A large problem that many people face today is
not necessarily getting water, but finding clean water. Over 1 billion people
live without clean drinking water because of things like pollution from
developing countries. Sometime in mid-January a large amount of cadmium was accidentally
spilled into Longjiang River in China. Officials have stated the the amount of
cadmium now in the water is at 5 times the legal limit. This poses a serious
health issue because cadmium is a known carcinogen. The source of the spill has
been traced to a mining company that refines zinc ore. Cadmium is one of the
toxic byproducts of smelting zinc. Over 3.2 million people in south China are now
using bottled water for their source of freshwater while the government
attempts to clean the spill. Having limited access to fresh drinking water is a
huge problem that is only magnified through pollution from industries. When
people cannot find clean drinking water, they will resort to using contaminated
water just to stay alive. The problem with this is the number of waterborne diseases
that can be contracted through drinking bad water. According to the WHO waterborne
illness is the world’s number one killer.
Read more about the cadmium spill here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/china-cadmium-spill-threatens-city-water-supplies-rare-earths-mining-suspected-cause/2012/01/30/gIQAmb2hbQ_story.html
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