■ Minamata disease incident
1950, a large number of cats and dogs who committed suicide due to insanity were found in a small fishing village near Minamata Bay, Japan. 1953, a strange patient was found in Minamata town. At first, his gait was unstable and his expression was dull. Later, he was deaf and blind, and his whole body was numb. Finally, he went insane, fell asleep for a while, and was excited for a while. His body bent down and died of screaming. 1956, a girl with the same disease was hospitalized, which attracted the attention of local experts in Kumamoto University Hospital and began to investigate. Finally, it was found that a local chemical fertilizer plant used a low-cost mercury catalyst process to discharge a large amount of wastewater containing organic mercury into Minamata Bay, resulting in fish poisoning, and people, cats and dogs died from eating poisoned fish. 1972, the Japanese Environment Agency announced that there were 283 mercury poisoners in Minamata Bay and the lower reaches of Akye River in Yeken Prefecture, of which 60 died.
■ A painful event
During the period of1955-1972, a strange disease appeared on both sides of the prodigy Kawaguchi in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. There are more women than men. Suffering from this disease, the whole body aches and can't walk, hence the name "painful disease". After investigation, this is a cadmium poisoning incident, which is caused by the cadmium-containing wastewater discharged from nearby electroplating factory, storage battery factory, welding factory or mining industry that has not been properly treated and polluted the water body of Shentongchuan. Residents on both sides of the strait irrigated farmland with river water, which led to cadmium poisoning in rice and drinking water. From 1963 to 1979, there were 130 patients.
■ Chemical plant incident
1986 a fire broke out in a chemical factory warehouse in Sandoz, Switzerland, located in the upper reaches of the Rhine River. 10 tons of pesticides and sewage containing various toxic chemicals flow into the Rhine River, affecting more than 500 kilometers.
■■ Gold Mine Event
In 2000, cyanide wastewater leaked from a gold mine in the Romanian border town of Oradia and flowed into Yugoslavia. Where poisonous water flows, all living things will suddenly die in a very short time. 80% of fish in Tisza River and its tributaries, one of the largest rivers in Europe flowing through Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia, have been completely extinct, and the areas along the river have entered a state of emergency. This is the biggest environmental disaster in Europe since the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in the former Soviet Union.
■■ Disease comes from water.
All kinds of water pollution not only damages the ecological environment, but also directly or indirectly harms human health. Water is one of the important environmental factors and an important part of human body. The water content in the adult body accounts for about 65% of the body weight, and the physiological water demand per person per day is about 2-3 liters. All physiological activities of human body, such as body temperature regulation, nutrient transport, waste excretion, etc., need water to complete.
Our normal physiological activities are threatened by water pollution. Academician Liu Hongliang, the chief scientist of China Lake Environment Research, introduced that there are more than 2,000 kinds of organic pollutants detected in water at home and abroad, of which 1 14 have or are suspected to have carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic effects, and generally more than 100 kinds of organic pollutants can be detected in water sources all over the country.
The diseases caused by water pollution have the following characteristics: First, it is gradual, and various toxic substances accumulate slowly in the body until the disease occurs. Because of the long time, it is not easy to detect and more concealed. Second, it is not easy to decompose. Most toxic organic compounds and all heavy metals can not be decomposed and metabolized in the body, but can only stay and accumulate in the body for a long time. Third, it is easy to accumulate in the body. Once the heavy metals enter the human body, they will combine with human protein to form compounds that are difficult to metabolize.
Water pollution may lead to these diseases:
Carcinogen-nitrite compound, chloroform
Liver disease-toxic organic substances and heavy metals contained in industrial wastewater and pesticides.
Stone-high hardness groundwater
Cardiovascular-high inorganic salt content
Dementia-metallic aluminum, etc.
Bone diseases-heavy metal cadmium
Hematopoietic diseases-heavy metals
Endocrine disorders-toxic organic matter, high content of inorganic salts, heavy metals, etc.
Nitrobenzene and benzene produced by the explosion of Jilin Petrochemical Company belong to non-heavy metal pollution. If the concentration of nitrobenzene exceeds the standard, it will destroy the blood system and damage the liver and kidney. If long-term low-dose drinking, it will cause chronic damage. If you drink it in large doses for a long time, it will cause acute injury. However, benzene rarely causes water pollution, usually air pollution, which is the same as benzene produced by furniture and paint during home decoration and may cause cancer.
Relevant experts suggest that when this happens in the future, it is necessary to reduce drinking polluted water and eat more foods rich in vitamin C in the diet, because this substance has the effect of detoxifying and protecting the liver. Adults should eat more than 500 grams of fresh vegetables and more than 200 grams of fresh fruits every day to achieve the vitamin C needed by the human body. In addition, it would be better to supplement some vitamin C tablets.