4 Times Water Contamination Has Destroyed Lives
by Arnab Dey Community and Social Services Published on: 15 June 2022 Last Updated on: 09 November 2024
Our country faces an intense crisis when it comes to water contamination. From fifty years ago to recent times, there have been stories of toxic chemicals found in the drinking water of millions.
Communities have been wiped out entirely by contaminated water sources. And in Flint, children for years drank lead-contaminated water because their government failed them.
Here are four times our country has seen what happens when you fail to protect our nation’s water:
1. Cancer-Causing Chemicals Have Been Found in Water Supplies Across the Country
In the past few years, there have been several health crises related to water contamination. In 2015, a chemical called PFOA was found in many local water supplies across the United States and Canada.
PFOA is used in the manufacturing process of Teflon and other nonstick cookware products, as well as firefighting foam. Research has shown that exposure to these substances can cause adverse effects such as cancer and other health problems in humans.
In addition to PFOA finding its way into our drinking water supplies (and then our bodies), we’ve also been confronted with lead-tainted water systems throughout the country—particularly affecting low-income communities and communities of color—as well as polluted waterways like Flint’s contaminated system that resulted in thousands of residents being exposed to harmful toxins via their tap water during a time when they were unable to afford bottled alternatives or traveling long distances for clean supplies.
2. Camp Lejeune Accute Water Contamination
Over one million people suffered from water contamination in North Carolina Camp Lejeune after being exposed to toxic substances from 1953 to 1987. Right from veterans to children, everyone was affected because of this water.
Moreover, the area is also home to the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF), which provides the services from the Marine Corps with a completely scalable Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) help.
However, fortunately, after all these years, Camp Lejeune Water Contamination lawsuit is fighting for the rights of the members of Camp Lejeune who have suffered from severe health effects because of the toxic water.
3. Coal Sludge And Toxic Chemicals In West Virginia
Contamination can be devastating if a community’s lifeblood is the water they drink and bathe in. Many towns in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and other states have been abandoned because of pollution or bankruptcy caused by it—and those are just the ones we know about.
Even Houston texas is also free from this. The Texas Commission is already found traces of the water contamination in Texas.
Many of these communities were built in coal country to house miners who worked for big companies like Peabody Energy and Massey Energy. These companies used mountains as open dumps for coal sludge and toxic chemicals that leached into local groundwater supplies.
Residents had no choice but to rely on their tap water for drinking and bathing since no other options existed nearby; when this supply became contaminated by heavy metals like arsenic or selenium (which causes deformities), they had nowhere else to go.
The situation was so extreme that some areas developed cancer rates higher than those found among Hiroshima survivors after World War II.
4. Lead-Contaminated Water Crisis In Flint, Michigan
The Flint water contamination crisis began in 2014 when the city decided to switch to a new water source. These decisions were made by local and state officials who were trying to save money, but they ended up causing serious health problems for many people and even death.
The crisis started when the city of Flint decided to stop buying water from Detroit and instead use their own river as a source of drinking water. However, this river had too much iron in it and did not treat its water correctly so that it could be safe for humans.
As a result, children who drank this contaminated water became sick with lead poisoning and other issues related to their bodies being exposed over time for years after exposure continues into adulthood.
We Need to Do More to Protect Our Water From Contamination –
Water is a precious resource, and we need to do more to protect it. More measures should be taken, such as using pressure sensors to measure water quality. Drinking water is essential for life, but if the water has been contaminated, then there is no way you can use it safely.
With an estimated fifteen million Americans having been exposed to unsafe drinking water in the past few years, it’s not only critical but urgent that we do more to protect our water. We need to take action now before another Camp Lejeune, or Flint happens—or worse.
Water Needs to Be Protected –
Earth water’s saturation level is declining. This is the main reason every people on the earth should take the initiatives to avoid water contamination chances. Apart from the water contaminations, the pollutants of the waters are also very dangerous for any living beings.
Water contamination is always directly linked with factory disposals. So better take precautions and save the environment from the contaminated water.
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