Effects Of Toxic Waste On Human Health – While plastic debris is the most visible component of ocean pollution and accumulates quickly, it is the invisible chemicals, particles, metals and biological toxins that have been shown to affect human health.

Ocean pollution poses a clear and present threat to human health and well-being, according to a new study by an international group of researchers. The study sounds the alarm that the growing global problem, which scientists are only beginning to understand, requires urgent and immediate action. It’s a call to action, say the authors, who offer a way forward through pollution prevention and research recommendations.

Effects Of Toxic Waste On Human Health

“Ocean pollution is a widespread, worsening and poorly controlled problem that directly affects human and ecosystem health,” said lead study author Philip Landrigan, M.D., director of Boston College’s Global Observatory on Pollution and Health. “It’s a complex mix of toxins that until now hasn’t received the systematic attention it deserves.”

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The study, partially funded and coordinated by the Center Scientifique de Monaco with support from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, is the first comprehensive investigation of the effects of ocean pollution on human health.

Covering more than two-thirds of the planet, the oceans provide food, livelihoods and cultural and recreational value for billions around the world. Ocean pollution, which originates mainly from human activities, threatens these many benefits.

More than 80% of ocean pollution comes from land-based sources that make their way to the sea through runoff, rivers, atmospheric deposition and direct discharge. It is most concentrated along the coasts of low- and middle-income countries.

“Ocean pollution is profoundly unfair. Its impacts fall most heavily on low-income countries, coastal fishing communities, people on small island nations, indigenous populations, and people in the high Arctic – groups that for the most part produce very little pollution themselves,” explained Landrigan. “These populations rely on the oceans for food. Their survival depends on the health of the seas.

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Ocean pollution is a complex mix of mercury, plastic waste, manufactured chemicals, petroleum waste, agricultural waste, and biological hazards, such as harmful algal blooms. People are exposed to these toxins mainly by eating contaminated seafood.

Coal burning is the main source of mercury pollution in the oceans. When coal is burned, mercury enters the atmosphere and eventually washes into the sea. The authors note that if a pregnant woman eats mercury-contaminated fish, the mercury can damage the child’s developing brain, resulting in IQ loss and behavioral problems. In adults, consumption of mercury-contaminated fish increases the risk of heart disease and dementia.

Plastic waste makes up an estimated 80% of marine pollution. About 10 million tons of plastic waste enter the oceans every year, killing seabirds, fish and marine mammals. It breaks down into smaller pieces called microplastics, which absorb a range of chemicals floating in the marine environment, including pesticides and toxic metals. These chemically laden particles are picked up by fish and shellfish and then consumed by humans who pass on seafood. Microplastics can harm marine and human health, but the risks are still largely unknown.

“A lot of work is needed to better understand the composition, toxicity and potential human health effects of microplastics, but it is likely to be quite substantial,” Landrigan said.

Chemicals & Waste Management

The chemicals used to manufacture a range of products, from consumer goods and food packaging to cleaning products and pesticides, also end up in the sea. The authors wrote that of the thousands of manufactured chemicals and chemical mixtures polluting the world’s oceans, humans are most likely to be exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, brominated flame retardants, perfluorinated substances and pesticides through contaminated seafood. These chemicals have been shown to cause a wide range of health effects in humans such as cardiovascular disease, developmental and neurobehavioral disorders, metabolic diseases, immune dysfunction, endocrine disruption, and cancer.

Algae are essential components of aquatic food webs and ecosystems. But too much of a good thing can be toxic. Harmful algal blooms (HAB) occur when toxin-producing algae grow excessively in ocean waters. The warming of seawater is making previously unsuitable habitats habitable, leading to a number of expansions of HAB species and the human populations they affect. Industrial waste, agricultural runoff, pesticides, and human sewage can all stimulate a HAB event. People are exposed to HAB toxins from eating contaminated fish and shellfish. These toxins can cause dementia, amnesia, other neurological damage and death.

“Ocean pollution and climate change are both components of planetary health. Both problems arise mainly from the same source: the burning of fossil fuels, coal, oil and gas, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This in turn leads to a whole Lots of problems,” said Landrigan.

For example, a warmer climate melts glaciers and permafrost, releasing legacy pollutants from ice. Rising sea temperatures are increasing the number and expanding the range of marine microbes that can cause disease. As the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, so does the amount that the oceans absorb. This results in more acidic water, which can erode coral reefs and calcium-containing organisms such as plankton, which are the base of the marine food chain. Ocean acidification can also increase the toxicity of certain heavy metals and chemicals.

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The authors brim with optimism and offer a series of case studies, policy and research recommendations to save the planet’s oceans.

“The key thing to realize about ocean pollution is that, like all forms of pollution, it can be prevented with laws, policies, technology, and enforcement actions that target the major sources of pollution,” Landrigan said.

The authors call for the elimination of coal burning to reduce ocean-bound mercury pollution and a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. Banning single-use plastics, such as straws and plastic bags, can reduce the amount of plastic pollution entering the oceans. Controlling coastal pollution and expanding Marine Protected Areas, sometimes called the “national parks of the ocean,” can protect critical ecosystems, protect vulnerable fish stocks, and improve human health and well-being.

“Many countries have used these tools and have successfully cleaned up clogged harbors, rejuvenated estuaries and restored coral reefs. The results have been increased tourism, restored fisheries, improved human health, and economic growth. These benefits will last for centuries.”

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On the research side, the authors emphasize that a better understanding of the human health impacts of ocean pollution can provide the evidence base to inform protective policies. Among the research priorities, they call for improved ocean pollution monitoring, study of human exposure to ocean pollutants and health effect biomarkers, and a better understanding of the effects of exposure to multiple ocean pollutants.

“There is a real need to better understand how exposure to compounds, such as ocean pollution, affect health. This is one area where I see the environmental health community playing a role in advancing ocean pollution and human research, “said John Stegeman, Ph.D., second author on the paper and director of the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health, which is co-funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Another skill that environmental health scientists bring to the table is community engagement. “Globally, there is a need to involve communities and medical professionals in ocean research. has long recognized the benefits of community engagement, and its grants have developed community engagement best practices that may be key to our better understanding and mitigation of ocean pollution burdens avoid,” said Stegeman.

Has supported research on marine-related health issues since the 1970s. Grantees study coastal populations to better understand how people are exposed to ocean pollutants and health effects of exposure. They explore how climate change affects the distribution and toxicity of HABs and develop sensors and technologies to better predict HAB events and prevent exposure. In 2004, NSF launched the Centers for Oceans and Human Health program, which funds interdisciplinary research centers across the country.

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Stegeman concluded that “Understanding ocean pollution is a highly interdisciplinary endeavor. At our center, we have basic biomedical scientists, toxicologists, biological and physical oceanographers, environmental modelers, chemists, and engineers all working together. It takes a collaborative environment like the one created by the -NSF Centers for Oceans and Human Health program to fully understand how our oceans affect human health.

Identified Global Environmental Health (GEH) as part of its strategic issues, recognizing that because environmental health problems cross national borders, studies around the world benefit not only those in the areas being studied, but all people who suffer from the same or related environment . Health problems. Plastic pollution threatens not only the environment, but also our health and that of future generations. This page is part of our Plastics and the Environment series, a range of online resources on the plastics crisis, its impact on people and the environment, and international cooperation to tackle this global problem. They include resources and news from organizations in Geneva and beyond, including UN system organizations and other IOs, government authorities, civil society organizations, academic institutions and journals, and reputable newspapers.

The world is facing a plastic crisis. Plastic pollution is found all over the world. Plastics negatively affect people and the environment at every stage of their life cycle – extraction of fossil fuels, production,

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