Imagine four international jets crashing each year and killing everyone on board. These lives that approached an end are clearly visible to the world watching, impacting many feelings and emotions. If air pollution was seen as crucial to the planes crashing, air quality would be improved at a much faster rate. In fact, according to Dr.
She ela Basrur of Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, one thousand deaths from air pollution is equivalent to the devastating situation of the jets crashing. Now would you stop to consider the significance of air quality? Toronto and other major Canadian cities, contain compounds in their air that potentially cause cancer. During everyday activities, many individuals are unknowingly being exposed to carcinogens. As a result of the burning of fossil fuels, such as from vehicles, coal from power plants and oil and gas to heat buildings, unhealthy levels exist. Dr. Basrur comments by stating that,” there is no unpolluted, safe environment these days.” The report’s findings should be an attention warning to the mind of the government to take action and help promote the control of pollution.
From these reports, motorists and residents near gasoline stations were found to be at risk of getting leukemia. Due to the exposition of benzene, contained in the one per cent of gasoline, Colafranceschi many lives are put at risk. Out of a total of ten carcinogens, nine are found present in Toronto’s air. Air concentrations are beginning to raise to unhealthy levels that cause people to die prematurely from cancer.
The Essay on Air and Water Pollution: The Gulf Oil Spill
On April 20, 2010, BP’s oil rig Deepwater Horizon blew up in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 people and unleashing more than 200 million gallons of oil into the water (Sakashita, N.D.). The spill oiled more than 1,000 miles of shoreline and a study from the Center for Biological Diversity shows that more than 82,000 birds; about 6,000 sea turtles; nearly 26,000 marine mammals, including dolphins; ...
Chemicals found indoors are at even higher levels than the air outside. For example, workers in the dry-cleaning environment, are continuously being exposed to an assumed carcinogen called tetrachloroethylene. Most people are unaware that air pollution is a daily health concern, and not just in the summer. The residents of Toronto understand that Toronto has a major health problem. In fact, the president of The Toronto Atmospheric Fund mentioned that the public concern in Toronto is the highest in Canada. Along with the many people living in Toronto, I am disturbed by this health problem.
It is one that is necessary to improve because breathing air is an unavoidable activity we all encounter. The study in Toronto informed me that Toronto residents are continuously being exposed to a variety of carcinogenic chemicals. These exposures mean that these people will live a life with an increased cancer risk. The study indicated that these exposures is a contributing part of the cancer death toll in the city. From this study, “about forty percent of new cancer cases and thirty per cent of cancer deaths occur in Toronto residents who are between the ages of twenty and sixty four.” Upon reading these facts, I am completely appalled by what is occurring in not only our neighboring city but other cities in the world. It is a frightening thought knowing that many innocent lives are increasing their risk of cancer just by going outside to walk to their car, going to work, or taking part in a physical outdoor activity..
