How Hazardous Waste Affects the Environment
Industry and agriculture continually produce huge quantities of hazardous waste, much of which ends up in the environment. It can have an immediate and devastating impact on ecosystems, killing off plants and animals, making fish unfit for human consumption, and turning fertile agricultural land into dead zones.
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Types of Hazardous Waste
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Hazardous waste is toxic, corrosive, flammable, or unstable. Some types fall into two or more categories. Heavy metals such as mercury and lead accumulate up the food chain. Birds of prey, large fish, and marine mammals often test positive for dangerous levels. The animals are slowly poisoned, as are humans who eat them. Other types of hazardous waste include acids, solvents, radioactive waste, and pesticides.
Sources of Hazardous Waste
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Agriculture and industry produce most hazardous waste. Agricultural chemicals run off into the surrounding ecosystem. The byproducts of manufacturing are often extremely toxic. Individuals use hazardous substances for cleaning, in their motor vehicles, and for home or garden improvement. These substances include bleach, drain cleaner, antifreeze, paint stripper, weed killer, and motor oil, all of which are classed as hazardous waste.
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Immediate Effects
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In the short term, hazardous waste, including toxins such as mercury, lead, battery acid, and oil, can be damaging or lethal to plants and animals, including people, exposed to it. Radioactive waste, in particular, can have long-term impacts, causing cancers and genetic deformities.
Long-Term Effects
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Hazardous waste remains in the environment for a long time, in some cases for thousands of years. The toxic waste from large environmental disasters such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Chernobyl disaster are still affecting the environment decades later. In addition to such spectacular examples, the regular and improper disposal of hazardous materials has a quite serious cumulative impact.
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References
- Photo Credit Industrial Waste image by Diane Stamatelatos from Fotolia.com
