¿What Is The Big Issue On Environmental Pollutants?

The high rates of industrialization and the race between countries for economic supremacy have led to a significant increase in environmental pollution, rather than solutions to reduce it. The pollution is composed of some chemical waste molecules. Products that originate in the industry, driving cars, chimneys, smoke, agricultural residuals, among others, also can generate pollution. Each molecule has its effects on people's health. 

Air pollution is constantly absorbed through the respiratory system; it includes CO2 (carbon dioxide), volatile organic compounds, CO (carbon monoxide), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and several more. The emerging pollutants; found in soil and water; affect our ecosystem and are ingested in the diet; plastics accumulate in the ocean; antibiotics and pesticides remain in the food derived from treated animals and plants; actually, there are many proven scientific facts. 

The pollutant molecules may belong to the same chemical group; since their molecular structure is different, their danger levels vary. They are constantly interacting with our bodies and environment, have a great capacity to alter their stability. Also, their levels increase daily, which is the big issue of these chemical compounds. 

According to WHO, air pollution kills more than seven million people around the world each year, more than double caused by coronavirus COVID-19 in 2020; the data shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air that exceeds the limits of pollutants, with low- and middle-income countries experiencing the highest exposures. While emerging pollutants are the cause of reports where resistant bacteria and traces of antibiotics remain in lakes and natural systems. 

On the other hand, reported consequences include large amounts of plastic, drugs, and microplastic in oceanic bodies and water for human consumption around the world. In image 1, we can see how air pollutants, coming from a factory, are highly concentrated in the air that even obstruct vision; the population often has exposure to this air.

Image 1: Large smoke columns from factories usually interact with humans.

Air pollutants or smoke waste are produced in agriculture, energy production and distribution, coal and gas transmissions, transportation emissions, fuel consumption, and greenhouse gases and other gas emissions. 

This compound ends up in the air we breathe or in the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere, a large amount is produced by garbage or landfills of products commonly used by people; thrash also becomes emerging pollutants!. Some diseases attributed to air pollutants are COPD, lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and strokes; air pollutants affect the respiratory system, can cause infections, and aggravate other illnesses (see image 2). 

These harmful molecules include particulate pollutants comprised of suspended solids and liquid droplets (particulate matter – PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), ammonium, methanol, CO2, CO, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), among others. 

Their presence in the air we breathe is significant, some compounds could rise higher in the atmosphere, but when rains fall, the temperature decreases, and some of the air pollutants fall on the land and water bodies, which ends up being used in agriculture to grow animals and plants, our food and to be spread in the natural environment; we must also consider illegal operations and industrial accidents that usually occur, such as oil spills in the sea or chemical waste systems in rivers.

Image 2: Health damage caused by air pollutants.

Another type of pollutants in emerging contaminants (ECs). Its source are Pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical, pesticides, herbicides, plastics, nutraceutical, personal care products, and similar products; some molecules have great stability and therefore can easily accumulate in the environment, highly lipid molecules tend to be stored in fat deposits in our body, single-use products and containers create an exaggerated amount of trash that cannot be easily handled. It is important to highlight, that the production of future emerging contaminants is an important source of air pollutants. 

The emerging contaminants comprise a large number of chemical compounds and daily-use products, which are broadly distributed throughout the environment due to various industrial practices and human-made activities; some examples of the impact caused by these pollutants are the Ganges river, Citarum river, Yellow river, and more. Those compounds include plastics, toxic microplastics, pesticides (metam sodium, Organochlorines, pyrethroids, etc.), pharmaceuticals (hormones, toxins, Avermectins, etc.) industrially-related dyes, among others.  Its effects on health are to attack the nervous and vascular system, they may be also carcinogenic and cause endocrine problems (see image 3).

Image 3: Health damage caused by emerging contaminants.

These amounts of pollutants increase day by day, accumulating in the air, nature, animals, and our bodies. the pandemic of COVID-19, with its restrictive measures, caused a global decrease of polluting emissions in 2020, but with the vaccines, the levels of pollutants are expected to rise again. Air pollutants are more dangerous because is easier to have contact with them, we cannot ignore them, that is why several million people die every year. It is important to see the strong interactions with animals, plants, and microorganisms; the presence of these strange compounds in the natural habitats will cause changes in populations and their behaviors. So, ¿will the world have a chance to change these environmental conditions? We have to reflect on our daily activities and develop safe industrial practices, living a friendly life with nature will reduce the emissions of pollutants allowing us to clean the planet, only then, we may solve the problems that we have caused.

 References

• Manisalidis, Ioannis et al. “Environmental and Health Impacts of Air Pollution: A Review.” Frontiers in public health vol. 8 14. 20 Feb. 2020, doi:10.3389/fpubh.2020.00014

• Academy of Science of South Africa et al. “Air Pollution and Health - A Science-Policy Initiative.” Annals of global health vol. 85,1 140. 16 Dec. 2019, doi:10.5334/aogh.2656

• Lei, Meng & Zhang, Lun & Lei, Jianjun & Zong, Liang & Li, Jiahui & Wu, Zheng. (2015). Overview of Emerging Contaminants and Associated Human Health Effects. BioMed Research International. 2015. 1-12. 10.1155/2015/404796.