer is weakened, and harmful UV rays can come through and damage your skin and may cause skin cancer.
Sources:
The fossil fuels utilized when extracting materials that make plastic release toxic substances into the air, and water can affect human health. Inhaling these substances can cause cancer, neurotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and an impairment of the immune system.
The production of plastic resins and additives has a byproduct of carcinogens and other toxic substances into the air. Health impacts may include cancers, neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, low birth weight, and eye and skin irritation.
Inhalation or ingestion of microplastic particles and hundreds of toxic substances can impact health greatly. It can affect renal, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological, reproductive, and respiratory systems. Some diseases include cancers, diabetes, and developmental toxicity.
Incineration of plastics discharges poisonous substances including heavy metals, for example, lead and mercury, corrosive gases, and particulate matter, which can enter the air, water, and soil, posing both direct and indirect dangers for workers. Diseases from these include cancers and damages to neurological, immune, reproductive, nervous, and endocrine systems.
This video delivers useful information regarding microplastics.
Finally, I would like to highlight how air pollution from factories and corporations negatively impacts people's health within our communities. When factories are running, we all know that they produce massive amounts of pollution when they release their smog and soot into the air. Smog is a mixture of smoke and fog in the air. Soot can be made up of chemicals, smoke, allergens, soil, or dust. They are both released from factories, power plants, incinerators, and engines. All of these operations require fossil fuels, such as gas, coal, or natural gas. This is important to know because even the tiniest particle of soot, in either gas or solid form, can invade the lungs and the bloodstream. This can make bronchitis worse for patients that have it already and can also lead to heart attacks or early death. People more susceptible to this are people in low-income areas and people of color due to environmental racism.
Industrialized cities surround low-income communities, specifically around people of color. While some may argue that the industries create jobs for them, the health issues these groups face and the inconveniences of living near them can be seen as a case of environmental racism. A real-life example we can use is Vernon, located in the outskirts of Downtown Los Angeles. Vernon itself has a very slim population, but the majority of the residents living around this city are Hispanic/Latino and below the poverty line. Animal-agriculture-related businesses such as Farmer John's Slaughterhouse deeply affect them. Other plants in Vernon use these "remaining" animal parts to use for other products such as pet food, fertilizer, and soap, further creating more air pollution in the area. Not only are residents forced to endure the stomach-turning stench of spoiled meat, carcasses, and animal waste, but they also face other health risks, including nausea, respiratory problems, brain damage, depression, and birth defects. As of 2017, air-quality regulators adopted new rules to reduce the odors that come from these plants. But the community continues to endure the stomach-turning odors.
I drive through the city of Vernon every day that I would go to school, and there were countless times I would have to drive through some of the most appalling smells possible. It got to the point in which I was used to the smell. It got me thinking about the people who live near the factories and plants in the city Vernon, and it makes me feel horrible knowing some people have had to endure that daily in their lives. I have family members that live in the city of Vernon, and they never mentioned it, as if it was something natural until I brought it up. My family members are being directly impacted by these horrible living conditions. They are unknowingly being put in harm's way due to these factories. They produce numerous pollutants in the air.
Unsurprisingly, there are even more hazardous materials that are being released into the air. The most prevalent are lead, mercury, dioxins, and benzene. These are usually produced by factories or power plants that utilize gas or coal combustion for energy. Now, I will explain how each of these hazardous wastes affects our health.
Lead: In large amounts can damage children's kidneys and brain. In small amounts can impede a child's learning ability and slow cognitive processes.
Mercury: Can cause damage to the central nervous system, digestive systems, lungs, and kidneys and be lethal.
Dioxins: May damage the liver in the short term and harm the immune, nervous, and endocrine systems and reproductive functions.
Benzene: A carcinogen that can cause lung, eye, and skin irritation in the short term but can also cause blood disorders in the long term.
Here's what you can do to protect yourself from air pollution:
Limit physical activity for you and children if air pollution levels are particularly high on certain days.
During physical activity, try to stay away from streets with lots of traffic.
After being outside, shower and wash clothes to remove fine particles stuck to your body and clothes.
Depending on the severity of the air quality, it may be best to stay indoors with the windows shut.
Use sunscreen when outside because due to air pollution, the ozone layer is weakened, and harmful UV rays can come through and damage your skin and may cause skin cancer.
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