Sources and Toxicological impacts of Surface Water Pollution on Fish in Egypt

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, 44511, Egypt

Abstract

Egypt has been listed as one of the most popular countries that are menaced by lack of water by the year 2025 due to overpopulation. The great deposition of highly polluted domestic and industrial effluents into its water ways, made a continuous and prompt damage to its surface and groundwater. The River Nile represents about 97% of Egypt's water resources; however winter rain and nonrenewable groundwater aquifers are also comprised. In Egypt, the main source of pollution is industrial wastes that are poured directly into the main water sources or through the municipal system. On the other hand, the pollution of the Mediterranean coast of Alexandria is mainly due to the discharge of wastes of industrial plants into the sea via Lake Marriott. The rural populations have little or even no access to sewer systems or wastewater treatment facilities and they depend only on the on-site disposal of wastewater. In the Delta region, drainage water is reused for irrigation after mixing with Nile water, while in Upper Egypt drainage water is disposed into the river Nile. Fertilizers and pesticides have been used on a wide range after the constructions of High Dam which resulted in weed flourishing which blocks the waterways, and provides habitats for Bilharzia snails. Egyptian fish aquaria exposed to toxicity due to water pollution from chemical plants and sewage pipes. The main sources of heavy metal pollution of water are industrial and agricultural discharges. Other sources also include: coal and oil combustion, phosphate fertilizers, plastics and pesticides. Recently, the consumption of contaminated fish has been the possible cause of heavy metal poisoning in human. The aim of this review is to disclose the main sources of water pollution in Egypt, and to elucidate the side effects of this pollution on fish.

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