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Comparison of polluted and not poluuted lake
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"And
He it is Who sends down water from the cloud, then We bring forth with it buds
of all [plants], then We bring forth from it green [foliage]from which We
produce grain piled up [in the ear]; and of the palm-tree, of the sheaths of it,
come forth clusters [of dates] within reach, and gardens of grapes and olives
and pomegranates, alike and unlike; behold the fruit of it when it yields the
fruit and the ripening of it; most surely there are signs in this for a people
who believe (Qur'an 6:99)."
Although
the press coverage has been frightful pertaining to biological warfare since
September 11th, only four people have died so far from the
“deadly” anthrax attacks (WorldWatch, p.1). Even the perpetual talk of
terrorist attacks on chemical plants hasn’t increased U.S domestic security
significantly. However, for millions of Americans there is a very real danger
already lurking in the waterways providing more deaths than anthrax and
September 11th combined: A chemical-cocktail of compounds, ready to
go back into their food chain. These chemicals include chlorine, arsenic
and sulfur dioxide among others.
The
U.S.-based Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) states that if there
were to be a terrorist attack on any one of the 125 chemical plants across the
country there would be a catastrophic affect. For example if chlorine was to
escape from even one tank, its toxic gas could travel 2 miles in 10 minutes and
remain lethal for up to 20 miles (Lazaroff, p.1-3). This brings to light, of
course, the question as to whether chlorine should be used to disinfect the
water supply to begin with. Chlorine is thorough in killing pathogens; however,
residual chlorine is also thorough in killing aquatic life along with sodium
hypochlorite, sulfur dioxide and sodium bisulfate. These chemicals are utilized
in the process of chlorination (Lau, p.4-5).
Arsenic
is another ingredient in the chemical cocktail of the American waterways. Just
before President Bush took office, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA,
was about to reduce arsenic levels in drinking water from 50 micrograms, the
U.S. standard since 1942, to 10 per liter - the European Union and World Health
Organization (W.H.O.) standard. However, last March these new regulations failed
to pass congress due to a petition submitted by the National Mining Association.
A number of studies hi-light that arsenic-tainted water causes skin, lung, liver
and bladder cancer.
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Cropsprayer contributed to polluted water |
In
Taiwan, a study of 40,000 villagers found that long-term exposure to arsenic
from well water was the cause behind the deaths from bladder cancer (Alpert
p.1-2). They also found a direct link from long-term exposure to arsenic and
atherosclerosis in the veins that lead to the brain (Graham #1 p.1). A Dartmouth
Medical School study shows arsenic can also disrupt the hormone glucocorticoid
that regulates blood sugar levels. Arsenic suppresses by binding to
glucocorticoid receptors in cells thus changing their structure. The result is a
tumor growth triggered by other carcinogens. This effect can begin to be seen at
2 micrograms per liter. Most large municipal water systems possess an average
arsenic level above 10 micrograms. In Norman, Oklahoma for example, it is 36.3
micrograms, in Chino Hills, California 30.2 and in Victoria, Texas 11.6
micrograms per liter. According to the EPA, if their regulations were
implemented, 21-30 deaths from lung and bladder cancer annually could have been
prevented. Epidemiologists, however, say the death rate is closer to 10 times
that amount (Alpert, p.2).
However,
chemical wastes are not the only culprits behind water pollution. Prescription
antibiotics such as virginiamycin, sulfadimethoxone and tetracycline also make
it into the waterways. Reproductive hormones like equilenum, progesterone,
estradiol and testosterone are also found (ACS, p.17—23). In fact, a study by
the U.S Geological Survey cites that 80% of US streams contain one or more
organic wastewater contaminant, O.W.C. Ready to unleash back into the food
chain, the compounds were found to be from residential, industrial and
agricultural sources. Wastewater treatment plants and domestic septic systems
are not designed to remove O.WC.s from effluent discharges. Up to 38 O.W.C.s
were found in the samples collected.
Most
of the samples were collected downstream from intense urbanized areas and
livestock production (ACS, p1, 2,8). The 30-state study, done from 1999 to 2000,
found medications, hormones, insecticides and fire retardants (Graham #2, p.1).
Thirty-three of the 95 O.W.C.s found are known to disrupt the normal function of
the human endocrine system (ACS, p.10).
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A peroxide plant spews chemicals into the waterways. |
Modern
agricultural practices are another cause of water pollution. From the
agricultural realm, corn has become a highly chemical-intensive crop. Corn uses
significantly more chemicals than wheat and soybeans. Residuals of nitrogen
fertilizer run off into the streams through the soil. Other agricultural O.W.C.s
found in water near agricultural land included insecticides: N, N-diethyltoluamide,
chlordane, dieldrin and lindane (ACS, p.20-21). Amongst the 12 banned chemicals
in Europe last year, chlordane remains in the soil for long periods affecting
the human immune system through the air. Dieldrin, while working on insects and
insect-borne diseases ends up in ground vegetables, human and cows, milk (Tuormaa,
p.1-3). Dieldrin reduces fertility and lindane affects the human reproductive
system. Nitrogen fertilizers reduce the nutritional value of crops and are
linked to congenital malformations, brain degeneration and disrupt the
regulation of the immune system. Parkinson’s disease is commonly found around
agricultural regions.
These
recent studies and findings show that despite the 1970 National Environmental
Policy Act, the 1972 Clean Air and Water Act, the 1976 Resource Conservation
Recovery Act and the 1986 Community Right-to-Know Act the health of Americans is
being ignored (Heiman, p.3). This is an alarming fact in the shadow of global
warming and water security and gives new meaning to the verse in the Qur’an, “When
He caused calm to fall on you as a security from Him and sent down upon you
water from the cloud that He might thereby purify you, and take away from you
the uncleanness of the Shaitan, and that He might fortify your hearts and steady
[your] footsteps thereby” (Qur'an 8:11).
Sources:
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Ackerman,
Frank. “Is the U.S a Pollution Haven?” Foreign Policy in Focus.
03/17/02.
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ACS
Publications. “Pharmaceuticals, Hormones & other Organic Wastewater
Contaminants in U.S Streams, 1999-2000: A National Reconnaissance.”
Environmental Science Technology 36:6(2002).
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Alpert, Mark. “A
Touch of Poison.” Scientific America. 03/26/02.
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EPA.gov. “Atlas
of America’s Polluted Waters: Total Maximum Daily Load Program.”
Environmental Protection Agency. 03/16/02.
