Scribd
Upload
79 views2 pages

Water, Air and Soil Contamination

Pollution from water, air, and soil causes up to 40% of premature deaths worldwide, especially in developing countries. Water in these regions is often contaminated from mixing sewage and waste, infecting 80% of people. Indoor air pollution from cooking smoke traps families inside, while outdoor pollution from coal factories spreads across countries. Soil pollution from industrial and domestic dumping reduces safe farmland and contributes to food shortages.

Uploaded by

Sabina Lucia Grapini
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
79 views2 pages

Water, Air and Soil Contamination

Pollution from water, air, and soil causes up to 40% of premature deaths worldwide, especially in developing countries. Water in these regions is often contaminated from mixing sewage and waste, infecting 80% of people. Indoor air pollution from cooking smoke traps families inside, while outdoor pollution from coal factories spreads across countries. Soil pollution from industrial and domestic dumping reduces safe farmland and contributes to food shortages.

Uploaded by

Sabina Lucia Grapini
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Water, Air and Soil Contamination

Pollution is an environmental concern for people throughout the world. One university study
suggests that pollutants in the water, air, and soil cause up to 40% of the premature deaths in
the world's population. The majority of these deaths occur in developing countries.

Water in many developing countries is contaminated with toxic chemicals, also known as
toxins. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.1 billion people have little or
no access to clean water. In many of these regions the water that is used for drinking, cooking,
and washing is the same water that is used for dumping sewage and hazardous waste. Most
developing countries cannot afford water treatment facilities. Approximately 80% of infectious
diseases in the world are caused by contaminated water.

Air pollution is a growing problem throughout the world. Indoor air pollution is one of the
leading causes of lung cancer. Families in developing countries use open stoves for cooking
and heating their homes. These homes do not have proper ventilation. The smoke, which is full
of chemicals and carcinogens, gets trapped inside where families eat and sleep. Outdoor
pollution also causes disease and illness, especially in industrial cities such as Beijing, China,
where cancer is the leading cause of death. China relies heavily on coal, which is considered
the dirtiest source of energy. According to the European Union, only 1% of urban dwellers in
China breathe clean air on an average day. Neighbouring countries including Japan and Korea
receive much of China's pollution in the form of acid rain. This pollution results mainly from
the coal powered factories, which produce inexpensive goods for North American and
European consumers. Outdoor air pollution is also a concern in many wealthy countries. Those
who live and work in urban centres such as Los Angeles or Toronto experience many warm
days beneath a layer of smog.

Soil pollution is also a major concern, both in industrial and developing countries. Pollutants
such as metals and pesticides seep into the earth's soil and contaminate the food supply. Soil
pollution causes major health risks to entire ecosystems. This type of pollution reduces the
amount of land suitable for agricultural production and contributes to global food shortages.
Dumping of industrial and domestic waste products produces much of the world's soil
pollution, though natural disasters can also add to the problem. In wealthy countries such as the
US, protection agencies monitor the food supply. The public is generally warned before major
disease outbreaks occur. Developing countries do not have this luxury. Farmers in poor nations
grow food in contaminated soil both to earn a living and to avoid starvation.

As more people move to urban centres, premature deaths caused by pollution are expected to
increase worldwide. Today, the developed nations who achieved their wealth at the expense of
the environment will be held accountable for protecting the earth's resources for future
generations.
Vocabulary
Word Meaning
rain that contains harmful chemicals that collect in the atmosphere
acid rain noun
when fossil fuels are burned
a substance that has been linked to causing one or more types of
carcinogen noun
cancer
contaminated adj. has come in contact with organisms or substances that cause disease
developing country a nation that is working towards becoming more economically and
noun socially advanced
domestic waste noun garbage that is produced by people in a household
placing waste in an area that is not appropriate ( eg. dumping
dumping verb
chemicals in oceans)
hazardous waste a form of garbage that is harmful to health of plants, animals or
noun humans and requires careful disposal (eg. batteries or paint)
related to industry and the production of fuel, power and materials
industrial adj.
used to manufacture goods, esp. in factories
chemicals that are sprayed on crops to prevent insects from
pesticides noun
destroying them
pollutant noun a substance or material that damages the natural environment
the contamination of the environment, esp. by industrial waste
pollution noun
products and chemicals like pesticides
premature adj. happening before the expected or normal time
priority noun something that's of most concern or the greatest importance
sewage noun human waste from toilets
air pollution caused by a reaction between chemicals in the
smog noun
atmosphere and sunlight
toxic chemicals
poisonous substances that can cause disease
(toxins) noun
ventilation noun the replacement of unclean air with fresh air

You might also like