Arsenic and Fluoride Contamination of Drinking Water

The following are the highlights of a statement laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on 9.3.2017 (in response to a starred question) by the Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation regarding contamination of drinking water with Arsenic and Fluoride:

Arsenic contamination above permissible limit:

·      9 states are severely affected.

·      14.8 m people are affected out of which 10.4 m are in West Bengal, 1.7 m in Bihar and 1.5 m in Assam.

·      Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are also seriously affected.

·      7820 habitations are affected in West Bengal.

Fluoride contamination above permissible limit:

·      11 states are severely affected.

·      11 m people are affected out of which 4.5 m are in Rajasthan, 1.4 m in Telangana, 1.3 m in Bihar and 0.6 m in West Bengal.

·      Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are also seriously affected.

·      6538 habitations are affected in Rajasthan.

Thus, West Bengal and Bihar both suffer from Arsenic as well as Fluoride contamination.

According to another report placed in the Lok Sabha on 9.2.2017 by the Ministry, there is widespread contamination of drinking water in a number of states. Levels of salinity, fluorides, nitrates, arsenic, iron and heavy metals exceed permissible limits.

This post relates to Chapter 12 of the book.

The Impact of Environmental Pollution on Children

Children are especially vulnerable to environmental threats due to their developing organs and immune systems, smaller bodies and airways. In 2015, 5.9 million children under age five died. The major causes of child deaths globally are pneumonia, prematurity, intrapartum-related complications, neonatal sepsis, congenital anomalies, diarrhoea, injuries and malaria. Most of these diseases and conditions are at least partially caused by the environment.

In March 2017, the World Health Organization released two reports on the impact of environmental pollution on the children of the world.

The major findings if the two reports were:

• More than 1 in 4 deaths of children under 5 years of age are attributable to unhealthy environments.
• Every year, environmental risks – such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, second-hand smoke, unsafe water, lack of sanitation, and inadequate hygiene – take the lives of 1.7 million children under 5 years.
• A large portion of the most common causes of death among children aged 1 month to 5 years – diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia – are preventable by interventions known to reduce environmental risks, such as access to safe water and clean cooking fuels.
• 570,000 children under 5 years die from respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution, and second-hand smoke.
• 361,000 children under 5 years die due to diarrhoea, as a result of poor access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene.
• 270,000 children die during their first month of life from conditions, including prematurity, which could be prevented through access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in health facilities as well as reducing air pollution.
• 200,000 deaths of children under 5 years from malaria could be prevented through environmental actions, such as reducing breeding sites of mosquitoes or covering drinking-water storage.
• 200,000 children under 5 years die from unintentional injuries attributable to the environment, such as poisoning, falls, and drowning.
• Emerging environmental hazards, such as electronic and electrical waste (such as old mobile phones) that is improperly recycled, expose children to toxins which can lead to reduced intelligence, attention deficits, lung damage, and cancer.
• With climate change, temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide are rising, favouring pollen growth, which is associated with increased rates of asthma in children. Worldwide, 11–14% of children aged 5 years and older currently report asthma symptoms and an estimated 44% of these are related to environmental exposures. Air pollution, second-hand tobacco smoke, and indoor mould and dampness make asthma more severe in children.
• In households without access to basic services, such as safe water and sanitation, or that are smoky due to the use of unclean fuels, such as coal or dung for cooking and heating, children are at an increased risk of diarrhoea and pneumonia.
• Children are also exposed to harmful chemicals through food, water, air and products around them. Chemicals, such as fluoride, lead and mercury pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, and others in manufactured goods, eventually find their way into the food chain. And, while leaded petrol has been phased out almost entirely in all countries, lead is still widespread in paints, affecting brain development.

This post relates to Chapter 11 of the book.

State of India’s Environment 2017 – Part 2

Here are some more facts from the Annual State of India’s Environment 2017, released by the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi:

Coral bleaching:

·      In 2016, coral reefs across the entire tropical belt bleached due to higher sea temperatures.

·      Coral bleaching has occurred in the Lakshadweep archipelago four times over the past two decades. But, in 2016, for the first time, large and ancient corals (over 500 years old) succumbed to bleaching.

Montreal Protocol:

·      The Agreement to phase down HFCs arrived at in Kigali, Rwanda in October 2016, is a rare victory for the world and India.

·      India’s strategic give-and-take approach during the negotiations brought about an effective and binding agreement.

·      India pledged to reduce HFC-23 emissions equivalent to 100 m tonnes of CO2 by 2030. This placed additional pressure on the US and China to respond, as these two countries are responsible for most of the global HFC-23 emissions.

Sanitation:

·      India continues to rank first in the world in open defecation. Over 560 million Indians defecate in the open.

·      In order to meet the sanitation target of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBM), 65,000 toilets have to be built every day until September 2019. There is no sign of such sustained activity.

Air pollution:

·      The government has made an unprecedented move to skip Euro V emission norms for vehicles and leap directly to Euro VI (or Bharat Stage VI) standards by 2020.

·      The Ministry of Road Transport has notified the BS VI Standards for all vehicles nationwide.

Disaster management (Floods):

·      India’s flood management capacity has remained unchanged for 40 years even as climate variability has multiplied the impact of floods.

·      Over Rs. 11.25 lakh crore was spent on flood control measures during 1953-2011. Yet, flood-affected areas rose by 160% between 1960 and 2011.

This post relates to different chapters in the book.

State of India's Environment 2017

The Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, releases an Annual State of India’s Environment. Here are some key indicators taken from their 2017 Report:

State of land and agriculture:

·      Soil Health Card Scheme (Chapter 10 of the book)

o   As on October 18, 2016, only 23% of the target had been met with respect to the number of cards issued.

o   25 of the 33 states had met less than 50% target.

·      Nearly 30% of land in India is degraded. Of the total geographical area of 328 million ha, 96 million ha is under desertification.

·      26 states have reported an increase in the area undergoing desertification over the past 10 years.

State of forest clearance:

·      Between January and September 2016, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change granted clearances for forest diversion to 249 projects covering an area of 10,000 ha.

·      36% of the total forest land approved for diversion was for irrigation projects and 20% was for mining projects.

State of urban water bodies:

·      Urban floods are on the increase since the wetlands, which work as sponges during floods, have been built over.

·      Loss of water bodies has been severe (more than 50% in area) in cities such as Srinagar, Delhi, Guwahati, Udaipur, Surat, Kolhapur, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Thiruvananthapuram.

State of public transport:

·      State bus services are outdated and incapable of meeting the increasing demand.

·      India has just two buses for every 1000 people.

·      The average occupancy ratio in state bus services is 71%.

·      46 state bus companies have losses to the tune of Rs.10,800 crores.

State of wildlife:

·      In 2016, India recorded a 25% increase in tiger deaths, 98 compared to 78 in 2015.

State of energy:

·      Although power deficit reduced from 8.5% in 2010-11 to 2.10% in 2015-16, India’s diesel generator market has been growing steadily, especially in the residential sector.

This post relates to Chapter 1 of the book.