Tag: chemistry

The maximum limit of nitrate in drinking water is 50 ppm

Gastrointestinal diseases refer to diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract, namely the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and rectum, and the accessory organs of digestion, the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

E. coli (Escherichia coli) is the name of a germ, or bacterium,that lives in the digestive tracts of humans and animals. There are many types of E. coli, and most of them are harmless. But some can cause bloody diarrhea.

Enterococcus faecalis – formerly classified as part of the group D Streptococcus system – is a Gram-positive, commensal bacterium inhabiting the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and other mammals

Pollution is the release of harmful substances or energy into the environment by man in quantities that damage health and resources. The polluted air is undesirable for breathing, for the condition of buildings and monuments exposed to it or for animal and plant life. The polluted soil and land undesirable for raising food and fodder for animals or for recreation and aesthetic enjoyments.

Minamata disease, sometimes referred to as Chisso-Minamata disease, is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. Nearby anthropogenic sources, such as coal burning and mining of iron, can contaminate water sources with methylmercury, which is efficiently absorbed in the bodies of fish. Fish and shellfish concentrate mercury in their bodies, often in the form of methylmercury, a highly toxic organic compound of mercury. Minamata disease was first discovered in Minamata city in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan, in 1956. It was caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation's chemical factory, which continued from 1932 to 1968. This highly toxic chemical bioaccumulated in shellfish and fish in Minamata Bay and the Shiranui Sea, which, when eaten by the local populace, resulted in mercury poisoning.

The rise in the average temperature of earth has been described as global warming which is mainly attributed to the increasing phenomenon of the greenhouse effect. It is believed that global warming can have several harmful effects on human health, both directly and indirectly. Since malaria is greatly influenced by climatic conditions because of its direct relationship with the mosquito population, it is widely assumed that its incidence is likely to increase in a future warmer world.

As global warming continues, malaria is set to spread in locations where previously it was limited, due to cooler climate. On the other hand, several theories have been put forward which are quite contrary to this prediction. There are multiple other factors which are accountable for the recent upsurge of malaria: for example drug resistance, mosquito control programs, public health facilities, and living standards. Due to the rising global temperature, more areas of the world will become favourable for the survival of tropical insects like mosquitoes. This could lead to the spread of these insects towards more northern and southern hemispheres and to higher altitudes. Some species of mosquito act as disease vectors and are responsible for the spread of illnesses like malaria, Dengue fever, and Yellow fever. Hence, global warming can increase the incidence of these diseases

Let us now study the causes of water pollution:

1. Industrial waste

2. Sewage and waste water

3. Mining activities

4. Marine dumping

5. Accidental Oil leakage

6. Burning of fossil fuels

7. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides

8. Leakage from sewer lines

9. Global warming

10. Radioactive waste

11. Urban development

12. Leakage from the landfills

13. Animal waste

14. Underground storage leakage

Fresh water is naturally occurring water on Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, icebergs, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams.

The definition of freshwater according to The United States Geological Survey is water containing less than 1,000 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids, most often salt.

The water temperature should preferably standard temperature or room temperature for balanced ecology. Hence, it should be preferably less than 25 degree Celsius. 

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). This form of environmental degradation occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds. Agricultural discharges, sewage and other wastes and industrial effluents all cause water pollution.