January 2022 – Sullied South

✿ Bangladesh (II)

Hi everyone! In today’s second post of the week, I will be summarizing the work I found by 5 groups of researchers.

The first paper I found was by Hasan et al. (2019), who explained the issues of water pollution. Bangladesh is actually home to many water sources in Asia. Unfortunately, many of them are polluted with toxic trace metals, coliforms, and other (in)organic pollutants. Groundwater sources in Bangladesh are also polluted with arsenic. This is caused by agricultural runoffs, improper disposal of domestic waste, and untreated industrial effluents. The image below was extracted from their paper. Look at how much dangerous bacteria is water that is deemed drinkable in Bangladesh!

To better visualize how terrible the situation is, you can also take a look at this video showing how polluted the rivers in Dhaka are.

The other paper I found was by Kibria et al. (2016). They examined metal pollution in Bangladesh’s waterways, and found that 8 heavy metals were present on a regular basis in various waterways in Chittagong, Dhaka, and Khulna. They include Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, U, and Zn. They suggested that effluents from tanneries, textiles, agriculture, fish farming, and ship breaking are most likely the reasons why heavy metals are heavily concentrated in these rivers. This is unfortunate, and as mentioned by Kibria et al., Bangladesh is suffering from poor water quality for irrigation and drinking, food contamination and insecurity due to the bioaccumulation of metals in crops and seafood, and health impacts. As such, they suggest that there is a need for better application of regulations and rules, specifically the “polluter pays principle” where parties who pollute have to be liable for the damage they cause to society and the environment. They also call out other scholars to continue monitoring metal concentrations in ecologically critical wetlands.

Apart from these 2 papers, I found 3 papers that focus on how Bangladesh can move forward. In Hoque & Clarke’s (2013) paper, I learnt that there have been pollution prevention activities and initiatives that were developed in Bangladesh. The only problem was that many companies and stakeholders do not utilize them well enough (they have ample room to improve). In Karim et al.’s (2019) paper, I learnt that it is difficult to manage microplastics pollution, because it is hard to manage the indiscriminate use of plastic materials in our daily lives. There is also a limited number of strategies for microplastics cleanup. However, they do suggest some avenues to work on. You can refer to page 89 for this. Finally, in Thornburg’s (2022) paper, I discovered an initiative to help pregnant women deal with indoor air pollution. It is quite a complicated study, but to sum up, they had women try on this MicroPEM to better understand how polluted their surroundings were. From there, they gave some brief comments. I personally found it upsetting that a lot of these scholars report their findings without suggesting how to manage the polluted circumstances people live in. Regardless, I look forward to learning more on how to manage with these polluted scenarios in the upcoming weeks.

P.S: some trivia for you! If you click on the link that directs you to Karim et al.’s paper, you will be able to compare primary and secondary microplastics. According to them, the former are plastic fragments that are smaller than 5mm before entering the environment, and the latter are derived from the breakdown of larger plastic debris, caused by wave action, ultraviolet radiation, or other physical, chemical, and biological processes!

Up next, Bolivia. See you in the next one! ✿

References

Al Jazeera English (2020) Bangladesh factories ordered shut to save Dhaka’s river. 23 February. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NIXtnD-Y98 [Accessed: 28 January 2022].

Hasan, M. K., Shahriar, A. & Jim, K. U. (2019) Water Pollution in Bangladesh and its Impact on Public Health. Heliyon. 5(8), 1-23. Available from: https://www-sciencedirect-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/science/article/pii/S2405844019358050?via%3Dihub [Accessed: 28 January 2022].

Hoque, A. & Clarke, A. (2013) Greening of Industries in Bangladesh: Pollution Prevention Practices. Journal of Cleaner Production. 51, 47-56. Available from: https://www-sciencedirect-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/science/article/pii/S0959652612004738?via%3Dihub [Accessed: 28 January 2022].

Karim, M. E., Sanjee, S. A., Mahmud, S., Shaha, M., Moniruzzaman, M. & Das, K. C. (2019) Microplastics Pollution in Bangladesh: Current Scenario and Future Research Perspective. Chemistry and Ecology. 36(1), 83-99. Available from: https://www-tandfonline-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/doi/full/10.1080/02757540.2019.1688309 [Accessed: 28 January 2022].

Kibria, G., Hossain, M. H., Mallick, D., Lau, T. C. & Wu, R. (2016) Monitoring of Metal Pollution in Waterways Across Bangladesh and Ecological and Public Health Implications of Pollution. Chemosphere. 165, 1-9. Available from: https://www-sciencedirect-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/science/article/pii/S0045653516311560?via%3Dihub [Accessed: 28 January 2022].

Thornburg, J., Islam, S., Billah, S. M., Chan, B., McCombs, M., Abbott, M., Alam, A. & Raynes-Greenow, C. (2022) Pregnant Women’s Exposure to Household Air Pollution in Rural Bangladesh: A Feasibility Study for Poriborton: The CHANge Trail. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 19(1), 1-13. Available from: https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/pmc/articles/PMC8744871/ [Accessed: 28 January 2022].

✿ Bangladesh (I)

Hi everyone! To start off the week, let’s take a look at the current air quality in Bangladesh. As seen in the image below, Bangladesh is severely polluted. In Dhaka, the AQI index is at 258, and in Comilla, the value is at 155. These values are above the healthy AQI limit, which is 100. Why is Bangladesh’s air so polluted?

This could be amounted to the presence of industries and vehicles in the country. There are many densely populated cities in Bangladesh. According to Mahmood, the density of lead in the air of Dhaka, a city in Bangladesh, is around 463 nanograms/cubic metre, which is 10 times more than the globally accepted standard of lead concentration. There are also many brick-making kilns in the country. These kilns usually use wood and coal as their energy sources, and as a result, they emit particulate matter, sulfur oxides, and volatile organic compounds, which are all pollutants, as we have learnt in our second seminar with Dr Chen. The main mode of transport in Bangladesh is cars. When the rubber wheels of vehicles are burnt on the scorching hot roads in the cities, black carbon and toxic gases are produced. These are also pollutants. These vehicles are also a main source of pollution because vehicle exhausts in this underdeveloped country come from two-stroke engines and are run by diesel. If you search the Internet to learn more about Bangladesh’s problems, you should find that traffic congestion is one of the leading issues faced by its people.

From 2015-2019, the number of patients suffering from asthma rose from 3326 in 2015 to 78806 in 2019. The value has increased by more than 20 times! Even though experts have urged the governments to eliminate illegal brickfields, cordon off construction sides, control unfit vehicles and implement the Clean Air Act, there has been no significant improvement. About 28% of Bangladeshi deaths are caused by diseases that are triggered by pollution. The global average for deaths caused by pollution is only 16%. Pollution-related deaths in Bangladesh are not only caused by air pollution, but also water and metal pollution. Issues pertaining waste generation, collection and disposal, improper water management systems and hazardous waste management will be discussed by making reference to 5 research papers in the next blog post.

See you in the next one! ✿

References

IQAir (2022) Air Quality in Bangladesh. 24 January. Available from: https://www.iqair.com/bangladesh [Accessed: 24 January 2022].

Mahmood, S. A. I. (n. d.) Air Pollution Kills 195,000 Bangladeshis Each Year. Available from: https://patimes.org/air-pollution-kills-195000-bangladeshis-each-year/?__cf_chl_f_tk=aVQg.vnQJjWbkjOzLAxApPISFFver6RcxZfp3cfYsWs-1642314551-0-gaNycGzNCKU [Accessed: 24 January 2022].

Sakib, S. N. (2021) Bangladesh: Air Pollution Engulfs Lives, Environment. 28 March. Available from: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/environment/bangladesh-air-pollution-engulfs-lives-environment/2190506#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20ESDO%2C%20by,2019%20from%203%2C326%20in%202015. [Accessed: 24 January 2022].

World Bank (2018) Clean and Resilient Growth in Bangladesh. 16 September. Available from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/09/16/clean-and-resilient-growth-in-bangladesh [Accessed: 24 January 2022].

✿ Pressing News: Tonga

Hi everyone! This is an unplanned post that I figured I could talk about, since it has been popping up on the news sites I’ve been reading. Do you know about the Tonga volcanic eruption? It happened not too long ago, on the 15^th of January 2022. Tonga is a country in Oceania, and it is a relatively small island filled with plantations and beach resorts. How are volcanic eruptions relevant to our module on environmental pollution? Take a look at these two images below:

Volcanic eruptions are central to pollution because of the highly visible ash that gets released into the atmosphere. Look at the difference in the colour of the island in December and in January! You can read more about the other social and environmental consequences caused by the eruption by clicking on the hyperlink above.

Before I end off this short update, I would like to point out its relevance to pollution. Even after four days after the eruption, ash still prevented relief flights from landing on the island’s airport. Ash is a major concern, because it worsens air quality, but also contaminate drinking water resources (i.e. through pollutants depositing in wells or rainwater tanks). As compared to the pollutants released from coal power stations, industries, and transportation, pollution caused by natural disasters like the Tonga earthquake is hard to assess in real time because each volcano in the world has a unique profile – volcanic smog may all appear the same to us, but each smog differs in toxicity, depending on the magnitude and behaviour of the plume, as well as the altitude the plume reaches.

I am quite interested in this unfortunate incident because it is happening in real time. I will provide more updates if I find anything interesting!

Up next (as mentioned in my previous post), Bangladesh. See you in the next one! ✿

References

Ives, M. & Nagourney, E. (2022) Tonga’s Airport Is Finally Cleared, but Ash Still Poses a Range of Threats. 20 January. New York Times. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/world/asia/tonga-eruption-ash.html?utm_campaign=likeshopme&utm_medium=instagram&utm_source=dash%20hudson&utm_content=ig-nytimes [Accessed: 22 January 2022].

Wei-Hass, M. (2022) The volcanic explosion in Tonga destroyed an island – and created many mysteries. 21 January. National Geographic. Available from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/volcanic-explosion-in-tonga-created-many-mysteries [Accessed: 22 January 2022].

✿ Afghanistan (II)

Hi everyone! Today’s second post of the week will complement the previous post I made earlier in the week. Apart from air and water pollution, Afghanistan has to deal with nitrate pollution as well.

In Mahaqi et al.’s (2021) paper, I have learnt that nitrate is a common pollutant in many underdeveloped countries in Asia, including Afghanistan. Afghanistan experiences nitrate pollution mainly from domestic sewage, including latrines and cesspits. Latrines are toilets found in camps and cesspits are pits meant for the disposal of liquid waste. Kabul is Afghanistan’s capital, and the most polluted city in the country. The city lacks an effective sewage network, hence, allowing nitrate pollutants to seep into the city’s groundwater system. As seen in the image below, nitrates can enter groundwater sources through various ways, even when an proper sewage network is in place. Nevertheless, Mahaqi et al. suggest that a reactive barrier technique could potentially reduce the extent of nitrate pollution, by removing it from groundwater sources. According to them, this barrier is also relatively cheap and easy to install.

How Nitrate Enters Contaminates Water Sources (DVGW, n. d.)

I mentioned in my previous post that women and children are more affected by pollution than men. This claim is supported by the findings made by Rana et al. (2019). Many Afghan people depend on wood, animal dung, or coal for fuel to cook. This source of fuels are a primary source of indoor air pollutants. Their study found that children who were exposed to indoor air pollution were more likely to suffer from acute respiratory infections. Children have narrower airways and larger lung surfaces because of their underdeveloped epithelial linings of their lungs. As such, they are 50% more likely to inhale polluted air as compared to other older children.

A final paper that I found focuses on the links between terrorism and environmental pollution. This paper by Bildirici & Gokmenoglu (2020) researches on countries affected by terrorism – Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Syria, Somalia, Thailand, and Yemen. I plan to research on environmental pollution in Pakistan a few weeks from now, since it is considered the 2^nd most polluted country in the world. If any of you are interested in learning about the other countries listed above, do update me, so that I can research and share my findings with you. Otherwise, it would be nice to know what you found when researching on these countries! Unsurprisingly, Bildirici & Gokmenoglu found that terrorism does exacerbate environmental pollution, not only because terrorism causes socio-economic and political problems (that inhibit the ability of societies to manage pollution), but also because high-tech equipment used in terrorist acts release a lot of pollutants into the atmosphere.

I look forward to researching more about the relationship between terrorism and pollution. If I do come across other interesting articles, I will be adding them into the comments section below, or make a separate post!

Up next, Bangladesh. See you in the next one! ✿

References

Bildirici, M. & Gokmenoglu, S. M. (2020) The Impact of Terrorism and FDI on Environmental Pollution: Evidence from Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Syria, Somalia, Thailand and Yemen. Environmental Impact Assessment Review. 81, 1-12. Available from: https://www-sciencedirect-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/science/article/pii/S019592551930277X?via%3Dihub [Accessed: 20 January 2022].

DVGW (n. d.) Too Many Animals – too Little Land. Available from: https://www.dvgw.de/english-pages/topics/water/nitrates-and-drinking-water [Accessed: 20 January 2022].

IQAir (n. d.) World’s Most Polluted Countries 2020 (PM2.5). Available from: https://www.iqair.com/world-most-polluted-countries [Accessed: 20 January 2022].

Mahaqi, A., Mehiqi, M., Moheghy, M. A., Moheghi, M. M. & Hussainzadeh, J. (2021) Nitrate Pollution in Kabul Water Supplies, Afghanistan; Sources and Chemical Reactions: A Review. International Journal of Environmental Sciences and Technology. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03551-4 [Accessed: 20 January 2022].

Rana, J., Uddin, J., Peltier, R. & Oulhote, Y. Associations between Indoor Air Pollution and Acute Respiratory Infections among Under-Five Children in Afghanistan: Do SES and Sex Matter? (2019) International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 16(16), 1-13. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6720819/?tool=pmcentrez&report=abstract [Accessed: 20 January 2022].

✿ Afghanistan (I)

Hi everyone! To start off the week, let me share with you what I have gathered from various news websites. According to IQAir, Afghanistan is the 5th most polluted country in the world, as seen in the screenshot below. This platform will be a dominant site that I will refer to, to set the context of future discussions.

As of today, Afghanistan’s PM2.5 concentration (an indicator to measure air pollution) is 9.3 times above the World Health Organization’s air quality guideline value. You might be disillusioned at first, since the green colour shadowing Afghanistan might indicate a good value, as shown on the label at the bottom of the screenshot. This was a mistake I made earlier as well. What you should be focusing on is the number in the circles around the region. As seen in the circle hovering around Kabul, the air quality index right now is 173. This is unhealthy, since the satisfactory AQI value should be a value below 100.

Some news headlines tend to suggest that air pollution in Afghanistan is more deadlier than the war. Kabul is home to around 6 million people. Many children and elderly fall victim to the smog and smoke that lie over the city. As of 2017, more than 26000 people have died from polluted-related illnesses, whereas only less than 3500 civilians died as a result of the Afghan War. Some Afghan officials have pointed out that fighting pollution is as important as fighting terrorism. But how can these people afford to fight two wars at once? Approximately 20 patients would visit the hospital for respiratory diseases caused by air pollution on a daily basis.

Apart from air pollution, Kabul’s refugee camps are home to many families, who have no proper sanitation or water systems. They are surrounded by garbage, and they utilize any cloth, plastics, paper, or sticks to use as fuel to keep them warm. In case you did not know, Kabul experiences a semiarid climate, where temperatures can reach below zero degrees during the winter months. Water pollution is also another major area of concern for the region that experiences low rainfall. Coupled with irregular use of groundwater and insufficient water management infrastructures, many fall victim to illnesses caused by contaminated water.

Unfortunately, many women and children are more vulnerable to pollution than men, because they stay longer at home. It seems ironic that staying at home can expose you to danger, but as explained by the EMRO, being at home exposes people to Household Air Pollution, which can contribute to pre-term birth, stunting, and low birth rate. In the next post for the week, I will be summarizing 3 research papers conducted by environmentalists to learn about the sufferings of these Afghan people.

See you in the next one! ✿

References

AQI (2022) Air Quality in Afghanistan. 18 January. Available from: https://www.iqair.com/us/afghanistan [Accessed: 18 January 2022].

EMRO (n. d.) Afghanistan. World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. Available from: http://www.emro.who.int/afg/programmes/eh.html#:~:text=In%20Afghanistan%2C%20it%20is%20estimated,over%2011%20000%20deaths%20annually.&text=Women%20and%20children%20are%20at,at%20home%20more%20than%20men. [Accessed: 18 January 2022].

Faiez, R. (2019) In Afghanistan’s Capital, Air Pollution May Be Even Deadlier Than War. 14 November. Available from: https://thediplomat.com/2019/11/in-afghanistans-capital-air-pollution-may-be-even-deadlier-than-war/ [Accessed: 18 January 2022].

German Press Agency (2021) Air Pollution Killed Almost 5,000 People in Afghanistan in 2020, Health Ministry Says. 13 January. Daily Sabah. Available from: https://www.dailysabah.com/world/asia-pacific/air-pollution-killed-almost-5000-people-in-afghanistan-in-2020-health-ministry-says [Accessed: 18 January 2022].

Petrov, V. P., Ali, M., Weinbaum, M.G., Allchin, F. R., Dupree, N. H.& Dupree, L. (2021) Afghanistan. 2 November. Encyclopedia Britannica. Available from: https://www.britannica.com/place/Afghanistan [Accessed: 18 January 2022].

Sadat, S. K. (2020) Afghanistan: Air Pollution More Dangerous than Civil War. 2 January. Available from: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/afghanistanair-pollution-more-dangerous-than-civil-war/1690496 [Accessed: 18 January 2022].

✿ What is the Global South?

Hi everyone! On today’s second post of the week, let’s look at the group of people we will be learning about the following weeks. Where did the term Global South come from? Are countries included in this region from the Southern Hemisphere? Why do we need to learn more about them? Why study pollution in this region than in its counterpart, the Global North?

A simple search on Google will be able to give you a list of countries in the region. Countries in the Global South come from all parts of the earth, such as the African continent, South and Latin America, the Arab states, as well as Asia and the Pacific. The term explains the dominance countries in the Global North have over the Global South. Many scholars tend to interchangeably use the term with other terms such as the Third World or developing countries. These countries face various socio-economic and political issues more acutely than countries in the Global North (e.g. poverty, population growth, war, disease, and more) (Dados & Connell, 2012). In this blog, I plan to uncover how 11 different countries from the Global South grapple with pollution. These include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Fiji, Haiti, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mongolia, Pakistan, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

Without paying much attention to what was being said in the video, any person would be able to grasp the severity of pollution in the Global South, just by viewing the grounded reality and experiences of these marginalized people. These countries do not have the capacity to manage pollution and prevent it from happening because they are grappling with other pressing issues. To make matters worse, different countries in the Global South face various forms of pollution, that vary in terms of how they are measured, and how they affect societies and their environments. For example, some countries measure air pollution by counting the number of particles, like dust and mould, that are 10 micrometers in diameter. Other countries focus on counting fine particles from combustion and metals that are 2.4 micrometers in diameter. The differences in measuring air quality exemplifies how pollution is interpreted and managed differently.

In each week, I will be summarizing insights from academic papers and attaching videos like the one today, so that we can engage more attentively with the serious issues faced by the countries I previously mentioned. I am excited to share with you all that I will discover during my research.

Up next, Afghanistan. See you in the next one! ✿

References

Dados, N. and Connell, R. (2012) The Global South. Contexts. 11(1), 12–13. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/1536504212436479. [Accessed: 16 January 2022].

DW Documentary (2018) The rich, the poor and the trash. 9 June. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_e7eFSkEjw [Accessed: 16 January 2022].

NowThis World (2016) What Are The World’s Most Polluted Cities? 1 December. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqH9e58ngAk [Accessed: 16 January 2022].

✿ Hello! ✧˖*°࿐

Hi everyone! My name is Sumaiyah, and I am a Year 4 student taking the GE4237 Environmental Pollution module at the National University of Singapore. The targeted audience of my work includes my lecturers Prof David Taylor and Dr. Chen Mengli, as well as my dear coursemates. Despite this, I’d like to make full use of this module, and write my future blog posts with the wider public in mind. I feel the need to address this beforehand because I’m concerned about random people stumbling upon my blog (I actually enrolled in the module because I stumbled upon the work of previous students)!

Now that that is out of the way, you would be wondering about the story behind my blog name, as well as the colors used in its design!

Firstly, Sullied South is a play at alliteration so that people easily remember my blog’s name. As its subtitle explains, my blog will feature posts on the issues of pollution in many countries in the Global South. Being a student of Geography, I believe that it is important to study things happening in the world by referring them back to actual locations on the world map.

Secondly, the pink colors illustrate not only my love for the color but also my interest in feminist geopolitics. The Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore provides undergraduates with the flexibility of pursuing the various branches of the discipline. After spending 7 semesters (i.e. 3.5 years) in the institution, I find that political geography and geopolitics fascinate me the most. As such, I believe I can share with all of you my take on environmental pollution, through an alternative, and human, lens. In sum, Sullied South aims to provide readers with the grounded and embodied experiences of those in the Global South, in the face of environmental pollution.

I hope you enjoy reading through my future posts! See you in the next one! ✿