Pollution (Air, Water and Land): Effects on Health, Mitigation Measures and Challenges !

Table of Contents

What is Pollution?

Pollution is defined as the degradation in quality of elements of the environment such as air, water, land, etc.
Pollution is making the environment unsafe and unsuitable.
Pollution, is the addition of any substance or any form of energy to the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form.
Some major types of pollution are air pollution, water pollution and land pollution.
Other various types of pollutions are noise pollution, light pollution, plastic pollution etc.

Air pollution is the mixture of solid and other particles in the air such that the quality of air is decreased
Air pollution can be classified as the indoor air pollution and outdoor air pollution.
Industrial outlet, emission from the automobiles, smoke soot etc., are some of the primary causes air pollution
Air pollution effects the human health and further leads to other problems.
Air pollutants such as oxides of Sulphur, nitrogen, ozone, etc., also causes greenhouse effect.

Air pollution is estimated to cause approximately 2 million premature deaths worldwide per year.
Reduced lung function and respiratory diseases
Asthma
Cardiovascular damage
Fatigue
Headaches and anxiety
Irritation of the eyes, nose and throat
Damage to reproductive organs
Harm to the liver, spleen and blood
Nervous system damage.
Maternal exposure to air pollution is also associated with adverse birth outcomes, such as low birth weight, pre-term birth and small gestational age births.

Reduced use of automobiles
Identify the sources and work to limit them
Support and encourage afforestation
Energy conservation and encourage the use of alternative renewable sources
Awareness raising
Strengthen environmental institutions by helping countries improve environmental governance, regulation and enforcement

Water pollution refers to the contamination or pollution of the water bodies or its source, which usually occurs as a result of human activities.
Water pollution occurs when harmful substance often chemicals or microorganisms contaminate a water body.
Industrial outlet, mixing of sewage, garbage etc., causes the water pollution
Water pollution can be classified as the ground water pollution and surface water pollution
Water pollution affects aquatic as well as human life

8 million deaths due to water pollution in 2015. Every year, unsafe water sickens about 1 billion people all around the world
Polluted water is the reservoir of the multiple diseases
Diseases spread by unsafe water include cholera, giardiasis, and typhoid etc.

Awareness raising
Advocacy
Environmental laws for prohibiting the mixture of industrial outlets to the water bodies
Payer pays policy (Make the industries pay taxes for the environmental harm)
Sewage management
Rain water harvesting to reduce the dependency and overuse of the water bodies

Need of heavy budget for wastewater treatment
People dependency in water for livelihood makes it more difficult to approach and apply the corrective measures

Land pollution is the deterioration or degradation of earth’s surfaces or soil.
It is the deposition of solid or liquid waste materials in the land in a way which can contaminate the soil and groundwater and even threaten public health.
Deforestation, soil erosion, industrialization, and garbage are the primary causes of land pollution

Skin diseases and cancer.
Land pollution has also been linked to developmental deficits in children.
Chemicals found in contaminated soil and water, such as lead, can have impact on a child’s cognitive development
Birth defects etc.

Proper waste disposal
Treatment of the waste before disposing
Selection of dumping sites far from residential areas.
3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle)
Reducing the usage of non-biodegradable materials such as plastic shopping bags.
Discourage the use of the chemicals, insecticides and pesticides on the agricultural land.
Awareness and advocacy campaigns