Waste Water and Pollution
The recent breakdown of the Mishref plant has the potential to cause massive damage to the ecosystem and to public health.
Untreated waste water contains pathogenic organisms that cause diseases such as Typhoid, Cholera and Dysentery.
The sea can handle small amounts of waste by breaking them down two ways:
1- Aerobic Oxidation: This is simply the breakdown of organic material (the waste) by microorganisms, in the presence of oxygen.
If there is too much waste, the oxygen is used up and we end up with zones where only smelly anaerobic microorganisms live. Fish and other sea creatures will die.
2- Anaerobic Decay: When organisms that do not require oxygen start to take over from those that require oxygen they turn wastes into ammonia , methane (major cause of Global Warming), hydrogen sulfide (the gas that smells like eggs). The smell is a good indicator that this process is taking place.
We have already exceeded pollution standards by over 200% in some areas since the Mishref plant broke down.
Untreated waste water contains not only human waste but all the chemicals we dump down the drains, from cleaning products and personal care products to all the medicines we ingest. So in this period when we are being asked by the authorities to limit our water use, we should also consider limiting all the chemicals we dump into our water system. It will only come back to haunt us and the most vulnerable members of society.
Untreated waste water contains pathogenic organisms that cause diseases such as Typhoid, Cholera and Dysentery.
The sea can handle small amounts of waste by breaking them down two ways:
1- Aerobic Oxidation: This is simply the breakdown of organic material (the waste) by microorganisms, in the presence of oxygen.
If there is too much waste, the oxygen is used up and we end up with zones where only smelly anaerobic microorganisms live. Fish and other sea creatures will die.
2- Anaerobic Decay: When organisms that do not require oxygen start to take over from those that require oxygen they turn wastes into ammonia , methane (major cause of Global Warming), hydrogen sulfide (the gas that smells like eggs). The smell is a good indicator that this process is taking place.
We have already exceeded pollution standards by over 200% in some areas since the Mishref plant broke down.
Untreated waste water contains not only human waste but all the chemicals we dump down the drains, from cleaning products and personal care products to all the medicines we ingest. So in this period when we are being asked by the authorities to limit our water use, we should also consider limiting all the chemicals we dump into our water system. It will only come back to haunt us and the most vulnerable members of society.
‘Massive fish kill feared from Mishref sewage plant failure’
Sewage crisis increasing marine pollution
And a response to the usual knee jerk clamor to privatize that usually spread like a fever here whenever any public utility faces a problem see this .
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