EFFECT OF AIR POLLUTION ON CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH

Air pollution is a heterogeneous, complex blend of gases, fluids, and particulate matter. Air pollution can originate from traffic, processing plants, power generation, out of control fires or notwithstanding cooking with a wood stove. Air pollution is progressively perceived as an imperative and modifiable determinant of cardiovascular disease in urban areas. Intense introduction has been connected to a scope of unfavourable cardiovascular events incorporating clinical confirmations with angina, myocardial infarction and ischaemia, heart failures, arrhythmias, stroke and increased cardiovascular mortality(Brook, R 2008). Long-time exposure increases an individual lifetime risk of death from coronary heart diseases and the main arbiter of these adverse health effects seems to be combustion-derived nanoparticles that incorporate reactive organic and transition metal components(Mills NL et al, 2009), inhalation of this particulate matter leads to pulmonary inflammation with secondary systemic effect. Acute short-time effects of air pollution tend to strike people who are elderly or already struggling with heart disease, for instance, someone with atherosclerosis, or build up fatty deposits on the inner lining of the arteries, encounters quick inconveniences when pollutants assume a part in causing plaque in a blood vessels to rupture, triggering a heart attack (Heart.org 2015).
Mills NL et al (2009) also suggested that through the induction of cellular oxidative stress and pro inflammatory pathways, particulate matter augments the development and progression of atherosclerosis via detrimental effects on platelets, vascular tissue, acute and chronic exposure to air pollution. Below is the mechanisms through which combustion-derived  nano particulate matter causes acute and chronic cardiovascular disease suggested by Mills NL et al (2009)

Cardiovascular disease is a huge global problem, causing immense suffering and premature death, as well as placing severe strain on national healthcare budgets and family finances. Air pollution cause more than 3 million deaths worldwide each year and causes 3.1 percent of all cases of disability(Neumann, J 2014) .An expanded comprehension of the mediators and mechanisms of these process is essential in the event that we are to create strategies to ensure people at risk and reduce the impact of air pollution on cardiovascular disease.

 Reference

Brook, R., 2008. Cardiovascular effects of air pollution. Clinical Science,115, pp.175-187

Heart.org, (2016). Air Pollution and Heart Disease, Stroke. [online] Available at: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/MyHeartandStrokeNews/Air-Pollution-and-Heart-Disease-Stroke_UCM_442923_Article.jsp#.Voz8mvmT-Uk [Accessed 6 Jan. 2016].

Mills, N.L., Donaldson, K., Hadoke, P.W., Boon, N.A., MacNee, W., Cassee, F.R., Sandström, T., Blomberg, A. and Newby, D.E., 2009. Adverse cardiovascular effects of air pollution. Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine, 6(1), pp.36-44.

Neumann, J. (2014). Air Pollution A Big Factor In Heart Disease, Experts Warn. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/18/air-pollution-heart-disease_n_6348586.html [Accessed 6 Jan. 2016]

NEGATIVE EFFECT OF GAS FLARING IN NIGERIA

fig.1                                          source: Integritynigeria.org

Gas flaring is the burning of natural gas that is connected with crude oil when it pumped out of the ground. Gas flaring is the solitary and most common source of global warming and contributes to emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and methane which have the propensity of causing environmental pollution and ecological disturbances or destruction (Ubani, E, and Onyejekwe I 2013). Nigeria, the 11th biggest oil producer on the planet, is invested with a greater number of gas stores than oil. By and by, Nigeria has the shame of being the world's most noteworthy in flaring of the gas related with petroleum creation and aside from being wastage of significant assets, this practice runs in opposition to Nigeria's commitments to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under,inter alias, the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 1997Kyoto Protocol .( Malumfashi, G, 2007). Figure 2 and 3  below shows Nigeria flared natural gases from year 2001-2011 and Nigeria compared to other flaring countries respectively.                         

                                fig. 2.                                       source: Lokoja.wordpress.com

 Gas flaring have been censured severally in diverse nations of the world, in spite of the fact that the practice is still reachable in a few nations with numerous people requiring a stop. According to Ajugwo, A,(2013) Gas flaring have impoverished the communities where it is practiced, with attendant environmental, economic and health challenges. Hesitance with respect to government and strategy producers is additionally a component, this challenges confronted by neighborhood groups from gas flares are a sufficient justification for ending  gas flaring practice,( Ajugwo, A 2013).

                                 fig. 3

Drilling mud and oil now and again discover their way into the streams, surface waters and arrive consequently making them unfit for utilization nor liveable by man or creature. The monetary and ecological consequences of this abnormal state of gas flaring are serious because of the fact that this procedure is a noteworthy misuse of potential fuel which is at the same time contaminating water, air, and soil in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria.

In places where burning off gas occurs in a relatively concentrated area, such as Niger Delta, the average life expectancy is 43 years, and the infant mortality rate in the delta is the highest in Nigeria -12% of babies die during their first year ( Ben, S 2010). The implication of gas flaring on human health are all related to the exposure of those hazardous air pollutant emitted during incomplete combustion of gas flare. These pollutants are associated with variety of adverse health impacts, including cancer, neurological, reproductive and developmental effects (Ajugwo, A, 2013). Deformities in children, lungs damage and skin problem have also been reported.

Corrosive downpours(Acid rain) have been connected to the exercise of gas flaring. Layered rooftops in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria have been corroded by the composition of rain that falls as a result of flaring. Acid rain ferments lakes and streams and harms vegetation, it also accelerate the decay of building materials and paints and contributes to visibility degradation (Ajugwo A. 2013).
Whatever the purposes behind flaring the gas, the truth remains that it is wastage of important assets greatly required for monetary improvement; that the flaring/venting amid oil creation operations discharge greenhouse gases add to worldwide temperature alternation bringing about environmental change, and this invalidates Nigeria's duties under the UNFCC and Kyoto Protocol; and that it influences the natural quality and soundness of the Niger Delta group, the region of the flares. Henceforth, gas flaring must be wiped out, sooner than later.




Reference
Ajugwo, A.O., 2013. Negative Effects of Gas Flaring: The Nigerian Experience. Journal of Environment Pollution and Human Health,1(1),p6-8.
Ben, S.. (2010). Up In The Smoke. Process Focus. 23 (2), p31-32.
Malumfashi, G.I., 2007. Phase-out of gas flaring in Nigeria by 2008. The Prospects of a multi-win project, Petroleum training journal,1(1), p1-5
Ubani, E.C. and Onyejekwe, I.M., 2013. Environmental impact analysis of gas flaring in the Niger delta region of Nigeria. American J. of Scientific and Industrial Research, 4(2), pp.246-252.

THE FUTURE EFFECT OF BRAZIL MINE TRAGEDY ON HUMANS AND MARINE LIFES

The collapse of a dam in an iron mine few weeks ago in Brazilian state of Minas Gerais is one of the biggest environmental disaster the country have ever experienced. Waste(mud) from the dam is said to contain toxic substances like mercury, arsenic, chromium and manganese exceeding human consumption level. The mud have travelled 500km since the dam collapsed, entering into river and destroying houses. The travelling mud is said to have reached the Atlantic Ocean and this could have a devastating effect on marine life. Heavy metals present in the travelling mud may also pose a serious threat to human health. Although the mining company called Somarco said the mud isn't toxic  but biologist and environmental expert disagree. According to Aderinola et al (2009),this might cause physical and chemical changes to the receiving waters and these change may include increased dissolved nutrients which may result in eutrophication, changes in stream temperature and bottom characteristics which lead to habitat destruction and alternation of species diversity and the addition of toxic substances which can have either acute or chronic effects on aquatic organism. The mud is said to be high in silica and iron which means it will set hard as concrete when it dries up.

According to Mukherjee and Bhupander(2011) marine organism posses a remarkable capacity to turn inorganic mercury to organic compound, thus rendering mercury more easily transferable throughout the aquatic food. So the consumption of fish may constitute an important source of mercury exposure for humans in the area. And it is also established that fish and seafood can accumulate sizeable quantities of organic arsenic from their environment and this can cause cancer of lungs,liver,bladder and skin according to Jaishankar et al. Also according to Jaishankar et al(2014) exposure to higher amount of chromium compounds can lead to inhibition of erythrocyte glutathione reductase, which in turn lowers the capacity to reduce methemoglobin to haemoglobin.

Below is a video showing the severity of the disaster.

                                             Video by ODN.

Failure to control the exposure will result in severe complications in the future because of the adverse effects imposed by heavy metals.

Reference

 Aderinola O.J., Clarke E.O., Olarinmoye O.M., Kusemiju V. and Anatekhai M.A.. (2009). Heavy Metals in Surface Water, Sediments, Fish and Perwinklesof Lagos Lagoon. American-Eurasian J. Agric. & Environ. Sci. 5 (5), 609-611.
Jaishankar M., Tseten T., Anbalagan N., Mathew B.B.,and Beeregowda K.N.. (2014). Toxicity, mechanism and health effects of some heavy metals. Interdisciplinary Toxicology . 7 (2), 60-72.

Mukherjee D. P. and Bhupander K.. (2011). Assessment of Arsenic, Cadmium and Mercury Level in Commonly Consumed Coastal Fishes from Bay of Bengal, India . Food Science and Quality Management. 2 (2), 19-27.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WATER POLLUTION AND HUMAN HEALTH IN CHINA

The transition from a command economy to a market economy has brought tremendous changes to china .The economy high growth rate is exerting extraordinary pressure on natural     resources,particularly water. Which brought us to water pollution one of the greatest dangers to human health, afterall people can't survive without drinking water and if there freshwater resources are polluted, they can become ill from drinking them. Also fishes, birds and wildlife depends on clean water just as people do. According to Lu et al.(2008) water pollution is another trait of water resources in China, water contamination resulting from large amounts of untreated waste water discharge, has caused ecological deterioration, decling the efficiency of water sources and reducing the quantity of water use. Lu et al. also suggested that with the influx of environmental pollution the percentage of polluted water in urban areas is higher than 90%.
 I was going through my internet and i came across a news on cancer villages in China, these are villages surrounded by chemical plants or coal-fired power plants, villages with soil and water supplies that are contaminated, usually with heavy metals.These are entire village where every houses contains someone dying of cancer or some sort of respiratory problems. Below is a map of the distribution of cancer village and major river in china.

Map by environment international

Below is a table of number of cases of illness associated with the contaminated of water supplies suggested by Wu et al.

According to Lu et al.(2008) the ministry of Water Resources disclosed that the total quantity of waste water discharge across the country in 2006 amounted to 73.1 billion tons of which 2/3 was from industrial sector and 1/3 was from tertiary industry as well as urban domestic sewage. The video below highlights most of the problem faced in some of the providences in the country.

video by Tech Insider.

The critical deficits in basis water supply and sewage treatment infrastructure have increased the risk of exposure to infectious and parasitic disease and to growing volume of industrial chemicals, heavy metals and algal toxins. The degraded condition of much of China's surface water resources, together with the lack of coordination between protection of public health and Management of water quantity pose serious threat to human health.


Reference
Lu, W., Xie, S., Zhou, W., Zhang, S. and Liu, A.. (2008). Water Pollution and Health Impact in China: A Mini Review. Open Environmental Sciences journal. 2 (1), p1-5.

Wu, C., Maurer, C,. Wang, Y,. Xue, S,. and Davis, D.. (1999). Water Pollution and Human Health in China. Environmental Health Perspectives . 107 (4), 251-256

OIL SPILLAGE IN THE NIGER DELTA

      The Niger Delta area in Nigeria is situated in the gulf of Guinea between Longitude 50 E to 80 E and latitude 40 N to 60 N. It is the largest wetland in Africa and the third largest in the world consisting of flat low lying swampy terrain, that is crossed by rivers and creeks.

     

  It has been observed in recent times that the role the environment plays to a nation's development cannot be relegated to the background. The issue in Niger Delta area of Nigeria where i come from has been a problem for decades now, oil production have contaminated the the land and water in the area but neither the government nor shell corporation has taken effective measures to restore back the eco-system. According to Abudulkareem et al (2011) discharging gases, liquids, and solid waste into the environment threatens the health of the populace and damage the overall quantities of the environment by rending the farmland and water bodies unstable. 

  Also according to Ordinioha and Brisibe (2013) the wild spread constituents of crude oil in the bio-physical environment of the impacted communities are capable of exerting some acute and long-term adverse health effects on the people and animals in this area. The tables below shows some results which was carried out by Ordinioha and Brisibe (2013)

                        Table 1

                    

                         Table 2        
                    
                       Table 3
                   

In any country, this would be a national emergency, but in Nigeria it appears to be a standard operating procedure for the oil industry. The video below highlight how oil spillage in the area have affected the eco-system of the area and how the Nigeria government and Shell corp. neglected the people.

    

                             video by Amensty International

References ;
Abudulkareem,A.S, Odigure,J.O, Otaru,M.D.O, Kuranga M.B and Afolabi,A.S. (2011). Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects. A Predictive Model of Crude Oil Dispersion in Water: A Case Study of the Niger-Delta Area of Nigeria. 33 (22), p2089.
Ordinioha,B and Brisibe, S. (2013). The human health implications of crude oil spills in the Niger delta, Nigeria: An interpretation of published studies. Nigeria Medical Journal. 54 (1), p10-16.