More than 300 million at risk of life-threatening diseases from dirty water, UN says
In a report on Tuesday, the United Nation Environment Programme ( UNEP), said that Between 1990 and 2010, pollution caused by viruses, bacteria and other micro-organisms, and long-lasting toxic pollutants like fertilizer or petrol, increased in more than half of rivers across the three continents, while salinity levels rose in nearly a third, and Population growth, expansion of agriculture and an increased amount of raw sewage released into rivers and lakes were among the main reasons behind the increase of surface water pollution, putting some 323 million people at risk of infection
UNEP also said that Some 3.4 million people die each year from diseases such as cholera, typhoid, polio or diarrhea, which are associated with pathogens in water, and it estimated that up to 164 million people in Africa, 134 million in Asia and 25 million in Latin America were at risk of infection from the diseases, building more sewers was not enough to prevent infections and deaths, adding that the solution was to treat wastewater.
Organic pollution, which can cause water to be completely starved of oxygen, affects one kilometer (0.6 mile) out of seven kilometers (4.4 miles) of rivers in Latin America, Africa and Asia, threatening freshwater fisheries, UNEP said, and Severe and moderate salinity levels, caused by the disposal of salty water from mines, irrigation systems and homes, affect one in 10 rivers on the three continents, making it harder for poor farmers to irrigate their crops, it said.
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