Ruining a Perfectly Good Earth... Toxic Waste in the Air, Land, and Sea

RUINING A PERFECTLY GOOD EARTH.. Toxic Waste in the air, land, and sea Toxic waste is any byproduct that can cause death or serious injury, as well as disease and birth defects, to living creatures whether it be humans, other animals, or plants and other kingdoms of life. Living things can encounter toxic waste in a variety of ways, as there are a variety of toxic wastes in today's human-influenced ecosystem. CATEGORIES OF There are so many toxic wastes that the only logical way to broadly categorize them is by what kind of environment they destroy. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION Sea Land LET'S HAVE A LOOK AT THE VARIETY OF TOXIC POLLUTANTS BY AIR, LAND, AND SEA. AIR Bhopal Gas Tragedy December 2, 1984 -a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India leaks over 40 tons of methyl isocynate gas and other toxic chemicals into the atmosphere, killing 8,000 people in only a few days due to respiratory arrest and cardiac arrest. People awoke in bed with coughing fits and lungs filling with fluid. In all, 20,00 residents have died because of the disaster since it happened in 1984. 373 toxic waste sites analyzed in these nations 1.5 million healthy years claimed comparedto just 725,000 healthy years due to malaria Philippins Indonesia India 373 toxic waste sites were analyzed by researchers in the Philippines, Indonesia, and India and found that outdoor air pollution is claiming 1.5 million healthy years from the 1.6 billion regional population, compared to just 725,000 healthy years being taken from the population of these nations by malaria. LAND cATES AONSSY In 1976, the Environmental Protection Agency, or E.P.A, started regulating hazardous waste and began to require that toxic waste be handled with special precautions and disposed of only in designated areas. PROTECTION The Toxic Substances Control Act required the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate potentially hazardous industrial chemicalş, including halogenated fluorocarbons, dioxin, asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBS), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCS) and vinyl chloride. Toxic waste dumps in'the US that pose a threat to communities today are either the result of illegal dumping or existed prior to 1976. Lead 8.6 million people risk exposure to lead, asbestos, hexavalent chromium, and an abundance of other hazardous materials just by living in India, the Philippines, or Indonesia. The myriad of toxic pollutants in these areas claims 829,000 good-health years from the people living in these Asbestos Hexavalent Chromium areas, SEA Toxic waste can be dumped directly into the ocean or it can arrive there from land through stream runoff or from floodwaters, as happened with Hurricane Katrina. 50 countries signed an international treaty in 1989 aimed at regulating the international shipment of toxic wastes, but unfortunately toxic waste is sometimes shipped to developing countries to be disposed of cheaply but dangerously, often with substandard shipping that can lead to more ocean pollution. Mercury, highly poisonous in high doses, accumulates in ocean creatures and eventually ends up accumulating in the people and animals that eat fish. Toxic Waste seems to be Everywhere... Even Outer Space... There's already a bunch of garbage flying in orbit around our planet and there's talk of sending radioactive waste into space to "dispose of it." If you wish to make a long-term, ecological difference, consider earning an environmental science degree. DistanceLearning.com offers the flexibility of remote-course options that are tailored to your schedule and career ambitions. A world of difference can start today at DistanceLearning.com! Brought to you by: DistanceLearning .com Sources: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/toxic-waste-overview/ http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/toxic-waste.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicwaste http://www.h-gac.com/community/waste/management/hhw/documents/household_hazardous_waste_facts.pdf http://www.ehow.com/facts_4929030 facts-toxic-waste.html http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2006/03/marine-pollution-how-ocean-became-toxic-waste-dump http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/encampaigns/toxics/justice-for-bhopal/ http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/350205/description/Toxic_waste_sites_may_cause_health_problems_for_millions http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1286&context=wmelpr Air UIND TALP