Post 3

Post 3

Biological Pollutants

Four basic categories of water pollution, including biological, chemical, physical, and thermal, and biological is one of the worst. Biological pollution is a type of non-point source pollution because it often reaches water through runoff (the leading cause of pollution into water sources). A wide array of types of biological pollutants exists. These include bacteria, viruses, protozoans, worms, and algae, especially if it occurs in large numbers. Some of these pollutants cause diseases in animals and people. Another kind of biological pollution is invasive species such as various plants and animals. Invasive species can be harmful by edging out keystone species in competition with them that are vital to the food chain that can disrupt the whole ecosystem. Repercussions of biological pollution can be devastating. If nonnative species are introduced to an area, then they can take over and harm native wildlife that may not be found anywhere else in the world. Also, pathogens in the water can make people and animals sick. Bacteria, viruses, protozoans, worms, and algae can be extremely dangerous to the health of people and animals alike. When a large algal bloom takes place eventually all of the nutrients gets used causing a majority of those algae to die. In the decomposition process oxygen is needed taking all of the oxygen out of the water causing a dead zone. Some of the algae can be toxic such as dinoflagellates. Any life within it will die.
One of the ways to detect biological pollution such as bacteria, viruses, and worms in the water is with MIPs, or Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensors. These polymers are imprinted with a substance such as caffeine, which is a good indicator of those kinds of contaminants. It leaves caffeine-molecule-shaped holes in the polymer, which allows scientists to detect these pollutants. Causes of biological pollution include poor sanitation, letting exotic pets out into the wild, and dumping waste into water. The effects can be devastating. Poor sanitation can cause diseases in both animals and people through bacteria, viruses, protozoans, and worms. Exotic pets can take compete with keystone native species that are vital to the food chain and can throw the whole ecosystem out of whack.

It’s easy to prevent certain types of biological pollution. One way is to avoid letting your pets into the wild and to not plant non-native plants on your land. To keep pathogens from getting into drinking water, you can make sure that your water is purified properly before drinking it. With biological pollution are more health risks than almost any other type of pollution. One well-known disease is Giardiasis. Giardiasis is caused by a parasite that lives in the intestines of humans and other animals. Other biological pollutants can be found in the water of pools and lakes. They include E. coli, Shigella, norovirus, and crypto.
All of these are diarrheal diseases. Swimming in the ocean can spread diseases after a rainfall or in areas where the health department has identified as unsafe for swimming. All of the bacteria, viruses, protozoans, algae, and worms can be extremely harmful and even cause death in some cases.
Along with health risks there are many cultural and socioeconomic aspects to consider. If the world/economy’s money is spent of purifying the water so it is able for people to drink will cost the average civilian more money. They would have to change their lifestyle to adjust to having less money. If there isn’t mush money spent on purifying the water the people will get sick and that will cause probably cost even more money. Then not only will the people have to get used to financial adjustments, but also making physical adjustments to being sick and unhealthy a majority of the time. If we just put a little more effort and attention toward preventative measures it would make life much more enjoyable for everyone.



Chemical Pollution

Classifications: Chemical water pollution is divided into two classifications: point or non-point.
Point sources of water pollution are when the chemicals directly contaminate water supplies. This occurs when chemicals are dumped into the water intentionally; chemicals seep into groundwater, streams, or rivers because of failing pipes or storage tanks; the chemicals catastrophically contaminate waterways because of industrial accidents; the pollution settle out of polluted air (or is precipitated out of polluted air); or chemicals are leached out of contaminated soil.
Non-point-source chemical pollution also occurs via pesticide runoff from farm fields and homeowners' lawns, as well as runoff of automotive fluids and other chemicals from roads, parking lots, driveways, and other surfaces.

Detection: Chemical water pollution can be detected using water detection kits that test the water for an excess amount of certain chemicals such as carbon dioxide, ammonia, chloride, cyanide, nitrate, copper, ect. The water can also be tested for extra oil within the water that is spilt into it. Trace levels of mercury in fish organs can be detected using a two-photon fluorescent probe designed by Korean scientists.
Two-photon probes are also being developed to detect heavier metals in water such as cadmium and lead.
African clawed frog tadpoles "light up" in response to a pollutant, and can indicate the presence of several chemical species at the same time. The tadpoles are genetically modified and combined with a detection system developed at UW to detect the presence of heavy metal pollution in river water in real time.

Cause: Chemical water pollution typically occurs because ...
* the chemicals were dumped into the water intentionally;
* the chemicals seeped into groundwater, streams, or rivers because of failing pipes or storage tanks;
* the chemicals catastrophically contaminated waterways because of industrial accidents;
* the pollution settled out of polluted air (or was precipitated out of polluted air)
* chemicals were leached out of contaminated soil.
* automotive fluids and other chemicals from roads, parking lots, driveways, and other surfaces run off into water supply
It occurs due to introduction of inorganic and organic waste to water. For example, water passing out of a mine contains large amount of copper, iron or other ore. Another source of pollution is metal pipelines. Corrosion of metals of the pipes may yield rusty or black precipitates.
Other chemical pollutants include laundry detergents, radioactive wastes and nitrates from fertilisers etc. An important group of chemicals are polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs, a group of industrial chemicals used in the production of electric insulators and paper products.

Physical Pollution

Physical water pollutants are physical substances that are is classified as a point source of pollution because it can either be dumped or traced to where it first was dumped or disposed of and reached the water. Physical pollutants reduce the quality of water.
The causes of this pollution are sand, silt, or soil in the water. There are different methods of detecting physical pollutants. One way of detecting physical pollutants is if the water becomes cloudy because of the presence of matter such as sand, silt, or soil. There is physico-chemical method of detecting traces of natural and synthetic surfactants in water. The build up of pollutants causes algal blooms. The presence of some phosphates or nitrates encourages the growth of the blooms, which leads to eutrophication, which then upsets the ecological balance.
There are repercussions of physical pollutants. The pollution decreases the oxygen level that damages the lives of other organisms. Oil or sediment in the water makes it hard for organisms to carry out their normal activities of reproducing and living. Polluted water also makes it less attractive and people are less likely to want to be near or in the water.
Proactive ways to stop or prevent physical pollution are using fewer nitrate and phosphate fertilizers to lower the amount of algal blooms. Buffer plants on the edges of fields cut down on runoff.
Health risks of physical pollution are the contamination of clean drinking supplies for humans. This can cause people to ingest harmful matter which causes diseases. In countries that lack proper purification systems, this is an even bigger problem than those that can purify their water. Since physical pollution can kill off or make other organisms ill, it disrupts the food chain and the balance of nature.


Thermal Pollution

Thermal pollution can be defined as the degration of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. It is mainly associated with increases of water temperature due to discharge of heated water from industrial processes like generation of electricity. This form of water pollution is mainly a point source because the heated water is emitted directly into a lake, river, or ocean.

Detection
Thermal pollution can be detected using thermal infrared imaging. These satellite or airborne images depict how warm an area is based on a color code. The colors from warmest to coolest are white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and black. Infrared imaging can be used to determine if a body of water is warmer than normal.

Sources
One of the main sources of thermal pollution is the conversion of heat energy into mechanical energy by the use of a heat engine. These engines include steam engines, turbines, and internal combustion engines. Heat engines work by heating and pressuring a fluid and rejected the unused heat waste to a “sink.” The waste heat from electrical generating stations is transferred to cooling water obtained from local rivers, lakes, or oceans because water serves as a very efficient sink. Afterward, the water is discharged back into the body of water. One example is the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California which has two main reactors. The reactors circulate 2,400 million gallons of ocean water a day. This water is heated to about 19 degrees F above ambient, is discharged back into the ocean, and mixed with ambient seawater. In the end, the average rise in temperature is about 2 degrees F after mixing.

Effects
The main effects of thermal pollution are thermal shock, changes in dissolved oxygen, and redistribution of organisms. Thermal shock is the effect of sharp changes in temperature. Certain animals will perish when the water temperature exceeds their toleration limits. Small changes in temperature can also affect reproductive systems of organisms and increase their change of disease. As a rule, cold water contains more oxygen than warmer water. Raising the temperature of water will decrease its oxygen carrying capacity resulting in the suffocation of organisms. An increased temperature also increases the decomposition rate of organic matter and results in depleted oxygen.

Proactive measures
The use of cooling towers is one proactive measure to prevent thermal pollution. Instead of dumping heated water back into the ocean, a cascade of water is circulated in a tower and carries the heat up to the atmosphere to cool.

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