Water pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies

(e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). This form ofenvironmental degradation occurs
when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequatetreatment to
remove harmful compounds.
Water pollution affects the entire biosphere plants and organisms living in these bodies of water. In
almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species and population, but also to the
natural biological communities.

Introduction

Pollution in the Lachine Canal, Canada

Water pollution is a major global problem which requires ongoing evaluation and revision of water resource policy at
all levels (international down to individual aquifers and wells). It has been suggested that water pollution is the leading
worldwide cause of deaths and diseases,[1][2] and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily.[2] An
estimated 580 people in India die of water pollution related illness every day. [3] About 90 percent of the water in the
cities of China is polluted.[4] As of 2007, half a billion Chinese had no access to safe drinking water. [5] In addition to the
acute problems of water pollution in developing countries, developed countries also continue to struggle with pollution
problems. For example, in the most recent national report on water quality in the United States, 44 percent of
assessed stream miles, 64 percent of assessed lake acres, and 30 percent of assessed bays and estuarine square
miles were classified as polluted.[6] The head of China's national development agency said in 2007 that one quarter
the length of China's seven main rivers were so poisoned the water harmed the skin.[7]

Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants and either does not
support a human use, such as drinking water, or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic
communities, such as fish. Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and earthquakes also
cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of water.
Causes
The specific contaminants leading to pollution in water include a wide spectrum of chemicals, pathogens, and
physical changes such as elevated temperature and discoloration. While many of the chemicals and substances that
are regulated may be naturally occurring (calcium, sodium, iron, manganese, etc.) the concentration is often the key
in determining what is a natural component of water and what is a contaminant. High concentrations of naturally
occurring substances can have negative impacts on aquatic flora and fauna.

Oxygen-depleting substances may be natural materials such as plant matter (e.g. leaves and grass) as well as man-
made chemicals. Other natural and anthropogenic substances may cause turbidity (cloudiness) which blocks light
and disrupts plant growth, and clogs the gills of some fish species.[11]

Many of the chemical substances are toxic. Pathogens can produce waterborne diseases in either human or animal
hosts.[12] Alteration of water's physical chemistry includes acidity (change in pH), electrical conductivity, temperature,
and eutrophication. Eutrophication is an increase in the concentration of chemical nutrients in an ecosystem to an
extent that increases in the primary productivity of the ecosystem. Depending on the degree of eutrophication,
subsequent negative environmental effects such as anoxia(oxygen depletion) and severe reductions in water quality
may occur, affecting fish and other animal populations.

Organic, inorganic and macroscopic contaminants

Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances.

A garbage collection boom in an urban-area stream in Auckland, New Zealand.

Organic water pollutants include:

Detergents
Disinfection by-products found in chemically disinfected drinking water, such as chloroform
Food processing waste, which can include oxygen-demanding substances, fats and grease
Insecticides and herbicides, a huge range of organohalides and other chemical compounds
Petroleum hydrocarbons, including fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuels, and fuel oil) and lubricants (motor oil),
and fuel combustionbyproducts, from storm water runoff[17]
Volatile organic compounds, such as industrial solvents, from improper storage.
Chlorinated solvents, which are dense non-aqueous phase liquids, may fall to the bottom of reservoirs, since
they don't mix well with water and are denser.
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs)
Trichloroethylene
 Perchlorate
Various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic products
Drug pollution involving pharmaceutical drugs and their metabolites

Macroscopic Pollution in ParksMilwaukee, WI

Inorganic water pollutants include:

Acidity caused by industrial discharges (especially sulfur dioxide from power plants)
Ammonia from food processing waste
Chemical waste as industrial by-products
Fertilizers containing nutrients--nitrates and phosphateswhich are found in storm water runoff from agriculture,
as well as commercial and residential use[17]
Heavy metals from motor vehicles (via urban storm water runoff)[17][18] and acid mine drainage
Silt (sediment) in runoff from construction sites, logging, slash and burn practices or land clearing sites.

Macroscopic pollution large visible items polluting the water may be termed "floatables" in an urban storm water
context, or marine debris when found on the open seas, and can include such items as:

Trash or garbage (e.g. paper, plastic, or food waste) discarded by people on the ground, along with accidental or
intentional dumping of rubbish, that are washed by rainfall into storm drains and eventually discharged into
surface waters
Nurdles, small ubiquitous waterborne plastic pellets
Shipwrecks, large derelict ships.

Transport and chemical reactions of water pollutants

See also: Marine pollution

Most water pollutants are eventually carried by rivers into the oceans. In some areas of the world the influence can be
traced one hundred miles from the mouth by studies using hydrology transport models. Advanced computer
models such as SWMM or the DSSAM Modelhave been used in many locations worldwide to examine the fate of
pollutants in aquatic systems. Indicator filter feeding species such ascopepods have also been used to study pollutant
fates in the New York Bight, for example. The highest toxin loads are not directly at the mouth of the Hudson River,
but 100 km (62 mi) south, since several days are required for incorporation into planktonic tissue. The Hudson
discharge flows south along the coast due to the coriolis force. Further south are areas of oxygen depletion caused
by chemicals using up oxygen and by algae blooms, caused by excess nutrients from algal cell death and
decomposition. Fish and shellfish kills have been reported, because toxins climb the food chain after small fish
consume copepods, then large fish eat smaller fish, etc. Each successive step up the food chain causes a cumulative
concentration of pollutants such as heavy metals (e.g. mercury) and persistent organic pollutants such as DDT. This
is known as bio-magnification, which is occasionally used interchangeably with bio-accumulation.

A polluted river draining an abandoned copper mine on Anglesey

Large gyres (vortexes) in the oceans trap floating plastic debris. The North Pacific Gyre, for example, has collected
the so-called "Great Pacific Garbage Patch", which is now estimated to be one hundred times the size of Texas.
Plastic debris can absorb toxic chemicals from ocean pollution, potentially poisoning any creature that eats it. [22] Many
of these long-lasting pieces wind up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals. This results in obstruction of
digestive pathways, which leads to reduced appetite or even starvation.

Many chemicals undergo reactive decay or chemical change, especially over long periods of time
in groundwater reservoirs. A noteworthy class of such chemicals is the chlorinated hydrocarbons such
as trichloroethylene (used in industrial metal degreasing and electronics manufacturing) andtetrachloroethylene used
in the dry cleaning industry. Both of these chemicals, which are carcinogens themselves, undergo partial
decomposition reactions, leading to new hazardous chemicals (including dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride).

Groundwater pollution is much more difficult to abate than surface pollution because groundwater can move great
distances through unseenaquifers. Non-porous aquifers such as clays partially purify water of bacteria by simple
filtration (adsorption and absorption), dilution, and, in some cases, chemical reactions and biological activity;
however, in some cases, the pollutants merely transform to soil contaminants. Groundwater that moves through
open fractures and caverns is not filtered and can be transported as easily as surface water. In fact, this can be
aggravated by the human tendency to use natural sinkholes as dumps in areas of karst topography.

There are a variety of secondary effects stemming not from the original pollutant, but a derivative condition. An
example is silt-bearing surface runoff, which can inhibit the penetration of sunlight through the water column,
hampering photosynthesis in aquatic plants.

What are the properties and dangers of water pollutants?

Many different chemicals are regarded as pollutants, ranging from simple inorganic ions to complex organic
molecules.
The water pollutants are all divided up into various classes. Every class of pollutants has its own specific ways of
entering the environment and its own specific dangers. All classes have major pollutants in it that are known to many
people, because of the various health effects.
Organic pollutants

Organic compounds are compounds that consist of long bonds, usually made up of carbon. Many organic compounds are basic fabrics o
Molecules built of carbon and of carbon and hydrogen are non-polair and have little to no water solubility. They have little to no electrical
The behaviour of organic compounds is dependent upon their molecular structure, size and shape and the presence of functional groups
determinants of toxicity.
It is important to know the structure of organic compounds, in order to predict their fate in living organisms and the environment. The org
are dangerous to the environment are all man-made and have only existed during the last century.

There are many different types of organic pollutants, examples are:

- Hydrocarbons. These are carbon-hydrogen bonds. They can be divided up into two classes, the first being single-
bonded alkanes, double bonded alkenes and triple bonded alkynes (gasses or liquids) and the second being aromatic
hydrocarbons, which contain ring structures (liquids or solids). Aromatic hydrocarbons such as PAH's are much more
reactive than any of the first class kinds of hydrocarbons.
- PCB's are stable and unreactive fluids that are used as hydraulic fluids, coolant/ insulation fluids in transformers and
plasticizers in paints. There are many different PCB's. None of them are water-soluble. In many countries PCB's are
restricted.
- Insecticides such as DDT's are very dangerous because they accumulate in fat tissues of lower animals and then
enter the food chain. They have been restricted for decades.
- Detergents. These can be both polair and non-polair.

Take also a look at detergents in freshwater and organic pollution in freshwater

Inorganic fertilizers

Some inorganic pollutants are not particularly toxic, but are still a danger to the environment because they are used
so extensively. These include fertilizers, such as nitrates and phosphates. Nitrates and phosphates cause algal
blooms in surface water, which causes the oxygen level of the water to decline. This causes oxygen starvation
because of the uptake of oxygen by microrganisms that brake down algae. This is called eutrophication.

Metals

The first class we will refer to here is metals. Metals are good conductors of electricity and generally enter chemical
reactions as positive ions, known as cations. Metals are natural substances that have consisted through weathering
of ore bodies, where they were deposited during volcanic action. They can be relocated into situations where they
can cause serious environmental damage. Examples of metals are: lead, zinc, manganese, calcium and potassium.
They can be found in surface waters in their stable ionic forms. Unnatural metals can be very dangerous, because
they often come from man-made nuclear reactions and can be strongly radioactive.
Metals can react to dangerous products with other ions. They are often involved in electron transfer reactions
involving oxygen. This can lead to the formation of toxic oxyradicals.
Metals can form metalloids and then bond to organic compounds to form lipophilic substances that are often highly
toxic and can be stored in the fat-supply of animals and humans. Metals can also bond to cellular macromolecules in
the human body.
Heavy metals are the most dangerous metals. They have a density greater than 5 and are therefore called heavy.
Metals cannot be broken down into less harmful components, as they are non-biodegradable. The only chance
organisms have against metals is to store them in body tissues where they cannot do any harm.
Organisms need metals, as they are essential for their health and are usually essential components of enzymes.

Radioactive isotopes

The half-lives and the ways of decay of radioactive isotopes determine how dangerous they are to humans. Humans
create all radioactive isotopes in the nuclear industry. There are still debates going on about whether the benefits of
nuclear power exceed the dangers of radioactive radiation. When an atom of a radioactive substance decays, it can
produce four kinds of particles: alpha, beta, gamma and neutrons.
Alpha particles can only travel a short distance through air and human tissues, but they can be very damaging if they
collide with cells because of their large mass. They are positively charged.
Beta particles are more penetrating, but they do much less damage than alpha particles. They are negatively
charged.
Gamma rays are highly penetrating. Their damage is similar to that of beta rays.
Neutrons are liberated through radiation and react with other elements through collision. They are the basis for
nuclear fission in a reactor.
The radioactivity of a substance is measured in bequerels, but this does not express the amount of tissue damage
the radiation causes. That is why the amount of radiation causing 1 kg of tissue to absorb 1 joule of energy is now
expressed in grays. Different kinds of radiation can do different kinds of damage, because the energy is imparted into
tissues in different ways. This is expressed in sieverts. An amount of alpha radiation can do twenty times the damage
of the same amount of beta radiation. Radioactive matter has to be held in storage for different periods of time, in
order to erase the danger. How long it has to be stored depends upon the half-life of the isotopes; the time taken for
half of the atoms of a radioactive isotope to decay.

What are the specific ways through which water pollutants enter the
environment?
Discharge of sewage water represents a mayor global source of pollution. Domestic and industrial wastes are
discharged unto surface water through sewage systems. In some cases industrial waste is released directly unto
surface water. The quality of sewage water that enters the surface water depends upon the pollutants that are
present in the sewage water and the extend to which it is treated before it is brought in contact with surface water.
Domestic sewage water mainly consists of paper, soap, urine, faeces and detergents. Industrial wastes are varied
and depend upon the specific processes of the plants that they origin from.
Heavy metals are associated with mining and smelting operations, chlorophenols and fungicides with pulp mills,
insecticides with mothproofing factories, several different organic chemicals with the chemical industry and
radioactive substances with nuclear power plants.
On land the releases of industrial waste are closely controlled, but offshore oil and manganese extraction lead to
direct discharge of pollutants into the seas. Radioactive waste is dumped into the sea in large concrete barrels to
decay, but often the barrels will start to have defects after a while. Representatives of factories often ship waste onto
sea to dump it illegally, because it is very expensive to have their water purified.
Oil is released into the sea through oil tankers and shipwrecks and pesticides are applied to water to control aquatic
pests. Paints on boats will decay during long trips on the ocean and will eventually end up in the water.
During the growth period of crops nitrates and phosphates are absorbed by plants, but when the plants die they are
released from dead plant material into the soil and will often end up in surface water.
Except for the deliberate causes of surface water pollution, pollutants can also enter the water environment
accidentally, for instance through atmospheric deposition. Pesticides can enter surface water easily this way,
because they are applied as droplets or sprays. Pollutants present on land can enter surface water through heavy
rainfall or infiltrate into the soil and enter surface waters through groundwater.
The effects of pollutants are noticed mostly in small inland seas and lakes. This is because the oceans have a natural
dilution system for incoming pollutants, whereas lakes have no effective outlet. Due to this, much depends upon the
rate of degradation and precipitation that will remove the pollutants from water.

How are pollutants transported through water?

Pollutants can exist in water in different states. They can be dissolved or they can be in suspension, which means
that they exist in the form of droplets or particles. Pollutants can also be dissolved in droplets or absorbed by
particles. All states of pollutants can travel great distances through water in many different ways.
Particulate matter may fall to the bottom of streams and lakes or rise to the surface, depending on its density. This
means that it mostly remains on the same location when the water does not flow very fast. In rivers, pollutants usually
travel great distances. The distance they travel depends upon the stability and physical state of the pollutant and the
speed of flow of the river. Pollutants can travel farthest when they are in solution in a river that is fast flowing. The
concentrations on one site are then generally low, but the pollutant can be detected on many more sites than when it
would not have been so easily transported.
In lakes and oceans pollutants are transported through currents. There are many currents in the oceans, which are
wind-driven. This enables a pollutant to travel from one continent to another.
We usually count on the ability of the oceans to reduce pollutants in concentration, the so-called 'self-cleaning ability'
of oceans. But this does not always work, because the movement of the currents in the oceans is not uniform. This
causes inshore waters to often have substantially higher levels of pollution than the open sea.
When persistent pollutants accumulate in fish or sea birds they cannot only become a toxic danger to aquatic food
chains, they can also travel great distances within these animals and end up in the food chains of non-polluted areas.

Which factors determine the movement and distribution of pollutants in

water?
Physical processes determine the movement of chemicals within water; movement depends upon properties of the
chemicals themselves and properties of the water. These processes will be overviewed here.

Water is a polar liquid. This means that the oxygen atom in a water molecule attracts the electrons of
the hydrogen atoms, so that these develop partial positive charges. The oxygen atom gets a partial negative charge,
through which it can attract atoms of other water molecules to form hydrogen bonds. In non-polar compounds, such
as hydrocarbons, there is hardly any charge separation and consequently t hey do not dissolve in water.
Water tends to form aggregates in which four other molecules surround each water molecule. Cations and anions
have an affinity for the parts of water that carry an opposite charge, so that the water aggregates are disrupted and
the ions dissolve. Many organic salts and polar organic compounds are water-soluble, but non-polar organic liquids
are not.
From this we can conclude, that molecules that can perform charge separation can easily dissolve in water, whereas
molecules that do not have charges are not very water-soluble.
A consequence of polarity is the hydrophobic effect. In the process of forming aggregates with charged molecules
water actively excludes non-polar substances. This leads to the formation of phospholipid bilayers, which contribute
to the movement of hydrophobic pollutants though membranes.
The level of hydrophobicity is determined by the water/ octanol partition coefficient. The concentration of a compound
in octanol is divided through the concentration in water. The higher the number that results from this calculation, the
more hydrophobic the compound in question is.

Whether a compound remains in the water is also determined by its vapour pressure. Vapour pressure means the
tendency of a liquid or solid to volatilise. Vapour pressure increases when temperatures rise, as surface molecules I
ncrease in kinetic energy. Then more molecules in a watery solution have the tendency to vaporize, which means
they are no longer in solution.

The partition of the chemical between different environmental compartments air, water and soil is another important
factor. The escaping tendency or 'fugacity' of a substance determines the movement from one compartment to
another.

Molecular stability is a factor that determines the time a chemical remains in the environment and the distances it can
travel. In the environment chemical and biochemical processes, such as hydrolyses and oxidation, break down
chemicals. The break down is not only determined by the stability of the chemical, but also by the environmental
factors temperature, level of solar radiation, pH and nature of absorbing surface. For instance, the pH of water
determines the water-solubility of metals. Sometimes biotransformation of a compound in the environment during
break down is not very positive, because it can lead to increased toxicity of a chemical.

How do organisms respond to water pollutants?

When pollution enters the body of an organism it causes a variety of changes. These changes can either serve to
protect the organism against harmful effects or not.
The first response of an organism to pollutants is to bring a protective mechanism into action. In most cases these
mechanisms maintain the detoxification of pollutants, but in some cases they produce active substances that can
cause more damage to the cell than the original pollutant.
Another response is to reduce the availability of pollutants by binding them to another molecule, to excrete or store
them.
Next to protective mechanisms an organism can also bring a mechanism into action that repairs damage caused by
pollutants.
Responds to toxicity and the uptake of pollutants not only depends upon the pollutant that enters the organisms body,
but also upon the kind of organism in question.

What general effects can water pollutants have on organisms?

Water pollutants can have many different effects on organisms, always depending on the pollutant and the organism
in question. Here the general effects a pollutant can have are discussed.

Genotoxicity

Many compounds that enter the body of an organism are known to cause damage to DNA. These compounds are
called genotoxins, due to their genotoxic effect.
Usually when pollutants damage DNA a natural repair system in an organism will return it to its usual state, but when
this goes wrong for any particular reason cells with damaged DNA can divide. Mutant cells are than produced and the
defect can spread, causing the offspring of the organism in question to have serious defects that are often very
damaging to their health.
Examples of genotoxins are PAH's, aflatoxin and vinyl chloride.
In all of these genotoxins it is not the original compound that reacts with DNA, for this is relatively stable. Highly
reactive short-lived products produced from the original compound by enzymes usually cause the reactions.

Carcinogenity

Several pollutants are carcinogenic, which means they can induce cancer in the body of humans and animals.
Carcinogenic pollutants are pollutants that play a role in one or more of the stages of cancer development in an
organism.
Pollutants can be inductors; this means that they introduce cancer-forming properties in the cells of an organism.
They can also be promoters, which means that they promote the growth of cells that have cancer-forming properties.
Finally, they can be progressors, which means that they stimulate unrestrained division and spreading of cancer cells.
When one of these substances is absent cancer cannot be induced.
When cancer cells are malignant, they can spread through the human body rapidly, causing defects to healthy cells
and immunity mechanisms. They will destroy normal body cells and cause cancer in organs and systems.

Neurotoxicity

The nervous system of organisms is very sensitive to toxic effects of chemicals, both naturally occurring and man-
made. Chemicals that cause neurological effects are called neurotoxins. Examples of dangerous neurotoxins are
insecticides.
Neurotoxins all somehow disturb the normal transmission of impulses along nerves or across synapses.
The consequences of neurotoxicity are varied. They can be uncoordinated muscular tremors and convulsions,
malfunction of nerves and transmissions, dizziness and depression, or even total malfunction of body parts.
Neurotoxicity can be so serious, that synapses are blocked. Synaptic block causes death as a result of paralysis of
the diaphragm muscles and respiratory failure.

Disturbance of energy transfer

Energy transformation in organisms is done through mitochondria systems in the cells. On the mitochondrion ATP-
molecules are produced, which transfer energy through the body of an organism. When ATP production is disturbed
the energy transfer will cease. This will make an organism tired and lifeless and unable to function normally.

Reproductive failure

Pollutants that cause reproductive failure due to damage to the reproductive organs are called endocrine disruptors.
There are several ways in which a pollutant can act as an endocrine disruptor.
The first is an oestrogenic chemical. This is a chemical that can imitate an oestrogen by binding to the oestrogen
receptor. This results in the induction of oestrogenic processes, causing an organism to experience reproductive
failure due to a disturbance in the reproductive system.
An oestrogenic chemical can also block the effects of endogenous oestrogens by binding to the oestrogenic receptor.
This causes masculization of female organisms.
It is also possible that female reproductive chemicals are found in male organisms. This causes hermaphrodites.
Imposex has been widely reported in marine organisms, for instance with dog whelks by tributyl tin.
Another series of problems is caused when chemicals block the hormone receptor sites. In this case, the normal
action of the hormone is inhibited, as it cannot react with the receptor. This can cause infertility when it occurs over a
longer period of time.

Behavioural effects

All behaviours are vulnerable to alteration by pollutants. Foraging levels can deplete, resulting in reduced production.
Vulnerability to predators can increase, due to a depletion of vigilance. In these ways, effects of pollutants on
behaviour result in lowered production and higher mortality rates.
A common result of pollution is a loss of appetite and thus less uptake of food. Searching for preys can also be
affected, due to effects of pollutants on learning, search strategy and sensory systems.
These behavioural effects cause lower chances of survival of organisms, mainly animals.

One property of pollutants that should always be kept in mind is their possibility to interact with one another. Chemical
reactions that cause pollutants to combine can reduce their overall chemical effect, but can also increase it, making a
pollutant even more dangerous to organisms.
How is toxicity of water pollutants tested with aquatic animals?
Toxicity of chemicals in water can be tested with aquatic animals as indicators. Toxicity tests with aquatic animals are
mainly concerned with direct uptake from water. The chemicals may be in solution, in suspension or both.
To determine values for lethal concentrations organisms are exposed to different concentrations. When an effect
occurs the effect-concentration of the chemical is noted. When the test-animal dies the lethal concentration is noted.
This way the toxicity of a chemical is determined in a laboratory. When many of the test animals die at low
concentrations of a chemical it means that the chemical in question is very toxic. When we know how toxic a
chemical is, we also know the effects of this chemical when a certain concentration is present at a location.
The toxicity of a chemical for certain aquatic organisms depends upon the present concentration of the chemical and
the time of exposure to the chemical. The time of exposure to a chemical during a toxicity test depends upon the test
animals that are being used. Daphnia are often used for certain toxicity tests. These tests commonly take only 24 to
48 hours. By contrast, fish toxicity tests take longer, usually four days up to a week.
Data of such chemical toxicity tests not only show how toxic a certain chemical is, they also give an indication of the
toxicity of a chemical in relation to other chemicals. Not all toxicity tests work to lethal end-points; sometimes a
change in behaviour of an aquatic animal is the indicator of toxicity of a certain chemical.
Toxicity tests are influenced by both the properties of the chemical and the properties of the test organism. The
availability of the chemical to the test organism is always an important factor, because the toxicity of a chemical
declines when it is not readily available to a test organism.
Laboratories can also perform toxicity tests for chemicals present in water sediment nowadays.

A fish toxicity testing system

toxic ions hazard of irrigation water

 For water terminology check out our Water Glossary or go back to water FAQ overview

For toxicity testing and toxicity responses from aquatic life check out toxicity to aquatic organism