Major Cause of Water Pollution on Earth
Now talking about what are main causes of this environmental degradation:-
Sewage
The discarding of sewage in lakes, oceans and rivers is a major cause of pollution which cause health problems such as diarrhea. Each year about 3-4 million children are killed by diarrhea. In many countries, the toilet flushed by people is not treated before dumping in sea, which cause 90% of sewage in the sea. This can cause typhoid, cholera and hepatitis.
Wastage by industries
Factories are the main source of pollution that takes clean water from oceans or seas and dispose polluted water back in it. According to statics, around 400 billion tons of wastage are produced every year by industries, and out of this, much amount is discharged untreated in oceans, rivers and seas.
Oil pollution by ships
Ships cause disastrous oil pollution in the ocean by routine shipping due to which aquatic life is effected a lot.
Fertilizers
Insecticides and pesticides used in agriculture also cause pollution. These chemical fertilizers add nutrients to the soil, which can be drained to ocean, river, sea or lake and cause growth of algae. Algae removes oxygen from the water, thus kills aquatic life, and leads to the dead zone.
Chemical wastage
Detergents and soaps used for washing clothes contain toxic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls, sodium lauryl sulfate and more. Heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium are also considered as toxic chemicals which has long-lasting impact on the environment. A true incident that took place a few years ago in which Japanese factory disposes small amount of mercury in the Bay which contaminated the fishes. These fishes were eaten by people and around 1900 were poisoned and hundreds of them were left disabled and dead.
Other cause of pollution
Factories produce Heat pollution, which causes problem in rivers. If the temperature is increased, the amount of oxygen is reduced, thus effecting the aquatic life. Another cause of pollution is plastic which is non-biodegradable in nature, but is most commonly used material. It is not toxic, but plastics can survive 450 years in the ocean, and if dumping of plastic in rivers, lakes or oceans is not controlled then the day is near when we will see water bodies covered with plastic.
In conclusion, though water pollution is everywhere, we should purchase best water purifier for home to avoid health problems.