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Diseases caused by pollution, lead to the chronic illness and deaths of about 8.4 million people each year. However, pollution receives a fraction of the interest from the global community.[1] This is in part because pollution causes so many diseases that it is often difficult to draw a straight line between cause and effect.
Environmental diseases vs. pollution-related diseases
Environmental diseases are a direct result from the environment. This includes diseases caused by substance abuse, exposure to toxic chemicals, and physical factors in the environment, like UV radiation from the sun, as well as genetic predisposition. Meanwhile, pollution-related diseases are attributed to exposure to toxins in the air, water, and soil. Therefore, all pollution-related disease are environmental diseases, but not all environmental diseases are pollution-related diseases.
Air pollution diseases
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is linked to 7 million premature deaths (1 in 8 of total global deaths) in 2012. Here is a breakdown by the diseases air pollution causes:[2]
12% – acute lower respiratory infections in children
6% – lung cancer
Water pollution
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): "Waterborne diseases are caused by pathogenic microbes that can be directly spread through contaminated water. Most waterborne diseases cause diarrheal illness [Note: not all diseases listed below cause diarrhea]. Eighty-eight percent of diarrhea cases worldwide are linked to unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation or insufficient hygiene. These cases result in 1.5 million deaths each year, mostly in young children. The usual cause of death is dehydration. Most cases of diarrheal illness and death occur in developing countries because of unsafe water, poor sanitation, and insufficient hygiene. Other waterborne diseases do not cause diarrhea; instead these diseases can cause malnutrition, skin infections, and organ damage.[3]
Sources of lead poisoning/pollution include paint (e.g. lead paint deterioration), petroleum products, mining, smelting, manufacturing and recycling activities (e.g. battery recycling).[4][5][6][7]
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element and can be found in food, water, or air. There are also industrial sources of arsenic, including mining and smelting.[8] "People are exposed to elevated levels of inorganic arsenic through drinking contaminated water, using contaminated water in food preparation and irrigation of food crops, industrial processes, eating contaminated food and smoking tobacco. Long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic... can lead to chronic arsenic poisoning. Skin lesions and skin cancer are the most characteristic effects."[9]
