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Air Pollution, contamination of the atmosphere by gaseous, liquid, or solid wastes or by-products that can endanger human health and the health and welfare of plants and animals, or can attack materials, reduce visibility, or produce undesirable odors. Air pollution has now been one of the major problems faced by every county world wide. Pollutants * Carbon monoxide – a colorless and odorless poison, it is a gas produced when fuel incompletely burned in engines, furnaces and space heaters.
A major source of this is the Vehicles-For example Motor vehicles produce bout 60 percent Of carbon monoxide nationwide; in cities, it may be as high as 95 percent. Other sources include industrial processes, non-transportation fuel combustion, and wildfires. Carbon Dioxide a produced by normal combustion (burning). Although it is not a serious pollutant, it is believed that the contain souse build up of this gas in the atmosphere could cause what they call a ” green house effect” by reducing the flow of heat from the earth back into the space, thus causing a possible warming of the earth.
The greenhouse effect is when the temperature rises because the sun’s heat and light is trapped in the earth’s atmosphere. This is like when heat is trapped in a car. On a very hot day, the car gets hotter when it is out in the parking lot. This is because the heat and light from the sun can get into the car, by going through the windows, but it can’t get back out. This is what the greenhouse effect does to the earth. The heat and light can get through the atmosphere, but it can’t get out. As a result, the temperature rises.. For example Carbon dioxide is the air that our body lets out when we breathe.
With fewer trees, it is harder for people to breathe because there is more CA in the air, and we don’t breathe CA, we breathe oxygen. Plants collect the CA that we breathe out, and they give back oxygen that we breathe in. With less trees and other plants, such as algae, there is less air for us, and more greenhouse gases are sent into the air. This means that it is very important to protect our trees to stop the greenhouse effect, and also so we can breathe and live. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps the earth’s heat and contributes to Climate Change Sulfur dioxide – one of the most dangerous of all air pollutants.
The major sources of this pollutants are Factories and electric power plants that use sulfur-containing coal or oil as fuel. In the air, some sulfur dioxide is converted to sulfuric acid, which is then deposited on the earth’s surface, usually by rain. This acid rain has caused damage to the environment in many parts of the world-For example Combustion of fuel containing sulfur mostly coal and oil. Also produced during metal smelting and other industrial processes. Nitrogen oxide are mildly poisonous brown gas.
These are produced in automobile engines and other devices where combustion takes place. Gas ranges are a major source of nitrogen oxides. For example NON forms quickly from emissions from cars, trucks and buses, power plants, and off-road equipment. In addition to contributing to the formation of ground- level ozone, and fine particle pollution, NON is linked with a number of adverse effects on the respiratory system. .Tobacco- As a cigarette burns and its smoke is released, tiny particles of the more than 4,000 chemicals packed into the cigarette are released into the air.
In addition, the smoke that is inhaled by the smoker can not be totally absorbed by the lungs, so it is released with small amounts of the original pollutants plus trace amounts of the smoker’s bodily fluids. As these particles float upward on the cigarette’s smoke, they dissipate into the surrounding air to produce pollution. Many of the particles and bodily fluids produced during the smoking process are short lived, so the greatest pollution effect is in the area immediately surrounding the smoker.
For example It pollutes the air because the smoke that is coming out of the cigarettes is made up of gizzards chemicals-some Of which are carcinogens. Particulates – also known as particulate matter (PM), fine particles. They are tiny subdivisions of solid matter suspended in a gas or liquid . For example Some particulates occur naturally, originating from volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires, living vegetation, and sea spray. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants and various industrial processes also generate significant amounts of particulates.
Volatile organic compounds (Voss) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. Voss include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long- term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many Voss are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors-for example Many Voss are dangerous to human health or cause harm to the environment. Voss are numerous, varied, and ubiquitous. They include both man-made and naturally occurring chemical compounds. Anthropogenic Voss are regulated by law, especially indoors, where concentrations are the highest.
Voss are typically not acutely toxic, but instead have compounding long-term health effects. Because the concentrations are usually low and the symptoms slow to develop, research into Voss and their effects is difficult. Nitrogen Dioxide (NON) pollutes the air mainly as a result of road traffic and energy production. Nitrogen dioxide is part of a group of gaseous air pollutants produced as a result of road traffic and other fossil fuel combustion processes. Its presence in air contributes to the formation and modification of other air pollutants, such as ozone and particulate matter, and to acid rain.
When people think about air pollution, they usually think about smog, acid main, Cuff’s, and other forms of outdoor air pollution. But did you know that air pollution also can exist inside homes and other buildings? It can, and every year, the health of many people is affected by chemical substances present in the air within buildings-Some examples are perfumes, paints, aerosols, air conditioner and refrigerator. For example leaking refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, and the burning plastic foam products release the CIFS into the atmosphere. They break down and release chlorine atoms, which speed up the breakdown of ozone Health
The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching, but principally affect the body’s respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, the individual’s health status and genetics. People who exercise outdoors, for example, on hot, smoggy days increase their exposure to pollutants in the air. The health effects caused by air pollutants may range from subtle biochemical and physiological changes to difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing and aggravation of existing expiratory and cardiac conditions.
These effects can result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency room visits, more hospital admissions and even premature death. The health of our lungs and entire respiratory system is affected by the quality of the air we breathe. In addition to oxygen, this air contains other substances such as pollutants, which can be harmful. Exposure to chemicals by inhalation can negatively affect our lungs and other organs in the body. The respiratory system is particularly sensitive to air pollutants because much of it is made up of exposed membrane.
Some examples are Lung Infections – croup, bronchitis, and pneumonia are caused by viruses or bacteria and are very common. Symptoms may include cough, fever, chills and shortness of breath. Asthma – is an increasingly common chronic disease among children and adults. It causes shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing or whistling in the chest. Asthma attacks can be triggered by a variety of factors including exercise, infection, pollen, allergies and stress. It can also be triggered by a sensitivity to non-allergic types of pollutants present in the air such as smog.
Lung Cancer – is the most common cause of death due to cancer in women and men. Cigarette smoke contains various carcinogens and is responsible for most cases of this often fatal disease. The symptoms of lung cancer begin silently and then progress to chronic cough, wheezing and chest pain. Air pollution has been linked somewhat weakly to lung cancer.