impacts of soil and water pollution on food safety and health risks

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http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 32 [email protected] International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET) Volume 6, Issue 11, Nov 2015, pp. 32-38, Article ID: IJCIET_06_11_004 Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=6&IType=11 ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316 © IAEME Publication ___________________________________________________________________________ IMPACTS OF SOIL AND WATER POLLUTION ON FOOD SAFETY AND HEALTH RISKS BADER A. HAKAMI Faculty of Earth Sciences, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia ABSTRACT The food safety and environmental pollution is interlinked and considered to be important issues in today’s world. Historically, the soil and water pollution has impacted food safety and ultimately an important threat for health. The situation is very challenging in most of the countries where the pollution and risks of increasing food safety have affected large set of population. The scarcity of water, over application of pesticides, chemical application and other pollutants are most important factors which impacts food safety in a drastic manner. The study will cater to the waste and soil pollution and their impacts of human health. In present scenario, there is a shortage of water resources which led to the irrigation of waste for fulfillment of water requirements in the agricultural production. This kind of usage causes serous health impacts due to water and soil pollution. Therefore, it is important to address these issues and threatening safety to reduce potential risks to health. Also, the negative effects on food safety from soil and water pollution have increased the risk of several diseases in people. The soil and waste pollution is a major area of concern and comprehensive prevention strategies are required to resolve the concerns. The holistic prevention strategies are also detailed in last section of study for understanding the ways to reduce soil and water pollution and achieve better food safety. Cite this Article: Bader A. Hakami. Impacts of Soil and Water Pollution on Food Safety and Health Risks. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 6(11), 2015, pp. 32-38. http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=6&IType=11 1.0 INTRODUCTION Water and soil pollution are two major concerns within the environmental pollution. The pollution occurs when the specific polluted material is added to the water body or land area which has adverse effects. Once the pollution exists in particular area of land or water body, it is not possible to return the water and soil to its previous state and therefore, prevention is very important from pollution. The study have

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Page 1: IMPACTS OF SOIL AND WATER POLLUTION ON FOOD SAFETY AND HEALTH RISKS

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 32 [email protected]

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)

Volume 6, Issue 11, Nov 2015, pp. 32-38, Article ID: IJCIET_06_11_004

Available online at

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=6&IType=11

ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316

© IAEME Publication

___________________________________________________________________________

IMPACTS OF SOIL AND WATER

POLLUTION ON FOOD SAFETY AND

HEALTH RISKS

BADER A. HAKAMI

Faculty of Earth Sciences, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

The food safety and environmental pollution is interlinked and considered

to be important issues in today’s world. Historically, the soil and water

pollution has impacted food safety and ultimately an important threat for

health. The situation is very challenging in most of the countries where the

pollution and risks of increasing food safety have affected large set of

population. The scarcity of water, over application of pesticides, chemical

application and other pollutants are most important factors which impacts

food safety in a drastic manner. The study will cater to the waste and soil

pollution and their impacts of human health. In present scenario, there is a

shortage of water resources which led to the irrigation of waste for fulfillment

of water requirements in the agricultural production. This kind of usage causes serous health impacts due to water and soil pollution. Therefore, it is

important to address these issues and threatening safety to reduce potential

risks to health. Also, the negative effects on food safety from soil and water

pollution have increased the risk of several diseases in people. The soil and

waste pollution is a major area of concern and comprehensive prevention

strategies are required to resolve the concerns. The holistic prevention

strategies are also detailed in last section of study for understanding the ways

to reduce soil and water pollution and achieve better food safety.

Cite this Article: Bader A. Hakami. Impacts of Soil and Water Pollution on

Food Safety and Health Risks. International Journal of Civil Engineering and

Technology, 6(11), 2015, pp. 32-38.

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=6&IType=11

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Water and soil pollution are two major concerns within the environmental pollution.

The pollution occurs when the specific polluted material is added to the water body or

land area which has adverse effects. Once the pollution exists in particular area of

land or water body, it is not possible to return the water and soil to its previous state

and therefore, prevention is very important from pollution. The study have

Page 2: IMPACTS OF SOIL AND WATER POLLUTION ON FOOD SAFETY AND HEALTH RISKS

Impacts of Soil and Water Pollution on Food Safety and Health Risks

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 33 [email protected]

demonstrated basics of soil pollution and water pollution, causes of pollution, diseases

and overall impact of pollution of health and corrective actions to prevent pollution

and achieve food safety.

2.0 STUDY OBJECTIVES

The study caters to the understanding of water pollution and soil pollution specifically

and also, details the health effects to understand the impact of pollution of food safety.

The health risks need to be reduced for better and healthy environment. For the same

reason, the water and soil pollution basics and related area of concerns are detailed

below for clear understanding of study.

2.1 Water Pollution

Water pollution can be strike in any water body such as river, oceans, lakes etc. The

polluting substance is mostly wastage made by humans such as commercial waste,

garbage, agricultural runoffs which cause pollution in later stages. The water pollution

also causes marine creatures and increases health risks of human beings. Water is

considered to be very important resource and consumed by marine creates, plants and

have direct impact on human beings. The main causes of water pollution are industrial

wastages, sewage, and pesticide utilization in agriculture and oil spills. The untreated

sewage is dumped in rivers and it causes various health risks such as typhoid, cholera,

dysentery etc (Reuter, 2008). The continuous and uncontrollable growth of algae in

water causes increased risks to health. Mostly, the harmful bacteria’s flourish in the

untreated sewage and drinking water becomes contaminated and causes various types

of diseases in rapid manner (Hogan, 2010). The sewage need to be treated properly

and recycled within the environment. The local government agencies can monitor the

average level of water in river, dams and sea and investigations can be conducted

when they exceed that effluent level of water. The toxic wastes from industrial

wastage are mostly dumped illegally in rivers, dams and streams.

There are various chemicals such as mercury, cyanide; heavy metals such as

copper and lead are non-biodegradable. They are poisoned as toxins concentration and

increase toxins in the food chains. These chemical are very poisonous and even causes

cancer and major harm to the internal organs of people. Most of the times, the power

stations and factories pump hot water in streams and river which causes thermal

pollution (Thomas, 2010). The increased temperature of water causes the pollution

and non-tolerance of extreme environment changes causes pollution in water.

Ultimately, it causes water decay and increases disease causing bacteria’s in the

water. Another cause is the oil spread because there are regular leakages and sinking

of oil from oil tankers while transportation (Mielke, 2009). The oil spread across the

large sea surfaces and cause water pollution with the ingestion of oil in the water.

2.2 Soil Pollution

Soil pollution arises from various sources such as utilization of excessive amount of

fertilizer and chemicals on land areas. Mostly, the soil pollution arises from the

leakage of waste in ground such as seepage from landfills, radioactive contamination,

oil spills etc. Soil pollution can also occur due to damage of underground tanks

containing toxic chemicals. The polluted soils are very serious threat to health of

human beings as they regularly come in contact with food grown in the soil

(Voulvoulis, 2010). The soil sustains on earth throughout the life and toots of plants in

soil absorbs water and nutrients during photosynthesis process and grows plant. The

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BADER A. HAKAMI

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 34 [email protected]

consumers of soils are also benefitted as it provides habitat to many consumers. The

land is abused with various acts, irresponsible behavior and pollution, soil harms and

many careless acts and it is equivalently important for survival of organisms

(Oyewole, 2012). Mainly, the soil pollution occurs from the dumping of toxic water

into the soil and deforestation. The litter is another problem in current scenario

because there are various man made materials such as glass, plastic, tin which are

non-biodegradable. Litter results in soil pollution when they are not disposed in

proper manner. These items should be placed in disposal containers and need to be

dumped in landfills covered with soil. The litter attracts mosquitoes, flies and rats

which are unhygienic and increase risks to soil. Also, the disposal of toxic chemical

need to be done in sealed containers which can be buried in cemented landfills (Kahn,

2007). These landfills need to be managed properly to avoid the leakage of containers.

The leakage of toxic chemicals will result in contamination of rivers and streams and

absorbed by the soil causing toxic poisoning and major diseases. The illegal dumping

of toxic chemical in seal eventually leak or corrode which impacts the health risks and

overall environment (Reagan, 2009). The local government agencies can take care of

the soil pollution policies with the analysis of special areas and demarcation of

dumping of toxic wastes.

3.0 HEALTH IMPACTS

3.1 Water pollution

It is evident that the water is very essential for healthy living and healthy

environment. The sufficient amount of clean and fresh water is the basic need of

human beings but depriving of the fact, fresh water resources are threatened by poor

management, over exploitation and ecological degradation. The main source of fresh

water pollution is the discharge of untreated sewage, industrial wastages, and

agricultural fields (Schueler, 2010). The growth and urbanization of industries are

causing the natural resources and have adverse effects in health. Most of the

developed countries are facing these issues due to large amount of chemical discharge

in water sources while developing the countries. The polluted water causes various

diseases and other problems to health related to water-borne diseases.

3.1.1 Groundwater contamination

There are many areas of surface and groundwater areas which are contaminated by

heavy metals, nutrients and other organic pollutants which affect health in

considerable manner. Mainly, the water-borne diseases occurs die to incompetent and

inadequate management of various water resources. The safe water can only be

assured when the sustainability, equity and access is guaranteed (Robertson, 2012).

The access means the various numbers of people who consumes safe drinking water

in sufficient quantities. The sustainability means the there is no need to make extra

effort to safeguard the water and equity means the equal distribution of water in

different segments of society (Dickey, 2011). Mostly the urban areas have high

amount of safe water as compared to rural areas. There is a variation that some areas

pay for accessing safe water and some cannot pay for these services and consumer

water from hand pumps and similar sources. In urban areas, water is contaminated in

different ways and some of the common reasons are leaking water joint lines and

sewage line close to water line (Grayson, 2012). The water gets polluted at the source

itself due to large inflow of sewage. The other major reasons of water contamination

are described in detail below.

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Impacts of Soil and Water Pollution on Food Safety and Health Risks

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 35 [email protected]

Pesticides – The golf courses, backyards and run-off from farms contain various

types of pesticides such as DDT which contaminates the water. Another major source

of contamination is leechate from landfill sites. It affects the health and ecosystem and

reproductive damage and ultimately, food safety (Morgan, 2013). The groundwater

can be contaminated easily with the utilization of pesticides and persistent use of

chemicals.

Sewage – Most of the untreated sewage is major source of water contamination

and water pollution. The discharged organic material through municipal wastes and

other water courses utilize substantial oxygen and upset the ecological balance of

lakes and rivers (Schueler, 2010). The use of water by people for cooking and other

utilities affects the health and food safety in an influential manner.

Nutrients – The domestic wastage of water and industrial wastages and

agricultural run-offs contain substantial amount of nitrogen and phosphorus which

increase the level of nutrients in water and causes eutrophication in water. Mostly, the

nitrates are added in water through fertilizers (Laws, 2009). The excessive use of

fertilizers contaminates the groundwater and ultimately drinking water and food

safety. The good practices in agriculture can reduce the nitrate amount in soil and

reduce the water contamination.

Synthetic organics – There are many synthetic compounds in the water

environment which accumulate food chain. The persistent organic pollutants are one

of the most harmful elements in the ecosystem and impacts health in a considerable

manner such as agricultural pesticides, industrial chemicals etc. (Yardley, 2007). The

chemicals accumulate serious damages to health of human beings. The usage of

pesticides contaminates groundwater and drinking water.

Acidification – The process of acidification in surface water and mainly in

reservoirs and lakes are main environmental impacts (Liiri, 2012). Also, the air

pollution generates from power plants and heavy industries causes further

contamination in water.

3.2 Soil pollution

There are various health impacts of soil pollution and it is mainly caused by the

human made chemicals and major alterations in the natural environment. The extreme

industrial activities, improper disposal of wastage, agricultural chemicals generate soil

pollution. And most common chemicals involved in soil pollution are polynuclear

hydrocarbons, petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides, lead, solvents and heavy metals

(Zaikab, 2011). The contamination of soil is also related to the intensity of usage of

chemicals. The concerns of soil contamination generate high health risks to human

beings and negatively impacts food safety. The human beings come in direct contact

with contaminated soil through the food underlying in the soil. The mapping of soil

and cleanups are very time consuming and very expensive and also requires high

amount of hydrology, geology, modeling skills, chemistry and therefore, the process

is not conducted in the sites (Sanborn, 2007). Soil pollution can be caused by various

reasons such as deforestation, erosion of land, intensive use of chemical and

fertilizers, industrial accidents, mining, buried wastes, acid rain, illegal dumping on land areas, other accident spills, nuclear wastes, intensive farming practices, genetic

modification, dumping of oil and fuel, electric waste, disposal of coal ash and

ammunitions, drainage of polluted water into soil (Wachman, 2008). The major health

risks generates due to inhalation of contaminated soils which are generally vaporized

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BADER A. HAKAMI

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 36 [email protected]

and considered to be greatest threat to food safety. The infiltration of contaminated

soil causes unsafe food and used for human consumption further.

The consequences of soil pollution to health consequences and food safety vary

according to the type of pollutants, attack pathway and exposed pollution

vulnerability. Mainly, the chronic exposure to heavy metals leads to the formulation

of carcinogenic and congenital disorders and other chronic diseases (Brutsaert, 2013).

The industrial wastes and other man made wastages formulate ammonia and nitrate

associated manure and they are serious health hazards for human health. The high

chronic exposure of benzene is highly associated with leukemia incidences. The

cyclodienes and mercury induces high incidences of damage to kidney and negatively

impacts the health. The cyclodienes are also linked to the toxicity of liver. The

neuromuscular blockage is also a response to carbomates and organophosphates

(Schueler, 2010). There are various chlorinating solvents which impacts kidney and

liver changes and also, affects overall nervous system. The entire spectrum of health

effects is caused because of soil pollution and impacts food chain in a negative

manner. The large number of soil contaminants causes exposure to health impacts and

negative aspects of food safety.

4.0 CORRECTIVE ACTIONS

There are various correction actions which can be taken to prevent water and soil

pollution and improve the health impacts and food safety. The core objective of the

corrective action is to reduce the risk to human health by contamination of soil and

water. Most of the wastages are manmade and therefore, it is important to increase

awareness about health risks of soil and water pollution and their adverse impacts of

food safety (Olawoyin, 2012). The risk exposure can be mitigated by the reduction of

concentrations, metals, pesticides and other chemicals to reduce pollution levels. The

proposed corrective actions for reducing water pollution are as follows:

Promoting education of community and society about the importance of recycling

water and water storage concerns.

Provide sufficient amount of containers to recycle tin, plastic, paper and glass and

other materials causing water pollution

Encouraging fines for sewage dumping in streams and rivers and similar illegal acts.

Ensuring the informal settlements with good facilities for removal of sewage by

municipalities (Hogan, 2010)

Enforcing strict laws for prevention of industrial wastage and dumping industrial

wastages in dams, streams, rivers and seas

Enforcing laws and penalties for the oil tankers leakage and sink and oil spills

Conducting close check of oil tankers for their seaworthiness

Encouraging accountability of oil companies for cleaning up oil spills

Encouraging people for using organic fertilizers (Hengl, 2008)

Encouraging use of natural pesticides instead of using natural enemies

Educating farmers about approved pesticides and herbicides (Dickey, 2011).

The proposed corrective actions for reducing soil pollution are as follows:

Educating people for reducing and recycling the wastages and providing containers to

recycle non-biodegradable materials

Enforcing laws for prevention of wastage dumping in unauthorized areas

Enforcing fines for litter

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Impacts of Soil and Water Pollution on Food Safety and Health Risks

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 37 [email protected]

Utilizing indigenous tree for afforestation

Educating farmers for crop rotation

Ensuring waste removal properly (Newton, 2008)

Ensuring the sufficient amount of dustbins in cities by local government and agencies

Formation of action group and committees for cleaning up the environment.

5.0 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS

There are various challenges while conducting the study because the water and soil

pollution issues are very common and adapted by people in the environment. The

local government and agencies were also not supportive while providing important

data for the soil and water pollution and their health impacts of food safety. The food

chain is closely allied with water and soil and thereby, has major impacts by pollution.

Another issue was the information sharing which was restrained and necessary

information was not shared by farmers, industrialists, oil companies etc. They were

reluctant for sharing information related to the study. The main consideration was

improper management of waste in most of the areas and habit of dumping wastages

illegally in the unauthorized areas. The attempts to educate farmers, industries and site

managers are significant for improving the concerns of soil and water pollution and

enhance food safety. Also, the time limitation and resources constraints while

collecting the data was present throughout the study.

6.0 CONCLUSIONS

The study has concentrated on evaluating the impacts of soil and water pollution on

food safety and health risks within the environment. The overview of water and soil

pollution and their health impacts on food safety and risks to human health has been

explained for understanding the clear purpose of study. The study has been conducted

to understand the causes of water and soil contamination and their ultimate effects on

the health of human beings and food safety implications. There are various linkages of

water and soil contamination with food safety and also, various diseases occur due to

soil and water pollution. Therefore, the study have concentrated on the health impacts,

pollution, soil and water contamination and other factors contributing to the negative

health impacts. It is evident that the soil and water pollution have long term negative

impacts on the health and food safety and therefore, various corrective actions have

been provided for improving the current situation and reduce contamination up to

maximum extent. The assessment of health risks and food safety risks are conducted

to take into account the environmental characteristics of soil and water and their

relation with human activities.

The water and soil pollutants are found to be crucial for entire food chain of

supply and the effects of contamination can be reduced with implementation of

corrective actions within the environment. The high exposure of water and soil

contamination to human beings causes health impacts and various problems. The

health problem includes liver, cancer and other circulatory system problems (Philipp,

2012). Therefore, the man-made wastage has to be managed properly for reducing the

impacts of soil and water pollution of health of human beings and have better food

safety.

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BADER A. HAKAMI

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 38 [email protected]

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