Technical Report Pollution in Cities of Trinidad

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Approach
Findings
Discussions of Results
Summery
Conclusion
References

Introduction

A general health survey was carried out by investigators with the main objective of determining why so many people in Trinidad’s major towns were infected with respiratory and skin disorders. The studies showed that a majority of those who were infected were living or working in landfills within the cities in question. The investigators decided to give statistics on the number of infected people in these regions after which a study of possible pollutants in these landfills was done.

The following is a report that has been compiled after an environmental research team did an extensive case study on the effects on the health of living in close proximity to a landfill. The case study in several towns in Trinidad including Forres Park and Guanapo gave enlightening evidence of health hazards caused by the pollutants in the respective landfills. The researchers have deduced that even the smallest exposure (in contact, through the air or in form of water) over a period of time has a debilitating effect on human health.

In the investigations, the presence of pollutants in industrial waste for example affects the entire environment by introducing extra chemical content to surroundings that were once alienated from the colossal amounts of chemicals. In this particular report, a study was done on the chemical content contained in most of the industrial wastes present in the landfills. Chemicals such as Vinyl Chloride that cause human liver cancer and damage the immune system may be present in landfills. Benzene is another chemical found in the environment. It also causes cancer, leukemia and anemia. It is well-known for causing drowsiness and excessive bleeding. At higher concentrations, dichloromethane damages the liver and also affects the lungs. Another chemical present in the landfill might be Methylene chloride, which is a primary cause of convulsion and a change in the rate of the heartbeat. Tetrachloroethene causes diseases and conditions to the kidney, excessive headaches and eventual unconsciousness. Finally, mercury-related diseases include tremors and eye irritation. It also damages the central nervous system and increases the person’s blood pressure (The Alliance for a Clean Environment, n.d. para.3).

The significance of analyzing these findings is to bring awareness on the dangers of exposing oneself to these kinds of chemicals without adequate protection. Many people who live in the environment close to the dumping sites are exposed to the daily combustion of the refuse, coupled with the inhalation of the emissions from the combusted material. These pose enormous health hazards to the people living in these places. Underlying waters in these sites are also sources of disease and ailments, especially when the water is ingested either through drinking or cooking. The report therefore gives an in-depth analysis on the findings of various research works done in these towns. It gives reasons why certain diseases such as skin irritation and ailments are so evident in the regions that harbor landfills. It also handles the impact of air pollution on the respiratory system of the human being, and why environmental degradation is responsible in causing major increases in respiratory diseases.

Approach

The following approach has been used to make the report as open and understandable as possible. First and foremost, the results obtained from the investigation are well documented to portray an extract of what effect landfill pollutants are having on the young and the old in these towns. Next, a deep analysis of the different harmful chemical contents in many of the waste products of the landfills is done. The chemical contents are linked with their consequent skin and respiratory diseases in order to reveal the hazardous effect of the pollutants to human beings. A summery, in terms of suggestions is given towards ways in which to curb these vices, most of which involve government measures that are needed to prevent the pollution of the environment.

Findings

Findings from studies done showed that, children compared to adults, who directly or indirectly came into contact with the materials present in the landfills, were the minority of those affected by the pollutants. This was due to the fact that more adults came into closer contact with the materials in the landfills. Out the overall outcome of 356 samples taken for the children illnesses, a large percentage of them were cancer related diseases. 70 to 75% of the children who were sampled were at risk of acquiring cancerous diseases occasioned by the effects of the chemical exposure that they are subjected to. The elderly were the most affected, with 924 out of a possible 1200 people having skin diseases. The people who were mostly affected had come into close contact with the materials that present in the sites. This sample was a percentage of 85% of the population which was put under investigation. In Foress Park, an industry has actually been set up in the landfill to help contain the waste that piles up on the outskirts of the town. Most of the workers in these industries put under investigation showed cancerous related skin diseases.

Just like the analysis on skin diseases, it was found that more adults out of the cities’ population were affected compared with the percentage of children. In the 250 samples analyzed among the adult records in the hospitals in Trinidad, 72% of the patients who complained of respiratory disorders lived near or worked in or in the surrounding of these landfills. The analysis was carried out taking into consideration the people aged between 15 to 75 years of age. More respiratory disorders were found in people who worked in the landfills, and further reports that more people were under questionable arguments of the level of protection or cover they are usually under while they work in the field sites.

Discussions of Results

Analysis of the Skin Diseases caused by Waste Materials in Landfills

One of the causes of the skin disease is found in pollutants that contain contents of benzene in them. Materials such as heavy industrial metals, metallic tin containers, and a wide range of chemical wastes found in the landfills are rich in traces of benzene. The carbon and hydrogen mixture in the benzene compound is an instant irritant to the skin. Recognition of traces of the compound is through detection of sweet aroma from the effluence released from its combustion. It is a volatile liquid which accumulates mostly in low lying areas. Skin contact causes redness and constant irritation, a symptom found vividly in the skin observation of the workers of the landfill industries (Ellen , 2003).

Another cause of skin disease is found in materials containing Methylene chloride. This compound is largely present in plastic and carbon made containers in landfills. Deposits of the compound are also found in industrial waste products dumped in the sites. When this compound is burnt up, traces of the gaseous products released get to the skin and just like benzene, cause extensive irritation of the external. Its accidental ingestion has also been known skin cancer after it has done extensive damages on ones kidneys.

Tetracloroethene is another cause of skin disease. It is also found as part of the chemical content in industrial wastes, and has its own severe damages. Amongst others, the chemical has been known to causes an irritation in the eyes, followed by severe eye surface pains. This happens immediately one comes into direct contact with extensive combustion of the same. Afterwards, the person will have a burning feeling in his mouth and throat, which can become fatal if one is not shown immediate medical care. Degreasing of the skin and blistering are other impacts occasioned by direct contact with the chemical. Moreover, redness and scaling also occur when the body comes into close contact with tetracloroethane.

Dichloroethene can be absorbed directly by the skin. This is a compound that is massively contained in most of the industrial drums and containers that are found damped in these landfills. Whenever one comes into contact with this compound, he will without notice absorb its content through skin transmission or through inhalation. Dichloroethene has only been known to have major effects on human beings in big amounts. Indirect skin damages emerge from liver ailments caused by this compound.

Analysis of Respiratory Diseases caused by Waste Materials in Landfills

Apparently, similar chemicals emitted as gaseous effluents in the landfills cause skin problems that are almost the same with those that cause skin disorders. In general, studies have found them to be more fatal when absorbed into the body than when one comes into contact with them (Med Prev, 1997, para.2). A chemical like benzene, when inhaled in excessive amounts or ingested through the mouth will make the victim have acute effects of irritation of the membranes of the mucus, convulsions and eventually unconsciousness due to lack of sufficient amounts of oxygen supply in the blood. Most of the industries use benzene as a solvent and without proper disposal mechanisms; the chemical releases the sweet smelling vapor that causes these problems after combustion.

Dichloroethylene is one of the solvents used in manufacturing industries that may be harmful to humans. As much as it is useful in the rubber, waxing, and resins manufacturing plants, mishandling of the product will cause a number of health hazards. One of the most common ailments that it causes is severe sore throats especially when the compound is inhaled excessively. Other long term effects may include pneumonia and chest pains caused by Pseudomonas Aeruginosa.

Methyl Chloride is another pollutant that has proved to cause dangerous effects to the human being. It is commonly used in solvents that clean metals to remove traces of grease and other stubborn stains. It is also an ingredient in foam manufacturing and in chemical processing. Scientist have done experiments and have found that tumors in mice have been traced under continuous exposure to this chemical. These traces have been especially concentrated on the lung area and the liver, which will further cause respiratory diseases.

In addition, another pollutant that can cause damage to the respiratory system of a human being may be found in land fill materials that are rich in Trichloroethene (TCE). At small portions, it irritates breathing mildly, but after it is broken down thermally, the constituent compounds of hydrogen chloride may cause infections ranging from pulmonary irritations, since it contains suffocating agents. It is more harmful to children since their sensitive lungs are recipe for immediate suffocation and also pneumonic diseases caused by hydrocarbons. Combustion of this compound is therefore highly advised against because of the immediate effects it may have on the people who inhale the bi-products.

One of the most dangerous pollutants when it comes to landfill pollutant examinations is mercury. The health hazards caused by the consumption of certain dozes of mercury, depending on the type of mercury, will more often be reversible than not be irreversible. Mercury is naturally derived from volcanic activity, but organic mercury can be created with its effects being as damaging as in natural mercury. Although it is mostly in manufacturing of button batteries, certain alloys of metals and the common mercury thermometer, it is easy to find its traces in such damping fields as landfills. Apart from permanent nervous breakdown of the human being, certain concentrations of mercury in the human body will more often than not cause respiratory damages. The compound affects the lungs to the point of having the victim lacking breathing ability. In addition, the nervous system imbalance will also cause breathing complications due to the close relation it has with the respiratory system of the human body (Larry, 1984, 39).

Summery

It is important to understand that most of these compounds are not found explicitly on their own in the landfills. In many cases, these compounds are found manly in reagents and chemical combinations used in industries and household products. When these reagents are damped in landfills, they still are not at major risk to the human being. The problems for the human being begin in his quest in trying to contain the amounts of materials that are dumped in these fields. Burning up of solid materials causes the effective combustion of these compounds, with releases of dangerous compounds. Inhalation of these compounds cause serious lung damages and respiratory disorders. When dumped into waters and rivers, these compounds, many of which are absorbent, will find their way into people’s tap water. Ingestion of the same brings harmful effects. People working in these landfills fail to realize that over time, these materials get to decompose. Having done so, new compounds and chemical components are released, and when they come into contact with human skin, cause serious skin conditions.

Conclusion

Having surveyed the three towns in Trinidad, taken samples of the health conditions of the residents that live in or work in areas that surround the landfills, and effectively analyzed the numbers and the rate at which health is deteriorating, we may have to terminate our analysis by reiterating certain facts from our findings. Landfills contain compounds within themselves that are by the minute causing serious health hazards to the people surrounding these areas. Another conclusion is that wrong methods are being used to contain the constantly increasing amounts of industrial and household waste products in these landfills. In addition, it has been found out that the compounds and chemical contents in these sites are useful for other purposes and can be controlled in a better way in order to bring certain amounts of economic value, instead of simply burning the materials away.

Suggestions that may be given in order to contain, and in effect reduce the amounts of fatalities that can be caused by these landfills include pushing more funds into the recycling industry, in order to not only reduce the amount of garbage in these fields but also provide better protection to the workers who work in these fields. Another suggestion is to enact tighter policies against the wasteful and risky methods of dumping of industrial waste products into rivers and water bodies. Strict measures should be taken to manufacturers who are found guilty in engaging in such practices.

It is inherent that the population is informed and advised on the importance of keeping our environment clean, not just for the sake of our generation but also for the sake of the future generations that are to come.

References

Jackson, Larry. 1984. Assessment on Environmental Damage. Hazardous and industrial waste management and testing: third symposium, 336-339. Williamsburg, Virginia. ASTM International.

Prev, J. Med. 1997. Health Assessment for Glass Fiber Landfill. Journal for Preventive Medicine and Public Health. Web.

Szarleta, Ellen. 2003. Landfills and your Health. Landfills, August. Web.

The Alliance for a Clean Environment. N. d. Sources for Health Effects: EPA, ATSDR, OSHA, NIOSH. Web.

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