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POLLUTANTS AND WASTE:
Air pollution already existed hundred of years ago.
Many historians speculate that the overuse of lead plumbing for drinking water in Rome caused
chronic lead poisoning among rich people.
The mining and smelting of ores that accompanied the transition from the Stone Age to the Metal
Age resulted in piles of mining wastes that spread potentially toxic elements such as mercury,
copper, lead, and nickel into the environment.
By the 19th century, chimney sweeps contracted cancer from hydrocarbons in chimney soot;
hatters became disoriented, or "mad," from nerve-destroying mercury salts used to treat felt
fabric; and bootblacks suffered liver damage from boot polish solvents.
During the 20th century, pollution became so widespread that pollutants not only persisted in the
environment, but changed atmospheric and climatic conditions.
In the United States, the Clean Air Act (1970) reduced certain types of air pollution.
The Clean Water Act (1977) and Safe Drinking Water Act (1974) set water quality standards.
Followed laws to control toxic wastes, such as the Toxic Substances Control Act (1976) and the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976).
The Liability Act (CERCLA) provides funds to clean up the most severely contaminated
hazardous waste sites.
International agreements have also played a role in reducing global pollution, such as
the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987) or the Basel
Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their
Disposal (1989).
But to avoid ecological disaster and increased poverty, developing countries will require aid and
technology from outside nations and corporations, community participation in development
initiatives, and strong environmental regulations.
Non-governmental organizations are also very active; they form at the local, national,
and international level to combat pollution problems worldwide.
Greenpeace International is one of them!
But what is pollution?
Pollution can be defined as a contamination of the earth's environment with materials that
interfere with human health, the quality of life, or the natural functioning of ecosystems.
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However, pollution can also have natural causes like volcanic eruptions, cyclones, and so on.
There are two main categories of polluting materials made and used by humans; they are
biodegradable and non-degradable materials; these materials are called pollutants. The first
category, biodegradable pollutants (sewage, feces, vegetables, fruits, etc), rapidly decompose by
natural processes. However, these pollutants become a problem when they cannot decompose
rapidly enough and people continue adding more and more everyday, so they accumulate.
The second category are non-degradable pollutants that cannot decompose or decompose slowly
in the natural environment. Once they are launched into the environment, it is almost impossible
to remove them.
DDT, dioxins, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and radioactive materials can be
utterly dangerous when they pass through our bodies when we consume plants or animals.
Because, us humans are at the top of the food chain, we accumulate a lot of toxins
coming from what we eat. In the 60’s, at Minamata Bay, Japan, people developed nervous
disorders, tremors, and paralysis in a mysterious epidemic. Over 400 people died. Why?
Because a local industry was releasing mercury into the Bay, and people were eating the fish
infected by it! All of a sudden, people began to notice that pollution was fatal, and someone had
to do something about it! The fight against environmental pollution was born.
Expenditures to reduce pollution in the United States in 1993 totaled $109 billion,
including $105.4 billion on reduction, $1.9 billion on regulation, and $1.7 billion on research and
development. Twenty-nine percent of the total cost went toward air pollution, 36 percent to water
pollution, and 36 percent to solid waste management. Nonetheless, the reforms do not profit
everybody: low-income populations and minorities are lodged near toxic waste incinerators,
chemical plants, and solid waste dumps, therefore they do not receive the same protection against
hazardous wastes.
Solid waste are solid materials we do not want anymore, such as garbage, paper, plastics,
metals, etc. It constitutes the major source of waste in industrialized countries.
Billions of tons of solid waste are thrown out annually.
A typical American generates an average of 4 pounds of solid waste each day.
How much does that make in one year?
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