Safe Drinking Water is Essential: Agricultural Pollution
Treatment ProcessesAgricultural Pollution
Agriculture is heavily dependent on fertilizers and pesticides that boost crop production. Pesticide poisoning is a major problem in developing nations, where perhaps five to ten percent of agricultural workers have significant exposure to harmful chemicals.
Nitrates, found in fertilizers and in animal waste, are another major pollutant tied to agricultural use. These contaminants can reach high concentrations within water resources and cause a host of human health problems.
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- Agricultural fertilizers pollute water resources when washed from unprotected topsoil.
- ©Lynn Betts/NRCS/American Geological Institute
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