Pollutants: What are they and where do they come from?

What are the types of pollutants I may find in my water?

 Common contaminants in drinking water include (1): 

• Microorganisms (2) include bacteria, viruses and parasites. Run-off from rainfall or snow-melt can contaminate wells by washing microorganisms into the well system. Leakage of waste from underground storage tanks (UST) and effluent from septic leach fields can reach a water source and result in microorganisms being present in water wells.

• Nitrates (3) are present in fertilizers used by agriculture. They can contaminate a private well through groundwater movement, surface water seepage and water run-off. Once taken into the body, nitrates are converted into nitrites. Nitrite ingestion via drinking water can cause “blue baby syndrome”. Infants younger than 4 months and pregnant women (4) are at the most risk of harmful health effects from nitrites. Symptoms include, bluish skin from a lack of oxygen, difficulty breathing, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration 

• Heavy metals (5) like arsenic, antimony, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, selenium leach into our drinking water via household plumbing, service lines, mining operations, petroleum refineries, electronics manufacturers, municipal waste disposal, cement plants, and natural mineral deposits. These pollutants can contaminate private wells through groundwater movement and surface water seepage and run-off. 

• Organic chemicals (6) are found in many everyday products and are used in agriculture, industry. Organic chemicals include inks, dyes, pesticides, paints, pharmaceuticals, solvents, petroleum products, sealants, and disinfectants. These contaminants enter groundwater and contaminate private wells through waste disposal, spills, and surface water run-off.

• Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) (7) are most commonly found in chlorinated drinking water. DBPs are formed when disinfectants used to treat drinking water react with naturally occurring materials and organic materials in the water. Chronic exposure (7) to DBPs may increase the risk of cancer. When humans are exposed to especially high amounts of DBPs  they can experience liver damage and decreased nervous system activity. Common disinfection byproducts include bromate, chlorate, chlorite, halo acetic acids, and trihalomethanes (THMs).

• Radionuclides (8) are radioactive forms of elements such as uranium. They can be released into the environment from uranium mining, coal mining, and nuclear power operations. These contaminants are naturally occurring in some places especially where there is granite bedrock. These pollutants can contaminate wells through groundwater flow, waste water seepage and flooding. 

What are the sources of these pollutants?

Pollutants come from activities (9) that happen from daily human activity and natural sources. These contaminants enter water systems through a variety of means such as: leaks, erosion and direct dumping. 

Lead Pipes:

• The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets, and plumbing fixtures, including some welding solder and pipe fittings made prior to 1986. (source)

Coal Mining:

• Acid Mine Drainage (AMD): When coal mines are abandoned or active, they can produce AMD, which is highly acidic water that contains toxic heavy metals. AMD can harm aquatic life, degrade water quality, and disrupt ecosystems. (10)

• Sedimentation: Coal mining operations can lead to increased sedimentation in nearby waterways. Excessive sedimentation can harm aquatic organisms, degrade habitats, and impair water quality. (10)

Timber Harvesting:

• Erosion and Sedimentation: Clear-cutting and improper logging practices can result in erosion and sedimentation. Sediment runoff can degrade water quality, harm aquatic life, and impact stream ecosystems. (11)

• Increased Nutrient Load: Removal of vegetation during timber harvesting can lead to an influx of nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) into water bodies, causing water pollution and potential harm to aquatic organisms. (11)

Other Extraction Industries and Pollution Sources:

• Gas and Oil Drilling using Hydraulic Fracturing or “Fracking”:  there is much debate about the effects of natural gas drilling and injection of chemicals into the water used for hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas and oil.  Since 2016, however, both Scientific American and The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH) have published more findings that this type of drilling may impact the quality of drinking water through spills, discharge of inadequately treated hydraulic fracturing wastewater, disposal or storage of these fluids in unlined pits, or injection of these fluids into wells with cracks or weaknesses. 

The EPA found scientific evidence that hydraulic fracking activities can affect drinking water resources under some circumstances. The extent of water contamination from these sources is currently unknown. 

• Heavy Metal Contamination: Some extraction activities - such as mining and ore processing - can release heavy metals (e.g., lead, arsenic, mercury) into water bodies, leading to long-term pollution and adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems and human health. (12)

• Chemical Spills: there is always a risk that transporting chemicals used in manufacturing, mining, other industrial processes, or agriculture, an contaminate water sources, posing risks to human health and the environment. The derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in New Palestine, Ohio, is an example of accidental spills that can have substantial environmental impacts. The EPA reports that twenty of the affected cars in the train contained hazardous materials, such as vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol, ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate and isobutylene. (12)

Agricultural activities such as fertilizer storage and use, animal feedlots, animal waste disposal systems, animal burial, manure lagoons, pesticide storage and use and field irrigation can all contribute multiple types of pollutants. (13)

Commercial sources include airports, boatyards, railroad track and yards, junkyards, recycling and waste transfer stations, auto repairs shops, carwashes, laundromats, dry cleaners, paint shops, gas stations, construction sites, golf courses and research laboratories and hospitals.

Industry is probably what is thought of first when you think of pollution producers. These creators include oil and gas production, pipelines, refineries, chemical manufacture and storage, mining, foundries, metal fabrication facilities, machine shops, waste disposal wells, paper mills and textile mills. (14)

Residential sources are where we can exercise the most control over the introduction of pollutants. These sources are fuel oil storage tanks, household chemical storage and use, swimming pool chemical storage, septic tanks and leach fields, sewer lines and lawn fertilizer storage and use. (15)

Other sources include road de-icing salt, landfills, sewer lines, storm water pipes and drains, nearby active disposal wells, illegal dumping and straight pipes from toilets and other household wastewater.

What are the harmful effects of pollutants (16)?

Pollutants can have harmful effects on humans, animals, and plants. Biological pollutants, such as bacteria and viruses, can cause immediate health problems when people consume contaminated water. Common diseases caused by drinking contaminated water include cholera or diarrhea. Chemical contaminants, like pesticides, heavy metals, bleach, salts, and nitrogen, often enter water supplies through agricultural and industrial waste. Consuming contaminated water may not cause immediate health effects, but it can disrupt various biological processes over time. Some long-term effects may include skin diseases, oral decay, lead poisoning, cancer, and neurological disorders. (16)

 Pollutants from surface and underground mining. Heavy metals (arsenic, copper, lead, etc.), acid mine drainage, runoff from acidic water can drastically change the pH of water and lead to fish and wildlife death, mountaintop removal sites lead to more flooding and the debris from blasting 600 ft or more of mountain away ends up in our waterways - this practice also buries headwaters and pollutes them, coal slurry is also a huge pollutant that is kept in ponds or dams and often leaks out, coal ash is huge too. Water is used constantly in coal mining. Equipment, slurry, washing the coal, using it as a way to keep it from combusting - all of this runoff goes into streams that usually are used as the point where we pull for water plants as a surface source. (16)

What effects do industry, agriculture and manufacturing have on my water system?

Water is used in many sectors for a variety of purposes. Nationally, residential water use accounts (17) for 57% usage while industry, agriculture and institutions account for 29%. When non-residential (18) use is broken down we see that agriculture accounts for 37%, industry 5% and power production 41%. A large amount of water in Harlan county is used by coal mining operations. Coal uses several hundred million gallons of water a day to cool drilling equipment, to wash the coal so it doesn't combust, among many other things.