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The health and environmental impact of transport is significant because transport burns most of the world's petroleum. This causes illness and deaths from air pollution , including nitrous oxides and particulates , and is a significant cause of climate change through emission of carbon dioxide .
Nutrient pollution, a form of water pollution, refers to contamination by excessive inputs of nutrients.It is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters (lakes, rivers and coastal waters), in which excess nutrients, usually nitrogen or phosphorus, stimulate algal growth. [1]
A nitrate vulnerable zone is a conservation designation of the Environment Agency for areas of land that drain into nitrate polluted waters, or waterways that could become polluted by nitrates due to environmental and health threats. A nitrate vulnerable zone can be designated as a response to an increase in nitrate leaching or increased use of ...
Human health effects of eutrophication derive from two main issues excess nitrate in drinking water and exposure to toxic algae. [43] Nitrates in drinking water can cause blue baby syndrome in infants and can react with chemicals used to treat water to create disinfection by-products in drinking water. [ 44 ]
Climate-driven extreme weather conditions, such as droughts and intense precipitation, may be accelerating the pace at which toxic nitrates are polluting groundwater, a recent study has found.
Nitrogen is an element vital to many environmental processes. Nitrogen plays a vital role in the nitrogen cycle, a complex biogeochemical process that involves the transformation of nitrogen between different chemical forms and its movement through various environmental compartments such as the atmosphere, soil, water, and living organisms. [1]
[48] [49] [50] Nitrate levels above 10 mg/L (10 ppm) in groundwater can cause 'blue baby syndrome' (acquired methemoglobinemia). [51] The nutrients, especially nitrates, in fertilizers can cause problems for ecosystems and for human health if they are washed off into surface water or leached through the soil into groundwater.
Lingering nitrate in drinking water poses a plethora of health risks, and both nitrate and nitrous oxide have major environmental impacts. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Some hazards include, carcinogenic nitrite ions in drinking water, or eutrophication caused by oxidized nitrogen seeding algal blooms .