Pollution of Air, Water, and Land

The toxicological significance of pollution of the environment may be work related, as in the case of agricultural workers, or related to the outside environment encountered in daily life. In the case of agricultural workers, numerous precautions are necessary for the prevention of toxicity. For example  

Pesticides have caused a number of fatalities in the past. The current practice in some countries of restricting the most hazardous chemicals for use only by certified operators should greatly minimize pesticide poisoning in these locations. 

Individuals can do little to protect themselves from poisoning by chemicals that pollute the air and water except to insist that discharge of toxicants into the environment be minimized. The exposure levels are low compared with those in acute toxicity cases, and the effects may be indirect, as in the increase in preexisting respiratory irritation during smog. Thus these effects can be determined only at the epidemiologic level. Because many persons are not affected or may not be affected for years, it is often argued that environmental contamination is not very important. However, a 

One of the most critical areas for the prevention of toxicity caused by environmental contamination is that of disposal of hazardous wastes. It is now apparent that past practices in many industrialized countries have created large numbers of waste sites in which the waste is often unidentified, improperly stored, and leaching into the environment. The task of rectifying these past errors is an enormous one just now being addressed. 

The ideal situation for current and future practices is to reduce chemical waste to an irreducible minimum and then to place the remainder in secure storage. Waste reduction can be accomplished in many ways. 

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In sum, the 1970s saw a flurry of legislative action on environmental issues that was to set the framework of the nation s policies for dealing with the pollution of air, water, and land resources. Almost all of this legislation has been modified, hut the guiding principles represented by the laws continue to influence the nation s environmental policies today. 

The dumping of hazardous wastes and other chemicals poses a significant threat and can cause fires, explosions, and pollution of air, water, and land. Spills, leaks, and other hazardous chemical emergencies are potentially dangerous situations. OSHA issued 29 CFR 1926.65, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER), to protect workers and help them handle hazardous wastes and substantial spills and leaks safely and effectively. 

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