My sister is silent;
running through random pages
of novels which I had never read.
As if looking for me.
The page flickers against
Her hand; struggling, not to turn.
As if bidding adieu.

Father is sitting! On the sofa,
Which I picked against his choice.
While my mother gazes,
Outside the balcony –
Deep into the unknown horizon:
searching for answers…

My share’s tea is left – unattended.
Like my being; lying –
in the middle of the room, cold.
Waiting for myself, like others:
Thinking it’s just another prank!
Not very funny – as usual.

She is calling, constantly!
Texting, sending voice memos.
She would never let me go.
We were in love; still are.

Years of contempt
Lies – still and hush;
Amidst the room, its own people.
All of it is lost,
even the hatred.

It is a widely accepted norm that rainwater is a safe source of drinking water, as it supplies many of our water bodies. But the latest studies demonstrate novel insights into persistent chemical pollution and rainwater contamination. Researchers claim rainwater is not right for consumption due to alarming levels of toxic compounds like PFAS (Poly-FluroAlkyl Substances). Other major pollutants include acidic pollutants, characterized by hazardous oxides of sulphur and nitrogen due to industrial emissions. These harmful oxides combine with water and oxygen in the atmosphere to cause acid rain with low pH levels, which makes it unsafe for drinking purposes. . Furthermore, it was substantiated by the latest US guidelines for PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid) in drinking water which examined rainwater from diverse parts of the world and was judged as unsafe to drink.

PFAS or the ‘forever chemicals’

PFAS or The per- and Poly-FluroAlkyl Substances are a huge class of industrial chemicals which have been widely used in manufacturing of various products and equipments since the time of industrial boom. There are numerous sorts of PFAS, for instance, Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)that  constitute some of the extensively employed chemicals in the PFAS group. They are commonly referred to as the ‘forever chemicals’ because of its lack of disintegration due to strong carbon- fluorine bonds with the elements. Henceforth, they don’t break down over time and are persistent, and get easily transported via air and water, causing major environmental concerns and health issues. PFAS are pervasive and can be traced everywhere like our water, soil, air, and food as well as in materials found in our homes or workplace. 

According to the health advisories for four PFAS publicised by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2022, the updated non-regulatory lifetime drinking water health advisories for PFOA and PFOS were 4 pg/L and 20 pg/L, respectively. There has been a shocking decline in PFAS drinking water guidelines over the last 22 years. For instance, if we are taking the case of the US, the PFOA drinking water guidelines for West Virginia was 150000 ng/L, which exceeds the US EPA drinking water lifetime advisory for PFOA of 4pg/L, by a factor of 37.5 million. The risk assessment study about the population exposed to the PFAS revealed that the constant contact with these chemicals develop a variety of health risks. The most common non-cancer effect included the suppression of vaccine response, which can have an adverse effect in the recent scenario of the pandemic.

Health risks:

The latest studies have shown that exposure to certain levels of PFAS may lead to adverse effects like poor reproductive health , fertility problems or recurrent high blood pressure in pregnant women. These oncogenic substances also lead to amplified threats of some cancers, such as prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers. It further leads to a poor immunity system, reduced vaccine response and frequent risks of infection. It hinders development and growth in children leading to an array of issues like behavioural anomalies, accelerated puberty, delayed growth rate and low birth weight etc. It also causes detrimental effects on hormones, causing hormone imbalance and disorders, increased cholesterol levels and magnified chances of obesity.

The Acid Rain Program

According to the Acid Rain Program run by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the drastic effects of Acid rain can be countered through regulations like Clean Air Markets, Clean Air Act, Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET), National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) and Long-term Monitoring (LTM) Network. The acid rain program aimed at a two million ton drop in the emissions of nitrogen and sulphur oxides below the levels of the 1980 by the year 2000. These cutbacks have been attained through the incorporation of coal-fired utility boilers, equipped with low-NOx burner technologies. The program was executed in two phases, the Phase I ran from 1996 to 1999 and concentrated on Group 1 boilers, whereas the Phase II began in 2000 and focused on Group 1 and Group 2 boilers.

Solutions:

Although the levels of PFAS are universally present all across the globe, the levels are relatively low in the thinly populated areas like Antarctica and the Tibetan Plateau. The global restrictions and regulatory acts on PFAS and regulations on industries producing these toxic substances can help in decreasing the more harmful and long-term impacts. The Global leaders and environmental agencies must spread awareness about the rising levels of hazardous chemicals in the atmosphere which further paves its way to the food chain and leads to health threats. The usage of PFAS must be firmly restricted in all possible ways through treaties, taxes and legal contracts, reducing the production, emissions and persistence of these chemicals.

To reiterate the depth of rainwater toxicity, it must be noted that many tropical and arid countries employ rainwater harvesting systems and depend on rainwater as a major source of drinking water. One of the practical solutions to rainwater toxicity is the incorporation of a well planned treatment plant to get rid of the hazardous chemicals. For instance, the use of a filtration tank with a combination of gravel, mollusk sand and activated carbon, further followed by UV rays treatment that will aid in reducing the pollutant levels in rainwater. The Global organizations must collaborate in spreading awareness about the chemical toxicity to the public and propose possible preventive measures like delivering safe drinking water and avoiding the exposure to contaminated water. Moreover, environmental agencies must  invest in research programmes focusing on the mitigation of the ever-increasing chemical pollutants and its harmful outcomes.The increasing level of toxicity must be viewed as an issue of environmental justice violation which must be voiced out at a global and grassroot level.

Language is a mode of communication through which feelings are expressed and messages are delivered verbally. Every country across the globe has its official language while some countries have regional and local languages, which make them multilingual. From the 16th century, the Britishers started making their moves to expand their kingdom overseas. Capturing the territories of countries like Hong Kong, Africa, Canada, North America, Barbados, Singapore, Malaysia and India, they established their influence and became a superpower. Over the years, the political dynamics gradually altered, and the colonized countries gained freedom. But the influence of the British government in certain areas of life remained the same. Native languages became a minority and the speakers of these languages had to adjust their style of speech, behaviour and appearance to survive in the regions outside their vicinity. This shift of spoken language and alterations in behaviour according to social context is called ‘code-switching’.

The population of countries like Africa, Canada, India, Singapore and the USA is multilingual. The citizens speak two or more languages While conversing with their peers and associates, they consciously or subconsciously switch between two languages according to the need of communication. This code- switching proves to be useful for elaborating the true essence of sentences. It generates a sense of coexistence among different communities and protects the distinguished identity of every individual. People who tend to switch languages are likely to be more open in their approach to intercultural relations and grow to be compassionate members of an enlarged society. A social environment or an institution that supports code-switching, helps in the eradication of cultural barriers. Ideas are freely put forward and bilingual people feel at ease while interacting within diverse communities. The speakers get a wide range of choices of words and the minority languages get preserved and widely protected. Code-switching provides representation to people of colour and minority language-speaking citizens, and helps to convey thoughts beyond the first languages. In the USA, 14.4 percent of the population comprises international migrants. If educational institutions like schools, colleges and universities support code switching, the students that hail from minority communities would get a chance to express their ideas and thoughts freely. While doing the school work, projects and assignments or answering any question, they won’t feel the pressure of sticking to the language of majority. This exercise of code switching will prove beneficial to the secondary language speaking students and encourage them to protect their individuality. It would make them feel included and their linguistic recognition would be celebrated.

As the old saying preaches, every coin has two sides. This applies to code-switching as well because it too has some drawbacks. The bilingual community faces a dilemma while sharing space with people belonging to the majority population. They are conditioned to believe that, if they don’t switch from their mother tongue or spoken language to the language of the majority, they would be outcast. To fit with the dominant language-speaking people, they modify their behaviour and switch their language. This code-switching sends a message among the masses in order to fit into the certain criteria of the community, you must cover your true self. The African American, Latin American and Asian communities are forced to code-switch because the social environment makes them believe that only “being white” makes any race superior. This code-switching is the by-product of colonization that leads the minority to shift into survival mode in the white supremacist society. In the USA, African American women deliberately code-switch and change their appearance, dressing and way of speaking. They have been oppressed for centuries so long, which makes them change themselves around the majority community. Their existence in the communities outside their own has a border of fear which drives them away from their own culture and identification.

In a world where countries are divided by borders and wars are at a constant stake, code-switching creates solidarity between different social groups. But at occasions, it encourages discrimination of communities that has been oppressed since the colonial period. It is the right of every human being to live the way he or she desires . At the same time, no person shall claim superiority over himself/herself by depriving others of their basic rights. Every cultural and individual identity needs to be celebrated and safe space must be created where citizens would be no one but unapologetically themselves.