Sources of water pollutionFacts about & effects of water pollutantsMain sources of water pollution follow including our links to basic facts about water pollution. We also have pages or links on specific water pollutants & the effects of water pollution on our health.
A hundred years ago, a great many people got ill or died from drinking polluted water. The main sources of water pollution were live organisms that led to health disorders such as cholera, diarrhea, hookworm & trichuriasis. Water treatment systems were designed to address the health effects of water pollution. Unfortunately, water treatment systems were not built to deal with the kinds & levels of present water pollutants. The unfortunate facts about water pollutions include pressing challenges to the water treatment systems. One problem is our rapidly expanding population. Another problem are the number of different pollutants that enter the water system and remain forever. Upgrading water treatment systems to address current sources of water pollution would cost billions of dollars & such upgrades has no real political force behind them The Environmental protection Agency (EPA) sets standards for water pollutants in the U.S. The EPA sets what it considers “acceptable” levels of pollutants which include chlorine, lead, arsenic & aluminum. Of course, no one could know what is acceptable over decades of consumption or what the effects of water pollution are long term. Much research points to negative long term health consequences due to water pollutants. Another of the scary facts about water pollution is that even with the EPA’s permissible levels of contamination, many water systems routinely violate EPA guidelines. Some water system officials have even lied about water quality to protect their positions. Millions of people in developed nations drink from multiply polluted water sources. The problem is even worse in undeveloped countries. One area in which water treatment systems has done a good job is in ridding our water of live pollutants like bacteria & parasites. The reason for this success lies in the addition of chlorine to our water systems. Unfortunately, chlorine poses its own dangers for consumers. Click for more on chlorinated water Flouride was also added to water to improve health but it too is very controversial. Click for more on the dangers of flouride in our water. Though water treatment systems have done a good job with live pollutants, they are overwhelmed with the number, variety & levels of other pollutants. Some of those pollutants are covered in more depth. Just click on the links below (coming): Chlorine Helpful links regarding sources of water pollution & more: Click to find out about
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