Publication: Water pollution and health
Date
2006
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Kathmandu University
Abstract
Water is the important constituent of life support system. No one can live and even dream to live without water.
Most of our water bodies have become polluted due to industrial growth; urbanization and man made problems
mainly the result of population growth. Poor sanitation and contaminated drinking water arising from human activity
and natural phenomena create serious problems in human health. The chief sources of water pollution are sewage
and other waste, industrial effluents, agricultural discharges and industrial wastes from chemical industries, fossils
fuel plants and nuclear power plants. They create a larger problem of water pollution rendering water no longer fit
for drinking, agriculture and, as well as for aquatic life. More than 2.6 billion people-40% of the world’s population
– lack basic sanitation facilities and over one billion people still use unsafe drinking water sources. As a result
thousands of children die everyday from diarrhoea and other water, sanitation and hygiene related diseases and
many suffer and are weakened by illness.1
Key words: Water pollution, Poor sanitation, contaminated drinking water, human health