 | Basic Concepts in Environment, Agriculture and Natural Resources Management: An Information Kit (IIRR, 1993, 151 p.) |
 |  | Introduction |
|  | Use of workshop |
| | Workshop participants |
| | Support staff |
| | Glossary of commonly used environmental terms |
| | List of references |
| | Ecological basics |
| | Ecosystem degradation |
| | Habitat and niche |
| | The food chain |
| | Biological magnification |
| | Nitrogen cycle |
| | Society and the carbon-oxygen cycle |
| | Health consequences of environmental degradation |
| | Population and the environment |
| | Freshwater and marine ecosystems |
| | Freshwater ecosystems |
| | Estuarine-mudflat ecosystems |
| | Seagrass ecosystems |
| | Mangrove ecosystems |
| | Coral reef ecosystems |
| | Human intrusions into the water cycle |
| | Diversity of coastal and marine resources |
| | Philippine marine fisheries |
| | Marine turtles |
| | Marine food web |
| | Ocean pastures |
| | The menace of algal bloom |
| | Red tide (Dynamics and public health aspects) |
| | Forest ecosystems |
| | Tropical forest -ecosystems |
| | Protected areas: a tool for biological diversity conservation |
| | Environmental effects of overexploitation for fuelwood in nearshore coastal resources |
| | Biological diversity: and wildlife conservation |
| | Wildlife trade |
| | Global warming and acid rain |
| | Climate change and the greenhouse effect |
| | How deforestation contributes to the greenhouse effect |
| | Acid rain |
| | Pollution |
| | Toxic and hazardous wastes |
| | Pollution and long-term effects on the human body |
| | Urban pollution: The metro Manila environment |
| | Mining operations: environmental effects on soil, water, communities and atmosphere |
| | Pesticides: environmental and health effects |
| | Others |
| | Philippine commercial energy sources, 1990 |
| | Common property resources in crisis |
| | Degradation of the uplands |
| | Lowland degradation |
| | Environmental issues in animal production |
| | Plant genetic resources |
| | Natural hazards |
Pollution and long-term effects on the human body
Parts of the body affected by various
pollutants
POLLUTION AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS ON THE HUMAN BODY
Many different kinds of pollutants affect the human body unknowingly because the chronic (months to years of exposure to the pollutants) are not dramatic compared to the acute (few seconds to days exposure) menaces. The more pronounced acute symptoms are diarrhea, eye and skin irritation, cough and sneezing. Often, by the time clinical symptoms (months to years of exposure to the pollutants) emerge, permanent damage has already been done. Pollutants may also affect the unborn child of a pregnant mother. The effects may appear as abortion, stillbirth and congenital birth defects.
Some pollutants, its long-term effects and the specific organs affected are presented below.
|
Pollutant |
Sources |
Organs Affected/Effects |
|
Lead |
Lead battery manufacture |
Brain |
| |
Paint/Smelting industry |
Impairment of learning and intelligence in school children |
| |
Ingestion of crayons containing lead pigment |
Lead encephalopathy (damaged to brain tissue) |
| |
Chewing of toys with paint |
Mental retardation |
| |
Leaded gasoline |
Digestive system |
| |
|
Persistent abdominal pain |
| | |
Kidney |
| | |
Bloody urine |
| |
|
Bone |
| | |
Damage to the formation of hemoglobin; joint pains; anemia |
| | |
Death |
|
Mercury |
Gold extraction from mineral ores |
Brain |
| |
Electrical contacts and vapor lamps |
Tremor, loss of memory, lack of, confidence, vague fears and depression |
|
| |
Kidney |
| | |
Bloody urine |
| |
|
Oral cavity |
| |
|
Gingivitis (infection of the gums) |
|
Arsenic |
Pesticides containing arsenic |
Skin |
| |
Copper smelting |
Chronic irritation of the skin |
| | |
Digestive system |
| |
|
Persistent abdominal cramps, nausea |
| | |
and vomiting (simple attack) |
| | |
Eyes |
| | |
Chronic irritation/permanent |
| | |
impairment of vision |
|
Irritant Gases/Asphyxiants |
Fumes from smoke-belching cars; emissions from |
Heart |
|
Sulfur dioxide |
industries; cigarette smoke |
Aggravation of cardiovascular illnesses |
|
Hydrogen |
Coal gas industry |
Brain |
|
Sulfide (H2S) |
Gold extraction from mineral ores |
Loss of consciousness; impairment of mental function |
|
Ammonia |
Fertilizer industry |
Aggravation of respiratory diseases (asthma, pneumonia) |
|
Nitrogen dioxide |
|
Cancer |
|
Carbon dioxide |
|
Eyes |
|
Carbon monoxide |
|
Reduction of vision |
|
Hydrogen cyanide |
|
Coma/death |
|
Cigarette smoke and |
| |
|
Dusts (vegetable animal) |
Cotton fibers |
Lungs |
| |
Coffee bean hull |
Respiratory tract irritation (cough, sneezing) asthma, pneumonia |
| |
Rice hull | |
| |
Sugarcane bagasse |
Cancer |
| |
Animal feathers |
Death |
|
Pesticide |
Manufacturing, packaging industry |
Brain |
| |
Residues from food |
Nervous disorder (paralysis); loss of consciousness |
| |
Pesticide from household use |
Behavioral disorder (mental disorder) |
| | |
Multi-organ |
| |
|
Cancer |
| | |
Skin |
| | |
Chronic allergy |
| |
|
Lungs/heart |
| |
|
Chest tightness/pain, chronic respiratory tract irritation |
|
Ultraviolet radiation |
Destruction of the ozone layer |
Skin |
| |
Prolonged exposure to |
Cancer of the skin |
| |
sunlight |
Eyes |
| | |
Eye impairment (e.g., cataract) |
|
Cadmium |
Anti-rust plating material |
Lungs |
| |
As salts used as pigments and |
Chronic pulmonary irritation |
| |
coloring agents for plastics, |
Prostate |
| |
ceramics and glass |
Cancer |
| |
In nuclear reactors as |
Heart |
| |
absorbing material |
Hypertension (High-blood pressure) |
| | |
Bone |
| | |
Itai-itai disease (softening of the bone associated with pain) |
| |
|
Kidney |
| | |
Chronic kidney damage |
|
Barium |
Geothermal industry |
Lungs |
| |
As a component of pesticide |
Chronic irritation of the nose and throat |
| |
As pigments of white paints. |
Pneumonia-like symptoms |
| | |
Reproductive organs |
|
. | |
Impaired female and male |
| | |
reproductive functions. |
|
|