WATER POLLUTANTS Water pollutants include contamination due to domestic wastes, insecticides and herbicides, food processing waste, pollutants from livestock operations, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), heavy metals, chemical waste, and others. Waterborne diseases caused by polluted drinking water include typhoid, amebiasis, giardiasis, ascariasis, hookworm, etc. Waterborne diseases caused by polluted beach water are rashes, ear ache, pink eye, respiratory infections, hepatitis, encephalitis, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach aches, etc. When water is contaminated with chemicals such as pesticides, hydrocarbons, persistent organic pollutants, or heavy, it could lead to cancer, including prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, hormonal problems that can disrupt reproductive and developmental processes, damage to the nervous system, liver and kidney damage, and damage to the DNA. Specifically, mercury in water can cause abnormal behaviour, slower growth and development, reduced reproduction, and death. Nutrient pollution (nitrogen, phosphates, etc.) causes overgrowth of toxic algae eaten by other aquatic animals, and it may cause death; it can also cause outbreaks of fish diseases. Chemical contamination is known to cause decline in frog biodiversity and tadpole mass. Oil pollution can negatively affect development of marine organisms, increase susceptibility to disease, and affect reproductive processes; it can also cause gastrointestinal irritation, liver and kidney damage, and damage to the nervous system. Water pollution may disrupt photosynthesis in aquatic plants and thus affects ecosystems that depend on these plants. Terrestrial and aquatic plants may absorb pollutants from water (as their main nutrient source) and pass them up the food chain to consumer animals and humans. Plants may be affected due to large concentrations of sodium chloride in water. They may also be affected by herbicides in water. Wastewater from the domestic sector is another major contributor to water contamination and subsequent related water-borne diseases. Courtesy – science direct #KnowWater#WaterForAll#WeAreResponsible# #Knowyourself-Lifestylehabits4u# https://www.instagram.com/p/CAf5YXsHzYr/?igshid=wk97xvr7h0t0
