Safe Drinking Water - Assignment Example

1 As a member of the Risk-Benefit Analysis board, I will disapprove the use of asbestos, DDT and Chlorination of water. Although these help industries in our society, the harm they cause is still far more serious and long-lasting than any of their advantages. Asbestos used to be an important industrial material. It could be found in paint and duct work because it is fire-resistant and flexible. It can be found in soil or rocks and used for a wide range of manufacturing goods. (Definition of Asbestos, 2001) “In fact, asbestos has more than 3000 known uses, including brake linings, fireproof fabrics, and heat insulators.” (Monroe, J. & Wicander, R., 2009) However, it has been discovered to be dangerous to humans. The British Rail in 1967 made it public that it would cease to use asbestos insulation because of the danger to workmen. (Tweedale, G. & et. al., 2000) Asbestos, which is made up of six different fibrous materials that mainly affect the lungs, causes cancer. Because exposure to asbestos could slowly kill humans, “the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned the use of various asbestos-containing products during 1970s and 1980s. In 1989 the EPA announced a ban on all asbestos products by 1996.” (Alters & Schiff, 2006) Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane or DDT, as it is most commonly called, is a synthetic pesticide. Renowned author and environmentalist Rachel Carson refers to DDT as a toxic chemical in her book, Silent Spring. As Carson (2002) states, “one of the most sinister features of DDT and related chemicals is the way they are passed on from one organism to another through all the links of the food chains.” Although there are no definite examples of human fatality due to ingestion of DDT, illness has been manifested with a dosage of 10mg/kg. (Assembly of Life Sciences, 1977) DDT has not always been a threat. Initially, DDT was of great importance As a matter of fact, it was considered “a great importance to all, both in helping to win the war and improving the country’s health after the war is over.” (Simmons, J., 2008) Discovered to cause paralysis in insects, DDT was used to treat lice in military men. After Geigy Colour Company, Ltd. of Switzerland introduced its effective DDT-based insecticide, Gesarol, American investigators brought it to the USA to be developed and distributed for use against insect-borne disease during World War II. (McCallum, J.E., 2008) Continued use of DDT-based pesticides, however have resulted to health problems for people and danger to the environment. DDT was banned in New Jersey in 1968 and in the United States in 1972 because of its disastrous impacts on the environment. (Liguori, S., 2003) DDT has also become a threat to humans as it is passed on to people through the air and the food exposed to any DDT-based pesticide. Similarly to the effect of asbestos, the benefits to do not compensate for the risks involved. Chlorine is a disinfectant added to drinking water which greatly reduces the risk of waterborne diseases. (Healthy Living, n.d.) Adding chlorine when treating water has been a long-time practice. A little amount of chlorine does not present any danger to a person’s health. It has been discovered, however, that “the levels of chlorine in drinking water today can be quite high, and some by-products of chlorine are known carcinogens.” (Balch, P., 2006) A direct connection between cancer and chlorine has been discovered by a joint study between the Medical College of Wisconsin and Harvard University. (Anderson, et. al., 1993) Truly, chlorine in drinking water is supposed to make people healthier. With this new development linking chlorine to cancer, other ways of treating water as efficiently as chlorine needs to be researched. As such, I am recommending disapproval of the use of chlorinated water. If chlorinated water would be a necessity, addition of chlorine during treatment of water should be closely monitored so as to avoid long-term effects such as cancer. 2a.) For Canadians, drinking water comes from groundwater, bottled water and the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Ontario. “More than 30% of the Canadian population relies on groundwater as their drinking water source.” (Lesage, S., 2005) This can come from wells and/or watersheds. Bottled water, which is packaged and sealed water, have become another alternative as a water supply. However, it needs to “meet the Canadian health and safety standards” (Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2005) before distributed for consumption. The channels connecting Canada’s Great Lakes – Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario – also affect the water supply of the country. These have even triggered controversy as some politicians and private companies suggested exporting water from the lakes. The lakes “hold an estimated 6 quadrillion gallons of water, about one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water supply and nine-tenths of the U.S.” (Great Lakes, 2009) For Toronto, the first public water supply came from a private company. Later on, the supply came from the City of Toronto administration. Now, Toronto gets its supply of drinking water from Lake Ontario. Raw water from the lake is filtered, treated and converted into safe drinkable water. 2b.) According to the Toronto Water website (n.d.), there are several steps before lake water becomes drinkable water. First, the pipes in Lake Ontario collect the raw water and send it to treatment plants. At the plants, travelling screens are used to remove large objects and chlorine is subsequently added to kills microorganisms. Next, alum is added to make small particles clump together. “Flocs”, larger clumps made from alum and other chemicals, fall to the settling basin and the cleaner water is now sent to filtration. Filtration is when graded gravel and fine sand removes any other impurities and the carbon removes chemicals in water that produce taste and odor. After the filtration process, safe levels of chlorine are added again to kill any remaining bacteria. Fluoride and ammonia is added to prevent cavities and to further stabilize the chlorine and keep the water safe, respectively. 2.c.) Beaches in Toronto are usually tested for E. coli bacteria which come from human and animal waste and can cause ear, nose, and throat infections, as well as upset stomach, skin rashes and diarrhea. (Information about beaches testing, n.d.) When bacteria levels rise beyond government standards, beaches are closed to swimming or warnings are posted. (Keating, M., 2003) Toronto Public Health will issue a warning against swimming if bacteria levels are over 100 E. coli per 100 ml. of water tested on two or more consecutive days. At some beaches, particularly those affected by rivers and creeks, a 24-hour ‘no swimming advisory’ may be issued after a heavy rainfall. (Beach E. Coli levels, n.d.) 2.d.) The Ontario government monitors contaminants in fish in Ontario waters, including the Great Lakes and provides consumption information to the public through The Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish. (Keating, M., 2003) Inasmuch as the Great Lakes have been polluted by heavy metals and chemicals as over the years, the government has advised the public to be careful in choosing fish to eat. Even if there has been a decrease in the level of toxic chemicals, pollution still comes from other sources such as industrial plants and the like. 2.e.) I think in any country, the price of tap water is cheaper than bottled water. The price of tap water is $2.0616/m³ or $2.0616 for 2061.6 L. For 1000 liters, tap water is at $2.1701. If the water bill is not paid before the due date of the bill then it becomes $2.1701 / m³. Meanwhile, 1 liter of bottled water ranges from $1.79 to $3.00 depending on the brand. For example, Nestle Pure Life Sparkling and Ice Age Premium Glacier are $1.29 and $1.49, respectively. On the other hand, Apollinaris Class is at $2.39 and Figi Natural Artesian Water is at $2.49, where customers pay for the brand name. 2.f.) I would prefer drinking bottled water to tap water. Aside from being cheaper, tap water is easily accessible and does not taste, smell or look different than bottled water. Before the introduction of bottled water, people had depended on tap water to survive. There has never been anything written in history of a nation ceasing to exist because they drank tap water. As mentioned above, tap water is so much cheaper. In addition, I have been drinking tap water long before bottled water became a product and I have never been sick because of it. Besides “bottled water can originate from tap water, groundwater, or natural spring water” (Mackey, E., et al., 2004) and is just treated, packaged and distributed. So in essence, bottled water comes from tap water. Personally, I think bottled water is just another luxury and an alternative meant to give people who think tap water is unsafe. 3. I disagree that current federal emissions regarding nitrogen oxides should be relaxed. Nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide can be highly toxic if inhaled in high concentrations and can contribute to environmental problems such as acid rain. “In the atmosphere NOx is directly and indirectly responsible for almost half of the reported depletion of ozone from the Earth’s protective ozone layer and contributes to the production of ozone in the lower troposphere.” (Sloss, L., 1992) Since the dangerous effect of NOx can only be felt after exposure to NOx over a period of time, it would be best to start controlling NOx emissions as early as possible. Nitrogen oxides (NOx), which come from natural sources, motor vehicles and other fuel combustion processes, is a mixture of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). When NOx reacts with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone is formed. Ground-level ozone is found in smog which, at high concentrations, can cause trips to the hospital for respiratory problems. Ozone can also affect a plant’s ability for production and storage of food, making them “more susceptible to disease, insect attack, harsh weather and other environmental stresses.” (European Conference of Ministers of Transport, 2001) Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the atmosphere dissolve in rainwater and are oxidized to produce acid rain. (Park, C., 1987) Acid rain is a problem in eastern Canada because many of the water and soil systems in this region lack natural alkalinity – such as a lime base – and therefore cannot neutralize acid naturally. (Acid rain and the facts, 2005) The more acidic the environment is the worse it would be for the animals in it & eventually, the people who depend on those animals for food. Health-wise, NOx reacts with ammonia, moisture and other compounds to form small particles that can “penetrate deeply into sensitive parts of the lungs and can cause or worsen respiratory diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis, and can aggravate existing heart disease, leading to increased hospital admissions and premature death. (Nitrogen Dioxide, n.d.) “Breathing unhealthy air is believed responsible for up to 50,000 premature deaths among Americans every year.” (DiLouie, C., 1994) The U.S. and Canada have taken steps to limit emissions so as to control the effect of acid rain. Even with current regulations though, the Canadian provincial governments “estimate that 140 lakes in Ontario alone are without fish as a result of acid rain, and that thousands of lakes in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia are “acid stressed” and in danger of destruction.” (Egel, R., 1988) If regulations for nitrogen oxides emissions are relaxed then these numbers would skyrocket and people would find themselves sick and living in an unhealthy environment so much sooner. Acid rain and the facts. (2005). Retrieved on February 7, 2010 from http://www.ec.gc.ca/AcidRain/acidfact.html Alters, S. & Schiff, W. (2006). After the Death of a Loved One. Essential Concepts for Healthy Living. Chapter 18. Page 458. 4th edition. Sandbury:Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. Anderson, J. et. al. (1993). Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide. CA: Future Medicine Publishing, Inc. Assembly of Life Sciences (U.S.) Safe Drinking Water Committee. (1977). Drinking water and health. Volume 2. Washington: National Academy of Sciences. Bach, P. (2006). Prescription for Nutritional Healing. London: Penguin Group. Beach E. Coli levels. (n.d.). Retrieved on February 7, 2010 from http://www.toronto.ca/beach/ecolitestinginfo.htm Carson, R. (2002). Silent Spring. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Canadian Food and Inspection Agency. (2005). Food Safety Facts on Bottled Water. Retrieved on February 7, 2010 from http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concern/specif/ bottwate.shtml Definition of Asbestos. (2001). Retrieved on February 1, 2010 from http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2360 DiLouie, C. (1994). Green Engineering: Assessing Environmental Impact. The lightning management handbook. Lilburn: The Fairmont Press, Inc. Egel, R. (1988) Negotiations on Acid Rain. In Schmandt, J., Clarkson, J. and Roderick, H.’s (Eds.) Acid Rain and friendly neighbors: the policy dispute between Canada and the United States. Durham: Duke University Press European Conference of Minister of Transport. (2001). Vehicle Emission Reductions. Vol. 425. France: ECMT Exploring Geology and Evolution. p. 172. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Great Lakes Information Network. (2009). Overview. Retrieved on February 5, 2010 from http://www.great-lakes.net/lakes/ Healthy Living. (n.d.). Health Canada. Retrieved on February 3, 2010, from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/environ/chlor-eng.php Information about beaches testing. (n.d.) Retrieved on February 7, 2010 from http://www.toronto.ca/beach/aboutbeachtesting.htm Keating, M. (2003). Our Great Lakes. Retrieved on February 7, 2010 from http://binational.net/ourgreatlakes/ourgreatlakes.pdf Lesage, S. (2005). Groundwater quality in Canada: a national overview. In N. Thomson’s (Ed.) Bringing Groundwater Quality Research to the Watershed Scale. (Proceedings of GQ2004, the 4th International Groundwater Quality Conference.) Oxford: IAHS Press. Liguori, S. (2003). Ospreys. In Niles, L. & Beans, B. (Eds.) Endangered and threatened wildlife of New Jersey. p. 84. New Jersey: Conserve Wildlife Foundation. Mackey, E., et. al. (2004) Consumer Perceptions of Tap Water, Bottled Water, and Filtration Devices. London: IWA Publishing. McCallum, J.E. (2008). Military Medicine: from ancient times to the 21st century. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc. Monroe, J. & Wicander, R. (2009). Geo-Focus. Asbestos: Good or Bad? The Changing Earth: Nitrogen Dioxide. (n.d.). Six Common Pollutants. Retrieved on February 7, 2010 from http://www.epa.gov/air/nitrogenoxides/index.html Park, C. (1987). Acid rain: rhetoric and reality. New York: Methuen & Co. Ltd. Sloss, L. (1992). Nitrogen oxides control technology fact book. Park Ridge: Noyes Data Corporation Simmons, J. (2008) How Magic is DDT? In T. Dunlap’s (Ed.) DDT, Silent Spring, and the rise of environmentalism: classic texts. p. 31. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Toronto Water (n.d.) How is lake water turned into drinking water? (PDF) Retrieved on February 4, 2010 from http://www.toronto.ca/water/supply/supply_facilities/rcharris/pdf/ water_filtration_process.pdf Tweedale, G., (2000). Magic mineral to killer dust: Turner & Newall and the asbestos hazard. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More