Chemistry Project

Introduction:

Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These

harmful materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic
ash. They can also be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced
by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land. All living things
—from one-celled microbes to blue whales—depend on Earth’s supply of air and
water. When these resources are polluted, all forms of life are threatened thus
making pollution, specifically air and water pollution a sensitive topic every
individual should be conscious about.

Contents

 Air Pollution
 Exposure to air pollution
 Impact on health
 Hazards
 Air pollution prevention
 Water Pollution
 Sources
 Exposure to chemical water pollution
 Health effects
 Prevention
 Conclusion

Air Pollution:

Air pollutants are usually classified into suspended particulate matter (PM) (dusts,
fumes, mists, and smokes); gaseous pollutants (gases and vapors); and odors.
Gaseous pollutants include sulfur compounds such as SO2 and sulfur trioxide;
carbon monoxide; nitrogen compounds such as nitric oxide, NO2, and ammonia;
organic compounds such as hydrocarbons; volatile organic compounds; polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons and halogen derivatives such as aldehydes; and odorous
substances. Volatile organic compounds are released from burning fuel (gasoline,
oil, coal, wood, charcoal, natural gas, and so on); solvents; paints; glues; and other
products commonly used at work or at home. Volatile organic compounds include
such chemicals as benzene, toluene, methylene chloride, and methyl chloroform.
Emissions of nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react with sunlight to eventually
form another secondary pollutant, ozone, at ground level. Ozone at this level
creates health concerns, unlike ozone in the upper atmosphere, which occurs
naturally and protects life by filtering out ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

 Exposure to Air Pollutants

The extent of the health effects of air pollution depends on actual exposure. Total
daily exposure is determined by people's time and activity patterns, and it
combines indoor and outdoor exposures. Young children and elderly people may
travel less during the day than working adults, and their exposure may therefore be
closely correlated with air pollution levels in their homes. Children are particularly
vulnerable to environmental toxicants because of their possibly greater relative
exposure and the effects on their growth and physiological development.
Meteorological factors, such as wind speed and direction, are usually the strongest
determinants of variations in air pollution, along with topography and temperature
inversions. Therefore, weather reports can be a guide to likely air pollution levels
on a specific day.
Workplace air is another important source of air pollution exposure. Resource
extraction and processing industries, which are common in developing countries,
emit dust or hazardous fumes at the worksite. Such industries include coalmining,
mineral mining, quarrying, and cement production. Developed countries have
shifted much of their hazardous production to developing countries. This shift
creates jobs in the developing countries, but at the price of exposure to air pollution
resulting from outdated technology. In addition, specific hazardous compounds,
such as asbestos, have been banned in developed countries, but their use may still
be common in developing countries.

Catastrophic emissions of organic chemicals, as occurred in Bhopal, India, in 1984,

can also have major health consequences.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy

  Impacts on Health

The major pollutants emitted by combustion have all been associated with
increased respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The most famous
disease outbreak of this type occurred in London in 1952, when 4,000 people died
prematurely in a single week because of severe air pollution, followed by another
8,000 deaths during the next few months.
In the 1970s and 1980s, new statistical methods and improved computer
technology allowed investigators to study mortality increases at much lower
concentrations of pollutants. A key question is the extent to which life has been
shortened. Early loss of life in elderly people, who would have died soon
regardless of the air pollution, has been labeled mortality displacement, because it
contributes little to the overall burden of disease.
Long-term studies have documented the increased cardiovascular and respiratory
mortality associated with exposure to PM.. Another approach is ecological studies
of small areas based on census data, air pollution information, and health events
data with adjustments for potential confounding factors, including socioeconomic
status. Such studies indicate that the mortality increase for every 10 micrograms
per cubic meter (μg per m3) of PM2.5 ranges from 4 to 8 percent for cities in
developed countries where average annual PM2.5 levels are 10 to 30 μg/m3. Many
urban areas of developing countries have similar or greater levels of air pollution.
The global burden of disease caused by lead exposure includes subtle changes in
learning ability and behavior and other signs of central nervous system damage.
WHO (2002) concludes that 0.4 percent of deaths and 0.9 percent (12.9 million) of
all disability-adjusted life years may be due to lead exposure.
Less than 1% of Earth has safe levels of air pollution, study finds

A new study on global daily levels of air pollution shows that hardly anywhere on
Earth is safe from unhealthy air.

About 99.82% of the global land area is exposed to levels of particulate matter 2.5
(PM2.5) — tiny particles in the air that scientists have linked to lung cancer and
heart disease — above the safety limit recommended by the World Health
Organization, according to the peer-reviewed study published on Monday in
Lancet Planetary Health. And only 0.001% of the world’s population breathes in
air that is considered acceptable, the paper says.

Conducted by scientists in Australia and China, the study found that on the global
level, more than 70% of days in 2019 had daily PM2.5 concentrations exceeding
15 micrograms of gaseous pollutant per cubic meter — the WHO recommended
daily limit. Air quality is particularly worrisome in regions such as southern Asia
and eastern Asia, where more than 90% of days had PM2.5 concentrations above
the 15 microgram threshold.

While any amount of PM2.5 is harmful, scientists and regulators are typically less
concerned about daily levels than they are about chronic exposure.

“I hope our study can change the minds of scientists and policymakers for the daily
PM2.5 exposure,” said Yuming Guo, the lead researcher and an environmental
health professor at Monash University. “Short-term exposure, particularly sudden
increase, to PM2.5 has significant health problems. … If we can make every day
with clean air, of course the long-term exposure of air pollution would be
improved.”
While scientists and public health officials have long been at alert to the dangers
— air pollution kills 6.7 million people a year, with nearly two-thirds of the
premature deaths caused by fine particulate matter — quantifying the global
exposure to PM2.5 was a challenge due to a lack of pollution monitoring stations.

When it came to estimating annual exposure across all regions, the researchers
found that the highest concentrations occurred in eastern Asia (50 micrograms per
cubic meter), followed by southern Asia (37 micrograms) and northern Africa (30
micrograms). Residents of Australia and New Zealand faced the least threat from
fine particulate matter, while other regions in Oceania and southern America were
also among the places with the lowest annual PM2.5 concentrations.

The article also points out how levels of fine particulate matter vary depending on
the season, a reflection of human activities that accelerate air pollution. For
instance, northeast China and north India recorded higher PM2.5 concentrations
from December to February, likely linked to an increased use of fossil fuel-burning
heat generators during the winter months. South American countries such as
Brazil, on the other hand, had increased concentrations between August and
September, probably connected to slash-and-burn cultivation in the summer.

 Air pollution prevention

There are ways to prevent, control and eventually reduce air pollution:

1. Renewable fuel and clean energy production

The most basic solution for air pollution is to move away from fossil fuels, replacing
them with alternative energies like solar, wind and geothermal.
 2. Energy conservation and efficiency

Producing clean energy is crucial. But equally important is to reduce our consumption
of energy by adopting responsible habits and using more efficient devices.

3. Eco-friendly transportation

Shifting to electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles, and promoting shared mobility

(i.e carpooling, and public transports) could reduce air pollution.

4. Green building

From planning to demolition, green building aims to create environmentally

responsible and resource-efficient structures to reduce their carbon footprint.

Reducing air pollution exposure is largely a technical issue. Technologies to

reduce pollution at its source are plentiful, as are technologies that reduce pollution
by filtering it away from the emission source. Getting these technologies applied in
practice requires government or corporate policies that guide technical decision
making in the right direction. Such policies could involve outright bans (such as
requiring lead-free gasoline or asbestos-free vehicle brake linings or building
materials); guidance on desirable technologies (for example, providing best-
practice manuals); or economic instruments that make using more polluting
technologies more expensive than using less polluting technologies (an example of
the polluter pays principle).
Examples of technologies to reduce air pollution include the use of lead-free
gasoline, which allows the use of catalytic converters on vehicles' exhaust systems.
Such technologies significantly reduce the emissions of several air pollutants from
vehicles. For trucks, buses, and an increasing number of smaller vehicles that use
diesel fuel, improving the quality of the diesel itself by lowering its sulfur content
is another way to reduce air pollution at the source. More fuel-efficient vehicles,
such as hybrid gas-electric vehicles, are another way forward. These vehicles can
reduce gasoline consumption by about 50 percent during city driving. Policies that
reduce "unnecessary" driving, or traffic demand management, can also reduce air
pollution in urban areas. A system of congestion fees, in which drivers have to pay
before entering central urban areas, was introduced in Singapore, Oslo, and
London and has been effective in this respect.

Power plants and industrial plants that burn fossil fuels use a variety of filtering
methods to reduce particles and scrubbing methods to reduce gases, although no
effective method is currently available for the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. High
chimneys dilute pollutants, but the combined input of pollutants from a number of
smokestacks can still lead to an overload of pollutants. An important example is
acid rain, which is caused by SO2 and NO2 emissions that make water vapor in the
atmosphere acidic (WHO 2000). Large combined emissions from industry and
power stations in the eastern United States drift north with the winds and cause
damage to Canadian ecosystems. In Europe, emissions from the industrial belt
across Belgium, Germany, and Poland drift north to Sweden and have damaged
many lakes there. The convergence of air pollutants from many sources and the
associated health effects have also been documented in relation to the multiple
fires in Indonesia's rain forest in 1997 the brown cloud over large areas of Asia,
which is mainly related to coal burning; and a similar brown cloud over central
Europe in the summer, which is caused primarily by vehicle emissions.
Managing air pollution interventions involves monitoring air quality, which may
focus on exceedances of air quality guidelines in specific hotspots or on attempts to
establish a specific population's average exposure to pollution. Sophisticated
modeling in combination with monitoring has made it possible to start producing
detailed estimates and maps of air pollution levels in key urban areas (World Bank
2004), thus providing a powerful tool for assessing current health impacts and
estimated changes in the health impacts brought about by defined air pollution
interventions.

Water Pollution
Chemical pollution of surface water can create health risks, because such
waterways are often used directly as drinking water sources or connected with
shallow wells used for drinking water. In addition, waterways have important roles
for washing and cleaning, for fishing and fish farming, and for recreation.
Another major source of drinking water is groundwater, which often has low
concentrations of pathogens because the water is filtered during its transit through
underground layers of sand, clay, or rocks. However, toxic chemicals such as
arsenic and fluoride can be dissolved from the soil or rock layers into groundwater.
Direct contamination can also occur from badly designed hazardous waste sites or
from industrial sites. In the United States in the 1980s, the government set in
motion the Superfund Program, a major investigation and cleanup program to deal
with such sites (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2000).
Coastal pollution of seawater may give rise to health hazards because of local
contamination of fish or shellfish—for instance, the mercury contamination of fish
in the infamous Minamata disease outbreak in Japan in 1956 (WHO 1976).
Seawater pollution with persistent chemicals, such as polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) and dioxins, can also be a significant health hazard even at extremely low
concentrations.
Sources of Chemical Water Pollution

Chemicals can enter waterways from a point source or a nonpoint source. Point-
source pollution is due to discharges from a single source, such as an industrial
site. Nonpoint-source pollution involves many small sources that combine to cause
significant pollution. For instance, the movement of rain or irrigation water over
land picks up pollutants such as fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides and carries
them into rivers, lakes, reservoirs, coastal waters, or groundwater. Another
nonpoint source is storm-water that collects on roads and eventually reaches rivers
or lakes shows examples of point-source industrial chemical pollution.
Paper and pulp mills consume large volumes of water and discharge liquid and
solid waste products into the environment. The liquid waste is usually high in
biological oxygen demand, suspended solids, and chlorinated organic compounds
such as dioxins (World Bank 1999). The storage and transport of the resulting solid
waste (wastewater treatment sludge, lime sludge, and ash) may also contaminate
surface waters. Sugar mills are associated with effluent characterized by biological
oxygen demand and suspended solids, and the effluent is high in ammonium
content. In addition, the sugarcane rinse liquid may contain pesticide residues.
Leather tanneries produce a significant amount of solid waste, including hide, hair,
and sludge. The wastewater contains chromium, acids, sulfides, and chlorides.
Textile and dye industries emit a liquid effluent that contains toxic residues from
the cleaning of equipment. Waste from petrochemical manufacturing plants
contains suspended solids, oils and grease, phenols, and benzene. Solid waste
generated by petrochemical processes contains spent caustic and other hazardous
chemicals implicated in cancer.
Another major source of industrial water pollution is mining. The grinding of ores
and the subsequent processing with water lead to discharges of fine silt with toxic
metals into waterways unless proper precautions are taken, such as the use of
sedimentation ponds. Lead and zinc ores usually contain the much more toxic
cadmium as a minor component. If the cadmium is not retrieved, major water
pollution can occur. Mining was the source of most of the widespread cadmium
poisoning (Itai-Itai disease) in Japan in 1940–50.
Other metals, such as copper, nickel, and chromium, are essential micronutrients,
but in high levels these metals can be harmful to health. Wastewater from mines or
stainless steel production can be a source of exposure to these metals. The presence
of copper in water can also be due to corrosion of drinking water pipes. Soft water
or low pH makes corrosion more likely. High levels of copper may make water
appear bluish green and give it a metallic taste. Flushing the first water out of the
tap can minimize exposure to copper. The use of lead pipes and plumbing fixtures
may result in high levels of lead in piped water.
Mercury can enter waterways from mining and industrial premises. Incineration of
medical waste containing broken medical equipment is a source of environmental
contamination with mercury. Metallic mercury is also easily transported through
the atmosphere because of its highly volatile nature. Sulfate-reducing bacteria and
certain other micro-organisms in lake, river, or coastal underwater sediments can
methylate mercury, increasing its toxicity. Methylmercury accumulates and
concentrates in the food chain and can lead to serious neurological disease or more
subtle functional damage to the nervous system (Murata and others 2004).
Runoff from farmland, in addition to carrying soil and sediments that contribute to
increased turbidity, also carries nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphates, which
are often added in the form of animal manure or fertilizers. These chemicals cause
eutrophication (excessive nutrient levels in water), which increases the growth of
algae and plants in waterways, leading to an increase in cyanobacteria (blue-green
algae). The toxics released during their decay are harmful to humans.
The use of nitrogen fertilizers can be a problem in areas where agriculture is
becoming increasingly intensified. These fertilizers increase the concentration of
nitrates in groundwater, leading to high nitrate levels in underground drinking
water sources, which can cause methemoglobinemia, the life-threatening "blue
baby" syndrome, in very young children, which is a significant problem in parts of
rural Eastern Europe.
Some pesticides are applied directly on soil to kill pests in the soil or on the
ground. This practice can create seepage to groundwater or runoff to surface
waters. Some pesticides are applied to plants by spraying from a distance—even
from airplanes. This practice can create spray drift when the wind carries the
materials to nearby waterways. Efforts to reduce the use of the most toxic and
long-lasting pesticides in industrial countries have largely been successful, but the
rules for their use in developing countries may be more permissive, and the rules of
application may not be known or enforced. Hence, health risks from pesticide
water pollution are higher in such countries (WHO 1990).
Naturally occurring toxic chemicals can also contaminate groundwater, such as the
high metal concentrations in underground water sources in mining areas. The most
extensive problem of this type is the arsenic contamination of groundwater in
Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, India, Mexico, Nepal, Taiwan (China), and
parts of Eastern Europe and the United States (WHO 2001). Fluoride is another
substance that may occur naturally at high concentrations in parts of China, India,
Sri Lanka, Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean. Although fluoride helps prevent
dental decay, exposure to levels greater than 1.5 milligrams per liter in drinking
water can cause pitting of tooth enamel and deposits in bones. Exposure to levels
greater than 10 milligrams per liter can cause crippling skeletal fluorosis.

Oxygen depletion, resulting from nitrogen pollution and eutrophication, is a

common cause of fish kills.

 Exposure to Chemical Water Pollution

Drinking contaminated water is the most direct route of exposure to pollutants in
water. The actual exposure via drinking water depends on the amount of water
consumed, usually 2 to 3 liters per day for an adult, with higher amounts for people
living in hot areas or people engaged in heavy physical work. Use of contaminated
water in food preparation can result in contaminated food, because high cooking
temperatures do not affect the toxicity of most chemical contaminants.
Inhalation exposure to volatile compounds during hot showers and skin exposure
while bathing or using water for recreation are also potential routes of exposure to
water pollutants.
  Health Effects

No published estimates are available of the global burden of disease resulting from
the overall effects of chemical pollutants in water. The burden in specific local
areas may be large, as in the example cited in box 43.2 of arsenic in drinking water
in Bangladesh. Other examples of a high local burden of disease are the nervous
system diseases of methylmercury poisoning (Minamata disease), the kidney and
bone diseases of chronic cadmium poisoning (Itai-Itai disease), and the circulatory
system diseases of nitrate exposure (methemoglobinemia) and lead exposure
(anemia and hypertension).
Acute exposure to contaminants in drinking water can cause irritation or
inflammation of the eyes and nose, skin, and gastrointestinal system; however, the
most important health effects are due to chronic exposure (for example, liver
toxicity) to copper, arsenic, or chromium in drinking water. Excretion of chemicals
through the kidney targets the kidney for toxic effects, as seen with chemicals such
as cadmium, copper, mercury, and chlorobenzene (WHO 2003).
Pesticides and other chemical contaminants that enter waterways through
agricultural runoff, stormwater drains, and industrial discharges may persist in the
environment for long periods and be transported by water or air over long
distances. They may disrupt the function of the endocrine system, resulting in
reproductive, developmental, and behavioral problems. The endocrine disruptors
can reduce fertility and increase the occurrence of stillbirths, birth defects, and
hormonally dependent cancers such as breast, testicular, and prostate cancers. The
effects on the developing nervous system can include impaired mental and
psychomotor development, as well as cognitive impairment and behavior
abnormalities (WHO and International Programme on Chemical Safety 2002).
Examples of endocrine disruptors include organochlorines, PCBs, alkylphenols,
phytoestrogens (natural estrogens in plants). Chemicals in drinking water can also
be carcinogenic. Disinfection by-products and arsenic have been a particular
concern (International Agency for Research on Cancer 2004).
  What Can We Do to Prevent Water Pollution?

With our actions

We’re all accountable to some degree for today’s water pollution problem.
Fortunately, there are some simple ways you can prevent water contamination or
at least limit your contribution to it:

 Reduce your plastic consumption and reuse or recycle plastic when you can.
 Properly dispose of chemical cleaners, oils, and nonbiodegradable items to
keep them from going down the drain.
 Maintain your car so it doesn’t leak oil, antifreeze, or coolant.
 If you have a yard, consider landscaping that reduces runoff and avoid
applying pesticides and herbicides.
 Don’t flush your old medications! Dispose of them in the trash to prevent
them from entering local waterways.
  Be mindful of anything you pour into storm sewers, since that waste often
won’t be treated before being released into local waterways. If you notice a
storm sewer blocked by litter, clean it up to keep that trash out of the water. 

Sanitation and sewage treatment

Plastic waste on the big drainage, and air pollution in the far end of the drainage in
Ghana

Municipal wastewater can be treated by centralized sewage treatment

plants, decentralized wastewater systems, nature-based solutions[85] or in onsite
sewage facilities and septic tanks. For example, waste stabilization ponds are a low
cost treatment option for sewage, particularly for regions with warm climates.[1]: 
182 
 UV light (sunlight) can be used to degrade some pollutants in waste
stabilization ponds (sewage lagoons).[86] The use of safely managed sanitation
services would prevent water pollution caused by lack of access to sanitation.[35]
Well-designed and operated systems (i.e., with secondary treatment stages or more
advanced tertiary treatment) can remove 90 percent or more of the pollutant load in
sewage.[87] Some plants have additional systems to remove nutrients and pathogens.
While such advanced treatment techniques will undoubtedly reduce the discharges
of micropollutants, they can also result in large financial costs, as well as
environmentally undesirable increases in energy consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions.[88]
Sewer overflows during storm events can be addressed by timely maintenance and
upgrades of the sewerage system. In the US, cities with large combined systems
have not pursued system-wide separation projects due to the high cost,[89] but have
implemented partial separation projects and green infrastructure approaches.[90] In
some cases municipalities have installed additional CSO storage facilities[91] or
expanded sewage treatment capacity.[92]
Industrial wastewater treatment
This section is an excerpt from Industrial wastewater treatment.[edit]

Industrial wastewater treatment describes the processes used for treating

wastewater that is produced by industries as an undesirable by-product. After
treatment, the treated industrial wastewater (or effluent) may be reused or released
to a sanitary sewer or to a surface water in the environment. Some industrial
facilities generate wastewater that can be treated in sewage treatment plants. Most
industrial processes, such as petroleum refineries, chemical
and petrochemical plants have their own specialized facilities to treat their
wastewaters so that the pollutant concentrations in the treated wastewater comply
with the regulations regarding disposal of wastewaters into sewers or into rivers,
lakes or oceans.[93]: 1412  This applies to industries that generate wastewater with high
concentrations of organic matter (e.g. oil and grease), toxic pollutants (e.g. heavy
metals, volatile organic compounds) or nutrients such as ammonia.[94]: 180  Some
industries install a pre-treatment system to remove some pollutants (e.g., toxic
compounds), and then discharge the partially treated wastewater to the municipal
sewer system.[95]: 60 

Agricultural wastewater treatment

This section is an excerpt from Agricultural wastewater treatment.[edit]

Agricultural wastewater treatment is a farm management agenda for controlling

pollution from confined animal operations and from surface runoff that may be
contaminated by chemicals in fertilizer, pesticides, animal slurry, crop
residues or irrigation water. Agricultural wastewater treatment is required for
continuous confined animal operations like milk and egg production. It may be
performed in plants using mechanized treatment units similar to those used
for industrial wastewater. Where land is available for ponds, settling
basins and facultative lagoons may have lower operational costs for seasonal use
conditions from breeding or harvest cycles.[96]: 6–8  Animal slurries are usually
treated by containment in anaerobic lagoons before disposal by spray or trickle
application to grassland. Constructed wetlands are sometimes used to facilitate
treatment of animal wastes.

Management of erosion and sediment control

Silt fence installed on a construction site

Sediment from construction sites can be managed by installation of erosion
controls, such as mulching and hydroseeding, and sediment controls, such
as sediment basins and silt fences.[97] Discharge of toxic chemicals such as motor
fuels and concrete washout can be prevented by use of spill prevention and control
plans, and specially designed containers (e.g. for concrete washout) and structures
such as overflow controls and diversion berms.[98]
Erosion caused by deforestation and changes in hydrology (soil loss due to water
runoff) also results in loss of sediment and, potentially, water pollution.[99][100]

Interventions to Reduce Water Pollution

Water pollution control requires action at all levels of the hierarchical framework
shown in figure 43.1. The ideal method to abate diffuse chemical pollution of
waterways is to minimize or avoid the use of chemicals for industrial, agricultural,
and domestic purposes. Adapting practices such as organic farming and integrated
pest management could help protect waterways. Chemical contamination of
waterways from industrial emissions could be reduced by cleaner production
processes.

Other interventions include proper treatment of hazardous waste and recycling of

chemical containers and discarded products containing chemicals to reduce solid
waste buildup and leaching of toxic chemicals into waterways. A variety of
technical solutions are available to filter out chemical waste from industrial
processes or otherwise render them harmless. Changing the pH of wastewater or
adding chemicals that flocculate the toxic chemicals so that they settle in
sedimentation ponds are common methods. The same principle can be used at the
individual household level. One example is the use of iron chips to filter out
arsenic from contaminated well water in Bangladeshi households.
Around the world, people and governments are making efforts to combat pollution.
Recycling, for instance, is becoming more common. In recycling, trash is
processed so its useful materials can be used again. Glass, aluminum cans, and
many types of plastic can be melted and reused. Paper can be broken down and
turned into new paper.
Recycling reduces the amount of garbage that ends up in landfills, incinerators, and
waterways. Austria and Switzerland have the highest recycling rates. These nations
recycle between 50 and 60 percent of their garbage. The United States recycles
about 30 percent of its garbage.
Governments can combat pollution by passing laws that limit the amount and types
of chemicals factories and agribusinesses are allowed to use. The smoke from coal-
burning power plants can be filtered. People and businesses that illegally dump
pollutants into the land, water, and air can be fined for millions of dollars. Some
government programs, such as the Superfund program in the United States, can
force polluters to clean up the sites they polluted.

International agreements can also reduce pollution. The Kyoto Protocol, a United
Nations agreement to limit the emission of greenhouse gases, has been signed by
191 countries. The United States, the world’s second-largest producer of
greenhouse gases, did not sign the agreement. Other countries, such as China, the
world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, have not met their goals.
Still, many gains have been made. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River, in the U.S. state
of Ohio, was so clogged with oil and trash that it caught on fire. The fire helped
spur the Clean Water Act of 1972. This law limited what pollutants could be
released into water and set standards for how clean water should be. Today, the
Cuyahoga River is much cleaner. Fish have returned to regions of the river where
they once could not survive.
But even as some rivers are becoming cleaner, others are becoming more polluted.
As countries around the world become wealthier, some forms of pollution increase.
Countries with growing economies usually need more power plants, which produce
more pollutants.

Intervention Costs and Cost-Effectiveness

This chapter cannot follow the detailed format for the economic analysis of
different preventive interventions devised for the disease-specific chapters, because
the exposures, health effects, and interventions are too varied and because of the
lack of overarching examples of economic assessments. Nevertheless, it does
present a few examples of the types of analyses available.

Conclusion: Promises and Pitfalls

Evidence shows that a number of chemicals that may be released into the air or
water can cause adverse health effects. The associated burden of disease can be
substantial, and investment in research on health effects and interventions in
specific populations and exposure situations is important for the development of
control strategies. Pollution control is therefore an important component of disease
control, and health professionals and authorities need to develop partnerships with
other sectors to identify and implement priority interventions.
Developing countries face major water quantity and quality challenges,
compounded by the effects of rapid industrialization. Concerted actions are needed
to safely manage the use of toxic chemicals and to develop monitoring and
regulatory guidelines. Recycling and the use of biodegradable products must be
encouraged. Technologies to reduce air pollution at the source are well established
and should be used in all new industrial development. Retrofitting of existing
industries and power plants is also worthwhile. The growing number of private
motor vehicles in developing countries brings certain benefits, but alternative
means of transportation, particularly in rapidly growing urban areas, need to be
considered at an early stage, as the negative health and economic impacts of high
concentrations of motor vehicles are well established. The principles and practices
of sustainable development, coupled with local research, will help contain or
eliminate health risks resulting from chemical pollution. International collaboration
involving both governmental and nongovernmental organizations can guide this
highly interdisciplinary and intersectoral area of disease control.

Reducing pollution requires environmental, political, and economic leadership.

Developed nations must work to reduce and recycle their materials, while
developing nations must work to strengthen their economies without destroying the
environment. Developed and developing countries must work together toward the
common goal of protecting the environment for future use.