How does Water Pollution Affect Us? Water pollution is a serious problem for human health.

This is because we may get exposed to polluted water in various ways, including, but not necessarily limited to: Drinking the polluted water Bathing or showering with the polluted water Swimming in the polluted water Breathing the vapors of a polluted water while sitting next to a polluted water source Consuming polluted food (meat and/or vegetables) affected by polluted water Consuming meat from animals fed with affected food (e.g., vegetables irrigated with polluted water or grown in an area with polluted groundwater) The effects of water pollution may appear immediately after exposure and be more or less violent in the case of drinking water with high amount of pollutants. At the same time, the effects may appear some time after a repetitive exposure to water contaminated with lower amounts of pollutants. Health effects from simple intoxication, stomach ach, till death or deathly disease may occur. TYPES OF WATER POLLUTION There are various types of water pollution based on the various causes of water pollution. Various classifications can be made, based on various water pollution causes: 1. The type of the water pollutants based on this classification criteria, water

pollution can be: I) Chemical when various chemicals are the water pollution causes. The following chemicals are the most common water pollutants: Crude oil and various petroleum products (including gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, motor and lubricating oils, jet fuel). These compounds are lighter than water and thus always sit on top of water forming sheens of free product. However, part of these compounds dissolve in water and, even in small amounts may be harmful and at the same time may remain unnoticeable by the eye.

Fertilizers (including nitrates and phosphates) while small amounts are useful to life, higher amounts of nitrates and phosphates in water are only benefic to algae and harmful microorganisms and are poisonous to human and aquatic life. These contaminants cannot be seen themselves in water (as they do not form sheens or color the water), but their effects can. The typical effect of water pollution by fertilizers (usually through agricultural runoff) is the fast and abundant water growth.

Chlorinated solvents (including TCE, PCE, 1,1,1-TCA, carbon tetrachloride, Freons) which sink in water (are denser than water) and are quite persistent and toxic. These compounds thus, cannot be seen by the eye, in contrast with petroleum products that are easily seen as sheens on top of water surface.

Petroleum solvents (including benzene, toluene, xylenes, ethylbenzene) Other organic solvents and chemicals (such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, alcohols such as ethanol, isopropanol; or oxygenate compounds such as MTBE) Antibiotics and other pharmaceutical products;

Perchlorate perchlorate salts are used in rocket fuels, as well as many other applications such as fireworks, explosives, road flares, inflation bags, etc. This contaminant is usually associated with military bases, construction sites (when explosives are used). However, natural formation in arid areas may account for perchlorate in water, too (e.g., in Chile, Texas or California where natural formation of perchlorate has been observed) Trihalometanes these are usually byproducts of water chlorination and may pollute groundwater and surface water via leaking sewer lines and discharges. Examples of such compounds are: chloroform, bromoform, dichlorobromomethane; Metals and their compounds of higher health risk are the organo-metal compounds which may form when metals from water react with organic compounds from water. Common examples include Hg, As, and Cr poisoning of water. Thus, if water is polluted with both metals and organic compounds the health risk is higher. And so is the effect of water pollution on aquatic life. Pesticides/insecticides/herbicides comprise a large number of individual chemicals that get into water due to agricultural activities directly (by spraying

over large areas) or indirectly with agriculture runoff. The insecticide DDT is a typical example of such type of water pollutant. II) III) PCBs in spite of their recent ban, their ubiquitous environmental presence makes these contaminants usually associated with urban runoffs. Radiological when radioactive materials are the water pollutant causes. Please Biological when various microorganisms (e.g., bacterial species and viruses), read more at Radiation Pollution. worms, and/or algae occurring in a large number are the water pollution causes. This type of pollution is caused by decaying organic material in water, animal wastes, as well as improper disposal of human wastes. 2. The type (grouping) of the source of water pollutants: Point sources including any localized source such as an industrial process, mining activity, etc. These sources are usually regulated and thus their effect may be predicted and of low impact. However, an exception related to accidental leaks and spills. Non-point sources include un-localized sources from which pollutants are carried away by water discharges and runoffs. Thus, non-point pollution may involve a broad range of pollutants usually at lower amounts than the point sources WATER POLLUTION FACTS AND PREVENTION TIPS Water pollution may affect all of us indirectly even when we do not drink it through: Consumption of fish and other type of aquatic life. Some water pollutants can bioconcentrate in fish and other type of living organisms resulting in concentrations much higher (hundreds or even thousands of times higher) than those in the water. Thus, by eating the polluted fish, humans may get poisoned; this is why it is better to avoid eating a lot of fish unless we have information of where the fish come from assuming it is an unpolluted area. However, most if not all water bodies may be polluted to some extent which is why it is always safer to consume less fish. Consumption of vegetables or fruits irrigated with polluted water - sometimes the irrigation water is brought from farther away as compared to area where we live, thus polluted water may affect us even when it is not in the immediate vicinity of our home. This is why it is safer to irrigate your vegetables or fruits with tap water;

Bathing into a polluted water body or showering with polluted water can affect us and our health in various ways including through: skin adsorption accidental swallowing

breathing the vapors of volatile pollutants (such as petroleum products or organic solvents) emanated from waters While many times polluted water bodies may remain unnoticed to our senses, several clear signs that a surface water body is polluted exist, especially when pollution is really bad. These signs include (but are not limited to): The presence of algae especially in high amounts or in water bodies where they usually are not present is usually an indication of high amounts of nitrates and phosphates (common fertilizers); The presence of a sheen on water is many times an indication of petroleum products or other chemicals that are less dense than water and thus float on water; The presence of foam on water may be due to detergents or detergent-like compounds, some of which may be harmful to human health, especially if present in large amounts; Any strange or unusual smell of water is a direct result of various pollutants evaporating from the water and thus indicate the presence of water pollution; Any unusual water coloration or discoloration may be a result of high amounts of certain chemicals in that water indicating water pollution; The presence of dead fish or any other type of aquatic life is probably the most clear and threatening sign that water is highly polluted; Polluted water may exist without being perceived by any of our senses. This is usually due to low concentration of chemicals in water (in parts per billion or ppb ranges which are as little as one to few drops into an Olympic swimming pool!) which are still at levels high enough to potentially cause human harm, especially if exposure over long periods of time exists. This type of pollution is more problematic than the obvious one (with examples given above) because people may be exposed without knowing it and thus, will not take any preventive measures. This is why, never base your judgment on the taste, smell, or the look of water in order to establish or assure yourself that the water is clean. Tap city water should in general be a safe option in many countries such as U.S. with a

tight water regulation in place. However, when in doubt you may test the water using various kits available commercially or just send it to a specialized lab. The routine water analysis is much less expensive than loosing your health! Big water bodies such as Colorado River may be polluted at levels high enough to pose a potential health threat. Thus, the levels of perchlorate in Colorado River are high enough to be considered of potential health risk. Perchlorate is not a federally regulated chemical in water, but various states in the U.S. (including California) have adopted their own limits (safe levels) for perchlorate. This chemical may trigger thyroid disfunction. Drinking tap water is much safer than most people perceive it. This is true in countries with strict environmental regulations where tap water is checked regularly and reports are available annually for the public. Bottle water may not be checked regularly and thus it may be more risky than tap water. An even better alternative is to filter yourself (with home filtering devices) the tap water. This is also more economic and will save you the effort of carrying tens and hundreds of gallons of bottle water from the store! Pool water can get polluted too! Never use any treating chemicals in excess. Too much chlorination of pool water may get rid of any infectious microorganisms and pathogens but may also be responsible for the formation of toxic organic chemicals containing chlorine such as chloroform. Never swim in a pool without showering first (even if it is your own pool). This is because your sweat will get in the pool water and result in formation of nitrate and nitrate compounds. These compounds are in fact responsible for algae bloom recorded in many pools. However, even if these compounds may not get in amounts big enough to create an algae problem, they may still be harmful to health if you swim or get in the pool often. Also nitrate compounds are highly soluble and have little volatility thus will accumulate and concentrate in pools. The only way to et rid of them is to replace the pool water with a new one.