Causes Of Water Pollution

Edu-Primes

7/16/2024

Transcript

00:00Hi kids! Today we will learn the main causes of water pollution. So let's get started!

00:10Kids, water pollution is a contamination of water bodies like lakes, rivers, streams,

00:21oceans, and even the underground water. And this pollution makes the water in water bodies

00:29unsafe for use. About 11% of people of the earth don't have access to safe drinking water.

00:39Now we will learn what are the main causes of water pollution. Most factories, industries,

00:47manufacturing units release a lot of waste directly into the nearby water bodies and pollutes it.

00:55Even the smoke released by chimneys of factories too, reaches the water along with polluted rain

01:03and so pollutes water. Each year the world generates about perhaps 5 to 10 billion tons of

01:14industrial waste and much of which is pumped, untreated, into rivers, oceans, and other waterways.

01:23And it is the main reason behind the water pollution. Next is the sewage. Our earth has

01:33billions of people living on it and all are generating waste every day. And managing this

01:41waste is a very big problem for all of us. And out of that sewage waste is most difficult to manage.

01:50Sewage waste contaminates the water and most of the countries directly releases all its sewage

01:58waste into the water bodies. And water contamination due to sewage waste leads to diseases like

02:06diarrhea and cholera. And according to WHO, that is World Health Organization, water related

02:17diseases can kill 135 million people by 2020. In case of developed countries, we have modern

02:27toilets that flush away the sewage waste to distant places and does not contaminate water sources

02:34near our house or our environment. But in case of undeveloped countries, a big percentage of people

02:41don't have access to modern flush toilets and their sewage waste pollutes their environment and

02:47water sources which leads to diseases like diarrhea and cholera. But that's not all. Even in the case

02:56of modern countries where there are modern flush toilets, sewage is disposed at some distant place

03:04like it can be pumped into the sea or river. So it's to polluting the big water bodies. Sewage waste

03:14is pumped into the sea through big pipes, untreated, which contaminates the oceans and seas. Around

03:23half of all ocean pollution is caused by sewage and the waste water. Next, it is household waste.

03:33Every person on this earth adds some pollutants to water as utensils, clothes, and sheets are washed

03:43in every house using some kind of detergent and soap. People bathe using soaps and shampoos. All

03:52these soaps, detergents, and shampoos mix up in clean water and changes the clean water into dirty

04:00water. That ultimately reaches some water bodies through long pipes and contaminates the water.

04:12Highways are made up with a lot of toxic chemicals and there is spilled fuel, brake fuels, and other

04:20wastes and dust from the tires. All the waste and chemicals from the highway are washed away to the

04:29land next to roads or water bodies and contaminate them. It has been estimated that in one year, the

04:40highway runoff from a single large city leaks as much oil into our environment as a typical tanker

04:48spill. Pollution from heavy metals and chemicals. Another kind of toxic pollution comes from heavy

04:59metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury. Lead was once commonly used in gasoline. Though its use is

05:10now restricted in some countries, mercury and cadmium are still used in batteries. Main sources of heavy

05:18metal pollution are mining, chromium salt manufacturing, leather tanning, lead acid batteries,

05:29heat waste, paints, fuel, combustion, and thermal power plants. The best known example of heavy metal

05:39pollution in the oceans took place in 1938 when a Japanese factory discharged a significant amount of

05:48mercury metal into Minamata Bay and that led to the death of so many fishes. Next is oil pollution.

06:00Our ocean and seas are a big victim of oil pollution as a lot of oil is released into seas and oceans due

06:10to human activities like oil spills from huge oil tanks and ships. Oil spills is a major problem because a

06:22huge quantity of oil is spilled at one location and is catastrophic for the marine life. That is, many

06:32species of fish, birds, turtles, and sea mammals. Oil pollution is not only a result of oil spills, but a lot of

06:43oil in seawaters comes from routine shipping. Oil that we use in our homes reaches seawater through waste

06:53water drains. Another source of water pollution is farming. Yes, farming. In the process of farming too, so many

07:06chemicals are used like pesticides are used to kill pests, insecticides for killing insects, weedicides are there to kill

07:17the unwanted plants, fertilizers are there to make the soil more fertile. All these things contain chemicals that

07:27ultimately reaches the groundwater and pollute it and also some is washed away by the rain and reaches water bodies

07:36and thus pollutes the water. One more source of pollution is plastic. Plastic is one of the most common materials used

07:48these days almost everywhere. We see plastic things and the worst fact is that plastic is non-biodegradable. That is, plastic

08:01does not break down or decompose easily as the other type of waste, so it's called non-biodegradable waste. And even when

08:12plastic breaks down, it releases toxic chemicals, so plastic waste survives for a very long time. Example, plastic bottles,

08:23bottle caps or any plastic waste can survive for more than 400 years. In oceans or seas, the plastic waste like bottles, caps

08:35keeps on traveling long distances and survives for hundreds of years. And their side effect is that if marine animals swallow

08:45plastic, it chokes them and they die. So kids, we learned some of the major causes of water pollution, but there are many more

08:55reasons than these. Now you may go ahead and take a quiz to learn more. Bye-bye!

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