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HEALTH AND POLLUTION: SOME EXAMPLES FROM THE PRESENT SITUATION 1
Author(s) -
Norseth Tor
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1972.tb93078.x
Subject(s) - mercury (programming language) , pollution , pollutant , cadmium , hazard , health hazard , environmental health , environmental science , heavy metals , human health , population , toxicology , environmental chemistry , chemistry , medicine , computer science , biology , ecology , organic chemistry , programming language
Three heavy metals in particular—lead, cadmium, and mercury—pollute our environment in increasing amounts. Dr Norseth uses these three examples of pollution to discuss the overall hazards to human life and welfare in some of the industrially developed areas. We do not know the exact amount of lead we can tolerate, but the amounts present in a population can be monitored by an enzyme inhibition reaction; cadmium contamination of drinking water may be a hazard to the cardiovascular system and the kidneys. The risk to health from methyl mercury in the environment has come under study in recent years. In addition there may be a hazard from the combined action of various pollutants. Action against pollution must be a multidisciplinary one, for science, education and politics are all involved.