scholarly journals Estimation of the Discharge of Sunscreens in Aquatic Environments of the Mexican Caribbean

Environments ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Armando Casas-Beltran ◽  
Miguel Hernández-Pedraza ◽  
Jesús Alvarado-Flores
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Karst Aquifer ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Quintana Roo ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Mexican Caribbean

Tourist growth in Quintana Roo, Mexico has brought with it an increase of pollution by sunscreens to aquatic ecosystems, which represents an environmental risk because of the chemical components of sunscreens that can negatively affect human health and aquatic ecosystems. However, the magnitude of pollution in aquatic environments is unknown. Consequently, we sought to estimate the contamination by sunscreens based on usage and tourism statistics. Our estimate indicates that the water in Quintana Roo will receive nearly 4367.25 tons of chemicals from sunscreens used by residents and tourists over a period of 18 years (2007 to 2025). On average, each tourist stays in Quintana Roo for 3.45 days, and 89.9% of these visitors apply sunscreen, although only the 83.7% engage in water activities. Additionally, 30.4% of residents engage in water activities for an average of 1.5 days/year. We considered direct sunscreen contaminant contamination, which occurs from the application of sunscreen and subsequent water activities, as well as indirect contamination, which occurs when people wash their skin with drinking water that then enters the drainage system. Our analysis indicated that the greatest contribution of sunscreen to the karst aquifer of Quintana Roo, is direct. Chemicals dissolved in water are a danger to aquatic life and human health.

A Review of Emerging Contaminants in Water

2020 ◽  
pp. 177-202
Author(s):  
Alexandros I. Stefanakis ◽  
Julie A. Becker
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Emerging Contaminants ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Contaminants Of Emerging Concern ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Introduction Pathways ◽  
Analytical Instrumentation ◽  
Surface And Groundwater

Contaminants of emerging concern or, simply, emerging contaminants represent a newly discovered group of chemicals present in surface and groundwater. It was only the improvements in analytical instrumentation that allowed for the detection of these contaminants even at trace levels. The continuous detection of new chemicals with time raises questions concerning their source pathways, their fate, transport, transformations and impact on aquatic environments. The scope of this chapter is to present an overview of the contaminants classified as “emerging”, their sources and introduction pathways to the environment and the related risks to human health and aquatic life.

A Review of Emerging Contaminants in Water

2015 ◽  
pp. 55-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros I. Stefanakis ◽  
Julie A. Becker
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Emerging Contaminants ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Contaminants Of Emerging Concern ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Introduction Pathways ◽  
Analytical Instrumentation ◽  
Surface And Groundwater

Contaminants of emerging concern or, simply, emerging contaminants represent a newly discovered group of chemicals present in surface and groundwater. It was only the improvements in analytical instrumentation that allowed for the detection of these contaminants even at trace levels. The continuous detection of new chemicals with time raises questions concerning their source pathways, their fate, transport, transformations and impact on aquatic environments. The scope of this chapter is to present an overview of the contaminants classified as “emerging”, their sources and introduction pathways to the environment and the related risks to human health and aquatic life.

scholarly journals Microplastics in Aquatic Environments: Sources, Ecotoxicity, Detection & Remediation

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 3407-3428
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Hazardous Substances ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Aquatic Contamination ◽  
Treatment Technologies ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Industrial Level

Microplastic pollutants are increasingly posing a significant threat of aquatic contamination and causing various adverse effects on the aquatic environment as well as human health. Microplastics are hazardous chemicals to marine and freshwater ecosystems; therefore, it is becoming a severe concern for ecology. Microplastics can also expose via drinking water and can be vulnerable to all living organisms. Microplastics work as carriers for various toxic components such as additives and other hazardous substances from industrial and urbanized areas. These microplastic contaminated effluents are ultimately transferred into water systems and directly ingested by organisms associated with a particular ecosystem. The microplastics components also pose an indirect threat to aquatic ecosystems by adsorbing surrounding other water pollutants. Due to the luxuriant discharge of billion tons of plastic waste from domestic to industrial level every year, degraded microplastics get accumulated in various aquatic systems, contaminate, and introduce into the food chain. This review mainly focuses on occurrence, factors influencing the release of microplastics into aquatic ecosystems, possible impact of these toxic micro-sized particles on human health and aquatic life. This study also briefly discusses removing microplastics from effluent and water systems using different advanced final-stage treatment technologies.

scholarly journals Heavy Metal Accumulation in Rice and Aquatic Plants Used as Human Food: A General Review

Toxics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 360
Author(s):  
Mohammad Main Uddin ◽  
Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zakeel ◽  
Junaida Shezmin Zavahir ◽  
Faiz M. M. T. Marikar ◽  
Israt Jahan
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Aquatic Plants ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Metal Accumulation ◽  
Heavy Metal Accumulation ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Aquatic Environments

Aquatic ecosystems are contaminated with heavy metals by natural and anthropogenic sources. Whilst some heavy metals are necessary for plants as micronutrients, others can be toxic to plants and humans even in trace concentrations. Among heavy metals, cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) cause significant damage to aquatic ecosystems and can invariably affect human health. Rice, a staple diet of many nations, and other aquatic plants used as vegetables in many countries, can bioaccumulate heavy metals when they grow in contaminated aquatic environments. These metals can enter the human body through food chains, and the presence of heavy metals in food can lead to numerous human health consequences. Heavy metals in aquatic plants can affect plant physicochemical functions, growth, and crop yield. Various mitigation strategies are being continuously explored to avoid heavy metals entering aquatic ecosystems. Understanding the levels of heavy metals in rice and aquatic plants grown for food in contaminated aquatic environments is important. Further, it is imperative to adopt sustainable management approaches and mitigation mechanisms. Although narrowly focused reviews exist, this article provides novel information for improving our understanding about heavy metal accumulation in rice and aquatic plants, addressing the gaps in literature.

Changes in Aquatic Lives Due to Changes in Environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
MOHAMMED ABU-DIEYEH
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Large Fish ◽  
Primary Producers ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Water Ph ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
World Environment

Currently, the world environment is changing more rapidly than at any other time. These changes have immense effects on aquatic life forms, from microscopic plankton to large fish (1). Some of the relevant stressors, amongst many, are temperature, salinity, and water pH, all of which are variables that directly impact living organisms present in the concerned aquatic environments (2). Scientists have found a correlation with physiological, morphological, and molecular changes in living organisms due to environmental fluctuations. In any aquatic ecosystem, photosynthetic primary producers are the basis of other life forms, and it is now established that environmental change has many detrimental effects on these primary producers; thus aquatic ecosystems. For example, increasing temperatures can reduce the productivity, cell size, and overall growth of many aquatic organisms, also a significant cause for coral bleaching (3,4).

Effect of H2S on Corrosion in Polluted Waters

2010 ◽  
Vol 95 ◽  
pp. 33-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarito Quintero-Núñez ◽  
Benjamin Valdez ◽  
Michael Schorr
Keyword(s):  
Water Pollution ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Hydrogen Sulfide ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Polluted Waters

There is a deep universal concern today about the influence of pollutants on the environment including soil, air and in particular water, and about their effects on the durability of engineering materials and the deterioration of structures and the infrastructure. Water pollutants affect the terrestrial, atmospheric and aquatic environments, and even when present at very low levels of a few ppm may impair human health, aquatic life and water quality. The avoidance of water pollution is, therefore, an important part of water resource management. The present work provides an overview of the effects of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on corrosion in polluted waters, including sea, river, brackish, geothermal and sewage waters.

scholarly journals Survey of Sachet Water Waste Disposal in Liberia

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chikamso C. Apeh
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Daily Consumption ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Water Waste ◽  
Sachet Water

Background. Five hundred milliliter bags of water, referred to as ‘sachet water,’ are widely used in Liberia, as they are low cost, safe sources of clean drinking water for the population. Objectives. This study aims to determine sources of drinking water in the study area, the rate of sachet water use, empty sachet water disposal methods and environmental problems associated with sachet water waste disposal. Methods. Using a simple random sampling technique, 257 respondents were interviewed between April and June 2018 using structured questionnaires. On a five-point Likert scale with a mean score of 3 as the cutoff point, data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results. The paper found that sachet water (mean (M)=4.37) is an essential source of drinking water in Liberia with a daily consumption rate of at least 6 bags of sachet water per individual. Affordability, availability, and safety were named by respondents as reasons for their consumption of sachet water. Improper disposal methods practiced by the residents of Liberia included ground littering (M=3.42) and burning (M=3.03). Conclusions. Sachet water consumption has contributed to environmental issues such as drainage system clogs, littering of the environment, the death of terrestrial and aquatic animals due to plastic waste consumption, reduction of oxygen for aquatic life and soil infertility. We recommend the creation of policies and enforcement of sachet water production to include reuse and recycling of sachet water by-products as a requirement for licensing of producers, provision of adequate waste bins and the use of public education campaigns to educate residents on environmental best practices. Ethics Approval. This study was approved by the Institute for Population Studies, University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia. Informed Consent. Obtained Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Water Quality and Health

1991 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 201-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Kreisel
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Wastewater Reuse ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Minimum Quality Standards ◽  
Quality Guidelines

Water quality can affect human health in various ways: through breeding of vectors, presence of pathogenic protozoa, helminths, bacteria and viruses, or through inorganic and organic chemicals. While traditional concern has been with pathogens and gastro-intestinal diseases, chemical pollutants in drinking-water supplies have in many instances reached proportions which affect human health, especially in cases of chronic exposure. Treatment of drinking-water, often grossly inadequate in developing countries, is the last barrier of health protection, but control at source is more effective for pollution control. Several WHO programmes of the International Drinking-Water Supply and Sanitation Decade have stimulated awareness of the importance of water quality in public water supplies. Three main streams have been followed during the eighties: guidelines for drinking-water quality, guidelines for wastewater reuse and the monitoring of freshwater quality. Following massive investments in the community water supply sector to provide people with adequate quantities of drinking-water, it becomes more and more important to also guarantee minimum quality standards. This has been recognized by many water and health authorities in developing countries and, as a result, WHO cooperates with many of them in establishing water quality laboratories and pollution control programmes.

scholarly journals Technologies Developing in Heavy Metals’ Removal from Water

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 860
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Simeonidis ◽  
Manassis Mitrakas
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Urban Wastewater ◽  
Heavy Metals Removal ◽  
Metals Removal ◽  
Drinking Water Resources

Elevated concentrations of heavy metals in drinking water resources and industrial or urban wastewater pose a serious threat to human health and the equilibrium of ecosystems [...]

scholarly journals Persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) and very persistent and very mobile (vPvM) substances pose an equivalent level of concern to persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) and very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) substances under REACH

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Hale ◽  
Hans Peter H. Arp ◽  
Ivo Schliebner ◽  
Michael Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Regulatory Decision ◽  
Drinking Water Resources ◽  
Trade Name ◽  
Chemicals Regulation ◽  
Range Transport ◽  
High Concern ◽  
Level Of Concern

Abstract Background Under the EU chemicals regulation REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals EC 1907/2006), registrants are not obliged to provide information related to intrinsic substance properties for substances that pose a threat to the drinking water resources. In 2019, perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-2-(heptafluoropropoxy)-propanoic acid (HFPO-DA trade name GenX) were demonstrated to have an equivalent level of concern (ELoC) to persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic or very persistent and very bioaccumulative (PBT/vPvB) substances owing to their persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) substance properties and very persistent and very mobile (vPvM) substance properties, respectively. They were both subsequently identified as substances of very high concern (SVHC) applying Article 57(f) in REACH. This work follows up on this regulatory decision by presenting a science based, conceptual level comparison that all PMT/vPvM substances pose an ELoC to PBT/vPvB substances. Using the two cases named above, as well as 1,4-dioxane, 16 categories were developed to evaluate a) serious effects on human health, b) serious effects on the environment and c) additional effects. 1,4-dioxane has recently been proposed to be classified as Carcinogenic 1B by the Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC). The aim was to enable an objective and scientifically justified conclusion that these classes of substances have an equivalent level of concern for the environment and human health. Results In all of the categories related to human health, the environment and other effects, the PMT/vPvM case study substances exhibited comparable effects to PBT/vPvB substances. A difference in the human and environmental exposure pathways of PMT/vPvM and PBT/vPvB substances exists as they vary temporally and spatially. However, effects and impacts are similar, with PMT/vPvM substances potentially accumulating in (semi-)closed drinking water cycles and pristine aquatic environments, and PBT/vPvB substances accumulating in humans and the food chain. Both PMT/vPvM and PBT/vPvB substances share the common difficulty that long term and long-range transport and risk of exposure is very difficult to determine in advance and with sufficient accuracy. Conclusion The registration process of substances under REACH should reflect that PMT/vPvM substances pose an equivalent level of concern to PBT/vPvB substances.

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