Post 3: Categories of Water Pollutants

There are many factors that play into water pollution. Water pollution comes from many sources that are categorized into four groups, besides the point and non-point groups they are; biological, chemical, physical, and thermal. The pollutants that fall into these categories range from animal waste to petroleum but regardless of the pollutant, it is still making our water unsanitary.

Chemical
Petroleum is a major chemical pollutant in water. The most common form of petroleum pollution comes from oil spills, because we are able to identify where it comes from petroleum is point source pollution. The discharges of petroleum destroy shore lines and are very dangerous to aquatic life. The recent BP oil spill is an example of this; BP has attempted to use robots to redirect the oil to the surface of the water, use piping to suck up the oil and isolate the oil spill by putting cement covering over it. All of these attempts have failed proving that there is no guaranteed way to clean up an oil spill.



Repercussions of petroleum with oil spills can have severe results; “The effects of spilled petroleum on marine organisms can be lethal or sub lethal. Lethal effects are often obvious after large spills, with the most attention focused on birds and mammals (e.g., 900 bald eagles, 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, and 300 harbor seals were killed directly by the Exxon Valdez spill), but population-level consequences are difficult to measure. Considerable controversy arises in the determination of when populations have recovered. Even when organisms are not killed, oil fouling can reduce feeding efficiency, growth and reproductive rates, survival of offspring, and resistance to diseases. Petroleum may act synergistically with other pollutants, such as those found in urban runoff, to cause even more toxic effects like high rates of mortality or reproductive failure. Petroleum can kill birds and mammals by reducing the capacity of feathers and fur to keep the animals warm, or through ingestion when birds and mammals attempt to remove the petroleum or eat fouled prey” (“Disasters”).



Drinking water that has been chemically contaminated with oil can cause significant symptoms, yet is unlikely to cause serious and long term illnesses. If a small amount of oil is ingested, the stomach will become irritated and vomiting and diarrhea can occur. Sometimes oil can enter the lungs through vomiting and can cause breathing problems. Preventive measures for reducing oil contamination are ensuring the pipeline system reducing inputs, consumers can use more efficient machinery, and petroleum can be properly disposed of through recycling and such. Detroit suffers from issues with oil because of the industry surrounding the automotive industry.



Physical
Nitrogen is a major pollutant in bodies of water such as the Gulf of Mexico, Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Bay. Many farmers apply nitrogen to their soil as fertilizers. It is then converted to plant-available-nitrate by bacteria in the soil. Then the plants and growing bacteria consume the nitrate but when a sufficient amount is consumed, bacteria can remove nitrate-nitrogen through a process called immobilization. The nitrate-nitrogen then becomes part of soil organic matter through this test. The bacteria then convert the nitrate-nitrogen to a gas through denitrification. The nitrate-nitrogen that remains in the soil and does not become a gas is at risk of contaminating water through run-off. Almost any pollutant that results from run-off is non-point source pollution because the water can pick up any substance when running to a body of water. The best way to reduce the amount of nitrogen in water would be to not use nitrogen based fertilizers when farming.



Effects of nitrogen contamination include: “Infants below six months who drink water containing nitrite in excess of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) could become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blue baby syndrome” (“Nitrite”). In order to prevent contaminants in food, Employees must be checked to see they don’t have any contaminants, and the building needs to be ensured as pest-free. For contaminants in water, nitrogen should not be added to the soil to help growth.



Thermal
Thermal pollution is associated with the increases in water temperature. The production of energy from a fuel source is a direct cause of thermal pollution; therefore it is point source pollution. Heat engines such as steam engines, turbines, and internal combustion engines deposit a lot of waste and heat into the water because it is a very efficient sink for heat engines. Electrical generating stations use cool water to run their machines and then dump the water back where it came from which results in an increase in the water temperature. There is no way to stop the movement of ships but thermal pollution can be reduced if electrical generating stations do not dump the water they use to run their machines back into the water.



Effects of thermal pollution include effects on wildlife, “Thermal pollution can wreak havoc on native fish species, such as trout, that require cold water with high levels of dissolved oxygen. When the water becomes warmer, other non-native fish that thrive in the warmth can take over habitats from native fish. In addition, warmer water allows bacterial populations to increase and thrive and algae "blooms" may occur” (“Solution”). Thermal pollution does not have distinct health effects on humans, because it effects the temperature of bodies of water. Since the rise or decline in temperature is caused by human activity, it directly affects fish and other organisms living in the body of water effected. Thermal pollution changes the productivity of fish and disrupts spawning, which can kill the young. It also can cause thermal shock.



Ways to prevent thermal pollution include using cooling towers in factories to avoid putting the pollutants back into the surface water. Thermal pollution can affect anywhere that has water and can hurt the wildlife within the area, therefore possibly hurting the people who thrive from it.

Biological
Biological pollutants are any disease, virus or protozoan that contaminates water. These pollutants are known to cause diseases in humans and animals. One well-known disease caused by biological pollution is Giardiasis, which is an infection in the small intestine. It is caused when an animal dies near or close to the water and contaminants from the animal are carried to the body of water through run-off. Due to the fact that it comes from a direct cause, it is point source pollution although it is in run off. The Giardiasis parasite is removed by filtration systems in water treatment plants. A human or animal can become infected by drinking the contaminated water. If they become infected they will experience symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, and nausea. It can be diagnosed by an enteroscopy or stool antigen test. Some infections can go away with time, but it can also be treated with drugs.



Being a health risk among many, the repercussions of the contaminant are known to be relatively harmless, “Some biological contaminants trigger allergic reactions, including hypersensitivity pneumonitis, allergic rhinitis, and some types of asthma… symptoms of health problems caused by biological pollutants include sneezing, watery eyes, coughing, shortness of breath, dizziness, lethargy, fever, and digestive problems” (“Biological”). Preventative measures include not drinking unpurified water, washing your hands often to prevent getting Giardiasis from an infected person, and trying to prevent moisture build-up. Although Giardiasis has been less overwhelming within Detroit in the past few years, in years prior the cases were estimated hundreds per year. In conclusion, take extra precautions to avoid any disease from these biological sources.

All sources of water pollution play a major role in lives of a great number of people in the world. Thanks to the water filtering system in cities many people do not need to worry about many sources of water borne disease. While using water from the outdoors, the water must first be boiled and/or pumped through a carbon pump to avoid disease of infection.