Volume : 6, Issue : 6, June - 2017

A Panoramic view of Water Contamination and Health Quotient of Human life with special reference to India

Dr. B. Ramanath Shenoy, Dr. Vivek M Balse

Abstract :

<p>&nbsp;<span style="text-align: justify;">While there is a hue and cry for the want of water, the greater pressing need remains for the clean water along with sanitation facilities. A blind eye or a half hearted approach may result in a expensive loss of health benefits. There is a clear and imperative need for increased levels of investment in water and sanitation facilities in India. WHO is providing technical assistance to help countries develop their national action plans, and strengthens their health and surveillance systems so that they can prevent and manage health risk.</span><span style="text-align: justify; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"> Back in 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>that water-related diseases could kill as many as 135 million people by 2020.This is triggered due to<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;m</span>any different pollutants that can damage rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. The three most common are soil, nutrients, and bacteria. Rain washes soil into streams and rivers. The soil can kill tiny animals and fish eggs. It can clog the gills of fish and block light, causing plants to die. Nutrients, often from fertilizers, cause problems in lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Nitrogen and phosphorus make algae grow and can turn water green. Bacteria, often from sewage spills, can pollute fresh or salt water. In addition, i</span><span style="text-align: justify;">nadequate sanitary conditions and inappropriate food-handling may encourage the spread of antimicrobial resistance also as antimicrobial resistant-microbes are found in people, animals, food, and the environment (in water, soil and air).</span><span style="text-align: justify; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"> Water pollution</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</span><span style="text-align: justify; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">is the contamination of<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>water<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). This form of environmental degradation occurs when pollutants<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>are directly or indirectly discharged into<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>water<span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 115%; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Most water pollution doesn‘t begin in the water itself. Take the oceans: around 80 percent of ocean pollution enters our seas from the land. Virtually any human activity can have an effect on the quality of our water environment. When farmers fertilize the fields, the chemicals they use are gradually washed by rain into the groundwater or surface waters nearby. Sometimes the causes of water pollution are quite surprising. Chemicals released by smokestacks (chimneys) can enter the atmosphere and then fall back to earth as rain, entering seas, rivers, and lakes and causing water pollution. . Water pollution has many different causes and this is one of the reasons why it is such a difficult problem to solve.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 2.85pt; text-align: justify; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; color: windowtext; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-weight: normal;">There are several classes of water pollutants. The first are disease-causing agents. These are bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms that enter sewage systems and untreated waste. A second category of water pollutants is oxygen-demanding wastes; wastes that can be decomposed by oxygen-requiring bacteria. When large populations of decomposing bacteria are converting these wastes it can deplete oxygen levels in the water.<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 2.85pt; text-align: justify; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; color: windowtext; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-weight: normal;">A few statistics illustrate the scale of the problem that waste water (chemicals washed down drains and discharged from factories) can cause. Around half of all ocean pollution is caused by sewage and waste water. Each year, the world generates perhaps 5&ndash;10 billion tons of industrial waste.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></h1>