Environmental pollution: types, causes, effects and solutions
Environment — di Simone Santi
Environmental pollution causes 9 million premature deaths a year worldwide: what it is, how it occurs and how we can stop it.
Environmental pollution: types, causes, effects and solutions
Environmental pollution causes 9 million premature deaths a year worldwide: what it is, how it occurs and how we can stop it.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), almost 9 million people every year die worldwide as a result of environmental pollution. But what exactly is environmental pollution? This: the introduction of harmful substances or agents into the natural environment, which compromise the balance of ecosystems and threaten human health and biodiversity. These agents can be physical (such as coal), chemical (such as hydrocarbons) and biological pollutants (such as anthrax): in every case, polluting agents that are usually not present in the normal composition of the air, or are present, but at a lower concentration level. This is a global problem that requires an integrated approach to address its various types and find effective solutions.
Secondo l'#OMS sono circa 7 i milioni di morti causate dall’#inquinamento dell’aria. Ma chi paga i costi del #cambiamentoclimatico?I paesi a basso e medio reddito dove la qualità dell’aria peggiora a causa dell'ubanizzazione selvaggia e dalla dipendenza dai #combustibilifossili.
Main types of environmental pollution and their impacts
It would be useful at this point to distinguish between the various types of environmental pollution that afflict the environment in which we live and our own health, touching on almost every element: from air to land, by way of water.
Air pollution: causes, effects on health and the environment
Air pollution is environmental pollution caused mainly by the emission of gases and particles into the atmosphere, coming from anthropogenic sources such as industry, vehicle traffic and agricultural activities. Among the main air pollutants are nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), particles so small that they are able to penetrate, through breathing, into the bloodstream, compromising people's health.
253,000 deaths could have been avoided in the EU, in 2021, if the fine particulate matter #pollution had met WHO recommendations. Find out more from our briefing, published today: eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/ne…
According to data from the European Environment Agency, exposure to high concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 is associated with an increased risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and even cancer. Furthermore, air pollution has harmful effects on the environment, causing soil acidification, alteration of biogeochemical cycles and the deterioration of ecosystems. In 2021 alone, the most recent year for which the European Environment Agency has provided complete data, 390,000 people died in Europe (of whom 253,000 in the 27 EU countries) as a result of air pollution, the most significant environmental risk factor for health across the entire continent.
Water pollution: sources and consequences for aquatic ecosystems
Water pollution is caused by the release of toxic substances and pollutants into surface and groundwater, coming from industrial, agricultural and domestic discharges. The main water contaminants include heavy metals, organic chemicals, nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrate, as well as pathogenic microorganisms. In particular, according to Civil Protection, among the various areas of water pollution are those of:
- civil origin: arising from urban discharges when water flows into rivers or directly into the sea without any purification treatment;
- industrial origin: formed by various substances depending on industrial production;
- agricultural origin: linked to the excessive and improper use of fertilisers and pesticides, which, being generally water-soluble, penetrate the soil and contaminate aquifers.
Some chemical substances present in water are particularly dangerous for human health and for the survival of numerous living species, such as certain metals (chromium, mercury) or compounds such as chlorinated solvents.
According to the World Health Organisation, over 1.8 billion people use drinking water sources contaminated by faecal bacteria, with devastating consequences for human health, such as gastrointestinal diseases, hepatitis and typhoid fever. Furthermore, water pollution threatens aquatic biodiversity, causing the death of fish, amphibians and other forms of aquatic life.
Soil pollution: origins and impacts on food security
Soil pollution is caused mainly by the accumulation of toxic substances and pollutants in the ground, arising from industrial and agricultural activities and waste disposal. Among the most widespread soil contaminants are heavy metals, organic solvents, pesticides and fertiliser residues, but also non-biodegradable waste, wastewater, hydrocarbons and dioxins.
This type of pollution leads to the alteration of the chemical-physical and biological balance of the soil, predisposes it to erosion and landslides, and can result in harmful substances entering the food chain all the way to humans. Substances that reach underground aquifers can also damage their delicate balance.
Interference with the latter can manifest itself and, consequently, cause dangerous alterations in drinking water, and therefore in water usable by humans. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (Fao), soil pollution threatens global food security by compromising soil fertility and agricultural production: soils support the production of 95 per cent of food for humanity, as well as storing carbon and thus contributing to combating climate change. According to the Fao, however, soil pollution risks reducing agricultural productivity by between 15 and 25 per cent. Moreover, contact with contaminated soils can cause serious health problems, such as heavy metal poisoning or the contamination of crops with harmful pesticides.
Noise and electromagnetic pollution: the risks for human health
Noise pollution is caused by excessive environmental noise produced by anthropogenic sources such as road traffic, industrial activities and urban infrastructure. This phenomenon can cause sleep disturbances, stress, psychological disorders and hearing problems, with serious consequences for people's quality of life and mental health. For the European Environment Agency, noise pollution is in every respect one of the most significant causes of pollution in Europe. According to Italian legislation, the maximum tolerated threshold of noise pollution is 65 decibels during the day and 55 at night, but the optimal value would be between 35 and 45. To put it in perspective, an aircraft with its engines running, at 25 metres' distance, emits 140 decibels.
Electromagnetic pollution, on the other hand, is generated by emissions of radio waves, electromagnetic fields and radiation from electronic devices, telecommunications antennas and power lines. Even if the effects on human health are not always clear, some studies have suggested a possible link between prolonged exposure to electromagnetic fields and the risk of diseases such as cancer and neurological disorders. According to the Veronesi Foundation, for example, short-term exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields of high intensity (above 100 microtesla, the unit of measurement for magnetic fields) can cause acute effects, triggering stimulation of the nerves and muscles and disrupting the excitation of cells in the central nervous system.
Consequences of environmental pollution
9 million deaths attributed to #pollution in 2019—the same as in 2015 and equivalent to 1 in 6 deaths worldwide.
An update to the Lancet #PollutionCommission underscores the costs of inaction. hubs.li/Q01bzW6Z0
An update to the Lancet #PollutionCommission underscores the costs of inaction. hubs.li/Q01bzW6Z0
Effects on humanity and biodiversity
Environmental pollution represents a direct threat to human health, with millions of people every year contracting diseases or losing their lives due to exposure to atmospheric, water and soil pollutants. As we have seen, air pollution causes around 9 million premature deaths each year, of which 390,000 occur in the Europe where standards and limits are the most stringent in the world. Water pollution alone, according to a study published in the highly authoritative scientific journal The Lancet in 2019, was responsible for 1.36 million deaths. According to the same research, soil pollution also causes mass casualties: over 500,000 premature deaths worldwide, every year. In the European Union alone, it is estimated that there are 2.8 million potentially contaminated sites.
But that is not all: according to the EEA, for PM2.5 pollution alone in 2021, across the entire EU approximately 150,000 years of life were lost and approximately the same number of years were spent in illness rather than in good health.
Furthermore, this phenomenon has a devastating impact on biodiversity, causing the loss of natural habitats, the extinction of animal and plant species and the disruption of ecological balances. Consider that, according to WWF, populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish have declined on our planet, on average, by 69 per cent since 1970, while in South America and the Caribbean the depletion of wildlife has reached astronomical levels: 94 per cent.
Giornata #faunaselvatica