Haze

The haze problem started to hitting almost all of Malaysia and Singapore recently and made the residences feeling suffer in this condition. Haze is a situation where there is pollution to the air by suspended particulate matter. The various determinants of air pollution are Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Ozone, Carbon Monoxide and PM10. The fine particulate or PM10(particulate of size 10 micron and below) is the main concern as it may lead to adverse health conditions. There will be many effect and impact of haze to us and now, I would like to explain how the haze can affect our health.

Short-term adverse effects :

• Irritated eyes, watering eyes and conjunctivitis ( a type of eye inflammation).
• Running nose,stuffy nose,sneezing and post-nasal drip.
• Throat irritation,dry throat, sore throat and coughing.
• Headache,dizziness and fatigue.
• Decreased lung function,depressed respiratory immune defenses,chest pain and bronchitis (lung inflammation).
• Diarrhea and stomach upset, if drinking water sources are contaminated by dense haze and the water is consumed without further treatment.
• Anxiety,stress and depression-like symptoms such as insomnia, feelings of helplessness, loss of interest in daily activities and irritability.

Long-term effect:

• Faster rate of thickening of the arteries compared to others, promoting the development of vascular disease.
• Increases the risk of death by cardiovascular disease and reduces life expectancy by several months to few years.
• May contribute to the development of diabetes.
• Spontaneous abortion, under-weight infants, birth defects and infant death.

These all symptoms are usually mild and will subside when you stay indoor and limit your exposure to haze. However, in susceptible individuals and those suffering from chronic disease, especially respiratory and heart disease (e.g. coronary artery disease, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), their condition may be worsened by haze. They are more likely to experience more severe haze-related effects than healthy people.

The technique that Malaysia used to identify the air pollution by using Air Pollutant Index(API).

The guidelines of API and the action to be taken are shown below:

Air Pollutant Index(API) Reading	Health Effect Description	Action to be taken at the workplace
0-50	Good	·         Prepare for any future possibility of air pollution
51-100	Moderate	·         Identify outdoor activities that need to be minimized ·         Health Education to the employees ·         Ensure stock of N95 masks ·         Perform fit testing for employees who work outdoors
101-200	Unhealthy	·         Initiate use of N95 respirators by employees working outdoors ·         Reassign susceptible employees with difficulties working outdoors to indoor jobs. ·         Minimize strenuous outdoor tasks
201-300	Very Unhealthy	·         Reassign all susceptible employees to indoor jobs. ·         Avoid strenuous outdoor tasks ·         Temporarily stop earthworks and earth movements tasks
301-400	Hazardous	·         Assess visibility for work processes ·         Ensure use of headlights while driving ·         Ensure all persons working outdoor are using N95 respirators
400-500	Hazardous	·         Avoid outdoor work
>500	Hazardous	·         All government and private sector offices and workplaces to be closed pending declaration of Disaster Emergency by the National Committee on Disaster Management except essential services

What is our government action?

• Jabatan Alam Sekitar(JAS) identify the haze status and the air quality trend every hours based on three uncertainly haze situation.
• JAS also record the progress of the haze by using hotspots in Sumatera and Kalimantan, the haze problem that made by Indonesia even spread to West Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
• Every agency that involve in management of haze problems tried to do their best to handle the open burning activities.
• The Local and State government and all the estate owner has been recommended to handle and pay attention on the easy-burn areas, such as jungle, farm, agricultural and also industrial area.

All of us should be remember never try to do some open burning activities and protect our earth and our environment.

Source:

1. Health Advisory For Workplace During Haze, Ministry of Health, Malaysia from http://www.moh.gov.my/english.php/pages/view/183

2. Air Pollutant Index of Malaysia from http://apims.doe.gov.my/v2/

3. Apa Yang Anda Perlu Ketahui Mengenai Jerebu from http://www.nre.gov.my/info_jerebu/Pages/default.aspx

4. Image source from http:.//apims.doe.gov.my/v2/

Water Pollution

Pollution is a substantial issue of concern in the modern world that we live in today. Pollution itself can be defined as the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance which hasharmful or poisonous effects. There are various kind of pollution, namely air, water and noise pollution. Pollution at its worst, damaging and undoubtedly affect the quality of our life. The beauty of our nature that existed in the planet that we living in, the Earth, degrading itself due to the pollution. Even worse, pollution can also cause various health problems to us, human. 

Nowadays, water pollution, just like the other types of pollution happens when a great quantity of waste that comes from various sources which will harmfully disturbs the ecosystem of the organisms. Consequently, the waste that cannot be destroyed as quickly as it was produced may results in quite a numbers of unwanted things to humans, animals as well as other living organisms too. 

Oil and chemical waste are categorized as a hazards waste which also the two major sources of water pollution nowadays. Petroleum, as we universally informed, are one of the most toxic substances which will definitely ruins the ecosystem. Usually, both of these substances contacted with water by accidental spills from the ships, leaking underground the ship’s storage tanks. This accident has killed thousands of animals including the sea animals, birds ad also plant life in the sea. Human is exposed to health issue too as it happen. The rain which is the product of the evaporated sea water, when it pours, it contains harmful substances in it and as it contact with the human skin, various kind of health issues will appear.

On top of that, water pollution is also caused by the rubbish such as plastics and other plastics like substances, namely nylon, plastic bags and plastic bottles. Plastic bottle and plastic bag, as we all knows, it can be recycled but only two of every ten goes to the recycle center or to the trash can, the other landed somewhere else. To recycle a plastic, it should be done in the recycling center, so, when it is thrown to other places else, it takes time to decompose. Hence, the plastic will breakdown into tiny toxic particles and then pollution happens as they entered the food chain in the sea.  Many of the birds, fish and even turtles died as they feed through the plastic bag and bottles. In addition, the floating plastic bottle will attract the birds attention, which they think it is a fish, as as they dive from the air into the water, it will result either the bottle will attach to their neck or the birds may break their sharp beak. 

Pesticides and herbicides are mainly used to kill unwanted animals and plants in the agricultural fields in order to maintain the productivity of the plantation. Both of the substances mentioned contains toxins such as nitrate, lead and also mercury. As the botanist or farmers apply the substancesto the plantations, the residue of the chemicals may enter the lakes and rivers through the sewage or in another scenario, through the dumping of toxins by the large plantation factories. As animals drink the contaminated water, they will lose their lives. Human is one of the victim from this pollution too. It can cause death in children as well as adults when they keep on drinking water that contains nitrates. 

All in all, it is clear to everyone regarding to this problem. It affect not only us, the fauna but alsohas an effect on the flora in both short and long term which will worth us a century to clean it all up. There are numbers of countries that have laws to protect the environment but it still not enough to overcome this kind of problem. People should be more responsible with their action and should think of both, the nature and their own benefits as they act in such way. Deposing of the chemicals residue should be done in the right manners. We can choose to use biodegradable bags instead of using plastic bags in order to keep plastic out from the water thus saving the animal’s life, of course that  we'd better always remind ourself and others not throw the rubbish into the water. Most important thing is, as human, we should realize that water is something important, it is our source of life which need to be conserved and protected from any pollution because in the end, we will be the one who will face the consequences. 

References

Basic Information about Nitrate in Drinking Water. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/nitrate.cfm 

Definisi pollution dalam Bahasa Inggeris:. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2015, from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/ms/definisi/bahasa-inggeris/pollution?searchDictCode=all 

Facts about Pollution from Livestock Farms. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2015, from http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/ffarms.asp 

Milman, O. (2015, October 8). BP oil spill in Great Australian Bight would be catastrophic, modelling shows. Retrieved October 10, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/09/bp-oil-spill-in-great-australian-bight-would-be-catastrophic-modelling-shows