![]() ![]() You may even see statements to that effect on detergent boxes. Today, many detergents are made without phosphorus so the detrimental effects of eutrophication are minimized. This process, called eutrophication, is considered a negative environmental impact. Because of the large bacterial concentrations, the oxygen content of the water dropped, causing fish to die in large numbers. When the algae died, concentrations of bacteria that ate the dead algae increased. Lakes receiving this wastewater experienced sudden increases in growth of algae. When phosphorus-containing detergents were introduced in the 1950s, wastewater from normal household activities greatly increased the amount of phosphorus available to algae and other plant life. Higher forms of life, such as humans, can obtain phosphorus by selecting a proper diet (plenty of protein) but lower forms of life, such as algae, must absorb it from the environment. Its availability limits the amount of life our planet can sustain. Phosphorus, then, is nature’s bottleneck. Unlike carbon, which can be obtained from carbon dioxide, there is no phosphorus compound present in our surroundings that can serve as a convenient source. ![]() We need phosphorus for our bones and teeth, and it is a crucial component of all living cells. Phosphorus makes up 1.1% of the human body but only 0.105% of Earth’s crust. There is an element that we need more of in our bodies than is proportionately present in Earth’s crust, and this element is not easily accessible. LOOKING CLOSER: PHOSPHOROUS, THE CHEMICAL BOTTLENECK On the other hand, although carbon is present in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, and about 80% of the atmosphere is nitrogen, we obtain those two elements from the food we eat, not the air we breathe. We obtain oxygen from the air we breathe and the water we drink. The relative amounts of elements in the body have less to do with their abundances on Earth than with their availability in a form we can assimilate. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 89th ed. \): Elemental Composition of a Human Body Element ![]()
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