Gasoline is a highly flammable component which is used as fuel for engines in automotive across the globe. Despite being regarded as one of the most beneficial components to be discovered by human beings, it is associated with a series of dangers that threaten human survival. Four of the most hazardous chemicals found in gasoline include; lead, benzene, toluene and xylene ( Perera, 2017 ). The above gasses have contributed massively in the contemporary world environmental issues besides contributing to the augmenting health challenges that human beings are experiencing. There needs to be an immediate reciprocation to the menace created by chemicals found in gasoline because the ever increasing technological advancement will lead to over-reliance on engines which majorly use gasoline.
Three possible environmental pathways for migration of lead is through the air channel, water channels and land contamination through gasoline spills. As anthropogenic activities continue to be on the rise, the release of these hazardous chemicals including lead has been on the rise. As a result, the air, the world water bodies and the land which are critical components of production have massively acted as key pathways for migration of lead and other gasoline related chemicals. For Toluene, benzene and xylene, the major possible environmental pathways for migration is through the process of their production, their transportation and in their day-to-day uses ( Perera, 2017 ). It is during the above processes that the chemicals are released to the environment.
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The most notable biogeochemical cycles of lead that are disrupted by human use of chemical are much related to anthropogenic activities of mining and fossil fuel combustion because Lead is a chemical that has proved to be non-essential for human beings as it is highly toxic to living things. The biogeochemical cycle of xylene and benzene include factors associated with burning of forests, combustion of fossil fuels at high temperatures and through transformations of biogenic precursors.
There are various environmental effects of these chemicals. For instance, lead leads to the destruction of ecosystems by killing living organisms when it accumulates in soils and water bodies. For instance, in the seas and oceans, direct spills of gasoline and the indirect accumulation of gasoline-related chemicals due to surface run-off which drains contaminated water into the oceans have increased the amounts of lead. As a result, the population of ocean living things has been declining as ecosystems are being destroyed with little effort to salvage the situation by human beings ( Sigel, A., Sigel, H., & Sigel, R, 2017 ). Lead also leads to air pollution. In regards to benzene, it leads to air pollution by clogging the atmosphere with smog like attributes. Consequently, it leads to the destruction of plants and animals hence affecting life forms in the environment.
The major route of exposure of these chemicals to human beings is through ingestion and breathing. They pollute water bodies, and the land leading to the contamination of water used for human use hence their ingestion leading to health concerns. For instance the exposure route for lead and xylene is through inhalation through breathing and or ingestion through eating ( Niaz eta l., 2015 ). It is worrying how the world has invested massively in industrialization and technology without setting viable mechanisms of preventing further environmental degradation and destruction of the most essential life-supporting natural systems.
The three major human health effects of exposure to the above chemicals include; fatal damage to body organs, health issues such as coma, inability breath, lungs complications as well as harming the nervous system ( Niaz eta l., 2015 ). Statistics confirm that human population has in the recent past been subjected to chronic respiratory, dermatological and carcinogenic conditions. The number of diseases is on the increase while little is being done to prevent further air, land and water pollution from chemicals such as lead, benzene, toluene and xylene.
References
Mussa, M. A. (2017). Experimental study on the combustion and exhaust emissions of otto engine fuel with naphthalene-gasoline blends. DIYALA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES , 10 (1), 58-70.
Niaz, K., Bahadar, H., Maqbool, F., & Abdollahi, M. (2015). A review of environmental and occupational exposure to xylene and its health concerns. EXCLI journal , 14 , 1167.
Perera, F. (2017). Pollution from fossil-fuel combustion is the leading environmental threat to global pediatric health and equity: Solutions exist. International journal of environmental research and public health , 15 (1), 16.
Sigel, A., Sigel, H., & Sigel, R. K. (2017). Lead: its effects on environment and health (Vol. 17). Walter de Gruyter.
