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Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a substance faster than it can be lost or eliminated by catabolism and excretion. Thus, the longer the biological half-life of a toxic substance , the greater the risk of chronic poisoning , even if environmental levels of the toxin are not very high. [ 2 ]
[11] [12] Humans and other organisms, which consume shellfish and/or fish contaminated with persistent bioaccumulative pollutants, have the potential to bioaccumulate these chemicals. [2] This may put these organisms at risk of mutagenic, teratogenic, and/or carcinogenic effects. [ 2 ]
Chlordane has been postulated to affect the human immune system and is classified as a possible human carcinogen. Chlordane air pollution is believed the primary route of human exposure. Dieldrin, a pesticide used to control termites, textile pests, insect-borne diseases and insects living in agricultural soils. In soil and insects, aldrin can ...
Humans are exposed to toxic chemicals and microplastics at all stages in the plastics life cycle. Microplastics effects on human health are of growing concern and an area of research. The tiny particles known as microplastics (MPs), have been found in various environmental and biological matrices, including air, water, food, and human tissues.
Thus, technologies can create "order" in the human economy (i.e., order as manifested in buildings, factories, transportation networks, communication systems, etc.) only at the expense of increasing "disorder" in the environment. According to several studies, increased entropy is likely to correlate to negative environmental impacts.
In humans, arsenic can cause cancer in the bladder, skin, lungs and liver. One of the major sources of arsenic exposure in humans is contaminated water, which is a problem in more than 30 countries in the world. Humans tend to encounter arsenic by "natural means, industrial source, or from unintended sources."
The debris and pollution from the recent L.A. fires will eventually make their way to the ocean — and scientists will be gauging the impact.
Direct contamination can also affect the sediment and soil. [2] It is generally assumed (albeit hardly verified) that the production of pharmaceuticals in industrialised countries is well controlled and unharmful to the environment, due to the local legal restrictions usually required to permit production.