Facts that you do not know about pollution

When we read or research about pollution, we commonly come across several repeated things about pollution. We have seen students and researchers who are tired with the same old stories. There are many facts that we don’t usually discuss. Let us peep into few uncommon facts regarding pollution.

Pollution is the addition of toxic compounds to the environment affecting the ecosystem and all that lives in it. There are some well-known facts about pollution and some lesser known ones. There are different constituents of the environment mainly air, land, water, light, sound, plants, animals, insects, a variety of life forms and us, human beings.

In the race to adapt to the changing environment, animals and plants make small changes that take generations to manifest in their bodies. But humans are different.  We haven’t changed much in the many generations that we have been, but in the race to make life easier we have brought changes in the environment itself. This is pollution.

In this article let us look at some lesser known facts about pollution:

Facts that you do not know about pollution

Bisphenol-A

Indoor Air Pollution

Indoor pollution is a lesser known danger. Everyone thinks of wearing a mask while walking outside to filter the air. But there are enough toxins inside homes, offices and malls. Every indoor space is air conditioned with insufficient ventilation. Dampened walls with leaking or damaged pipes are hotspots for mildew and mold infestations.

Appliances running on kerosene and gas which is common in low and middle income homes release emissions as toxic as those released from power plants.

In the gym the smell that one associates with smelly socks can actually be an indication of bad air quality. High levels of airborne dust, formaldehyde and carbon dioxide is found in these.

Air pollution is also causing damaging of art indoors and outdoors. An example is the famed Sistine Chapel frescoes. Increased levels of carbon dioxide from the visitors were causing whitening of the frescoes. This was because of the deposit of carbon carbonate and calcium bicarbonate. 

Recyclable Waste

80 per cent of the wastes found in the landfills are recyclable. What are the items that can be recycled and must not be thrown away?

Children’s Health Is Most Affected

Though children make up 10 per cent of the world population, nearly 40 per cent of those affected by any form of pollution are children. The incidence of birth defects, developmental abnormalities, respiratory diseases like asthma, skin diseases is on the increase.

Neurological disturbances such as ADHD, learning disabilities and ADHD are associated with air and plastic pollution. Bio magnification is a phenomenon by which the organisms higher in the food chain accumulate more toxins in their bodies. Humans are at the top of the food chain. Many toxins can cross the placental barrier from mother to child. Studies done on mothers and children have indicated that this happens on a regular basis and the levels of toxins in new-borns are comparable to that of an adult.

The immune system and lungs of children are not fully developed. Increased infant mortality and asthma is associated with severe air pollution.   A study found that children living near freeways are twice as likely to have autism as kids who live further away due exposure to pollutants given off by freeway traffic.

Globally 15 million children under the age of five die each year because of the caused by drinking water.

Conclusion

If you were amazed at the amount of information you got from these words, be assured we have only touched the tip of the ice berg. There is so much that we do not know about the causes and effects of the various forms of pollution yet; for the extent of pollution is a fairly recent discovery. The number of studies that are being done on this is very great in number and still more is done to find solutions to the problems. There is still a lot to learn.

Share this article