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Contaminants in Soil and Water

Contaminants in Soil and Water. Heavy Metals and Pesticides. Heavy Metals. Metallic chemical elements that are toxic at low concentrations Mercury (Hg) Cadmium (Cd) Arsenic (As) Chromium (Cr) Lead ( Pb ) Uranium (U). Mercury Poisoning. Environmental Source:

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Contaminants in Soil and Water

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  1. Contaminants in Soil and Water Heavy Metals and Pesticides

  2. Heavy Metals Metallic chemical elements that are toxic at low concentrations • Mercury (Hg) • Cadmium (Cd) • Arsenic (As) • Chromium (Cr) • Lead (Pb) • Uranium (U)

  3. Mercury Poisoning Environmental Source: • Consumption of seafood with mercury in the flesh (bio-accumulation) • Inhaling contaminated air from coal power plants Human Health Impacts: • Peeling skin, hair and teeth loss, memory impairment

  4. Mad Hatter disease Skin peeling from fingertips

  5. Arsenic Poisoning Environmental Source • Contaminated groundwater • Natural arsenic leaches into water • byproduct of oil extraction • Food grown in contaminated soil • Rice in the USA can have arsenic levels of 260 parts per billion Human Health Impacts • Scaling skin, Headaches/confusion, hair loss, convulsions, lung/skin cancers

  6. Lead Poisoning Environmental Source • Lead in household items • Paint, gasoline, pipes, pesticides in soil, batteries Human Health Impacts • Cognitive deficits, kidney failure, reproductive problems, memory loss, depression

  7. Pesticides DDT • Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

  8. DDT Developed to kill insects responsible for spreading diseases like malaria (WWII) • Chemist who developed DDT won Nobel Prize in Medicine 1948 • Post-war used as insecticide on farms, at home, in residential urban areas

  9. DDT Health Impacts Listed as a Toxic chemical • Poisonous to wide range of animals, not just intended target “pests” In humans: • Linked to diabetes • Birth defects • Developmental problems in children • Parkinson’s disease • Possibly carcinogenic (causes cancer)

  10. DDT Safety Symbol Symbol for “Environmental Pollutant” listed by European Chemicals Agency

  11. Rachel Carson “Silent Spring” • Written in 1962, first account of the far-reaching dangers of DDT • Huge backlash from chemical industry • Led to DDT being banned in USA, 1972

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