Pollution, toxins and contaminants all provide risks to our physical health, right from the manufacturing start to the end waste solution, and the logistics in-between. There have been well documented cases of whole communities impacted by problems such as polluted drinking water; one of the most well-known being that of Erin Brockovich, the activist for clean water who built a case in 1996 against PG&E (an American gas & electric company) which was eventually settled for $333 million. Her allegations that the company had contaminated the town of Hinkley\u2019s (CA) drinking water with chromium 6 were proven to be true, and the pay out was the largest ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit at the time. Residents in Hinkley still report effects such as asthma, chronic coughs, recurring bronchitis, rashes, aches, pains and nosebleeds from the contamination to this day.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/2″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]\n
It isn\u2019t just water pollution that\u2019s a problem; there are many areas of our day to day lives where pollution is a problem.<\/p>\n
Toxins such as poisonous chemicals, chemical compounds and Dioxins (chemically-related compounds that are persistent environmental pollutants) all impact on human health in different ways. We have a lot more exposure to toxins than we think, as many are present in the background of our daily lives in the air we breathe, the items we touch, and even in the food we eat as the food chain is subject to toxins such as pesticides.<\/p>\n
The impact that toxins have on our health are varied, but can include gastric issues, changes in metabolism, cancers, skin complaints and breathing problems \u2013 this is most definitely not a full list of potential health complaints.<\/p>\n
There are different types of contaminants that we encounter in our every day lives such as:<\/p>\n
The social effects of poor environmental practices also have social effects on the population; depending on the hazard in question, these can impact different areas such as housing, working conditions, noise and conflicts within the community.<\/p>\n
People who work with dangerous chemicals or toxins can be subject to dangerous or hazardous working conditions. These can impact the health of the worker and also the social conditions under which those concerned live, as their work environment may cause concern and stress for family and friends. Depending on the working conditions in question, they may also be at risk of bringing contaminants back into the home, impacting the health of those around them inadvertently. There have been cases where chemicals such as mercury, pesticides, PCBs and radioactive substances have been unwittingly spread through communities due to poor handling and decontamination procedures.<\/p>\n
If residential areas are subject to environmental issues such as poor waste disposal or high levels of industrial or manufacturing plants, then the quality of the housing area may decline as a result. There may be problems with vermin or community issues such as bad odours, air pollution or poor water quality, which in turn does then have an impact on both society and health. Noise may also be a problem; health issues aside, high noise levels can impact family wellbeing due to lack of sleep and increased stress.<\/p>\n
When residents of a community are under risk of health problems and also have to contend with other issues such as vermin, odours or water quality, naturally this leads to poor morale, conflicts and lower quality of life for those concerned.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve spoken at length about how different issues impact the environment, but what about the impact that environmental hazards also have on us, us humans. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2234,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,48],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2233","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"category-sustainability"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n