POLLUTION IN THE ENVIRONMENT
Pollutants from industrial sources often
emerge from the outfall pipes of factories,
and may leak from pipelines and underground
storage tanks. Polluted water flows from
mines where the water has leached through
mineral-rich rocks or has been contaminated
by the chemicals used in processing the
ores. Cities and other residential communities
contribute mostly sewage, with traces
of household chemicals mixed in. Sometimes
industries discharge pollutants into city
sewers, increasing the variety of pollutants
in municipal areas.
The oceans, vast as they are, are not invulnerable to pollution. Pollutants reach the sea from adjacent shorelines, from ships, and from offshore oil platforms.
POLLUTION IN OUR DRINKING WATER
The major water pollutants are chemical, biological, and physical materials that degrade water quality, resulting in an increased concern over the safety of drinking water. This has led to an explosive worldwide growth in the sale of bottled water and filtering devices attached to faucets, meant to further treat filtered drinking water. However, of over 2,000 filters sold to the public, only a handful actually remove all of the parasites, viruses, bacteria, pesticides and heavy metals resident in tap water.
Recently the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and other environmental groups commented on the shocking and dangerous state of public water supplies.
Drinking ordinary tap water can be potentially
fatal to people with a weakened immune
system. LINK Children, expectant mothers
and the elderly are in greatest risk.
Most water systems are not designed to
remove protozoa or volatile organic chemicals
(VOC) such as fluoride. One of the protozoa
most water systems are incapable of removing
is cryptosporidium parvum. This is the
same parasite that killed 104 people and
made 400,000 ill in Milwaukee.
The consensus of most medical experts
is that the water supply is the most critical
factor to human health. The Natural Resources
Defense Council estimates that in the
US alone more than 900,000 become ill
each year from water borne disease and
as many as 900 will die. International
Controllers estimated that in the near
future, more than 120 million US households
regularly purchase bottled water at an
average cost of $500 to $1,000 a year.
This number is currently on the rise.
In addition, there is also an increasing
awareness that bottled water itself may
be no safer than municipally treated water.
Although some feel protected by filters and/or water vending machines, a recent study LINK highlighted the hazards of relying on these products. As bad as the situation is in the United States, it is worse in many other developed countries and to an even greater degree, second and third-world countries.
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