Invisible threat: pollutants in the country's ground water.Byline: Nathanael MasseySummary: A landscape of garbage piles is seldom a pretty site. Dumps - particularly open dumps - are an eye-sore, necessitating that they be removed as far as possible from the public. But the most troubling aspect of dumps - and of landfills as well - may be an invisible one.AaAccording to a report released in 2007 by the MORES agency, under the Mediterranean Environmental Technical Assistance program. A landscape of garbage piles is seldom a pretty site. Dumps -- particularly open dumps -- are an eye-sore, necessitating that they be removed as far as possible from the public. But the most troubling aspect of dumps -- and of landfills as well -- may be an invisible one.AaAccording to a report released in 2007 by the MORES agency, under the Mediterranean Environmental Technical Assistance program, the two most prominent sources of pollution to Leba-non's ground water are solid waste and waste water.Aa Waste water, which can be any water discharged from households or industrial sites, is usually contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. with biological components and therefore poses a risk of bacterial contamination.Aa Water that has been filtered through solid waste -- rain water, for example, that has passed through the layers of garbage at a dump site -- poses an even more serious threat.Aa Technically, this water is called "leachate leach·ate n. A product or solution formed by leaching, especially a solution containing contaminants picked up through the leaching of soil. ." In passing through solid-waste matter, the leachate picks up harmful substances, mainly heavy metals heavy metals, n.pl metallic compounds, such as aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and nickel. Exposure to these metals has been linked to immune, kidney, and neurotic disorders. like mercury.Aa The leachate continues its path into the earth, and can contaminate con·tam·i·nate v. 1. To make impure or unclean by contact or mixture. 2. To expose to or permeate with radioactivity. con·tam·i·nant n. ground water reservoirs used by the agricultural sector.Aa "Lebanon is irrigating some of its agricultural plains using waters contaminated by leachate generated from open dumps," reads the MORES report. Following a cyclical path, that water then makes its way into the crops that are consumed by the public.Aa It can also be picked up by cattle and other livestock grazing grazing, n See irregular feeding. grazing 1. actions of herbivorous animals eating growing pasture or cereal crop. 2. area of pasture or cereal crop to be used as standing feed. See also pasture. on contaminated fields, making its way into dairy products dairy products dairy npl → produits laitier dairy products dairy npl → Milchprodukte pl, Molkereiprodukte pl and meat.Aa In other instances, solid waste enters waterways directly. In Lebanon, each Municipality MUNICIPALITY. The body of officers, taken collectively, belonging to a city, who are appointed to manage its affairs and defend its interests. is responsible for the handling of its own solid waste. Dr. Ali Darwish, secretary general of the NGO NGO abbr. nongovernmental organization Noun 1. NGO - an organization that is not part of the local or state or federal government nongovernmental organization Greenline, told The Daily Star that with scant resources at their disposal, the municipalities tend to dump waste wherever is most immediately convenient: often in easily accessible areas such as riverbanks, or the Mediterranean itself, for costal cities.Aa Heavy metals, such as zinc, lead and iron, enter our bodies in trace elements Trace elements A group of elements that are present in the human body in very small amounts but are nonetheless important to good health. They include chromium, copper, cobalt, iodine, iron, selenium, and zinc. Trace elements are also called micronutrients. and are not harmful in very small doses. The danger to human health arises through repeat exposure because metals do not break down, and will accumulate in a human body over time.Aa Too much of an accumulated metal can cause a disturbing array of health problems, from nerve damage to sight loss and several forms of cancer.Aa Another major threat to Lebanon's water supplies -- and the ecological systems they support -- is agricultural waste, primarily synthetic pesticides. Copyright 2009, The Daily Star. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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