Adverse Effects Of Pollution On Society and Its Immunity

Pollution means the degradation of our natural environment by getting involved with harmful factors (chemicals). Any kind of pollution has two bottom sources, natural and manmade. And every pollution type brings negative consequences to our lives. 

We consider two types of pollution to understand their effects on human civilization, viz., air and water. There’ll be a 2-step understanding of each type of pollution, cause & effect.

Air pollution

Causes:

1. Exhaust – the exhaust of our daily commuting services is the primary source of air pollution. Almost every single house has a vehicle today, even more than one. The exhaust releases harmful gases, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide, to name some.
2. Burning fossil fuels – coal, natural gas, oil, etc.-are examples of fossil fuel. These fossil fuels are burned to generate different forms of energy. Automobiles/cars are an example of the fossil fuel burning process. The burning of these fuels releases chemicals into the air.
3. Particles – dust through excessive construction and mining activities lead to dust formation and dissolving in the air, polluting it.
4. Fertilizers – I never thought agriculture would cause air pollution, but artificial fertilizers make it happen. Fertilizers release fine particles and chemicals in the air.

Effects:

1. Irritation – air pollution majorly causes disturbance to our skin, nose, throat, and lungs. Air pollution makes entry for tiny chemical substances and particles through inhaling, giving rise to different forms of irritations.
2. Heart disease – polluted air getting taken to our hearts paves the way for heart diseases, including cardiac arrest and irritation in the arteries.
3. Respiratory diseases – respiratory diseases are associated with our lungs. Tiny, harmful particles make their way into the lungs, and they settle there, causing irritation in breathing and giving rise to asthma and even lung failure.
4. Brain & nerves – inhaling not just impure but harmful chemical-filled air could severely impact our brain and its nerves in the long run.
5. Other organs – the intake of polluted air could also grasp other organs, including kidney and liver, under its effects. Oxygen flows throughout our body, and if that oxygen is polluted, it could affect every part that it flows through.

Water pollution

Causes:

1. Industry – industry, on the one hand, makes our life easier and, on the other hand, causes pollution. The industrial wastewater is released into natural water bodies, thereby polluting it.
2. Dumping – we individually, too, contribute to polluting water by dumping our solid waste in it. It could consist of anything from plastic to medical waste.
3. Oil – oil is released into oceans from the ground (seep) that pollutes the water body. And to further add to it, we hear so many cases of a huge oil tanker getting leaked or crashed and spilling all the fuel into the sea.
4. Pesticide – the chemical pesticides used over crops get mixed with groundwater and pollutes it too.

Effects:

1. Aquatic death – releasing chemicals and plastic into water bodies leads to the end of aquatic species, which further disrupts the food chain.
2. The naming would take longer than you could expect in water-borne diseases – typhoid, cholera, diarrhea, etc. Several conditions come from polluted water and its usage.
3. Lead – lead is specifically here for effect it can cause. Industrial waste released in water bodies can include information that can cause our kidneys and brain to damage if intaken.
4. Agriculture – water is like the air circulating almost every aspect of our life, from eating to cleaning. If it affects our eating, then human civilization is in grave danger. The water used for agriculture could be polluted with chemicals and substances that would grow our natural vegetation into a chemical-filled edible.

Killing immunity?

Both air and water are significant aspects of our lives, and both are intake-related, which means they enter our bodies. And if what goes inside is polluted with toxic chemicals and substances, it can do severe damage.

Immunity is the ability of our body to fight against danger-causing cells. Such cells could weaken our body, give rise to disease and even damage a particular organ example, cancer cells. Intake of toxic chemicals weakens our immunity and the ability to fight against poisonous cells. The best example would be the death rate of people from Covid 19. This newly found disease leads an individual to death in about a month if that person has weak immunity.

For instance, the intake of polluted air could lead to immunosuppression, a condition where an individual’s immune response is suppressed either partially or completely. This could make his/her immune system not respond to any toxic cell that can affect their crucial organs.