COVID-19 began in December 2019, and till today, it is still running rampant. The coronavirus has caused many countries and governments to restrict unnecessary activities, be it business or leisure. Governments implemented social distancing and lockdowns of entire cities, all to prevent the spread of the virus. New vaccines were also developed to counter the virus, with the State encouraging all citizens to take the shot if possible. Wearing of masks were also made mandatory in some countries, such as Singapore.

There are many articles, both online and offline, that has talked about how COVID-19 has helped to “heal” the Earth. This is because of how there is less air travel, and also because of how anthropogenic activities are restricted. However, is COVID-19 really a panacea to surmount the obstacles that Man has caused? Or is it just a placebo? This blog post will evaluate how the COVID-19 pandemic is a solution or strategy to mitigate water pollution issues.

“Leisure and business activities on beaches and in ports have restricted direct and indirect contamination from, for example, plastics, hydrocarbon spillage, microbiological loads, and noise levels. This has led to temporarily improved environmental conditions, and … beaches having conditions closer to Marine Protected Areas” (Ormaza-Gonzaìlez et al., 2021). As can be seen from the statement, COVID-19 may be argued to have positive impacts on water pollution. In the same article by Ormaza-Gonzaìlez et al. (2021), in which coastal areas and beaches in Ecuador were studied, it was found out that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many marine species returned and there were also reduction in noise levels and environmental pollution. Hence, it can be argued that COVID-19 has helped to alleviate water pollution as it reduced tourism activities, as can be seen from how “populations residing in Salinas, Manta, and Galapagos have clearly noticed a positive change in the quality of beaches due to the absence of tourists caused by COVID-19” (Ormaza-Gonzaìlez et al., 2021).

Other than the case of Ecuador, COVID-19 has also helped with water quality in the Damodar River, which is located in India. Not limited to India, “degradation of aquatic environment, river water quality, pollution and health [and] river ecosystem services … has been amplified due to rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and execution of various developmental activities” (Chakraborty et al., 2021). Also in general, “the majority of the large world rivers are polluted by anthropogenic activities such as non-degradable agriculture fertilisers and untreated industrial sewage discharge into rivers” (Chakraborty et al., 2021). As such, when the pandemic hit in India, the “complete stopping of activities of industries, mining [and] commercial sectors highly helped to improve water quality by [reducing] … waste effluents directly discharged [in]to the [Damodar River]” (Chakraborty et al., 2021). Hence, it can be seen how lockdowns and restriction of anthropogenic activities, both caused by the pandemic, helped to improve river water quality in India’s case.

Overall, COVID-19 has helped to “dilute” water pollution issues. However, is it really a panacea with no loopholes? In the next blog post, I will be covering how COVID-19 is nothing but a placebo. See you!

References:

Chakraborty, B., Bera, B., Adhikary, P. P., Bhattacharjee, S., Roy, S., Saha, S., Ghosh, A., Sengupta, D., & Shit, P. K. (2021). Positive effects of covid-19 lockdown on river water quality: Evidence from River Damodar, India. Scientific Reports, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99689-9

Ormaza-Gonzaìlez, F. I., Castro-Rodas, D., & Statham, P. J. (2021). Covid-19 impacts on beaches and coastal water pollution at selected sites in Ecuador, and management proposals post-pandemic. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.669374

Minamata is a small town located in the Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu Island in southern Japan (see Figure 1). Minamata has abundant fishing resources. However, it also hides a dark past…

Figure 1: Location of Minamata in Japan (Source: Author’s own)

The Minamata disease was first “discovered”, or rather detected, in Minamata, Japan, and hence gives rise to the name of the disease (Harada, 1995). First encountered in May 1956, it is a disease involving methyl-mercury (MeHg). People who ingested fish and shellfish contaminated by MeHg were suffering from neurological disorders, of which some symptoms include tremors in their limbs, difficulty walking and lost of sight and hearing (Kugler, 2022). Some people even lost their mind and went crazy, shouting uncontrollably (Kugler, 2022). Figure 2 shows a patient suffering from the Minamata disease.

Figure 2: A patient suffering from the Minamata disease (Source: https://journalsofindia.com/minamata-disease/)

The cause of the Minamata disease was found out to be consumption of seafood, including fishes, which contain high concentrations of mercury in them, at 5.61 to 35.7 ppm (Harada, 1995). Attention was immediately turned towards a nearby chemical factory, which manufactured acetaldehyde, otherwise known as the Chisso Corporation (CHE, n.d.). The mercury waste produced by the corporation was bio-transformed by bacteria in the water into MeHg, or organic mercury, that bioaccumulated and biomagnified in the muscle of fish (CHE, n.d.). Over two thousand people died, and thousands more experienced crippling injuries, all of which were tied to MeHg poisoning and the Minamata disease (CHE, n.d.).

I included this case study because it is highly relevant to water pollution, be it the pollution of heavy metals or even the biomagnification of toxic substances. Other than that, it is also important for us to understand the political ecology behind this disaster. Namely, these are the politics of economic power and the uneven environmental impacts caused by the Chisso Corporation.

With regards to the politics of economic power, the Chisso Corporation itself held huge power, and only stopped dumping mercury into the Minamata Bay in 1968 (Kugler, 2022). By then, many people have already suffered from the Minamata disease. The Chisso Corporation had also denied any charges that it had something to do with the Minamata disease, and nothing was changed in the initial years.

The environmental impacts of the Minamata disease was also uneven. It was only when the people of Minamata protested in 1959 that these people managed to get some compensation (Kugler, 2022), while most of the corporation went unscathed. There were uneven impacts caused by these chemical wastes, with foetuses and children suffering the most. The definition of the Minamata disease was also too “strict”, that not everyone met the criteria of being compensated (Kugler, 2022). This again is linked to political ecology, in how knowledge is framed differently depending on the audience and intent.

Overall, water pollution can be seen as both a political issue and also an environmental issue. It can cause many social and economic impacts, and it is important for us to dive into mitigating and solving these problems. See you soon!

References:

CHE. (n.d.). Mercury: The Tragedy of Minamata Disease. Collaborative on Health and the Environment. https://www.healthandenvironment.org/environmental-health/social-context/history/mercury-the-tragedy-of-minamata-disease

Harada, M. (1995). Minamata disease: Methylmercury poisoning in Japan caused by environmental pollution. Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 25(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.3109/10408449509089885

Heavy metals have no specific definition, but are often defined as “a naturally occurring element having a high atomic weight and high density” (Masindi & Muedi, 2018). Examples of heavy metals include arsenic, lead, cadmium, nickel, mercury, chromium, cobalt, zinc and selenium (Masindi & Muedi, 2018). Heavy metals are often given loads of attention as they are extremely toxic, even at low concentrations or trace amounts (Masindi & Muedi, 2018). Often, heavy metals end up in water bodies as pollutants,  after being discharged untreated from industries and factories (Masindi & Muedi, 2018).

Heavy metals are toxic substances that accumulate in the bodies and tissues of organisms (Masindi & Muedi, 2018). Heavy metals have a huge impact on the environment. For example, when accumulated in soil and water, it passes and magnifies along the food chain (Masindi & Muedi, 2018) as the plant absorbs it as “nutrients”, which itself is then consumed by animals in higher trophic levels. The organisms at the highest trophic level suffers the most from the bioaccumulation of these heavy metals.

Different heavy metals causes different health impacts on humans. One example we would turn to examine in subsequent blog posts is the Minamata disease, which involves mercury poisoning. The blog post will highlight the significance and urgency of water pollution issues, with focus on the heavy metal mercury.

References:

Masindi, V., & Muedi, K. L. (2018). Environmental contamination by heavy metals. Heavy Metals. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76082

Marine pollution may take place in the form of ocean acidification. Ocean acidification has become an urgent issue in recent years, especially since the Industrial Revolution began (NOAA, n.d.). Since then, the pH level of ocean surface waters has dropped by 0.1 (NOAA, n.d.). As the pH scale is logarithmic, a 0.1 drop in pH level actually corresponds to a 30% increase in acidity (NOAA, n.d.). The rapid reduction in the ocean’s pH level over a short period of time has “serious consequences for the marine food chain” (Lee, 2019) and also the lives of calcifying organisms that depend on carbonate ions in the ocean (NOAA, n.d.).

Ocean acidification is essentially caused by the “absorption of large amounts of carbon dioxide” from the atmosphere (Lee, 2019). These carbon dioxide are produced and released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels and also deforestation (Lee, 2019), and possibly other land use changes. The dissolved carbon dioxide sets off a series of chemical reactions which increases the amount of hydrogen ions in the ocean (NOAA, n.d.). As the amount of dissolved hydrogen ions in the ocean increases, the ocean’s pH level decreases.

The series of chemical reactions have negative impacts on calcifying organisms living in the ocean. As carbon dioxide dissolves into the seawater, water combines with it to form carbonic acid (Figure 1), a weak acid that dissociates to form hydrogen ions and hydrogen carbonate ions (NOAA, n.d.), as shown in Figure 2. The hydrogen carbonate ions exists in an equilibrium with hydrogen ions and carbonate ions. When the concentration of hydrogen ions increase, the equilibrium shifts left to favour the formation of hydrogen carbonate ions, causing a drop in the concentration of carbonate ions and hydrogen ions. This drop in carbonate ions affects the calcifying organisms, which require carbonate ions to build their shells and skeletons. As less carbonate ions become available for these organisms’ usage, the shells or even skeletons of these organisms may begin to dissolve and become less defined (NOAA, n.d.).

Overall, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, which results from burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and other land use changes, have a negative impact on the ocean as it causes acidification. This acidification affects our biodiversity such as calcifying organisms. There is a rising urgency of this issue as we dive into water pollution.

References:

Lee, A. E. (2019, January 31). Marine Pollution: Ocean Acidification. International Marine Mammal Project. https://savedolphins.eii.org/news/marine-pollution-ocean-acidification

NOAA. (n.d.). Ocean Acidification. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-acidification