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Essay on Air Pollution

Environmental changes are caused by the natural or artificial content of harmful pollutants and can cause instability, disturbance, or adverse effects on the ecosystem. Earth and its environment pose a more serious threat due to the increasing pollution of air, water, and soil. Environmental damage is caused by improper resource management or careless human activities. Therefore, any activity that violates the original nature of the environment and leads to degradation is called pollution. We need to understand the origin of these pollutants and find ways to control pollution. This can also be done by raising awareness of the effects of pollutants.

Air pollution is any physical, chemical, or biological change in the air. A certain percentage of the gas is present in the atmosphere. Increasing or decreasing the composition of these gasses is detrimental to survival. This imbalance in gas composition causes an increase in global temperature which is called global warming.

Introduction to air pollution 

The Earth and its environment are facing a serious threat by the increasing pollution of the air, water, and soil—the vital life support systems of the Earth. The damage to the environment is caused by improper management of resources or by careless human activity. Hence any activity that violates the original character of nature and leads to its degradation is called pollution. We need to understand the sources of these pollutants and find ways to control pollution. This can be also done by making people aware of the effects of pollutants. 

Air with 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, and 1% of all other gasses support life on Earth. Various processes take place to sustain the regular percentage of gasses and their composition in general. 

Atmospheric pollution can have natural sources, for example, volcanic eruptions. The gaseous by-products of man-made processes such as energy production, waste incineration, transport, deforestation and agriculture, are the major air pollutants.

Although air is made up of mostly Oxygen and Nitrogen, mankind, through pollution, has increased the levels of many trace gasses, and in some cases, released completely new gasses to the atmosphere. 

Air pollution can result in poor air quality, both in cities and in the countryside. Some air pollutants make people sick, causing breathing problems and increasing the likelihood of cancer. 

Some air pollutants are harmful to plants, animals, and the ecosystems in which they live. Statues, monuments, and buildings are being corroded by the air pollutants in the form of acid rain. It also damages crops and forests, and makes lakes and streams unsuitable for fish and other plant and animal life. 

Air pollution created by man-made resources is also changing the Earth’s atmosphere. It is causing the depletion of the ozone layer and letting in more harmful radiation from the Sun. The greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere prevents heat from escaping back into space and leads to a rise in global average temperatures. Global warming affects the average sea-level and increases the spread of tropical diseases.

Air pollution occurs when large amounts of gas and tiny particles are released into the air and the ecological balance is disturbed. Each year millions of tons of gasses and particulate matter are emitted into the air. 

Primary air pollutants are pollutants, which are directly released into the air. They are called SPM, i.e., Suspended Particulate Matter. For example, smoke, dust, ash, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and radioactive compounds, etc.

Secondary Pollutants are pollutants, which are formed due to chemical interactions between the atmospheric components and primary pollutants. For example, Smog (i.e. Smoke and fog), ozone, etc.

Major gaseous air pollutants include Carbon Dioxide, Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide, etc.

Natural sources are volcanic eruptions, forest fires, dust storms, etc. 

Man-made sources include gasses released from the automobiles, industries, burning of garbage and bricks kilns, etc.

Effects of Air Pollution on Human Health

Air pollution has adverse effects on human health. 

Breathing polluted air puts you at higher risk of asthma.

When exposed to ground ozone for 6 to 7 hours, people suffer from respiratory inflammation.

Damages the immune system, endocrine, and reproductive systems.

A high level of air pollution has been associated with higher incidents of heart problems.

The toxic chemicals released into the air are affecting the flora and fauna immensely.

Preventive Measures to Reduce Air Pollution

We can prevent pollution by utilizing raw materials, water energy, and other resources more efficiently. When less harmful substances are substituted for hazardous ones, and when toxic substances are eliminated from the production process, human health can be protected and economic wellbeing can be strengthened. 

There are several measures that can be adopted by people to reduce pollution and to save the environment.

Carpooling.

Promotion of public transport.

No smoking zone.

Restricted use of fossil fuels.

Saving energy.

Encouraging organic farming.

The government has put restrictions on the amount of fossil fuels that can be used as well as restrictions on how much carbon dioxide and other pollutants can be emitted. Although the government is attempting to save our environment from these harmful gasses, it is not sufficient. We as a society need to keep the environment clean by controlling the pollution of air.

FAQs on Air Pollution Essay

1. State the Causes of Air Pollution ?

The following are the causes of air pollution.

Vehicular pollution consisting of Carbon Monoxide causes pollution.

Emission of Nitrogen oxide by a large number of supersonic transport airplanes causes deterioration of the Ozone layer and also causes serious damage to the flora and fauna.

The release of Chlorofluorocarbons into the Stratosphere causes depletion of Ozone, which is a serious concern to animals, microscopic, and aquatic organisms.

Burning garbage causes smoke, which pollutes the atmosphere. This smoke contains harmful gases such as Carbon dioxide and Nitrogen oxides.

In India, brick kilns are used for many purposes and coal is used to burn the bricks. They give out huge quantities of Carbon dioxide and particulate matter such as smoke, dust that are very harmful to people working there and the areas surrounding it. 

Many cleansing agents release poisonous gases such as Ammonia and Chlorine into the atmosphere. 

Radioactive elements emit harmful rays into the air.

Decomposed animals and plants emit Methane and Ammonia gas into the air.

2. What Does Global Warming Mean?

Global warming is the gradual rising average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere due to the concentration of methane in certain toxic gasses such as carbon dioxide. This has a major impact on the world climate. The world is warming. The land and the sea are now warmer than they were at the beginning and temperatures are still rising. This rise in temperature is, in short, global warming. This temperature rise is man-made. The burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere which capture solar heat and raise surface and air temperatures.

3. Name the Alternative Modes of Transport. In What Way Does it Help to Reduce Air Pollution?

Public transport could be an alternative mode of transport. Public transport like trains, buses and trams, can relieve traffic congestion and reduce air pollution from road transport. The use of public transport must be encouraged in order to develop a sustainable transport policy.

4. Mention other means of transportation! How can I help reduce air pollution?

Public transportation can be another mode of transportation. Public transport such as trains, buses and trams can reduce traffic congestion and reduce air pollution from road transport. The use of public transport and to develop sustainable transport policies should be encouraged. While one passenger vehicle has the convenience factor, other modes of transportation reduce travel costs, spend less time, reduce stress, improve health, and reduce energy consumption and parking. Other trips for work include walking/cycling, public transport, hybrid travel and transport.

5. What are the effects of pollution?

Excessive air pollution can increase the risk of heart attack, wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing, as well as irritation of the eyes, nose and throat. Air pollution can also cause heart problems, asthma, and other lung problems. Due to the emission of greenhouse gases, the composition of the air in the air is disturbed. This causes an increase in global temperature. The damaging ozone layer due to air pollution does not prevent harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun, which cause skin and eye problems in individuals. Air pollution has caused a number of respiratory and heart diseases among people. The incidence of lung cancer has increased in recent decades. Children living in contaminated areas are more likely to develop pneumonia and asthma. Many people die every year due to the direct or indirect effects of air pollution. When burning fossil fuels, harmful gases such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released into the air. Water droplets combine with these pollutants and become acidic and fall as acid rain, which harms human, animal and plant life.

6. What is the solution to air pollution?

Production of renewable fuels and clean energy. The basic solution to air pollution is to get away from fossil fuels and replace them with other energies such as solar, wind and geothermal. The government limits the amount of fossil fuel that can be used and how much carbon dioxide and other pollutants it can emit. While the government is trying to save our environment from this harmful gas, it is not enough. We as a society need to keep the environment clean by controlling air pollution. To more in detail about air pollution and its causes. To learn more about air pollution and its impact on the environment, visit the Vedantu website.

The best ways to reduce air pollution and tackle climate change together

Electrifying public transport is one way to lower both air pollution and carbon emissions Image:  REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

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Stay up to date:, air pollution.

• Prevailing wisdom holds that measures to reduce air pollution will also tackle climate change, and vice versa - but this is not always the case.
• A new report has identified the most effective interventions for addressing both issues at once.

When we look at air pollution and climate change, we see two dire situations:

1. People, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), are becoming ill and dying prematurely because of the poor quality of the air they breathe. Air pollution is linked to an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths a year , according to the World Health Organization. When indoor air quality is considered, that number rises by an estimated 2.9 to 4.3 million deaths a year, according to The Lancet Commission .

2. Glacial ice is melting, droughts are becoming more prolonged, extreme weather events are more common, and cities around the world are reporting record-breaking heat, all against a backdrop of predictions from the International Panel on Climate Change of temperature increases between 2.5˚C and 10˚C over the next century.

Have you read?

Air pollution in europe is decreasing but it still has some hotspots, youth can help fight air pollution in africa. here's how, here's a cost-effective way to improve air quality, indoor air pollution: what causes it and how to tackle it.

For years, the prevailing wisdom has argued that the same adverse conditions that propel climate change also are responsible for air pollution, and that by correcting one problem we can also solve the other.

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as that. Some interventions that can massively improve air quality and the health of people in affected communities, such as using lower-sulphur diesel fuel, have little or no impact on climate change. Others produce benefits for the climate but do not significantly impact health. And still other popular and often costly interventions do little to improve air quality or slow the pace of climate change.

With our partners – AirQualityAsia, The Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society at Boston College, and with support from the Clean Air Fund – we set out to identify the most successful and practical actions that can improve health by reducing air pollution and impact climate change . Because very little analytical data is available about outcomes for specific interventions, our researchers and consultants went directly to those deeply involved in air pollution projects around the world to learn what had worked, what had not, and why.

The result of these efforts – a new report entitled Air Pollution Interventions: Seeking the Intersection between Climate and Health – is intended to help governments and policy-makers identify and implement the most effective interventions for their communities and particular situations.

When we talk about adverse health effects from air pollution, our report focuses primarily on particulate matter 2.5 microns and smaller in size (PM2.5), which are largely produced by carbon burning. These microscopic particles, less than one-thirtieth the width of a human air, pass through the lungs and into the bloodstream where they are carried throughout the body to cause damage to respiratory, cardiovascular, and other systems, and according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation account for more than 85% of air pollution-related mortality .

With regard to climate change, the report mainly looks at activities that increase atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and black carbon.

PM2.5, black carbon and CO2 are largely the byproducts of carbon burning. The three primary sources are:

1. Energy generation from coal and natural gas

2. Public and private transportation of people and goods using diesel or gasoline

3. Open fires, mostly crop burning and forest fires, but also uncontrolled waste incineration

Coal-fired power plants are the granddaddies of air pollution and climate change – and we've known this for some time. Likewise, the single most effective action governments can take to improve air quality and to impact climate change is to phase out the use of coal and other fossil fuels, such as tar and lignite, for power generation.

If you take a big coal-fired power plant in the middle of a city and replace it with renewable energy, that's a huge step to reduce air pollution. Converting coal-fired power plants to natural gas or installing scrubbers reduces PM2.5 emissions – and so benefits health – but the carbon-burning power plants are still producing CO2 and climate-changing emissions. While moving that coal-fired power plant outside the city may be politically popular with millions of city dwellers (less so, perhaps, with people near the new plant), the action is costly and does nothing to benefit health or climate change.

Best ways to reduce air pollution

Other significant interventions that improve both health by reducing PM2.5 and impact climate change by reducing CO2 emissions include:

• Replacing diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles with electric vehicles. Shenzhen, China, for instance, has switched from diesel-powered public transportation to an electric bus fleet with an expected 48% reduction in CO2 emissions and significant reductions in particulate matter.

• Eliminating uncontrolled diesel emissions. Studies have found that reducing vehicle fleet levels from the equivalent of Euro I to Euro IV can reduce fleet emissions by about 80% and moving up to Euro V standards further reduces the remaining emissions by 80%. This is a great step to remove air pollution and CO2 levels.

• Preventing crop burning. Specific technologies and education can improve outcomes for farmers without burning – creating win-win situations. Education and support for agricultural extension programmes in developing countries are key to their success. Poland, for example, has largely phased out the practice of burning the stubble left after the wheat harvest. Government initiatives in Delhi to combat crop burning, a significant source of air pollution, include awareness and capacity building, technological interventions, and subsidies for farmers to purchase straw management machines. Still, the twice-annual traditional crop burning contributes significantly to Delhi's notorious haze.

Our team considered 22 interventions with dozens of supporting case studies with the goal of helping governments and policy-makers determine which interventions may be most practical and beneficial for their particular problems.

Climate change poses an urgent threat demanding decisive action. Communities around the world are already experiencing increased climate impacts, from droughts to floods to rising seas. The World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report continues to rank these environmental threats at the top of the list.

To limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C and as close as possible to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, it is essential that businesses, policy-makers, and civil society advance comprehensive near- and long-term climate actions in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The World Economic Forum's Climate Initiative supports the scaling and acceleration of global climate action through public and private-sector collaboration. The Initiative works across several workstreams to develop and implement inclusive and ambitious solutions.

This includes the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, a global network of business leaders from various industries developing cost-effective solutions to transitioning to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. CEOs use their position and influence with policy-makers and corporate partners to accelerate the transition and realize the economic benefits of delivering a safer climate.

Contact us to get involved.

We know that exposure to PM2.5 makes people more susceptible to respiratory illnesses; preliminary studies and anecdotal reporting early in the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that infection rates initially were higher and illnesses more severe in cities with poorer air quality. We also know that increasingly the citizenry is demanding that its leaders take swift and sure action to combat air pollution, as underscored by a recent survey by the Clean Air Fund of people in the UK, Bulgaria, India, Nigeria and Poland. As The New York Times reports , the survey, which was conducted during the pandemic between 22 May 22 and 2 June, found overwhelming support for stricter air quality regulations and better enforcement of existing rules. In Nigeria and India, for instance, 90% of those surveyed said they wanted improved air quality.

The most important step for municipal and national agencies to reduce air pollution is to raise their level of ambition in achieving their air quality and climate objectives. The overall aim must be an economy where development is uncoupled from resource use and energy provision is de-carbonized. Short-term actions can then be selected and implemented within that framework.

The solutions exist – and with technical support, strategic funding, and public and private initiatives, we can successfully improve public health and combat climate change.

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World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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Air Pollution Solutions

While air pollution is a serious problem, it is a problem that we can solve! In the United States and around the world, people are taking action to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

The Clean Air Act: How Laws Can Help Clean Up the Air

Creating policies and passing laws to restrict air pollution has been an important step toward improving air quality. In 1970, fueled by persistent visible smog in many U.S. cities and industrial areas and an increase in health problems caused by air pollution, the Clean Air Act paved the way for numerous efforts to improve air quality in the United States. The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set air quality standards for several hazardous air pollutants reported in the Air Quality Index (AQI) , requires states to have a plan to address air pollution and emissions reduction, and also addresses problems such as acid rain, ozone holes, and greenhouse gas pollution which is causing the climate to warm.

Since the Clean Air Act was passed:

• The amounts of the six common pollutants in the atmosphere measured by the EPA (particulates, ozone, lead, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide) are declining.
• The risks of premature death, low birth weight, and other health problems due to air pollution have decreased.
• Vehicle emissions have decreased, despite increases in the number of miles driven each year, due to stricter emissions standards and increased efficiency in vehicle engines.
• Emissions and toxic pollutants (such as mercury and benzenes) from factories and power plants have decreased, due to new technologies.
• There is less acid rain, due to decreased power plant emissions.
• The ozone hole continues to shrink as a result of banning the use of CFCs.
• Pollution-caused haze in cities and wilderness areas has decreased.

Source: EPA

Most industrialized countries have laws and regulations about air quality. The United Kingdom first passed its Clean Air Act in 1956 following a deadly smog event that killed many London residents. In China, where rapid industrial and urban growth in recent decades resulted in a sharp decrease in air quality, numerous laws about air pollution have been passed, including a frequently updated five-year national plan to meet target reductions in air pollution.

It is important to note that while laws and regulations are helping, the effects of air pollution are still apparent. The decline of toxic air pollutants and health improvements are welcome changes, yet the growing threat of climate change due to fossil fuel emissions remains a problem that still needs to be solved.

There Are Many Solutions to Air Pollution

In order to improve air quality and slow climate warming, change needs to happen on a national and global scale. However, actions at the individual and community level are also important.

• Burn less coal. Pollution from burning all fossil fuels is harmful to the atmosphere, but burning coal has a larger impact on air pollution than burning oil or gas because it releases more carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and heavy metal pollutants per unit of energy. Also, over one-third of the electricity produced in the world comes from burning coal. As of 2014, the global demand for coal is beginning to decline. In North America, coal plants are being replaced by natural gas. Some countries, such as Japan and South Korea, rely more on nuclear energy, and there is a global increase in electricity supplied by clean, renewable sources like wind, solar, and water.

• Conserve energy — at home, work, and everywhere! The demand for electricity, which is most often produced by burning fossil fuels, has grown exponentially over the past decades. Conserve energy by turning off lights, buy appliances rated for energy efficiency, and keep the thermostat set higher in the summer and lower in the winter. Whenever possible, invest in renewable energy sources to power your home. Several countries are using renewables, nuclear power, or lower-emission sources like natural gas to meet their increasing power demand. And many countries plan to significantly increase their use of renewable energy sources in the future.
• Monitor air quality warnings and take action on poor air quality days. On days when pollution levels are high, taking action can help reduce the risk of harm to those who are most vulnerable. Reducing overall car usage and avoiding idling your car can help on days with high levels of ozone pollution. Save refueling and use of gas-powered yard equipment for the evening when it is cooler and ozone levels are lower. On days when particle pollutants are high, avoid burning yard waste and wood. Choosing to carpool or using a clean transportation method is always helpful, especially on days with high levels of air pollution. Check on the air quality in your area at the AirNow website .
• Take action within your community to find solutions to air pollution. Around the world, many of the current solutions are the result of communities coming together to demand change. Citizens in Shenzhen, China, inspired a switch to electric buses in their city. In Brussels, Belgium, a movement started by parents concerned about poor air quality in schools led to a plan to invest in public transportation and bicycling, along with a ban on fueled cars by 2030. And in many countries, governments are closing coal plants and exploring new sources of energy because of citizens who are concerned about climate warming.

Check out the EPA's website to learn more about actions you can take to reduce air pollution.

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Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know

How smog, soot, greenhouse gases, and other top air pollutants are affecting the planet—and your health.

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What is air pollution?

What causes air pollution, effects of air pollution, air pollution in the united states, air pollution and environmental justice, controlling air pollution, how to help reduce air pollution, how to protect your health.

Air pollution  refers to the release of pollutants into the air—pollutants that are detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole. According to the  World Health Organization (WHO) , each year, indoor and outdoor air pollution is responsible for nearly seven million deaths around the globe. Ninety-nine percent of human beings currently breathe air that exceeds the WHO’s guideline limits for pollutants, with those living in low- and middle-income countries suffering the most. In the United States, the  Clean Air Act , established in 1970, authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to safeguard public health by regulating the emissions of these harmful air pollutants.

“Most air pollution comes from energy use and production,” says  John Walke , director of the Clean Air team at NRDC. Driving a car on gasoline, heating a home with oil, running a power plant on  fracked gas : In each case, a fossil fuel is burned and harmful chemicals and gases are released into the air.

“We’ve made progress over the last 50 years in improving air quality in the United States, thanks to the Clean Air Act. But climate change will make it harder in the future to meet pollution standards, which are designed to  protect health ,” says Walke.

Air pollution is now the world’s fourth-largest risk factor for early death. According to the 2020  State of Global Air  report —which summarizes the latest scientific understanding of air pollution around the world—4.5 million deaths were linked to outdoor air pollution exposures in 2019, and another 2.2 million deaths were caused by indoor air pollution. The world’s most populous countries, China and India, continue to bear the highest burdens of disease.

“Despite improvements in reducing global average mortality rates from air pollution, this report also serves as a sobering reminder that the climate crisis threatens to worsen air pollution problems significantly,” explains  Vijay Limaye , senior scientist in NRDC’s Science Office. Smog, for instance, is intensified by increased heat, forming when the weather is warmer and there’s more ultraviolet radiation. In addition, climate change increases the production of allergenic air pollutants, including mold (thanks to damp conditions caused by extreme weather and increased flooding) and pollen (due to a longer pollen season). “Climate change–fueled droughts and dry conditions are also setting the stage for dangerous wildfires,” adds Limaye. “ Wildfire smoke can linger for days and pollute the air with particulate matter hundreds of miles downwind.”

The effects of air pollution on the human body vary, depending on the type of pollutant, the length and level of exposure, and other factors, including a person’s individual health risks and the cumulative impacts of multiple pollutants or stressors.

Smog and soot

These are the two most prevalent types of air pollution. Smog (sometimes referred to as ground-level ozone) occurs when emissions from combusting fossil fuels react with sunlight. Soot—a type of  particulate matter —is made up of tiny particles of chemicals, soil, smoke, dust, or allergens that are carried in the air. The sources of smog and soot are similar. “Both come from cars and trucks, factories, power plants, incinerators, engines, generally anything that combusts fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline, or natural gas,” Walke says.

Smog can irritate the eyes and throat and also damage the lungs, especially those of children, senior citizens, and people who work or exercise outdoors. It’s even worse for people who have asthma or allergies; these extra pollutants can intensify their symptoms and trigger asthma attacks. The tiniest airborne particles in soot are especially dangerous because they can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream and worsen bronchitis, lead to heart attacks, and even hasten death. In  2020, a report from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health showed that COVID-19 mortality rates were higher in areas with more particulate matter pollution than in areas with even slightly less, showing a correlation between the virus’s deadliness and long-term exposure to air pollution. 

These findings also illuminate an important  environmental justice issue . Because highways and polluting facilities have historically been sited in or next to low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, the negative effects of this pollution have been  disproportionately experienced by the people who live in these communities.

Hazardous air pollutants

A number of air pollutants pose severe health risks and can sometimes be fatal, even in small amounts. Almost 200 of them are regulated by law; some of the most common are mercury,  lead , dioxins, and benzene. “These are also most often emitted during gas or coal combustion, incineration, or—in the case of benzene—found in gasoline,” Walke says. Benzene, classified as a carcinogen by the EPA, can cause eye, skin, and lung irritation in the short term and blood disorders in the long term. Dioxins, more typically found in food but also present in small amounts in the air, is another carcinogen that can affect the liver in the short term and harm the immune, nervous, and endocrine systems, as well as reproductive functions.  Mercury  attacks the central nervous system. In large amounts, lead can damage children’s brains and kidneys, and even minimal exposure can affect children’s IQ and ability to learn.

Another category of toxic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are by-products of traffic exhaust and wildfire smoke. In large amounts, they have been linked to eye and lung irritation, blood and liver issues, and even cancer.  In one study , the children of mothers exposed to PAHs during pregnancy showed slower brain-processing speeds and more pronounced symptoms of ADHD.

Greenhouse gases

While these climate pollutants don’t have the direct or immediate impacts on the human body associated with other air pollutants, like smog or hazardous chemicals, they are still harmful to our health. By trapping the earth’s heat in the atmosphere, greenhouse gases lead to warmer temperatures, which in turn lead to the hallmarks of climate change: rising sea levels, more extreme weather, heat-related deaths, and the increased transmission of infectious diseases. In 2021, carbon dioxide accounted for roughly 79 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, and methane made up more than 11 percent. “Carbon dioxide comes from combusting fossil fuels, and methane comes from natural and industrial sources, including large amounts that are released during oil and gas drilling,” Walke says. “We emit far larger amounts of carbon dioxide, but methane is significantly more potent, so it’s also very destructive.” 

Another class of greenhouse gases,  hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) , are thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide in their ability to trap heat. In October 2016, more than 140 countries signed the Kigali Agreement to reduce the use of these chemicals—which are found in air conditioners and refrigerators—and develop greener alternatives over time. (The United States officially signed onto the  Kigali Agreement in 2022.)

Pollen and mold

Mold and allergens from trees, weeds, and grass are also carried in the air, are exacerbated by climate change, and can be hazardous to health. Though they aren’t regulated, they can be considered a form of air pollution. “When homes, schools, or businesses get water damage, mold can grow and produce allergenic airborne pollutants,” says Kim Knowlton, professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University and a former NRDC scientist. “ Mold exposure can precipitate asthma attacks  or an allergic response, and some molds can even produce toxins that would be dangerous for anyone to inhale.”

Pollen allergies are worsening  because of climate change . “Lab and field studies are showing that pollen-producing plants—especially ragweed—grow larger and produce more pollen when you increase the amount of carbon dioxide that they grow in,” Knowlton says. “Climate change also extends the pollen production season, and some studies are beginning to suggest that ragweed pollen itself might be becoming a more potent allergen.” If so, more people will suffer runny noses, fevers, itchy eyes, and other symptoms. “And for people with allergies and asthma, pollen peaks can precipitate asthma attacks, which are far more serious and can be life-threatening.”

More than one in three U.S. residents—120 million people—live in counties with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the  2023  State of the Air  report by the American Lung Association (ALA). Since the annual report was first published, in 2000, its findings have shown how the Clean Air Act has been able to reduce harmful emissions from transportation, power plants, and manufacturing.

Recent findings, however, reflect how climate change–fueled wildfires and extreme heat are adding to the challenges of protecting public health. The latest report—which focuses on ozone, year-round particle pollution, and short-term particle pollution—also finds that people of color are 61 percent more likely than white people to live in a county with a failing grade in at least one of those categories, and three times more likely to live in a county that fails in all three.

In rankings for each of the three pollution categories covered by the ALA report, California cities occupy the top three slots (i.e., were highest in pollution), despite progress that the Golden State has made in reducing air pollution emissions in the past half century. At the other end of the spectrum, these cities consistently rank among the country’s best for air quality: Burlington, Vermont; Honolulu; and Wilmington, North Carolina. 

No one wants to live next door to an incinerator, oil refinery, port, toxic waste dump, or other polluting site. Yet millions of people around the world do, and this puts them at a much higher risk for respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, neurological damage, cancer, and death. In the United States, people of color are 1.5 times more likely than whites to live in areas with poor air quality, according to the ALA.

Historically, racist zoning policies and discriminatory lending practices known as  redlining  have combined to keep polluting industries and car-choked highways away from white neighborhoods and have turned communities of color—especially low-income and working-class communities of color—into sacrifice zones, where residents are forced to breathe dirty air and suffer the many health problems associated with it. In addition to the increased health risks that come from living in such places, the polluted air can economically harm residents in the form of missed workdays and higher medical costs.

Environmental racism isn't limited to cities and industrial areas. Outdoor laborers, including the estimated three million migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States, are among the most vulnerable to air pollution—and they’re also among the least equipped, politically, to pressure employers and lawmakers to affirm their right to breathe clean air.

Recently,  cumulative impact mapping , which uses data on environmental conditions and demographics, has been able to show how some communities are overburdened with layers of issues, like high levels of poverty, unemployment, and pollution. Tools like the  Environmental Justice Screening Method  and the EPA’s  EJScreen  provide evidence of what many environmental justice communities have been explaining for decades: that we need land use and public health reforms to ensure that vulnerable areas are not overburdened and that the people who need resources the most are receiving them.

In the United States, the  Clean Air Act  has been a crucial tool for reducing air pollution since its passage in 1970, although fossil fuel interests aided by industry-friendly lawmakers have frequently attempted to  weaken its many protections. Ensuring that this bedrock environmental law remains intact and properly enforced will always be key to maintaining and improving our air quality.

But the best, most effective way to control air pollution is to speed up our transition to cleaner fuels and industrial processes. By switching over to renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar power), maximizing fuel efficiency in our vehicles, and replacing more and more of our gasoline-powered cars and trucks with electric versions, we'll be limiting air pollution at its source while also curbing the global warming that heightens so many of its worst health impacts.

And what about the economic costs of controlling air pollution? According to a report on the Clean Air Act commissioned by NRDC, the annual  benefits of cleaner air  are up to 32 times greater than the cost of clean air regulations. Those benefits include up to 370,000 avoided premature deaths, 189,000 fewer hospital admissions for cardiac and respiratory illnesses, and net economic benefits of up to $3.8 trillion for the U.S. economy every year.

“The less gasoline we burn, the better we’re doing to reduce air pollution and the harmful effects of climate change,” Walke explains. “Make good choices about transportation. When you can, ride a bike, walk, or take public transportation. For driving, choose a car that gets better miles per gallon of gas or  buy an electric car .” You can also investigate your power provider options—you may be able to request that your electricity be supplied by wind or solar. Buying your food locally cuts down on the fossil fuels burned in trucking or flying food in from across the world. And most important: “Support leaders who push for clean air and water and responsible steps on climate change,” Walke says.

• “When you see in the news or hear on the weather report that pollution levels are high, it may be useful to limit the time when children go outside or you go for a jog,” Walke says. Generally, ozone levels tend to be lower in the morning.
• If you exercise outside, stay as far as you can from heavily trafficked roads. Then shower and wash your clothes to remove fine particles.
• The air may look clear, but that doesn’t mean it’s pollution free. Utilize tools like the EPA’s air pollution monitor,  AirNow , to get the latest conditions. If the air quality is bad, stay inside with the windows closed.
• If you live or work in an area that’s prone to wildfires,  stay away from the harmful smoke  as much as you’re able. Consider keeping a small stock of masks to wear when conditions are poor. The most ideal masks for smoke particles will be labelled “NIOSH” (which stands for National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and have either “N95” or “P100” printed on it.
• If you’re using an air conditioner while outdoor pollution conditions are bad, use the recirculating setting to limit the amount of polluted air that gets inside. 

This story was originally published on November 1, 2016, and has been updated with new information and links.

This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as grammar); you can’t resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you can’t republish our material wholesale or automatically—you need to select stories individually; you can’t republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when you’ve used one of our stories.

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ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Air pollution.

Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. It also damages buildings.

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Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. It also damages buildings. Pollutants in the air take many forms. They can be gases , solid particles, or liquid droplets. Sources of Air Pollution Pollution enters the Earth's atmosphere in many different ways. Most air pollution is created by people, taking the form of emissions from factories, cars, planes, or aerosol cans . Second-hand cigarette smoke is also considered air pollution. These man-made sources of pollution are called anthropogenic sources . Some types of air pollution, such as smoke from wildfires or ash from volcanoes , occur naturally. These are called natural sources . Air pollution is most common in large cities where emissions from many different sources are concentrated . Sometimes, mountains or tall buildings prevent air pollution from spreading out. This air pollution often appears as a cloud making the air murky. It is called smog . The word "smog" comes from combining the words "smoke" and " fog ." Large cities in poor and developing nations tend to have more air pollution than cities in developed nations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) , some of the worlds most polluted cities are Karachi, Pakistan; New Delhi, India; Beijing, China; Lima, Peru; and Cairo, Egypt. However, many developed nations also have air pollution problems. Los Angeles, California, is nicknamed Smog City. Indoor Air Pollution Air pollution is usually thought of as smoke from large factories or exhaust from vehicles. But there are many types of indoor air pollution as well. Heating a house by burning substances such as kerosene , wood, and coal can contaminate the air inside the house. Ash and smoke make breathing difficult, and they can stick to walls, food, and clothing. Naturally-occurring radon gas, a cancer -causing material, can also build up in homes. Radon is released through the surface of the Earth. Inexpensive systems installed by professionals can reduce radon levels. Some construction materials, including insulation , are also dangerous to people's health. In addition, ventilation , or air movement, in homes and rooms can lead to the spread of toxic mold . A single colony of mold may exist in a damp, cool place in a house, such as between walls. The mold's spores enter the air and spread throughout the house. People can become sick from breathing in the spores. Effects On Humans People experience a wide range of health effects from being exposed to air pollution. Effects can be broken down into short-term effects and long-term effects . Short-term effects, which are temporary , include illnesses such as pneumonia or bronchitis . They also include discomfort such as irritation to the nose, throat, eyes, or skin. Air pollution can also cause headaches, dizziness, and nausea . Bad smells made by factories, garbage , or sewer systems are considered air pollution, too. These odors are less serious but still unpleasant . Long-term effects of air pollution can last for years or for an entire lifetime. They can even lead to a person's death. Long-term health effects from air pollution include heart disease , lung cancer, and respiratory diseases such as emphysema . Air pollution can also cause long-term damage to people's nerves , brain, kidneys , liver , and other organs. Some scientists suspect air pollutants cause birth defects . Nearly 2.5 million people die worldwide each year from the effects of outdoor or indoor air pollution. People react differently to different types of air pollution. Young children and older adults, whose immune systems tend to be weaker, are often more sensitive to pollution. Conditions such as asthma , heart disease, and lung disease can be made worse by exposure to air pollution. The length of exposure and amount and type of pollutants are also factors. Effects On The Environment Like people, animals, and plants, entire ecosystems can suffer effects from air pollution. Haze , like smog, is a visible type of air pollution that obscures shapes and colors. Hazy air pollution can even muffle sounds. Air pollution particles eventually fall back to Earth. Air pollution can directly contaminate the surface of bodies of water and soil . This can kill crops or reduce their yield . It can kill young trees and other plants. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide particles in the air, can create acid rain when they mix with water and oxygen in the atmosphere. These air pollutants come mostly from coal-fired power plants and motor vehicles . When acid rain falls to Earth, it damages plants by changing soil composition ; degrades water quality in rivers, lakes and streams; damages crops; and can cause buildings and monuments to decay . Like humans, animals can suffer health effects from exposure to air pollution. Birth defects, diseases, and lower reproductive rates have all been attributed to air pollution. Global Warming Global warming is an environmental phenomenon caused by natural and anthropogenic air pollution. It refers to rising air and ocean temperatures around the world. This temperature rise is at least partially caused by an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap heat energy in the Earths atmosphere. (Usually, more of Earths heat escapes into space.) Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that has had the biggest effect on global warming. Carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels (coal, gasoline , and natural gas ). Humans have come to rely on fossil fuels to power cars and planes, heat homes, and run factories. Doing these things pollutes the air with carbon dioxide. Other greenhouse gases emitted by natural and artificial sources also include methane , nitrous oxide , and fluorinated gases. Methane is a major emission from coal plants and agricultural processes. Nitrous oxide is a common emission from industrial factories, agriculture, and the burning of fossil fuels in cars. Fluorinated gases, such as hydrofluorocarbons , are emitted by industry. Fluorinated gases are often used instead of gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs have been outlawed in many places because they deplete the ozone layer . Worldwide, many countries have taken steps to reduce or limit greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming. The Kyoto Protocol , first adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, is an agreement between 183 countries that they will work to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. The United States has not signed that treaty . Regulation In addition to the international Kyoto Protocol, most developed nations have adopted laws to regulate emissions and reduce air pollution. In the United States, debate is under way about a system called cap and trade to limit emissions. This system would cap, or place a limit, on the amount of pollution a company is allowed. Companies that exceeded their cap would have to pay. Companies that polluted less than their cap could trade or sell their remaining pollution allowance to other companies. Cap and trade would essentially pay companies to limit pollution. In 2006 the World Health Organization issued new Air Quality Guidelines. The WHOs guidelines are tougher than most individual countries existing guidelines. The WHO guidelines aim to reduce air pollution-related deaths by 15 percent a year. Reduction Anybody can take steps to reduce air pollution. Millions of people every day make simple changes in their lives to do this. Taking public transportation instead of driving a car, or riding a bike instead of traveling in carbon dioxide-emitting vehicles are a couple of ways to reduce air pollution. Avoiding aerosol cans, recycling yard trimmings instead of burning them, and not smoking cigarettes are others.

Downwinders The United States conducted tests of nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site in southern Nevada in the 1950s. These tests sent invisible radioactive particles into the atmosphere. These air pollution particles traveled with wind currents, eventually falling to Earth, sometimes hundreds of miles away in states including Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Washington. These areas were considered to be "downwind" from the Nevada Test Site. Decades later, people living in those downwind areascalled "downwinders"began developing cancer at above-normal rates. In 1990, the U.S. government passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. This law entitles some downwinders to payments of $50,000.

Greenhouse Gases There are five major greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere.

• water vapor
• carbon dioxide
• nitrous oxide

London Smog What has come to be known as the London Smog of 1952, or the Great Smog of 1952, was a four-day incident that sickened 100,000 people and caused as many as 12,000 deaths. Very cold weather in December 1952 led residents of London, England, to burn more coal to keep warm. Smoke and other pollutants became trapped by a thick fog that settled over the city. The polluted fog became so thick that people could only see a few meters in front of them.

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• Published: 04 October 2021

Clean air for a sustainable world

Nature Communications volume  12 , Article number:  5824 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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Air pollution is a cause of disease for millions around the world and now more than ever urgent action is required to tackle the burden of its impacts. Doing so will not only improve both life expectancy and quality of life, but will also lead to a more just and sustainable world.

Recently, we announced that we will publish a new series of collections focused on issues related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We start this series with a multidisciplinary collection on air pollution. As tackling air pollution is not one of the core SDGs, this may seem like an unusual choice. It is, however, a pressing environmental hazard affecting an ever increasing part of the world’s population. Currently, 91% of the world’s population live in locations where pollution levels exceed WHO guidelines, and in a recent announcement the WHO have further cut the recommended limits. Air pollution kills around 6.7 million people per year mainly through respiratory and cardiovascular diseases 1 , and has significant impacts on mental health. The main pollutants are sourced from fossil fuel combustion for transport, industry, agriculture and cooking stoves and, therefore, air pollution is linked directly with fulfilling many of our basic needs. As the SDGs aim to tackle the issue of how humanity can live sustainably, it is thus no surprise that addressing air pollution is related to the SDGs in many different ways. Promoting specific SDGs will lead to improved air quality as a side-effect, while reducing emissions will also progress a number of SDGs directly.

The high air pollution levels that we live with today is another demonstration of how our unsustainable lifestyles are one of the key challenges that needs to be overcome to create a more just and liveable world, which is the ultimate goal of the SDGs.

Although air pollution is a global issue, exposure is often not distributed equally. Industrial processes related to the production, trade and consumption of goods is a key source of air pollution. Much of this pollution is released in low- and middle-income countries while they manufacture goods that are traded abroad, allowing rich countries to outsource the air pollution and health effects of their consumption. Hence, global implementation of responsible consumption and sustainable production practices—the focus of SDG9 (“Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure”) and SDG12 (“Responsible Consumption and Production”)—will be key to reduce this unequal responsibility and exposure to dangerous environmental conditions.

Inequality in exposure does not only occur at an international level, but also within countries. Systematic and historical forms of discrimination often translate into higher exposure levels and, hence, enhanced health burdens to marginalized groups around the world. This is probably best studied in the US, where people of colour are shown to live under poorer air quality, independent of other factors like income 2 . In a commentary for our collection Viniece Jennings highlights that whilst green infrastructure has the potential to reduce air pollution, unequal access can limit improvements for marginalised communities 3 . While we often think of air pollution as an outdoor issue, much of the exposure to harmful particles actually happens inside houses. Household air pollution is mainly related to cooking, heating or lighting, often through the combustion of solid fuels. This exposure affects women and children disproportionately, especially in the developing world 4 . Consequently, targeting SDG10 (“Reduce inequality within and among countries”) and SDG 7 (“Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.”) will be of vital importance to tackle embedded inequalities within and among countries to reduce air pollution exposure.

Air pollution and climate change are closely intertwined as they share the same root cause of human emissions. Even though ambitious climate mitigation policies do not come for free, they will in many cases also lead to improved air quality and lower health costs. The societal costs of air pollution avoided through reduced exposure levels as a result of climate mitigation measures alone are thought to outweigh the initial costs of these policies 5 . Air pollution also physically interacts with the climate system; particles in the atmosphere affect surface temperatures as well as clouds and precipitation. Climate change thus has the potential to “worsen air pollution, even in areas where it has been improving”, as pointed out by Denise Mauzarell in a Q&A for our Clean Air collection 6 . An example of this are the dangerous pollutants released by wildfires that are expected to become ever more frequent and intense in many parts of the world.

Similarly, to climate mitigation, improving air quality depends on strict and ambitious regulatory policies and controls, which must be implemented equitably. In this regard, there are reasons to be optimistic, as strict air quality policies like the Clean Air Act in the US and similar policies in Europe have resulted in reductions in pollution since the 1970s even though levels are still too high and continued efforts are crucial. These efforts show that ambitious policy supported by technological advances like improved filtering and modernization can be successful. These efforts should not only be done at national levels, but also need international collaboration, technology and knowledge transfer in order to acknowledge the shared responsibilities of air pollution. As part of the Clean Air collection we highlight papers Nature Communications has published that look at how policy and technology can be part of the solution to air pollution.

The high air pollution levels that we live with today is another demonstration of how our unsustainable lifestyles are one of the key challenges that needs to be overcome to create a more just and liveable world, which is the ultimate goal of the SDGs. Of course, reducing air pollution on its own will not meet the aims of all the other SDGs. Still, it is an illustrative example of how an interdisciplinary focus on a measurable and technologically approachable issue can help to also achieve other goals. It is in this spirit that our collection brings together research from different disciplines, such as applied scientists, economists, political scientists, health scientists and climate scientists as it is this interdisciplinary collaboration that Nature Communications wants to support will be vital in informing policy and decision makers. We envision that our collection on Clean Air will continue to grow and we welcome submissions across disciplines in this area.

GBD Global Risk Factors Collaborators. Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2019. Lancet 396 , 1223–1249 (2020).

Tessum, C. W. et al. PM 2.5 polluters disproportionately and systemically affect people of color in the United States. Sci. Adv. 7 , 18 (2021).

Jennings, V., Reid C. E., & Fuller C. H. Green infrastructure can limit but not solve air pollution injustice. Nat. Commun. 12 , 4681 (2021).

Gordon, S. B., et al. Respiratory risks from household air pollution in low and middle income countries. Lancet Respir. Med. 2 , 823–860 (2014).

Vandyck, T. et al. Air quality co-benefits for human health and agriculture counterbalance costs to meet Paris Agreement pledges. Nat. Commun. 9 , 4939 (2018).

Nat. Commun. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25491-w .

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Essay on Air Pollution for Students: Check Samples of 100 Words to 250 Words

• Updated on  
• Mar 30, 2024

Essay on Air Pollution : Invisible but insidious, air pollution silently infiltrates our lives, impacting health, the environment, and future generations. Through this blog, let’s explore its roots, repercussions, and remedies, which are essential in our quest for cleaner, healthier skies. Essay writing here becomes more crucial, to raise awareness about air pollution’s dire consequences and drive action for cleaner air.

Table of Contents

• 1 10-Line Essay on Air Pollution
• 2 What are the Causes of Air Pollution?
• 3 What are the effects of Air Pollution?
• 4 Essay on Air Pollution: How to Tackle Air Pollution?
• 5 Essay on Air Pollution Sample (100 Words)
• 6 Essay on Air Pollution Sample (250 Words)

Must Read: Essay On Environment

10-Line Essay on Air Pollution

Below mentioned is a 10-lined essay on air pollution:

• Air pollution is caused by harmful substances known as pollutants.
• The pollutant come from various sources, like vehicle gasses, forest fires, and other human activities.
• The two of the biggest sources of air pollution are burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.
• Air pollution is harmful to humans because it can cause skin and respiratory diseases.
• Air pollution is equally harmful to plants and animals.
• Air pollution can also damage non-living things, such as ancient monuments constructed from marbles and limestone.
• Air pollution leads to ozone layer depletion, climate change and global warming.
• Air pollution can damage ecosystems in forests.
• We must take effective steps to reduce air pollution.
• We can reduce air pollution by planting more trees and burning less fossil fuels.

What are the Causes of Air Pollution?

Air pollution is caused by various factors, including:

• Industrial Emissions: Factories and manufacturing processes release pollutants like chemicals and particulate matter into the air.
• Vehicle Emissions: Combustion engines in cars, trucks, and aeroplanes emit exhaust gases, including carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.
• Burning Fossil Fuels: The use of coal, oil, and natural gas for energy generation and heating releases pollutants and greenhouse gases.
• Agricultural Activities: Pesticides and fertilizers release chemicals, while livestock emit methane.
• Deforestation: Cutting down trees reduces the planet’s capacity to absorb pollutants.
• Waste Disposal: Improper disposal of waste leads to the release of harmful substances into the air.
• Natural Sources: Volcanic eruptions, dust storms, and wildfires can also contribute to air pollution.

What are the effects of Air Pollution?

Air pollution poses severe health and environmental risks. Short-term exposure can lead to respiratory issues, eye irritation, and exacerbation of pre-existing conditions. Long-term exposure is linked to chronic diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disorders. 

Additionally, air pollution harms ecosystems, causing acid rain, damaging vegetation, and polluting water bodies. It also contributes to climate change by increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Addressing air pollution is crucial to safeguard human health and protecting the planet’s ecosystems and climate.

Essay on Air Pollution: How to Tackle Air Pollution?

Addressing air pollution is paramount for a healthier planet. By curbing emissions, adopting clean technologies, and fostering sustainable practices, we can safeguard our environment and public health. Here are some key points on how to tackle air pollution:

• Reduce Vehicle Emissions:
• Improve Industrial Practices
• Increase Green Spaces
• Monitor and Regulate
• Reduce Indoor Air Pollution
• Promote Renewable Energy
• Encourage Sustainable Practices
• Raise Public Awareness:
• Reduce Open Burning:
• International Cooperation:

Tackling air pollution requires a multi-faceted approach involving government policies, community engagement, and individual responsibility.

Must Read: Essay On Global Warming

Essay on Air Pollution Sample (100 Words)

Air pollution is a pressing environmental issue with far-reaching consequences. It occurs when harmful substances, such as particulate matter and toxic gases, contaminate the atmosphere. These pollutants result from various sources, including industrial emissions, vehicular exhaust, and agricultural activities.

The consequences of air pollution are severe, impacting both human health and the environment. Prolonged exposure to polluted air can lead to respiratory diseases, cardiovascular issues, and even premature death. Additionally, air pollution harms ecosystems, leading to reduced crop yields and biodiversity loss.

Mitigating air pollution requires collective efforts, including stricter emission regulations, cleaner energy sources, and promoting public awareness. By addressing this issue, we can safeguard our health and preserve the environment for future generations.

Essay on Air Pollution Sample (250 Words)

Air pollution is a pressing global issue that affects the health and well-being of people and the environment. It occurs when harmful substances, such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds, are released into the atmosphere. This pollution can have dire consequences for both humans and the planet.

First and foremost, air pollution poses a significant threat to human health. Particulate matter and toxic gases can enter the respiratory system, leading to various respiratory diseases like asthma and bronchitis. Long-term exposure to polluted air has also been linked to cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and premature death. Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions are at higher risk.

Additionally, air pollution has adverse effects on the environment. It contributes to climate change by increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to rising global temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events. Moreover, pollutants can harm ecosystems, contaminate water bodies, and damage crops, impacting food security.

The sources of air pollution are diverse, including industrial processes, transportation, agriculture, and energy production. To combat this problem, governments, industries, and individuals must take collective action. Implementing stricter emission standards for vehicles and industrial facilities, transitioning to cleaner energy sources, and promoting public transportation are essential steps in reducing air pollution.

In conclusion, air pollution is a critical issue that affects human health and the environment. Its detrimental effects on respiratory health and its contributions to climate change necessitate urgent action. By adopting sustainable practices and reducing emissions, we can mitigate the impact of air pollution and create a healthier and more sustainable future for all.

Related Reads:-     

Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials.

To prevent air pollution, reduce vehicle emissions by using public transport, carpooling, or opting for electric vehicles. Promote clean energy sources like wind and solar power. Implement strict industrial emissions standards. Encourage reforestation and green spaces. Educate the public about responsible waste disposal and advocate for clean energy policies.

We hope this blog gave you an idea about how to write and present an essay on air pollution that put forth your opinions. The skill of writing an essay comes in handy when appearing for standardized language tests. Thinking of taking one soon? Leverage Edu provides the best online test prep for the same via Leverage Live . Register today to know more!

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Mitigation strategies for reducing air pollution

• Trend Editorial
• Published: 11 April 2020
• Volume 27 , pages 19226–19235, ( 2020 )

Cite this article

• Daniele Sofia 1 , 2 ,
• Filomena Gioiella 1 ,
• Nicoletta Lotrecchiano 1 , 2 &
• Aristide Giuliano 1 , 3  

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Today, it is increasingly recognized that air pollution hurts human health. Consequently, efficient mitigation strategies need to be implemented for substantial environmental and health co-benefits. A valid approach to reducing the air pollution effects on the environment and human health is proposed. Specific guidelines have been elucidated by differentiating them on the base of the final stakeholders (citizens, enterprises, and public authorities), of the emission sources (transport, household energy, industry, and energy generation sector, agriculture, and shipping area), and of the field of implementation (urban and extra-urban context). This paper can provide useful information for governments for the implementation of a strategic plan focused on emphasizing multi-pollutant emission reductions and overall air pollution-related risk.

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Introduction

Today, air pollution is the main responsible for environmental quality worsening in many cities all over the world, with adverse outcomes on people’s health (Vlachokostas et al. 2011 ). According to the last World Health Organization (WHO), more than 80% of people living in the urban context are subjected to air quality levels above the emission limits regarding air pollution. The primary atmospheric pollutants are carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NO x ), volatile organic compounds (VOC s ), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH s ), ozone (O 3 ), and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ). The increase in emission amounts of these pollutants is due to the rapid industrialization and urbanization of developing countries (Fu and Chen 2017 ).

The worsening of air quality in urban environments has considerable interest in the scientific community and public opinion due to the strong relationship between air pollution exposure and increased harmful short- and long-term effects on human health (Masiol et al. 2014 ). Recently, significant epidemiological studies in the literature have found that air pollution contributes to increased morbidity (especially at respiratory and cardiovascular levels), premature mortality, and finally, cancer (Brancato et al. 2018 ). Figure 1 summarizes the different area of diseases: neuronal (Dales et al. 2009 ) (Power et al. 2015 ) (Power et al. 2016 ) (Levy 2015 ) (Block and Calderon-Garciduenas 2009 ), respiratory (Brugha and Grigg 2014 ) (Guan et al. 2016 ) (Kurmi et al. 2010 ) (Goss et al. 2004 ) (Fajersztajn et al. 2013 ), cardiovascular (Zanobetti and Schwartz 2005 ) (Anderson et al. 2012 ) (Maheswaran 2016 ) (Yang et al. 2017 ), and oncology area (Raaschou-Nielsen et al. 2013 ) (Crouse et al. 2010 ). Each disease is affected by own pollutant exposures (PM, NO 2 , SO 2 , CO 2 , O 3 ) with the corresponding level of risk. Human exposure to air pollutions is strongly affected by the lifestyle and by the prevailing life environment (Buonanno et al. 2014 ). In their work, Buonanno et al. ( 2012 ) demonstrated that essential contributions to children exposure are due to the time spent at home for cooking/eating as well as for the time spent in traffic jams moving to or from school (Buonanno et al. 2012 ). In addition to human health risks associated with gases and particles inhalation, urban air pollution also causes damages at an environmental level, for example, by increasing the corrosion and deterioration of materials and damaging historical monuments and buildings (Vlachokostas et al. 2011 ). The effects of air pollution have been studied on many assets of the Italian artistic heritage Depending on where they are located; it was possible to verify the effects of the typical pollutants of the context itself. Sulfur dioxide reflecting the severe air pollution of this very large city can be dangerous for stone monuments as the marble Arch of Titus in Rome (Metallo et al. 1995 ); the particulate matter and the heavy metals as Pb and Zn can damage monuments like the Vittoriano Monument in Rome that is exposed to intense road traffic (Barca et al. 2014 ). The exposure to air pollution can influence also the stability of public utility buildings such as bridges as occurred in Genoa during 2018 when, due to the aggressive environmental condition that corroded the strands, the Polcevera Bridge collapsed causing 43 deaths and more than 5000 evacuated people (Invernizzi et al. 2019 ).

Different areas of diseases in the human body

To tackle these problems, efficient long-term air pollution mitigation strategies need to be identified and implemented (Rodriguez de San Miguel 2019 ). For this reason, the role of the management to improve the current situation becomes critical (Werner et al. 2015 ). It is, therefore, crucial to define a strategic plan with some actions in compliance with the relevant directives in the field of air quality (Vlachokostas et al. 2011 ). These actions strongly depend on local policy and economy, on available technologies, and on public opinion (Harlan and Ruddell 2011 ).

The aim of this work

This paper aims to contribute to the existing knowledge on environmental pollution literature by investigating how people, companies, and committees can contribute to reducing pollution effects by engaging in pro-environmental behaviors. We firmly believe that if these proposed behavioral recommendations are pursued, positive environmental impacts and health co-benefits are very likely to occur. Among the policies that we intend to propose, the promotion of active transport and sharing mobility, the reduction of energy use in the household environment, the urban planning, the provision of benefits in favor of bio-fueled (Sofia et al. 2013 ), and the use of electric vehicles are included.

Recommendations for citizens

To mitigate the air pollution problem, many efforts have to be taken with the aim to decrease the pollutants emissions coming from people. Each citizen may contribute to the mitigation of air pollution through behavioral changes in their lifestyle as the reduction of energy consumption in transportation, households, and supply.

Public and active transport

Transportation is the central investigated sector for public health benefits obtained after air pollution reduction (Sarigiannis et al. 2017 ) (Lindsay et al. 2011 ). It is well known that vehicular transport produces about 70% of environmental pollution since exhaust fumes from motors are a source of several pollutants (CO, NO 2 , VOC, and PM) (Xia et al. 2015 ). Consequently, programs aiming at changing travel behaviors are essential (Guersola et al. 2017 ). Each citizen should use public transports (bus, tram, subway, train) as much as possible and possibly travel actively (walking and cycling). The shift to active transport by reducing the use of owned cars entails significant benefits for human health and environment (Rabl and de Nazelle 2012 ) (Maizlish et al. 2013 ) (Xia et al. 2015 ). Recently, several studies have shown that the increase in physical activity reduces the incidence of several diseases, especially at cardiovascular level (coronary heart disease, stroke), hypertension, and diabetes (Mueller et al. 2015 ) (Scheepers et al. 2014 ). Furthermore, in this way, significant reductions of colon and breast cancer and the improvement of mental health can be achieved (Rabl and de Nazelle 2012 ). Of course, benefits from physical activity are obtained by minimizing exposure to atmospheric pollution; therefore, the outdoor activity has to be carried out in the environment with healthy air (Rabl and de Nazelle 2012 ). Furthermore, commuters should be encouraged to use low-cost public bicycle sharing systems to combine benefits concerning health and air pollution reduction (Rojas-Rueda et al. 2011 ).

Household sector

Nowadays, household air pollution is attributed to the residential use of the solid fuels from cooking activities (Stabile et al. 2014 ) and space heating systems (Stabile et al. 2018 ), leading a significant hazard for the health of exposed populations (Gao et al. 2018 ). Accordingly, actions to reduce energy use by households and buildings are essential because of their great contribution to gas emissions (Datta et al. 2017 ). One of the appropriate strategies is the improvement of combustion efficiency of solid household fuels (Venkataraman et al. 2010 ). Generally, traditional fuels have low combustion efficiency producing accordingly large amounts of products due to incomplete combustion, with consequences for both environment and human health. In their work, Marchetti et al. ( 2019 ) demonstrated how the particles deriving from the combustion different fuels (pellet, wood, charcoal) could activate toxicological pathways, finally producing cytotoxic effects on human health (Marchetti et al. 2019 ). The fuel toxicity is dependent on the chemical composition of the particulate matter characterizing the quality of the combustion and fuel. The energy generated from renewable sources (biomass) should lead health benefits for citizen because of a cleaner environment with low emission production (Harlan and Ruddell 2011 ) with respect to the traditional fossil fuel used.

Nevertheless, more stringent regulations are required to guarantee high-quality biomass fuels and safer combustion technologies (Marchetti et al. 2019 ). On their side, each citizen has to adopt some behavior actions to reduce energy consumption and emissions deriving from home heating. Another essential structural adaptation is the introduction of new technologies to reduce energy use in new buildings (Ruparathna et al. 2017 ). Porritt et al. ( 2012 ) showed how limited changes in building are able to eliminate overheating during heat wave periods and reduce space energy use for internal climatization, such as external wall insulation, solar reflective coatings (external shutters), and painting of the outer walls in lighter colors (Porritt et al. 2011 ) (Porritt et al. 2012 ). Furthermore, green roof technologies can help to reduce local outdoor temperatures and improve the appropriate cooling inside buildings (Harlan and Ruddell 2011 ).

Despite efforts to reduce particle emissions deriving from outdoor activities, most of air pollution is related to indoor microenvironment (Buonanno et al. 2017 ). The air quality inside buildings is affected by the air circulation, the construction materials, the use of cleaning products, and the habits of occupants (smoking). A vast range of pollutants can concentrate in indoor environments produced by individual activities in addition to outdoor concentrations (Settimo 2015 ). As a consequence, air exchange with particle filters, ventilating (Debnath et al. 2017 ), and air-conditioning systems are a distinct way of reducing air pollution in indoor spaces, like homes or shared communities (offices, schools, hospitals, sport facilities, restaurants, cinemas, and public transport) (Kwong et al. 2019 ). Among public buildings, school is one of the worrisome indoor environments since children represent a susceptible population to air pollution due to their age (Mainka et al. 2015 ).

Healthy diet

Beyond mitigation strategies to reduce air pollution, each citizen can adopt some eating habits that can influence own health status (Biesbroek et al. 2014 ). It was well demonstrated that the increased intake of antioxidants in foods could hinder and reduce the adverse effects of atmospheric pollution (Kelly et al. 2003 ). Precisely, the antioxidants are substances able to neutralize free radicals generated by some air pollutants (ozone and nitrogen dioxide). In this way, injury to respiratory tract like asthma can be avoided after their oxidant exposure (Romieu et al. 2002 ). Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of food deriving from animal source by promoting a healthy diet with higher consumption of fruit and vegetables.

Recommendations to small, medium, and large enterprises

Globally, one of the main contributors to emissions of atmospheric pollutants and a significant user of energy is the industrial sector (Conti et al. 2015 ). The pollutants deriving from industrial activities are transported into the urbanized areas. Consequently, the development of strategies to reduce air pollution is crucial. In this section, possible measures relating to industrial, agriculture, and shipping sector are introduced such as energy reduction (Pask et al. 2017 ), advanced technologies and process performance promotion (Contreras-Zarazúa et al. 2018 ), improvement of the efficiency of livestock farming and manure management, and electrification of the port docks.

Industrial sector

Even today, the primary source of energy are fossil fuels, responsible for the production of some pollutants notably particulate matter (PM) (Salehi et al. 2015 ), nitrogen oxides (NO x ), and sulfur oxides (SO x ) (Chao 2008 ). The reduction of power generation from fossil fuel sources (coal, oil, gas) imply health benefits by reducing local air pollutants, especially micronic and submicronic particles (Karka et al. 2017 ). Recently, several initiatives to replace fossil fuels with alternative renewable fuels have been taken into consideration (Ribeiro et al. 2015 ). Among the various technologies for energy production from renewable sources, the biomass combustion can represent a valid alternative technology of fossil fuels (Sripada et al. 2017 ) (Giuliano et al. 2018a ). Shrestha and Shakya ( 2012 ) showed that the implementation of the cost minimization energy system MARKAL, based on the market allocation framework, reduces the local pollutant emissions, improving the efficiency of the national overall energy consumption. This strategy includes energy supply, conversion and process technology, end-use service demand, and environmental emissions promoting the use of renewable energy resources (Shrestha and Shakya 2012 ). In this way, cities will have benefits if they will move toward low carbon technologies (Ren et al. 2012 ).

Among the various industrial sectors, one of the primary sources of the main pollutants (VOCs, toxins, PAH) is the chemical industry (Lee and Cho 2003 ). As a consequence, proper air pollution control techniques have to be applied to reduce the negative environmental impact (Contreras-Zarazúa et al. 2018 ). Another mitigation strategy to reduce air pollution from the industrial sector is the implementation of advanced technologies in the industrial process (Babar and Shareefdeen 2014 ). For example, clean coal technologies (CCT) can treat and use coal in an efficient way without a substantial environmental impact (Giuliano et al. 2018b ). Besides, it was demonstrated that retrofitted technologies such as catalytic converters and desulfurization reduce only local air pollution.

On the other hand, the benefits of integrated environmental strategies are higher than the ones given by air quality management plans and measures for GHG reduction. This result is highlighted in the study of Chae and Park, who demonstrated that using compressed natural gas and an efficient heating and cooling systems, both local and global air pollution reduction can be achieved (Chae and Park 2011 ). Furthermore, the best available techniques (BAT) are promoted to reduce the environmental impacts deriving from industrial activities since they operate minimizing costs (Ibáñez-Forés et al. 2013 ). This technology has to be “available” that means usable to the operator and economically and technically feasible. Additionally, it has to be “best” that means provide a high level of environmental protection as a whole (Liu and Wen 2012 ). As a consequence, plant owners of different industrial sectors have to select the BAT that is appropriate for their conditions.

Finally, the change in average working hours in a very efficient way that could have a good impact on consumption and related environmental pressure (Bergh et al. 2011 ).

Even if the literature available is still low, some studies demonstrated that changing the times of going to work, shifts, brackets, rationalizing home-office travel times, and the rigidity of schedules can reduce traffic congestion and CO 2 and fine dust emissions, PM10, and PM2.5 as well as employee stress with a positive return on the quality of work and the competitiveness of businesses (Ge et al. 2018 ). Furthermore, it is possible to improve air quality by promoting online work, avoiding not strictly necessary car moving. Another example is to support the vertical part-time (fewer days a week but more hours a day), halving the mowing toward the workplace.

Agriculture and food sector

The majority of fine particulate originates not only from combustion processes in traffic, power plants, industry, and household energy use but also from sources related to agriculture (Martins et al. 2015 ). One of the particulate precursors is ammonia (NH 3 ) after the reaction with the sulfuric and nitric acid (Erisman and Schaap 2004 ). It has been estimated that about 80% of NH 3 entering in the atmosphere is produced by agricultural activities in Europe (Velthof et al. 2012 ). In agriculture, the main sources responsible for NH 3 production are the excretion of urine by livestock and the manure storage (Velthof et al. 2012 ). There are many specific changes to mitigate NH 3 emissions in agriculture (Giannadaki et al. 2018 ). These imply the improvement of the technology and the management of agricultural productions, but also include the reduction of food wastes combined with human diet optimization (Zhao et al. 2017 ). In fact, the NH 3 emission levels depend on the animal typology, with higher amounts for beef and sheep, and a lower amount for pigs and poultry. Four strategies are identified in this study to reduce NH 3 by focusing mainly on livestock:

Improvement in livestock farming efficiency: The livestock farming efficiency can be improved by supporting local farmers’ markets and community gardens, in order to reduce the traveled distances of transported goods. Agriculture and land use increases the demand for deforestation, increasing the levels of atmospheric CO 2 produced promoting climate change (Younger et al. 2008 ).

Manure management optimization: Besides NH 3 emission, livestock manure contributes to other substances, mainly methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O). These emissions derive from various phases in the use of manure ranging from the handling and storage to the application as a fertilizer to soils (Mohankumar et al. 2017 ). Some abatement options need to be developed like lowering the dietary crude protein content, external slurry storage via acidification, frequent removal of manure, and covers of straw or artificial films (Mohankumar et al. 2017 ) (Hou et al. 2015 ).

Reduction in the use of fossil fuels: Another revolution in agricultural sector concerns the reduction of dependence on non-renewable energy. Oil is also used to produce nitrogenous fertilizers (McMichael et al. 2007 ).

Reduction in the production and consumption of foods from animal sources: It is necessary to promote more healthy diets with low consumption of foods from animal sources (Friel et al. 2009 ).

Shipping sector

Nowadays, the shipping sector provides low-cost and reliable delivery services in the economic field (Arunachalam et al. 2015 ). Nevertheless, shipping-related activities have a considerable impact on air pollution, especially in coastal areas but also globally (Buccolieri et al. 2016 ). The primary air pollutants are PM, VOCs, NO x , O 3 , SO 2 , and CO (Bailey and Solomon 2004 ). As a consequence, a wide range of options toward “greener” seaports is needed (Bailey and Solomon 2004 ). Some of these measures are easy to adopt such as the regulation of fuel quality (by using low-sulfur alternative fuels), the speed reduction (Lack et al. 2011 ), and the use of alternative transportation equipment (Lai et al. 2011 ).

Furthermore, a variety of technical strategies for reducing ship emissions have to be adopted. NO x and SO x emission reduction strategies consist in lowering combustion temperature, switching to lower sulfur marine fuels and using seawater scrubbing (Han 2010 ). In addition, it is essential to operate in modifying the entry and the docking of ships in the harbor to reduce local emissions. A precautionary approach includes the dock electrification that means the shore-side power for docked vessels to avoid the motor power on during the stop (Dhupia et al. 2011 ).

Recommendations to local/provincial/regional/national authorities

Rapid industrialization, as well as urbanization in developing countries, has led to an increase in air pollution with adverse effects on human health. As a consequence, the development of city action plans that includes mitigation and adaptions strategies to emphasize pollutant emission reduction is an important step toward the better well-being of life. Therefore, the responsibility for urban areas such as governance bodies (local/provincial/regional/national authorities) is involved in planning the correct strategies aimed at improving air quality. In this section, more comprehensive management measures focused on emphasizing pollutant and emission sources reductions at both local and regional levels are proposed to mitigate the air pollution issue. The options include the implementation of new regulations, urban planning reorganization, and promotion of hybrid vehicles with low emissions.

New regulations

Air quality management policies have to fix new air quality standards that maximize overall population benefits, reduce illness related to air pollution and gas emissions from industrial, urban, or domestic activities (Fann et al. 2011 ). It is essential to identify effective structural and exceptional measures throughout the national territory.

Advisory and prevention

Frequently, acting with mitigation strategies after critical levels of pollution does not solve the pollution emergency. For this reason, it is necessary to move toward a “preventive approach to the emergency” by promoting effective measures before reaching critical levels of pollution (Bandyopadhyay et al. 2014 ). In this context, the authorities should support new technologies for air pollution monitoring (Mishra et al. 2015 ). Air pollution monitoring networks offer the possibility to measure the spatiotemporal distribution of air pollution in the urban environment for the health and safety of citizens (Singla et al. 2018 ) (Sofia et al. 2018a ). For example, sensor networks offer the potential to focus on air pollution monitoring reflecting high spatial and temporal variability in pollutant levels (Knox et al. 2013 ) (Sofia et al. 2018b ). In this way, if a particular pollutant exceeds the target limit, efficient strategies should be adopted to mitigate the air pollution issue and find the pollution sources. Furthermore, air quality prediction models are another way to make a rational decision by political leaders (Vicente et al. 2018 ). The combination of air quality monitoring and modeling is a valid approach for regulatory purposes (Vlachokostas et al. 2011 ).

Urban planning

Rapid urbanization has involved significant challenges in urban areas with dramatic consequences in air quality. The primary source of atmospheric pollution is vehicular traffic (Pospisil and Jicha 2017 ). The emissions from vehicles are different throughout the day with a maximum concentration during the more congested hours (Kumar et al. 2016 ). Therefore, policymakers have to support the implementation of strategies and actions aimed at reducing air pollution in urban areas while promoting economic growth and higher quality of life (Vranckx et al. 2015 ). In this context, the concept of “smart city” has emerged as a way to respond to the inhabitants’ needs more efficiently and sustainably. In urban planning, smart mobility represents a crucial factor. Since a major part of pollutant emissions in cities are due to traffic, an appropriate transport design in the urban area is needed (Cariolet et al. 2018 ). Political leaders have to promote changes in travel behaviors by supporting public transport (Sellitto et al. 2015 ) and the sharing of mobility. The strong inclination toward traffic congestion reduction promoted by policymakers is not always conformed to health promotion. Appropriate safety interventions must be proposed to have health benefits, especially for cyclists and pedestrians (Rojas-Rueda et al. 2016 ).

Regarding public bicycle sharing, it is now spreading in different countries in Europe, Asia, and America as a healthier transport system in the urban context (Rojas-Rueda et al. 2011 ). In addition, the reduction in private car use can be reached only ensuring public transport availability, cycling infrastructure, and green spaces (Panter et al. 2016 ). Currently, many cities in the world are moving toward mobility solutions implementing car-free days, strengthening the infrastructures and public transport (Nieuwenhuijsen and Khreis 2016 ). The objective is to reduce the traffic-related air pollution and provide strong opportunities to increase free spaces that can be used to improve the urban green with parks and open areas or attractive places (public squares, shops) for citizens and tourists (Nieuwenhuijsen and Khreis 2016 ). Furthermore, the reduction in vehicular traffic will certainly lead other human health benefits like the reduction of road accidents (Nieuwenhuijsen and Khreis 2016 ). All these mitigation measures have to be promoted in the long-term to obtain significant changes in emission reductions and human health benefits. In fact, in evaluating the effects of commonly adopted mitigation strategies such as car free-days in a large city of Po Valley (Northern Italy), Masiol and their colleagues (Masiol et al. 2014 ) did not find significant changes probably due to the very short time of mitigation procedure (Masiol et al. 2014 ).

In addition, the reduction in private cars use promotes the increase in public space for vegetation and retail goals. Roadside vegetation barriers can be a potential mitigation strategy for near-road air pollution (Isakov et al. 2017 ). In their work, Tong et al. ( 2016 ) demonstrated that a wide vegetation barrier combined with a solid barrier reduces pollutant concentrations significantly (Tong et al. 2016 ). Urban vegetation impacts our ecosystem positively by filtrating airborne particulate matter, providing a scenic public landscape and reducing flooding consequences (Al-thani et al. 2018 ).

Promotion of hybrid vehicles

It is well known that vehicle emissions (NOx, HC, O 3 , VOC, CO, and PM) contribute to air pollution (Wu et al. 2017 ). In this scenario, besides the implementation of increasingly stringent standards for vehicle emissions, the most effective policy is the promotion of the zero-emission vehicle (Perez et al. 2015 ). In particular, by using alternative fuels, respect to the traditional fossil ones, like electricity, bio-fuels, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas (CHG, LNG), and, methane, this kind of cars can produce lower concentrations of pollutants (Qiu et al. 2016 ).

With the rapid industrialization, the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology is a valid alternative to the fuel prices rising and to satisfy the more effective environmental policies (Xia et al. 2015 ) (Sabri et al. 2016 ). The combination to active travel with zero-emission vehicles can reduce the cases of ischemic heart disease (Woodcock et al. 2009 ). The government has to make a series of laws aimed at encouraging electric mobility such as tax incentives and lower prices for usage or parking (Leurent and Windisch 2011 ).

Conclusions

This study summarizes the mitigation strategies that can be adopted by different stakeholders (citizens, companies, and committees) to obtain public health co-benefits with air pollution reduction. In particular, specific guidelines were provided in various sectors: transportation, industry, household, energy generation, agriculture, and shipping sector. These guidelines can be considered a basis for governments for the implementation of a strategic plan focused on the reduction of multi-pollutant emission, as well as of the overall air pollution-related risk. Individuals can also adopt environmental friendlier behaviors that together with mitigation policies, can obtain health and environment co-benefits. The strategic measures proposed, differing for the stakeholder (citizens, enterprises, and public authorities) on the application kind (direct/indirect measure), for the emission sources (transport, household energy, industry and energy generation sector, food, and agriculture) and for the area of implementation (urban and extra-urban context) that can be reassumed by Fig.  2 .

The mitigation strategies or strategic measures proposed that can be adopted by different stakeholders to obtain public health co-benefits with air pollution reduction

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Sofia, D., Gioiella, F., Lotrecchiano, N. et al. Mitigation strategies for reducing air pollution. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27 , 19226–19235 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08647-x

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20 Ways to Prevent Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution

Since the Industrial Revolution, people have been polluting the Earth like never before. There is rarely a place today that has not been subjected to pollutants in one form or another.

Some pollution comes in a visible form, like pieces of plastic washed up on our beaches or illegal dumpsites in groves nearby large cities, other pollution comes in a hidden and perhaps even more dangerous form, in the air we breathe daily.

Our continuous existence depends on the clean air and yet our activities are constantly releasing extremely toxic particles that contaminate our atmosphere.

Polluted air is costing us lives

The issue has become so serious that scientists attribute a large number of deaths to ever increasing effects of air pollution. In fact, polluted air kills each year more people than malaria or tuberculosis [1] . Some cities are even shut down during certain parts of the year because the air is so toxic that it is impossible to function.

Another alarming record comes from New Delhi in India, infamous for its pollution exceeding safe air quality levels by 20 times on days when thick smog wraps around the city. According to a study by the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, almost half of Delhi’s children develop irreversible lung damage during their childhood years [2] .

To imagine the severity of the global pollution even better, there is an animal in the remote Arctic whose body contains one of the highest level of pollutants of any organism on this planet. The word is about a polar bear who is due to the global distillation effect exposed to anthropologically created pollution even in the most remote corner of the planet.

Although increasing number of countries enforce stricter regulations to prevent further emissions of air pollutants, there is still a lot to do on an individual level.

The key to have a healthier life is to adopt measures that do not pollute air so much because we all have a role to play when it comes to creating healthy environment for living.

Simple ways to reduce outdoor air pollution

Being aware and changing our habits is the only way to reversing negative actions we have adopted in our modern lifestyles. Even though some initiative needs to be taken by authorities, individual habits still can make a big impact. If not globally, they will make impact locally – directly in the environment where you live.

The following list will help you get started with the transition to improving the quality of your life by addressing the problem of air pollution and learning about ways of reducing it.

#1 Minimize air pollution from cars

Road transportation is one of the biggest emitters of nitrogen oxides. Oxides of nitrogen are closely monitored air pollutants with an adverse effect on the healthy lung development and the overall lifetime expectancy.

The problem of harmful emissions from cars can be felt especially in cities with heavy traffic. Personal diesel cars and smaller vans top the list of the dirtiest polluters in such instances.

As a driver you can help reduce the pollution from your car by sticking to a few of simple rules.

• When you are out for a drive, do not idle your vehicle.
• Drive less by combining trips, telecommuting, carpooling, or carsharing. A great idea is to bring your lunch to work, so you do not have to drive out during the lunch break, or agree with your co-workers on going to get lunch together.
• Do not speed up or drive aggressively because that only produces more emissions.
• If possible avoid driving out during rush hours.
• When you are in the market to buy a new vehicle, consider buying a car that has done well on emission tests. In general, newer models have better fuel economy than older models because they are developed with the latest technologies.
• Go away from diesel cars. Diesel cars emit more nitrogen oxides than petrol cars. That’s why some of the largest European cities have banned or are preparing to ban older diesel cars from their downtown .
• If you want to choose the cleanest option, look into hybrid or all-electric cars. These cars should have a smaller ecological footprint than conventional cars do. Although it is important to realize that there are still some emissions involved. These are emissions from power plants that supply the electricity to power your e-drive.
• Be sure to keep your car tuned and regularly replace air filters at recommended intervals.
• Even something so easily overlooked as keeping your tires properly inflated plays a role in the amount of gases your car will emit. When the tires are not properly inflated, your car needs to burn more fuel and therefore pollutes the environment on a larger scale.

By following this advice you will definitely help reducing air pollution caused by cars, but you should still be aware that any car with an exhaust pipe will emit some amounts of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide into the air. Therefore, the most effective strategy to keep the air clean is to avoid driving your car when possible .

#2 Walk, bike or use public transportation to reduce air pollution

When you have the option, take public transportation to get to work. Many cities have already invested in a good public transportation network and by choosing public transportation (even just one or two days a week) you are helping to reduce the number of cars on the road.

Many municipalities also offer great benefits to encourage people to use their public transportation. Some commonly applied advantages are cheap long-term fares, shorter times to reach your destination, short waiting times, punctuality, and fares for free at certain hours, weekends or for seniors and students.

For example, the city of Vienna, Austrian capital, offers a yearly ticket to their extensive public transportation network for only 1 Euro a day (that is USD 1.14). This means that as a holder of the yearly card you can travel as much as you want in one day for just 1 Euro. Isn’t that wonderful?

*And a little insider tip: Your pup can travel with you for free when you have this card… 😉

Or German city Stuttgart lets students travel for free on weekends and after 6 pm every day.

Additional benefit to consider is that many cities place emphasis on lowering carbon emissions of their public transportation means. They invest in electric buses and other modern vehicles that enable them to do so. The website of the abundantly used public transportation in Vienna mentions that every person who switches to public transportation prevents 1,500 kg of carbon dioxide from being released into the air each year [3] .

Walking or riding a bike to get to work comes with numerous benefits for your wellbeing. You can take less frequent roads and backstreets to arrive to work sooner and less stressed than you would be if stuck in traffic. Both of these activities also contribute to maintaining active lifestyle and improving your self-confidence and health.

However, when biking or walking you should take into consideration the level of already existent air pollution along your route. If you cannot avoid too busy roads, it’s better to stick with public transportation because on bike you would directly breathe all the emissions produced by the heavy traffic.

#3 Save energy and make sure you use energy efficiently

In 2016, the International Energy Agency released a report with the key statement that “air pollution is an energy problem.”

Similar concept repeats in other scientific papers. For example, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published a study that lists a myriad of health problems arising from the air contamination due to the combustion of fossil fuels.

Burning of fossil fuels for energy production releases potent pollutants such as:

• Sulphur dioxide
• Nitrogen oxide
• Black carbon
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
• Carbon dioxide
• Particulate matter [4]

All of these substances are known to have negative impacts on human health and the environment.

That is why being mindful about your energy consumption matters . Decreasing your energy need will not only save you money on utility bills but more importantly will benefit your health in the long-term.

When you save energy, whether it is at home, at work, or while you are traveling, you are reducing production of many polluting substances as well as carbon emissions that make the air dirty and cause global warming.

Some effective strategies to lower your energy consumption to set you on the right track are:

• Increase energy efficiency of your home Make sure you use energy efficiently. For a detailed information on energy efficiency, check our article on 10 Tips on How to Improve Energy Efficiency at Home .
• M inimize the use of air conditioners Use air conditioners in the summer only when absolutely necessary. Air conditioners need much more power than fans do. Give a try to strategically placed fans and open windows at night to cool down your room.
• Use appliances smartly Run your dishwasher and washing machine only when full and if possible at night. When running these appliances outside the peak hours, it is more likely that the biggest (and the most polluting) power plants won’t work because the demand for power is lower and can be covered from smaller power plants that often use newer technologies.
• Switch to renewable energy Renewables are much cleaner version of power generation. The technology has made such a great progress that there are many affordable options and programs available for the residential use of renewable energy nowadays. For example, photovoltaic solar panels produce energy without emitting gases. So, if you switched to solar energy, you would lower your personal amount of emissions significantly – the exact number depends on how much of your total energy demand would be covered entirely from solar power.

#4 Take a good care of your wood stove or fireplace

If you own a wood burning stove or a fireplace, be sure to keep it well-maintained. When burning fire-wood in wood stoves, incomplete combustion often releases particulate matter of a very small size (less than 2.5 micrometer). These tiny particles are the most harmful to our respiratory tracts because they can easily get deep into our lungs, and for their small size may even enter our bloodstream.

Other noxious gases released from fireplaces and wood stoves are:

• Carbon monoxide
• Nitrogen oxides [5]

What amount of emissions your stove produces depends on:

• The efficiency of the wood stove

Newer models are usually more efficient than older, improperly maintained models. Old wood stoves from 80s release three to six times more particulate air pollutants than newer stoves [5] . This is due to lower burning temperature and insufficient aeration.

You should also preferably have the stove (fireplace) installed by a professional with a necessary certification. This ensures that your stove will perform with the best efficiency and at the lowest risk of unwanted accidents.

• The type and the condition of fuel you are burning

Dry firewood burns better than humid wood. It will thus emit less air pollutants. Also make sure you don’t burn wood with paint, glue or other coating because it could release additional toxins into the air.

Pellets made of compacted sawdust and wood waste are a less polluting and more heat-producing alternative to wood.

#5 Recycle and buy recycled products

Imagine all complex processes needed to create new items from scratch. You need to begin with mining for raw materials. Mined materials then need to be transported, cleaned from impurities, processed and treated until they can finally be transformed into desired products.

Each stage of the manufacture from raw materials is accompanied by emissions of polluting particles, heavy metals, chemicals and greenhouse gases.

It also takes more energy to make new items from raw materials, increasing the environmental footprint (including the air pollution that is produced) of those products, compared with those products that are made from recycled materials.

Since recycled products have already been extracted and processed once, manufacturing the same products the second time is much less-energy intensive and polluting.

#6 Consume less and choose sustainable products

A 2017 study published in the International Journal of Science highlighted that 22 percent of premature deaths caused by air pollution happened in countries that produce (cheap) goods for export to developed countries [6] .

European and North American love of cheaper gadgets from China actually killed more than 100,000 people in Chinese towns where factories manufacturing many of our favorite products are located [6] .

Higher levels of environmental pollution in these regions are often due to weak or lacking emission restrictions in place (which is also why these goods can be produced at a lower cost), but the air they are polluting is still part of the same air you are and will be breathing for as long as you are on this planet.

So, our consumption patterns affect pollution levels globally. Even if you haven’t ever traveled to China, your choice of products in your local supermarket will decide whether you encourage polluting businesses abroad.

Consuming less and thinking twice before buying new item is the best you can do for the environment and the air quality. If you need to buy new products, whatever they are, support local companies that are committed to sustainable manufacturing practices and reducing pollution in the air.

#7 Eat local and organic produce & eat less meat

In countries with intensively farmed lands, agriculture is the main emitter of ammonia and other nitrogen-containing compounds like nitrous oxide or nitric oxide. Livestock farming also emits high concentrations of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and non-methane volatile organic compounds.

Agricultural pesticides and fertilizers release Persistent Organic Pollutants, such as hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorocyclohexane and pentachlorophenol in the air [7] . Those names don’t sound that good, do they? Now, consider that the air you breathe may contains also these compounds with their complex names. There is nothing natural about that…

A study by the Earth Institute of Columbia University warns over health-damaging effects of gases emitted from conventional agriculture in combination with industrial emissions. The research says that when these pollutants combine together, they form fine particles that easily damage our respiratory system, leading to chronic health problems [8] .

Organic agriculture is not entirely emission-free as well, but the amounts of many pollutants are lower.

This is due to a number of reasons:

• Nitrogen input to organic soils is lower, so even nitrogen compounds escaping into the air decrease.
• Sustainable soil conservation practices such as no-tilling, green manuring and crop rotation help preserve nutrients in soils where they are utilized by plants instead of being lost into the environment as often happens in heavily tilled crops.
• Healthy, well-aerated soils with good microbial activity have improved methane uptake.

If possible, consider buying organically-grown produce over the conventional one, and look for local products because this way you cut down emissions from transportation and energy needed to get the food on your plate.

A very important step to take in regard to your consumption pattern is to eat less meat . You may have heard already about the significant greenhouse gas footprint of the modern livestock industry. By going meatless some days a week or eating maximum 90 grams of meat a day, you will lower air pollution and will even benefit your health (and wallet – since plant-based diet is cheaper).

#8 Grow your own food and eat seasonal products

It is easy to get produce from all over the world these days. Just a quick trip to supermarket opens up a world of a great variety of exotic fruits, vegetables and spices. Although, having such a great diversity is wonderful, it always comes with a cost – in this case the cost of polluting the air we breathe by long-distance transportation.

Just think about it. Bananas imported from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras or other exotic destinations. Kiwis from Italy, Chile, New Zealand… Mangoes brought from Thailand, Philippines, India or Pakistan. These favorite fruits have to travel really long distances to make it to your supermarket.

One easy and fun way to make sure you have a nutrient-rich diet, which even helps offset some of the harmful emissions of the food industry, is to grow your own food. This way you will have direct access to fresh produce of your preference, and you will even be sure that what you eat is chemical-free.

If you are unable to grow fruits and vegetables due to time and/or space limitations, stick to the rule of eating mostly seasonal products that are native to your area. The reason for this is very simple – when in season, products will be more likely sourced from regional farmers.

#9 Plant trees

Trees around your house and in your neighborhood help reduce air pollutants significantly. Researchers from the University of Southampton measured the ability of trees in London to remove particulate pollutants from the air. Their findings were truly astonishing. Trees remove between 850 to 2,000 tons of harmful particles from the urban air each year [9] .

Except of removing the particulate matter, trees also decrease levels of nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide and monoxide, ozone, benzene and dioxin.

Some of the most efficient tree “air cleaners” are large-growing species with leaves. For example, common ash, ginkgo biloba, oak, various linden trees and elms [10] .

Trees planted alongside roads or on the boundaries of your property also slow down polluted air from being carried far by wind. You can think of it as a protective shield formed by tree canopy. This way trees prevent spreading of air pollution over large distances. Then, they gradually filter the pollution at the spot without giving it much chances of contaminating neighboring areas.

But trees are not only natural air filters, they also cool down summer temperatures by a few degrees. Even the slightest temperature reduction can make a real difference in keeping the air clean, because many compounds and ground-level-ozone-forming chemicals are temperature dependent [11] . This means that they transform into pollutants only when outdoor temperature reaches certain level.

Additionally, cooler temperatures are more comfortable for our wellbeing, which makes trees a great substitute for energy demanding air conditioners.

#10 Raise awareness and become interested in local matters

Awareness-raising can be the first step to increase the knowledge of people around you and start the change in their attitudes towards mitigating the problem of poor air quality in affected areas.

As you can see most of these ways on dealing with air pollution are rooted in the consumer behavior. Often, all it takes is just being a little bit more aware of the impact of your personal decisions as a consumer on the air quality–even so far from you as on a different continent.

By making conscious consumer choices, your initiative can serve as a good example to your friends, family and community. This way you can become one of the initiators of a bigger change in your area.

Equally important is to express your support to public policies and representative politicians who work to protect the air and the environment. If you care about the quality of life in the place you call home, it is necessary to stay informed and take supportive actions for good causes.

Preventive measures of indoor air pollution: How to clean the air in your home?

When we think of air pollution, most of us think of poor outdoor air quality. However, did you know that indoor air is on average two to five times more polluted than outdoor air? This happens because the air circulation indoors is much lower than outdoors, which allows toxins from dust particles, vapors from cooking, painting or furniture dyes to accumulate inside our houses.

And since most of us spend so much time indoors, we are at a higher risk of developing health issues from the toxic indoor air . In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that 30 percent of global diseases are a result of indoor air pollution [12] .

For example, one of the most common indoor pollutants is formaldehyde. Sources of formaldehyde are everywhere around us. It can be found in furniture, insulation, textiles, wallpapers, glues, detergents, softeners, disinfectants, cosmetic products and even in electronics [13] . But did you also know that increased concentrations of formaldehyde cause irritations, asthma and eczema?!

It’s time to become more cautious about what pollutants you introduce to your life. And since you have already learned how to help reduce outdoor air pollution, it is time to have a look at some preventative measures that will teach you how to improve air quality in your home and office.

#1 Keep air purifying indoor plants

Very elegant solution to improving air indoors, that would also have a beneficial effect on our health, is keeping houseplants.

Many houseplants have the same ability as trees to metabolize air pollutants from indoor spaces as well as refresh air by removing carbon dioxide and replenishing oxygen levels. Plants with large leaves that originate from tropics and rainforests are especially effective in doing so.

Some examples of the best houseplants for cleaning indoor air are:

• Spider Plants
• Peace Lilies
• Snake Plants (“Mother-in-Law’s Tongue”)
• Elephant Ears
• Weeping Figs
• Rubber Plants
• Bamboo Palms
• Heartleaf Philodendron

Common indoor toxins these plants can absorb include compounds such as formaldehyde, xylene, benzene, trichloroethylene, toluene, octane and carbon monoxide [14] .

Can there be any easier solution how to get better air quality in your home than surrounding yourself by pretty flowers?

#2 Open your windows

Opening your windows fully at least once a day for three to five minutes can replace stagnant and polluted indoor air with fresh air from outside.

It is important to let the air in your house circulate even for short periods of time because this way you let accumulated toxins out and decrease humidity that gathers from many indoor activities like cooking, doing laundry or taking a steamy shower.

One of the common issues of well-insulated houses is that indoor-outdoor air exchange is entirely disabled. While this is a desired effect when it comes to preserving heat and energy, it is not the best for maintaining healthy air quality inside. If that’s the case, the stagnant air in your house needs to be refreshed once a while by opening windows to create a little draft.

Do not forget to open your windows to ventilate a room if you must use any volatile chemicals, such as those found in paint strippers and paints. Better yet, look for low- or no-VOC products to avoid being exposed to the toxic fumes from these products in the first place.

#3 Use natural products and non-toxic cleaners

When purchasing household products for your home and your yard, opt for the cleanest and greenest products that don’t contain any harmful polluting chemicals.

The majority of the air fresheners, detergents, paints, and cleaners on the market contain toxic substances, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), that easily vaporize into indoor air.

VOCs represent a variety of chemicals derived from petroleum, for example, formaldehyde, benzene, perchloroethylene and chlorofluorocarbons.

These chemicals not only pollute indoor air, they can be detrimental to your and your pets’ health. Some symptoms include irritations, nausea, dizziness, asthma, liver and kidney failures, central nervous system damage and cancer [15] .

To minimize your exposure to these chemicals, choose products that have been made with natural substances, and do not produce harmful fumes.

When seeking out natural products, resources such as the Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning and the United States Environmental Protection Agency Safer Choice page are great places to learn about the product safety.   A few great tips to stick to:

• Opt for no-VOC or low-VOC paints, stains, finishes, paint strippers, and glues. Paint with a brush rather than spray.
• Instead of using chemical-filled air fresheners, use essential oils, herbs and flowers to make your home smell nice.
• Use green cleaning products instead of conventional chemical-filled products.
• Use perfumes moderately or not at all. Perfumes consist of a number of synthetic chemicals that when being sprayed in the air break down into harmful compounds. You can learn more here .

#4 Use essential oils

Essential oils are potent plant extracts that can be used for many purposes, including cleaning, purifying and freshening indoor air. They also offer an eco-friendly, healthy, and often more effective alternative to many chemical and synthetic products.

Using high quality essential oils in a diffuser will not only produce a nice scent throughout a room, you will also gain many health benefits from the complex natural compounds that the essential oils contain. For example, lavender oil with eucalyptus oil have calming properties; peppermint and chamomile oils are good for digestion and relieving symptoms of cold; rosemary oil improves concentration and memory.

You can also use essential oils to make your own homemade cleaning products and personal care products. Some favorite oils that have been used for skin and hair are rose, cedarwood, thyme or clary sage oils.

For purposes of purity, safety, and to experience the most benefits, be sure to use only therapeutic grade essential oils from a reputable company.

#5 Test your home for radon

Radon is an invisible, odorless and radioactive gas that naturally seeps up from the soil and bedrock of the Earth. It is one of the products of the radioactive decay of uranium, which can be found naturally in all rocks on this planet.

Most houses draw less than one percent of their indoor air from subjacent soils, but when your house is built on a highly permeable soil and foundations are not properly sealed, more than 10 percent of indoor air can come from the ground. This can lead to increased radon accumulation in the indoor air, even though its concentration in the soil is within safe limits.

It is good to know that radon can also seep from some building materials, such as granite countertops, alum shale concrete or volcanic tuff [13] .

Radon is after smoking the second most frequent cause of lung cancer [13] , so it is important to have your home tested for it. The testing procedure is very simple and inexpensive.

When radon levels in your house are above limits, some mitigation strategies for reducing its concentration need to be applied. One reliable technique is ‘ Active soil depressurization , ‘which draws radon from beneath the foundation and emits it outside.

#6 Do not smoke indoors

Do not smoke inside your home. Cigarette smoke contains up to 70 carcinogenic substances and toxins that remain in the indoor air for a long time.

Passive exposure to the cigarette smoke can also cause serious health problems to other family members and pets.

Some of the health deteriorating compounds found in smoke include lead, arsenic, ammonia, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. By smoking in a confined space, the level of these compounds quickly exceeds safe limits without you even realizing the danger associated with inhaling them.

For example, nitrogen dioxide contributes to seemingly unrelated health problems such as ear infections and development of food allergies in children.

#7 Keep indoor humidity low

We do many activities at home that make rooms damp. But did you know that in humid environments hundreds of different bacteria species, fungi and molds thrive? And that breathing their spores affects the health of your skin and respiratory tract?

Keep your home dry to prevent mold and mildew from proliferating. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends keeping an indoor humidity level of 30 to 60 percent.

You can do this by opening windows to exchange air inside your house. Remember that stagnant air retains all the moisture from your activities, so you should allow proper air movement by creating a draft inside at least once a day.

Use exhaust hoods or fans to reduce the level of moisture that can travel throughout the air when you cook or take shower. When showering, keep the bathroom door closed to not let excess humidity out. Rather leave the fan remove the moisture after you finish the shower.

Also, when possible dry your clothes outside.

If necessary, use a dehumidifier to reduce the humidity level of your home. If anything else have failed, this could be the solution to your problem with high humidity.

#8 Vacuum clean with a HEPA filter

It may sound surprising, but some vacuum cleaners actually contribute to indoor air pollution.

Yes, that’s right.

Vacuum cleaners without a proper filter, that would allow small particles escape back into the air, only worsen home air quality by stirring and redistributing pollutants.

To be sure you are not causing more harm when cleaning your house, use a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) or ULPA (Ultra Low Penetration Air) filter.

HEPA filters should be able to capture 99.7 percent of particles as small as 0.3 micrometers. ULPA filters perform even better by retaining 99.9 percent of particles of 0.12 micrometers in size [16] .

The design and cleaning efficiency are also important criteria. No HEPA filter will perform as promised if the vacuum cleaner is not properly sealed. Only well-sealed vacuum cleaners direct all collected particles to pass through the filter.

When looking for a new vacuum cleaner, make sure that it contains the real HEPA filter and not something labelled misleadingly as “HEPA-like” or “HEPA-type” filters. Beware of this marketing trick to confuse customers, as these types of filters might not comply with the standards of removing the most harmful particles.

#9 Keep your home dust free

Do you know where dust comes from and how come it always reappears in your home?

According to researchers, most household dust is a mixture of organic matter and particulate matter from outdoor air, which is brought inside every time you, other family members or your pets come from the outside [17] .

What should you imagine under this label?

Well, let’s see… It includes tiny particles like dead skin cells, pet dander, microscopic soil particles from your shoes, decomposing organic materials, microfibers from clothing, bacteria, molds, and dust mites.

Scientists have also found traces of many chemicals in common household dust. These chemicals usually originate from cleaning products, plastic items, paints, oil, cosmetics, pesticides or other products commonly used at home.

No one can write down a precise list of compounds contained in dust since they differ based on the area where you live, your lifestyle and your household, but every time you walk across a room, your kids play, pets run around, dust gets suspended into the air, from where it can be easily inhaled by you and your children.

You cannot prevent dust from entering your house, but you can minimize chances of your exposure to it by regular cleaning. Vacuum cleaners with HEPA filter should help in retaining most of the harmful particles (read the previous section to learn more about them).

Do not forget to clean your heating and air conditioning filters, ducts, and vents regularly as well. It will reduce particles accumulated over the time from re-circulating throughout the air in your home.

#10 Use air purifiers with HEPA filter

If you live in an area with poor outdoor air quality, it’s worth considering the use of air purifier at home. On critical days when authorities issue health warning, you should keep your windows closed and use air purifier to minimize the risk of breathing polluted air.

For example , a two-year study in Salt Lake City , which chokes under a thick blanket of smog on cold winter days when inversion hits in, has found out that air purifiers with HEPA filters reduced fine-particulate matter (PM2.5) in observed households by 55 percent.

Similar results were confirmed by other studies, coming to a conclusion that at least 50 percent of particulate matter can be removed by a high-efficiency air filtration system [19] .

Most modern air purifiers work with a multilayer filter system, consisting of a prefilter, a carbon filter, an antibacterial filter and a HEPA filter [19] . You can even find some ENERGY STAR purifiers on the market that offer better energy efficiency.

So, there are plenty of options to choose from.

Final words

Do not take the quality of the air you breathe every day lightly. It is easy to overlook your own health when other daily chores demand your immediate attention. But do not forget that throughout one day around 10,000 liters of air enter your lungs and take part of the most important metabolic processes in your body [18] .

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About greentumble.

Greentumble was founded in the summer of 2015 by us, Sara and Ovi . We are a couple of environmentalists who seek inspiration for life in simple values based on our love for nature. Our goal is to inspire people to change their attitudes and behaviors toward a more sustainable life. Read more about us .

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NCBI Bookshelf. A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

Jamison DT, Breman JG, Measham AR, et al., editors. Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries. 2nd edition. Washington (DC): The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank; 2006. Co-published by Oxford University Press, New York.

Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries. 2nd edition.

Chapter 43 air and water pollution: burden and strategies for control.

Tord Kjellstrom , Madhumita Lodh , Tony McMichael , Geetha Ranmuthugala , Rupendra Shrestha , and Sally Kingsland .

Environmental pollution has many facets, and the resultant health risks include diseases in almost all organ systems. Thus, a chapter on air and water pollution control links with chapters on, for instance, diarrheal diseases ( chapter 19 ), respiratory diseases in children and adults ( chapters 25 and 35 ), cancers ( chapter 29 ), neurological disorders ( chapter 32 ), and cardiovascular disease ( chapter 33 ), as well as with a number of chapters dealing with health care issues.

• Nature, Causes, and Burden of Air and Water Pollution

Each pollutant has its own health risk profile, which makes summarizing all relevant information into a short chapter difficult. Nevertheless, public health practitioners and decision makers in developing countries need to be aware of the potential health risks caused by air and water pollution and to know where to find the more detailed information required to handle a specific situation. This chapter will not repeat the discussion about indoor air pollution caused by biomass burning ( chapter 42 ) and water pollution caused by poor sanitation at the household level ( chapter 41 ), but it will focus on the problems caused by air and water pollution at the community, country, and global levels.

Estimates indicate that the proportion of the global burden of disease associated with environmental pollution hazards ranges from 23 percent ( WHO-1997 ) to 30 percent ( Smith, Corvalan, and Kjellstrom 1999 ). These estimates include infectious diseases related to drinking water, sanitation, and food hygiene; respiratory diseases related to severe indoor air pollution from biomass burning; and vectorborne diseases with a major environmental component, such as malaria. These three types of diseases each contribute approximately 6 percent to the updated estimate of the global burden of disease ( WHO 2002 ).

As the World Health Organization (WHO) points out, outdoor air pollution contributes as much as 0.6 to 1.4 percent of the burden of disease in developing regions, and other pollution, such as lead in water, air, and soil, may contribute 0.9 percent ( WHO 2002 ). These numbers may look small, but the contribution from most risk factors other than the "top 10" is within the 0.5 to 1.0 percent range ( WHO 2002 ).

Because of space limitations, this chapter can give only selected examples of air and water pollution health concerns. Other information sources on environmental health include Yassi and others (2001) and the Web sites of or major reference works by WHO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics ( http://www.uneptie.org/ ); the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO; http://www.unido.org/ ), and other relevant agencies.

Table 43.1 indicates some of the industrial sectors that can pose significant environmental and occupational health risks to populations in developing countries. Clearly, disease control measures for people working in or living around a smelter may be quite different from those for people living near a tannery or a brewery. For detailed information about industry-specific pollution control methods, see the Web sites of industry sector organizations, relevant international trade union organizations, and the organizations listed above.

Selected Industrial Sectors and Their Contribution to Air and Water Pollution and to Workplace Hazards.

Air Pollution

Air pollutants are usually classified into suspended particulate matter (PM) (dusts, fumes, mists, and smokes); gaseous pollutants (gases and vapors); and odors.

Suspended PM can be categorized according to total suspended particles: the finer fraction, PM 10 , which can reach the alveoli, and the most hazardous, PM 2.5 (median aerodynamic diameters of less than 10.0 microns and 2.5 microns, respectively). Much of the secondary pollutants PM 2.5 consists of created by the condensation of gaseous pollutants—for example, sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ). Types of suspended PM include diesel exhaust particles; coal fly ash; wood smoke; mineral dusts, such as coal, asbestos, limestone, and cement; metal dusts and fumes; acid mists (for example, sulfuric acid); and pesticide mists.

Gaseous pollutants include sulfur compounds such as SO 2 and sulfur trioxide; carbon monoxide; nitrogen compounds such as nitric oxide, NO 2 , and ammonia; organic compounds such as hydrocarbons; volatile organic compounds; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and halogen derivatives such as aldehydes; and odorous substances. Volatile organic compounds are released from burning fuel (gasoline, oil, coal, wood, charcoal, natural gas, and so on); solvents; paints; glues; and other products commonly used at work or at home. Volatile organic compounds include such chemicals as benzene, toluene, methylene chloride, and methyl chloroform. Emissions of nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react with sunlight to eventually form another secondary pollutant, ozone, at ground level. Ozone at this level creates health concerns, unlike ozone in the upper atmosphere, which occurs naturally and protects life by filtering out ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Sources of Outdoor Air Pollution

Outdoor air pollution is caused mainly by the combustion of petroleum products or coal by motor vehicles, industry, and power stations. In some countries, the combustion of wood or agricultural waste is another major source. Pollution can also originate from industrial processes that involve dust formation (for example, from cement factories and metal smelters) or gas releases (for instance, from chemicals production). Indoor sources also contribute to outdoor air pollution, and in heavily populated areas, the contribution from indoor sources can create extremely high levels of outdoor air pollution.

Motor vehicles emit PM, nitric oxide and NO 2 (together referred to as NO x ), carbon monoxide, organic compounds, and lead. Lead is a gasoline additive that has been phased out in industrial countries, but some developing countries still use leaded gasoline. Mandating the use of lead-free gasoline is an important intervention in relation to health. It eliminates vehicle-related lead pollution and permits the use of catalytic converters, which reduce emissions of other pollutants.

Catastrophic emissions of organic chemicals, as occurred in Bhopal, India, in 1984 ( box 43.1 ), can also have major health consequences ( McGranahan and Murray 2003 ; WHO 1999 ).

The Bhopal Catastrophe. The Bhopal plant, owned by the Union Carbide Corporation, produced methyl isocyanate, an intermediate in the production of the insecticide carbaryl. On December 2, 1984, a 150,000-gallon storage tank containing methyl isocyanate (more...)

Another type of air pollution that can have disastrous consequences is radioactive pollution from a malfunctioning nuclear power station, as occurred in Chernobyl in 1986 ( WHO 1996 ). Radioactive isotopes emitted from the burning reactor spread over large areas of what are now the countries of Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, causing thousands of cases of thyroid cancer in children and threatening to cause many cancer cases in later decades.

Exposure to Air Pollutants

The extent of the health effects of air pollution depends on actual exposure. Total daily exposure is determined by people's time and activity patterns, and it combines indoor and outdoor exposures. Young children and elderly people may travel less during the day than working adults, and their exposure may therefore be closely correlated with air pollution levels in their homes. Children are particularly vulnerable to environmental toxicants because of their possibly greater relative exposure and the effects on their growth and physiological development.

Meteorological factors, such as wind speed and direction, are usually the strongest determinants of variations in air pollution, along with topography and temperature inversions. Therefore, weather reports can be a guide to likely air pollution levels on a specific day.

Workplace air is another important source of air pollution exposure ( chapter 60 ). Resource extraction and processing industries, which are common in developing countries, emit dust or hazardous fumes at the worksite ( table 43.1 ). Such industries include coalmining, mineral mining, quarrying, and cement production. Developed countries have shifted much of their hazardous production to developing countries ( LaDou 1992 ). This shift creates jobs in the developing countries, but at the price of exposure to air pollution resulting from outdated technology. In addition, specific hazardous compounds, such as asbestos, have been banned in developed countries ( Kazan-Allen 2004 ), but their use may still be common in developing countries.

Impacts on Health

Epidemiological analysis is needed to quantify the health impact in an exposed population. The major pollutants emitted by combustion have all been associated with increased respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality ( Brunekreef and Holgate 2002 ). The most famous disease outbreak of this type occurred in London in 1952 (U.K. Ministry of Health 1954 ), when 4,000 people died prematurely in a single week because of severe air pollution, followed by another 8,000 deaths during the next few months ( Bell and Davis 2001 ).

In the 1970s and 1980s, new statistical methods and improved computer technology allowed investigators to study mortality increases at much lower concentrations of pollutants. A key question is the extent to which life has been shortened. Early loss of life in elderly people, who would have died soon regardless of the air pollution, has been labeled mortality displacement, because it contributes little to the overall burden of disease ( McMichael and others 1998 ).

Long-term studies have documented the increased cardiovascular and respiratory mortality associated with exposure to PM ( Dockery and others 1993 ; Pope and others 1995 ). A 16-year follow-up of a cohort of 500,000 Americans living in different cities found that the associations were strongest with PM 2.5 and also established an association with lung cancer mortality ( Pope and others 2002 ). Another approach is ecological studies of small areas based on census data, air pollution information, and health events data ( Scoggins and others 2004 ), with adjustments for potential confounding factors, including socioeconomic status. Such studies indicate that the mortality increase for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter(μg per m 3 ) of PM 2.5 ranges from 4 to 8 percent for cities in developed countries where average annual PM 2.5 levels are 10 to 30 μg/m 3 . Many urban areas of developing countries have similar or greater levels of air pollution.

The major urban air pollutants can also give rise to significant respiratory morbidity ( WHO 2000 ). For instance, Romieu and others (1996) report an exacerbation of asthma among children in Mexico City, and Xu and Wang (1993) note an increased risk of respiratory symptoms in middle-aged non-smokers in Beijing.

In relation to the very young, Wang and others (1997) find that PM exposure, SO 2 exposure, or both increased the risk of low birthweight in Beijing, and Pereira and others (1998) find that air pollution increased intrauterine mortality in São Paulo.

Other effects of ambient air pollution are postneonatal mortality and mortality caused by acute respiratory infections, as well as effects on children's lung function, cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions in the elderly, and markers for functional damage of the heart muscle ( WHO 2000 ). Asthma is another disease that researchers have linked to urban air pollution ( McConnell and others 2002 ; Rios and others 2004 ). Ozone exposure as a trigger of asthma attacks is of particular concern. The mechanism behind an air pollution and asthma link is not fully known, but early childhood NO 2 exposure may be important (see, for example, Ponsonby and others 2000 ).

Leaded gasoline creates high lead exposure conditions in urban areas, with a risk for lead poisoning, primarily in young children. The main concern is effects on the brain from low-level exposure leading to behavioral aberrations and reduced or delayed development of intellectual or motoric ability ( WHO 1995 ). Lead exposure has been implicated in hypertension in adults, and this effect may be the most important for the lead burden of disease at a population level ( WHO 2002 ). Other pollutants of concern are the carcinogenic volatile organic compounds, which may be related to an increase in lung cancer, as reported by two recent epidemiological studies ( Nyberg and others 2000 ; Pope and others 2002 ).

Urban air pollution and lead exposure are two of the environmental hazards that WHO (2002) assessed as part of its burden-of-disease calculations for the World Health Report 2002 . The report estimates that pollution by urban PM causes as much as 5 percent of the global cases of lung cancer, 2 percent of deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, and 1 percent of respiratory infections, adding up to 7.9 million disability-adjusted life years based on mortality only. This burden of disease occurs primarily in developing countries, with China and India contributing the most to the global burden. Eastern Europe also has major air pollution problems, and in some countries, air pollution accounts for 0.6 to 1.4 percent of the total disability-adjusted life years from mortality.

The global burden of disease caused by lead exposure includes subtle changes in learning ability and behavior and other signs of central nervous system damage ( Fewthrell, Kaufmann, and Preuss 2003 ). WHO (2002) concludes that 0.4 percent of deaths and 0.9 percent (12.9 million) of all disability-adjusted life years may be due to lead exposure.

Water Pollution

Chemical pollution of surface water can create health risks, because such waterways are often used directly as drinking water sources or connected with shallow wells used for drinking water. In addition, waterways have important roles for washing and cleaning, for fishing and fish farming, and for recreation.

Another major source of drinking water is groundwater, which often has low concentrations of pathogens because the water is filtered during its transit through underground layers of sand, clay, or rocks. However, toxic chemicals such as arsenic and fluoride can be dissolved from the soil or rock layers into groundwater. Direct contamination can also occur from badly designed hazardous waste sites or from industrial sites. In the United States in the 1980s, the government set in motion the Superfund Program, a major investigation and cleanup program to deal with such sites ( U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2000 ).

Coastal pollution of seawater may give rise to health hazards because of local contamination of fish or shellfish—for instance, the mercury contamination of fish in the infamous Minamata disease outbreak in Japan in 1956 ( WHO 1976 ). Seawater pollution with persistent chemicals, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins, can also be a significant health hazard even at extremely low concentrations ( Yassi and others 2001 ).

Sources of Chemical Water Pollution

Chemicals can enter waterways from a point source or a nonpoint source. Point-source pollution is due to discharges from a single source, such as an industrial site. Nonpoint-source pollution involves many small sources that combine to cause significant pollution. For instance, the movement of rain or irrigation water over land picks up pollutants such as fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides and carries them into rivers, lakes, reservoirs, coastal waters, or groundwater. Another nonpoint source is storm-water that collects on roads and eventually reaches rivers or lakes. Table 43.1 shows examples of point-source industrial chemical pollution.

Paper and pulp mills consume large volumes of water and discharge liquid and solid waste products into the environment. The liquid waste is usually high in biological oxygen demand, suspended solids, and chlorinated organic compounds such as dioxins ( World Bank 1999 ). The storage and transport of the resulting solid waste (wastewater treatment sludge, lime sludge, and ash) may also contaminate surface waters. Sugar mills are associated with effluent characterized by biological oxygen demand and suspended solids, and the effluent is high in ammonium content. In addition, the sugarcane rinse liquid may contain pesticide residues. Leather tanneries produce a significant amount of solid waste, including hide, hair, and sludge. The wastewater contains chromium, acids, sulfides, and chlorides. Textile and dye industries emit a liquid effluent that contains toxic residues from the cleaning of equipment. Waste from petrochemical manufacturing plants contains suspended solids, oils and grease, phenols, and benzene. Solid waste generated by petrochemical processes contains spent caustic and other hazardous chemicals implicated in cancer.

Another major source of industrial water pollution is mining. The grinding of ores and the subsequent processing with water lead to discharges of fine silt with toxic metals into waterways unless proper precautions are taken, such as the use of sedimentation ponds. Lead and zinc ores usually contain the much more toxic cadmium as a minor component. If the cadmium is not retrieved, major water pollution can occur. Mining was the source of most of the widespread cadmium poisoning (Itai-Itai disease) in Japan in 1940–50 ( Kjellstrom 1986 ).

Other metals, such as copper, nickel, and chromium, are essential micronutrients, but in high levels these metals can be harmful to health. Wastewater from mines or stainless steel production can be a source of exposure to these metals. The presence of copper in water can also be due to corrosion of drinking water pipes. Soft water or low pH makes corrosion more likely. High levels of copper may make water appear bluish green and give it a metallic taste. Flushing the first water out of the tap can minimize exposure to copper. The use of lead pipes and plumbing fixtures may result in high levels of lead in piped water.

Mercury can enter waterways from mining and industrial premises. Incineration of medical waste containing broken medical equipment is a source of environmental contamination with mercury. Metallic mercury is also easily transported through the atmosphere because of its highly volatile nature. Sulfate-reducing bacteria and certain other micro-organisms in lake, river, or coastal underwater sediments can methylate mercury, increasing its toxicity. Methylmercury accumulates and concentrates in the food chain and can lead to serious neurological disease or more subtle functional damage to the nervous system ( Murata and others 2004 ).

Runoff from farmland, in addition to carrying soil and sediments that contribute to increased turbidity, also carries nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphates, which are often added in the form of animal manure or fertilizers. These chemicals cause eutrophication (excessive nutrient levels in water), which increases the growth of algae and plants in waterways, leading to an increase in cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). The toxics released during their decay are harmful to humans.

The use of nitrogen fertilizers can be a problem in areas where agriculture is becoming increasingly intensified. These fertilizers increase the concentration of nitrates in groundwater, leading to high nitrate levels in underground drinking water sources, which can cause methemoglobinemia, the life-threatening "blue baby" syndrome, in very young children, which is a significant problem in parts of rural Eastern Europe ( Yassi and others 2001 ).

Some pesticides are applied directly on soil to kill pests in the soil or on the ground. This practice can create seepage to groundwater or runoff to surface waters. Some pesticides are applied to plants by spraying from a distance—even from airplanes. This practice can create spray drift when the wind carries the materials to nearby waterways. Efforts to reduce the use of the most toxic and long-lasting pesticides in industrial countries have largely been successful, but the rules for their use in developing countries may be more permissive, and the rules of application may not be known or enforced. Hence, health risks from pesticide water pollution are higher in such countries ( WHO 1990 ).

Naturally occurring toxic chemicals can also contaminate groundwater, such as the high metal concentrations in underground water sources in mining areas. The most extensive problem of this type is the arsenic contamination of groundwater in Argentina, Bangladesh ( box 43.2 ), Chile, China, India, Mexico, Nepal, Taiwan (China), and parts of Eastern Europe and the United States ( WHO 2001 ). Fluoride is another substance that may occur naturally at high concentrations in parts of China, India, Sri Lanka, Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean. Although fluoride helps prevent dental decay, exposure to levels greater than 1.5 milligrams per liter in drinking water can cause pitting of tooth enamel and deposits in bones. Exposure to levels greater than 10 milligrams per liter can cause crippling skeletal fluorosis ( Smith 2003 ).

Arsenic in Bangladesh. The presence of arsenic in tube wells in Bangladesh because of natural contamination from underground geological layers was first confirmed in 1993. Ironically, the United Nations Children's Fund had introduced the wells in the (more...)

Water disinfection using chemicals is another source of chemical contamination of water. Chlorination is currently the most widely practiced and most cost-effective method of disinfecting large community water supplies. This success in disinfecting water supplies has contributed significantly to public health by reducing the transmission of waterborne disease. However, chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter in water to form potentially toxic chemical compounds, known collectively as disinfection by-products ( International Agency for Research on Cancer 2004 ).

Exposure to Chemical Water Pollution

Drinking contaminated water is the most direct route of exposure to pollutants in water. The actual exposure via drinking water depends on the amount of water consumed, usually 2 to 3 liters per day for an adult, with higher amounts for people living in hot areas or people engaged in heavy physical work. Use of contaminated water in food preparation can result in contaminated food, because high cooking temperatures do not affect the toxicity of most chemical contaminants.

Inhalation exposure to volatile compounds during hot showers and skin exposure while bathing or using water for recreation are also potential routes of exposure to water pollutants. Toxic chemicals in water can affect unborn or young children by crossing the placenta or being ingested through breast milk.

Estimating actual exposure via water involves analyzing the level of the contaminant in the water consumed and assessing daily water intake ( WHO 2003 ). Biological monitoring using blood or urine samples can be a precise tool for measuring total exposure from water, food, and air ( Yassi and others 2001 ).

Health Effects

No published estimates are available of the global burden of disease resulting from the overall effects of chemical pollutants in water. The burden in specific local areas may be large, as in the example cited in box 43.2 of arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh. Other examples of a high local burden of disease are the nervous system diseases of methylmercury poisoning (Minamata disease), the kidney and bone diseases of chronic cadmium poisoning (Itai-Itai disease), and the circulatory system diseases of nitrate exposure (methemoglobinemia) and lead exposure (anemia and hypertension ).

Acute exposure to contaminants in drinking water can cause irritation or inflammation of the eyes and nose, skin, and gastrointestinal system; however, the most important health effects are due to chronic exposure (for example, liver toxicity) to copper, arsenic, or chromium in drinking water. Excretion of chemicals through the kidney targets the kidney for toxic effects, as seen with chemicals such as cadmium, copper, mercury, and chlorobenzene ( WHO 2003 ).

Pesticides and other chemical contaminants that enter waterways through agricultural runoff, stormwater drains, and industrial discharges may persist in the environment for long periods and be transported by water or air over long distances. They may disrupt the function of the endocrine system, resulting in reproductive, developmental, and behavioral problems. The endocrine disruptors can reduce fertility and increase the occurrence of stillbirths, birth defects, and hormonally dependent cancers such as breast, testicular, and prostate cancers. The effects on the developing nervous system can include impaired mental and psychomotor development, as well as cognitive impairment and behavior abnormalities ( WHO and International Programme on Chemical Safety 2002 ). Examples of endocrine disruptors include organochlorines, PCBs, alkylphenols, phytoestrogens (natural estrogens in plants), and pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics and synthetic sex hormones from contraceptives. Chemicals in drinking water can also be carcinogenic. Disinfection by-products and arsenic have been a particular concern ( International Agency for Research on Cancer 2004 ).

• Interventions

The variety of hazardous pollutants that can occur in air or water also leads to many different interventions. Interventions pertaining to environmental hazards are often more sustainable if they address the driving forces behind the pollution at the community level rather than attempt to deal with specific exposures at the individual level. In addition, effective methods to prevent exposure to chemical hazards in the air or water may not exist at the individual level, and the only feasible individual-level intervention may be treating cases of illness.

Figure 43.1 shows five levels at which actions can be taken to prevent the health effects of environmental hazards. Some would label interventions at the driving force level as policy instruments. These include legal restrictions on the use of a toxic substance, such as banning the use of lead in gasoline, or community-level policies, such as boosting public transportation and reducing individual use of motor vehicles.

Figure 43.1

Framework for Environmental Health Interventions

Interventions to reduce pressures on environmental quality include those that limit hazardous waste disposal by recycling hazardous substances at their site of use or replacing them with less hazardous materials. Interventions at the level of the state of the environment would include air quality monitoring linked to local actions to reduce pollution during especially polluted periods (for example, banning vehicle use when pollution levels reach predetermined thresholds). Interventions at the exposure level include using household water filters to reduce arsenic in drinking water as done in Bangladesh. Finally, interventions at the effect level would include actions by health services to protect or restore the health of people already showing signs of an adverse effect.

Interventions to Reduce Air Pollution

Reducing air pollution exposure is largely a technical issue. Technologies to reduce pollution at its source are plentiful, as are technologies that reduce pollution by filtering it away from the emission source (end-of-pipe solutions; see, for example, Gwilliam, Kojima, and Johnson 2004 ). Getting these technologies applied in practice requires government or corporate policies that guide technical decision making in the right direction. Such policies could involve outright bans (such as requiring lead-free gasoline or asbestos-free vehicle brake linings or building materials); guidance on desirable technologies (for example, providing best-practice manuals); or economic instruments that make using more polluting technologies more expensive than using less polluting technologies (an example of the polluter pays principle).

Examples of technologies to reduce air pollution include the use of lead-free gasoline, which allows the use of catalytic converters on vehicles' exhaust systems. Such technologies significantly reduce the emissions of several air pollutants from vehicles ( box 43.3 ). For trucks, buses, and an increasing number of smaller vehicles that use diesel fuel, improving the quality of the diesel itself by lowering its sulfur content is another way to reduce air pollution at the source. More fuel-efficient vehicles, such as hybrid gas-electric vehicles, are another way forward. These vehicles can reduce gasoline consumption by about 50 percent during city driving. Policies that reduce "unnecessary" driving, or traffic demand management, can also reduce air pollution in urban areas. A system of congestion fees, in which drivers have to pay before entering central urban areas, was introduced in Singapore, Oslo, and London and has been effective in this respect.

Air Pollution Reduction in Mexico City. Mexico City is one of the world's largest megacities, with nearly 20 million inhabitants. Local authorities have acknowledged its air quality problems since the 1970s. The emissions from several million motor vehicles (more...)

Power plants and industrial plants that burn fossil fuels use a variety of filtering methods to reduce particles and scrubbing methods to reduce gases, although no effective method is currently available for the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. High chimneys dilute pollutants, but the combined input of pollutants from a number of smokestacks can still lead to an overload of pollutants. An important example is acid rain, which is caused by SO 2 and NO x emissions that make water vapor in the atmosphere acidic ( WHO 2000 ). Large combined emissions from industry and power stations in the eastern United States drift north with the winds and cause damage to Canadian ecosystems. In Europe, emissions from the industrial belt across Belgium, Germany, and Poland drift north to Sweden and have damaged many lakes there. The convergence of air pollutants from many sources and the associated health effects have also been documented in relation to the multiple fires in Indonesia's rain forest in 1997 ( Brauer and Hisham-Hashim 1998 ); the brown cloud over large areas of Asia, which is mainly related to coal burning; and a similar brown cloud over central Europe in the summer, which is caused primarily by vehicle emissions.

Managing air pollution interventions involves monitoring air quality, which may focus on exceedances of air quality guidelines in specific hotspots or on attempts to establish a specific population's average exposure to pollution. Sophisticated modeling in combination with monitoring has made it possible to start producing detailed estimates and maps of air pollution levels in key urban areas ( World Bank 2004 ), thus providing a powerful tool for assessing current health impacts and estimated changes in the health impacts brought about by defined air pollution interventions.

Interventions to Reduce Water Pollution

Water pollution control requires action at all levels of the hierarchical framework shown in figure 43.1 . The ideal method to abate diffuse chemical pollution of waterways is to minimize or avoid the use of chemicals for industrial, agricultural, and domestic purposes. Adapting practices such as organic farming and integrated pest management could help protect waterways ( Scheierling 1995 ). Chemical contamination of waterways from industrial emissions could be reduced by cleaner production processes ( UNEP 2002 ). Box 43.4 describes one project aimed at effectively reducing pollution.

Water Pollution Control in India. In 1993, the Demonstration in Small Industries for Reducing Wastes Project was started in India with support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. International and local experts initiated waste (more...)

Other interventions include proper treatment of hazardous waste and recycling of chemical containers and discarded products containing chemicals to reduce solid waste buildup and leaching of toxic chemicals into waterways. A variety of technical solutions are available to filter out chemical waste from industrial processes or otherwise render them harmless. Changing the pH of wastewater or adding chemicals that flocculate the toxic chemicals so that they settle in sedimentation ponds are common methods. The same principle can be used at the individual household level. One example is the use of iron chips to filter out arsenic from contaminated well water in Bangladeshi households ( Kinniburgh and Smedley 2001 ).

• Intervention Costs and Cost-Effectiveness

This chapter cannot follow the detailed format for the economic analysis of different preventive interventions devised for the disease-specific chapters, because the exposures, health effects, and interventions are too varied and because of the lack of overarching examples of economic assessments. Nevertheless, it does present a few examples of the types of analyses available.

Comparison of Interventions

A review of more than 1,000 reports on cost per life year saved in the United States for 587 interventions in the environment and other fields ( table 43.2 ) evaluated costs from a societal perspective. The net costs included only direct costs and savings. Indirect costs, such as forgone earnings, were excluded. Future costs and life years saved were discounted at 5 percent per year. Interventions with a cost per life year saved of less than or equal to zero cost less to implement than the value of the lives saved. Each of three categories of interventions (toxin control, fatal injury reduction, and medicine) presented in table 43.2 includes several extremely cost-effective interventions.

Median Cost per Life Year Saved, Selected Relatively Low-Cost Interventions (1993 U.S. dollars).

The cost-effective interventions in the air pollution area could be of value in developing countries as their industrial and transportation pollution situations become similar to the United States in the 1960s. The review by Tengs and others (1995) does not report the extent to which the various interventions were implemented in existing pollution control or public health programs, and many of the most cost-effective interventions are probably already in wide use. The review did create a good deal of controversy in the United States, because professionals and nongovernmental organizations active in the environmental field accused the authors of overestimating the costs and underestimating the benefits of controls over chemicals (see, for example, U.S. Congress 1999 ).

Costs and Savings in Relation to Pollution Control

A number of publications review and discuss the evidence on the costs and benefits of different pollution control interventions in industrial countries (see, for example, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1999 ). For developing countries, specific data on this topic are found primarily in the so-called gray literature: government reports, consultant reports, or reports by the international banks.

Examples of cost-effectiveness analysis for assessing air quality policy include studies carried out in Jakarta, Kathmandu, Manila, and Mumbai under the World Bank's Urban Air Quality Management Strategy in Asia ( Grønskei and others 1996a , 1996b ; Larssen and others 1996a , 1996b ; Shah, Nagpal, and Brandon 1997 ). In each city, an emissions inventory was established, and rudimentary dispersion modeling was carried out. Various mitigation measures for reducing PM 10 and health impacts were examined in terms of reductions in tons of PM 10 emitted, cost of implementation, time frame for implementation, and health benefits and their associated cost savings. Some of the abatement measures that have been implemented include introducing unleaded gasoline, tightening standards, introducing low-smoke lubricants for two-stroke engine vehicles, implementing inspections of vehicle exhaust emissions to address gross polluters, and reducing garbage burning.

Transportation policies and industrial development do not usually have air quality considerations as their primary objective, but the World Bank has developed a method to take these considerations into account. The costs of different air quality improvement policies are explored in relation to a baseline investment and the estimated health effects of air pollution. A comparison will indicate the cost-effectiveness of each policy. The World Bank has worked out this "overlay" approach in some detail for the energy and forestry sectors in the analogous case of greenhouse gas reduction strategies ( World Bank 2004 ).

The costs and benefits associated with interventions to remove chemical contaminants from water need to be assessed on a local or national basis to determine specific needs, available resources, environmental conditions (including climate), and sustainability. A developing country for which substantial economic analysis of interventions has been carried out is China ( Dasgupta, Wang, and Wheeler 1997 ; Zhang and others 1996 ).

Another country with major concerns about chemicals (arsenic) in water is Bangladesh. The arsenic mitigation programs have applied various arsenic removal technologies, but the costs and benefits are not well established. Bangladesh has adopted a drinking water standard of 50 μg/L (micrograms per liter) for arsenic in drinking water. The cost of achieving the lower WHO guideline value of 10 μg/L would be significant. An evaluation of the cost of lowering arsenic levels in drinking water in the United States predicts that a reduction from 50 to 10 μg/L would prevent a limited number of deaths from bladder and lung cancer at a cost of several million dollars per death prevented ( Frost and others 2002 ).

Alternative water supplies need to be considered when the costs of improving existing water sources outweigh the benefits. Harvesting rainwater may provide communities with safe drinking water, free of chemicals and micro-organisms, but contamination from roofs and storage tanks needs to be considered. Rainwater collection is relatively inexpensive.

• Economic Benefits of Interventions

One of the early examples of cost-benefit analysis for chemical pollution control is the Japan Environment Agency's (1991) study of three Japanese classical pollution diseases: Yokkaichi asthma, Minamata disease, and Itai-Itai disease ( table 43.3 ). This analysis was intended to highlight the economic aspects of pollution control and to encourage governments in developing countries to consider both the costs and the benefits of industrial development. The calculations take into account the 20 or 30 years that have elapsed since the disease outbreaks occurred and annualize the costs and benefits over a 30-year period. The pollution damage costs are the actual payments for victims' compensation and the cost of environmental remediation. The compensation costs are based on court cases or government decisions and can be seen as a valid representation of the economic value of the health damage in each case. As table 43.3 shows, controlling the relevant pollutants would have cost far less than paying for damage caused by the pollution.

Comparison of Actual Pollution Damage Costs and the Pollution Control Costs That Would Have Prevented the Damage, for Three Pollution-related Disease Outbreaks, Japan (¥ millions, 1989 equivalents).

A few studies have analyzed cost-benefit aspects of air pollution control in specific cities. Those analyses are based mainly on modeling health impacts from exposure and relationships between doses and responses. Voorhees and others (2001) find that most studies that analyzed the situation in specific urban areas used health impact assessment to estimate impacts avoided by interventions. Investigators have used different methods for valuing the economic benefits of health improvements, including market valuation, stated preference methods, and revealed preference methods. The choice of assumptions and inputs substantially affected the resulting cost and benefit valuations.

One of the few detailed studies of the costs and benefits of air pollution control in a specific urban area ( Voorhees and others 2000 ) used changing nitric oxide and NO 2 emissions in Tokyo during 1973–94 as a basis for the calculations. The study did not use actual health improvement data but calculated likely health improvements from estimated reductions in NO 2 levels and published dose-response curves. The health effects included respiratory morbidity (as determined by hospital admissions and medical expenses), and working days lost for sick adults, and maternal working days lost in the case of a child's illness. The results indicated an average cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 6, with a large range from a lower limit of 3 to 1 to an upper limit of 1 to 44. The estimated economic benefits of reductions in nitric oxide and NO 2 emissions between 1973 and 1994 were considerable: US$6.78 billion for avoided medical costs, US$6.33 billion for avoided lost wages of sick adults, and US$0.83 billion for avoided lost wages of mothers with sick children.

Blackman and others' (2000) cost-benefit analysis of four practical strategies for reducing PM 10 emissions from traditional brick kilns in Ciudad Juárez in Mexico suggests that, given a wide range of modeling assumptions, the benefits of three control strategies would be considerably higher than the costs. Reduced mortality was by far the largest component of benefits, accounting for more than 80 percent of the total.

Pandey and Nathwani (2003) applied cost-benefit analysis to a pollution control program in Canada. Their study proposed using the life quality index as a tool for quantifying the level of public expenditure beyond which the use of resources is not justified. The study estimated total pollution control costs at US$2.5 billion per year against a monetary benefit of US$7.5 billion per year, using 1996 as the base year for all cost and benefit estimates. The benefit estimated in terms of avoided mortality was about 1,800 deaths per year.

El-Fadel and Massoud's (2000) study of urban areas in Lebanon shows that the health benefits and economic benefits of reducing PM concentration in the air can range from US$4.53 million to US$172.50 million per year using a willingness-to-pay approach. In that study, the major monetized benefits resulted from reduced mortality costs.

Aunan and others (1998) assessed the costs and benefits of implementing an energy saving and air pollution control program in Hungary. They based their monetary evaluation of benefits on local monitoring and population data and took exposure-response functions and valuation estimates from Canadian, U.S., and European studies. The authors valued the average total benefits of the interventions at US$1.56 billion per year (with 1994 as the base year), with high and low bounds at US$7.6, billion and US$0.4 billion, respectively. They estimated the cost-benefit ratio at 1 to 3.4, given a total cost of interventions of US$0.46 billion per year. Many of the benefits resulted from reduced mortality in the elderly population and from reduced asthma morbidity costs.

Misra (2002) examined the costs and benefits of water pollution abatement for a cluster of 250 small-scale industries in Gujarat, India. Misra's assessment looked at command-and-control, market-based solutions and at effluent treatment as alternatives. In a cost-benefit analysis, Misra estimated the net present social benefits from water pollution abatement at the Nandesari Industrial Estate at Rs 0.550 billion at 1995–96 market prices using a 12 percent social discount rate. After making corrections for the prices of foreign exchange, unskilled labor, and investment, the figure rose to Rs 0.62 billion. It rose still further to about Rs 3.1 billion when distributional effects were taken into account.

• Implementation of Control Strategies: Lessons of Experience

The foregoing examples demonstrate that interventions to protect health that use chemical pollution control can have an attractive cost-benefit ratio. The Japan Environment Agency (1991) estimates the national economic impact of pollution control legislation and associated interventions. During the 1960s and early 1970s, when the government made many of the major decisions about intensified pollution control interventions, Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was growing at an annual rate of about 10 percent, similar to that of the rapidly industrializing countries in the early 21st century. At that time, Japan's economic policies aimed at eliminating bottlenecks to high economic growth, and in the mid 1960s, industry was spending less than ¥50 billion per year on pollution control equipment. By 1976, this spending had increased to almost ¥1 trillion per year. The ¥5 trillion invested in pollution control between 1965 and 1975 accounted for about 0.9 percent of the increase in GDP per capita during this period. The Japan Environment Agency concluded that the stricter environmental protection legislation and associated major investment in pollution control had little effect on the overall economy, but that the resulting health benefits are likely cumulative.

The broadest analysis of the implementation of control strategies for air pollution was conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the late 1990s ( Krupnick and Morgenstern 2002 ). The analysis developed a hypothetical scenario for 1970 to 1990, assuming that the real costs for pollution control during this period could be compared with the benefits of reduced mortality and morbidity and avoided damage to agricultural crops brought about by the reduction of major air pollutant levels across the country during this period. The study estimated reduced mortality from dose-response relationships for the major air pollutants, assigning the cost of each death at the value of statistical life and the cost of morbidity in relation to estimated health service utilization. The study used a variety of costing methods to reach the range of likely present values presented in table 43.4 . It assumed that the reduction of air pollution resulted from the implementation of the federal Clean Air Act of 1970 and associated state-level regulations and air pollution limits.

Present Value of Monetary Benefits and Costs Associated with Implementation of the U.S. Clean Air Act, 1970–90 (1990 US$ billions).

The analysis showed a dramatically high cost-benefit ratio and inspired debate about the methodologies used and the results. One major criticism was of the use of the value of statistical life for each death potentially avoided by the reduced air pollution. A recalculation using the life-years-lost method reduced the benefits for deaths caused by PM from US$16,632 billion to US$9,100 billion ( Krupnick and Morgenstern 2002 ). The recalculated figure is still well above the fifth percentile estimate of benefits and does not undermine the positive cost-benefit ratio reported. Thus, if a developing country were to implement an appropriate control strategy for urban air pollution, it might derive significant economic benefits over the subsequent decades. The country's level of economic development, local costs, and local benefit valuations will be important for any cost-benefit assessment. WHO's (2000) air quality guidelines are among the documents that provide advice on analytical approaches.

We were unable to find an analysis for water similar to the broad analysis presented for air, but the examples of water pollution with mercury, cadmium, and arsenic described earlier indicate the economic benefits that can be reaped from effective interventions against chemical water pollution. Since the pollution disease outbreaks of mercury and cadmium poisoning in Japan, serious mercury pollution situations have been identified in Brazil, China, and the Philippines, and serious cadmium pollution has occurred in Cambodia, China, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Thailand. Arsenic in groundwater is an ongoing, serious problem in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal and a less serious problem in a number of other countries.

WHO has analyzed control strategies for biological water pollution and water and sanitation improvements in relation to the Millennium Development Goals ( Hutton and Haller 2004 ). The analysis demonstrated the considerable benefits of water and sanitation improvements: for every US$1 invested, the economic return was in the range of US$5 to US$28 for a number of intervention options. Careful analysis of the same type is required for populations particularly vulnerable to chemical water pollution to assess whether control of chemical pollution can also yield significant benefits.

• Research and Development Agenda

Even though a good deal of information is available about the health risks of common air and water pollutants, further research is needed to guide regulations and interventions. The pollutants that were most common in developed countries in the past are still major problems in developing countries; however, direct application of the experiences of developed countries may not be appropriate, because exposed populations in developing countries may have a different burden of preexisting diseases, malnutrition, and other factors related to poverty. Research on specific vulnerabilities and on relevant dose-response relationships for different levels of economic development and for various geographic conditions would therefore be valuable for assessing risks and targeting interventions. In addition, global chemical exposure concerns, such as endocrine disruptors in air, water, and food, require urgent research to establish the need for interventions in both industrial and developing countries.

An important research topic is to clearly describe and quantify the long-term health effects of exposure to air pollution. The existing literature indicates that long-term exposure may have more adverse health effects than short-term exposure and, hence, have higher cost implications. Another topic is to assess the health issue pertaining to greenhouse gases and climate change, which are related to the same sources as urban air pollution ( Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2001 ). Research and policy analysis on how best to develop interventions to reduce health risks related to climate change need to be considered together with the analysis of other air pollutants.

In addition, to improve analysis of the economic costs of health impacts, better estimates are needed of the burden of disease related to chemical air and water pollution at local, national, and global levels. Cost-effectiveness analysis of air and water pollution control measures in developing countries needs to be supported by further research, as cost levels and benefit valuations will vary from country to country, and solutions that are valid in industrial countries may not work as well in developing countries. Strategies for effective air and water resource management should include research on the potential side effects of an intervention, such as in Bangladesh, where tube wells drilled to supply water turned out to be contaminated with arsenic (see box 43.2 ). Research is also needed that would link methodologies for assessing adverse health effects with exposure and epidemiological studies in different settings to permit the development of more precise forecasting of the health and economic benefits of interventions.

The variety of health effects of urban air pollution and the variety of sources create opportunities for ancillary effects that need to be taken into account in economic cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis. These are the beneficial effects of reducing air pollution on other health risks associated with the sources of air pollution. For example, if the air pollution from transportation emissions is reduced by actions that reduce the use of private motor vehicles by, say, providing public transportation, not only are carbon dioxide levels reduced; traffic crash injuries, noise, and physical inactivity related to the widespread use of motor vehicles also decline ( Kjellstrom and others 2003 ).

One of the key challenges for policies and actions is to find ways to avoid a rapid buildup of urban air pollution in countries that do not yet have a major problem. The health sector needs to be involved in assessing urban planning, the location of industries, and the development of transportation systems and needs to encourage those designing public transportation and housing to ensure that new sources of air pollution are not being built into cities.

Decades of economic and industrial growth have resulted in lifestyles that increase the demands on water resources simultaneous with increases in water pollution levels. Conflicts between household, industrial, and agricultural water use are a common public health problem ( UNESCO 2003 ). The developing countries need to avoid the experiences of water pollution and associated disease outbreaks in industrial countries. Strategies to ensure sufficient pollution control must be identified at the same time as strategies to reduce water consumption. High water use depletes supplies and increases salinity in groundwater aquifers, particularly in coastal regions. The impact of climate change must also be taken into consideration ( Vorosmarty and others 2000 ).

• Conclusion: Promises and Pitfalls

Evidence shows that a number of chemicals that may be released into the air or water can cause adverse health effects. The associated burden of disease can be substantial, and investment in research on health effects and interventions in specific populations and exposure situations is important for the development of control strategies. Pollution control is therefore an important component of disease control, and health professionals and authorities need to develop partnerships with other sectors to identify and implement priority interventions.

Developing countries face major water quantity and quality challenges, compounded by the effects of rapid industrialization. Concerted actions are needed to safely manage the use of toxic chemicals and to develop monitoring and regulatory guidelines. Recycling and the use of biodegradable products must be encouraged. Technologies to reduce air pollution at the source are well established and should be used in all new industrial development. Retrofitting of existing industries and power plants is also worthwhile. The growing number of private motor vehicles in developing countries brings certain benefits, but alternative means of transportation, particularly in rapidly growing urban areas, need to be considered at an early stage, as the negative health and economic impacts of high concentrations of motor vehicles are well established. The principles and practices of sustainable development, coupled with local research, will help contain or eliminate health risks resulting from chemical pollution. International collaboration involving both governmental and nongovernmental organizations can guide this highly interdisciplinary and intersectoral area of disease control.

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Essay on Pollution for Students and Children

500+ words essay on pollution.

Pollution is a term which even kids are aware of these days. It has become so common that almost everyone acknowledges the fact that pollution is rising continuously. The term ‘pollution’ means the manifestation of any unsolicited foreign substance in something. When we talk about pollution on earth, we refer to the contamination that is happening of the natural resources by various pollutants . All this is mainly caused by human activities which harm the environment in ways more than one. Therefore, an urgent need has arisen to tackle this issue straightaway. That is to say, pollution is damaging our earth severely and we need to realize its effects and prevent this damage. In this essay on pollution, we will see what are the effects of pollution and how to reduce it.

Effects of Pollution

Pollution affects the quality of life more than one can imagine. It works in mysterious ways, sometimes which cannot be seen by the naked eye. However, it is very much present in the environment. For instance, you might not be able to see the natural gases present in the air, but they are still there. Similarly, the pollutants which are messing up the air and increasing the levels of carbon dioxide is very dangerous for humans. Increased level of carbon dioxide will lead to global warming .

Further, the water is polluted in the name of industrial development, religious practices and more will cause a shortage of drinking water. Without water, human life is not possible. Moreover, the way waste is dumped on the land eventually ends up in the soil and turns toxic. If land pollution keeps on happening at this rate, we won’t have fertile soil to grow our crops on. Therefore, serious measures must be taken to reduce pollution to the core.

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Types of Pollution

• Air Pollution
• Water Pollution
• Soil Pollution

How to Reduce Pollution?

After learning the harmful effects of pollution, one must get on the task of preventing or reducing pollution as soon as possible. To reduce air pollution, people should take public transport or carpool to reduce vehicular smoke. While it may be hard, avoiding firecrackers at festivals and celebrations can also cut down on air and noise pollution. Above all, we must adopt the habit of recycling. All the used plastic ends up in the oceans and land, which pollutes them.

So, remember to not dispose of them off after use, rather reuse them as long as you can. We must also encourage everyone to plant more trees which will absorb the harmful gases and make the air cleaner. When talking on a bigger level, the government must limit the usage of fertilizers to maintain the soil’s fertility. In addition, industries must be banned from dumping their waste into oceans and rivers, causing water pollution.

To sum it up, all types of pollution is hazardous and comes with grave consequences. Everyone must take a step towards change ranging from individuals to the industries. As tackling this problem calls for a joint effort, so we must join hands now. Moreover, the innocent lives of animals are being lost because of such human activities. So, all of us must take a stand and become a voice for the unheard in order to make this earth pollution-free.

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FAQs on Pollution

Q.1 What are the effects of pollution?

A.1 Pollution essentially affects the quality of human life. It degrades almost everything from the water we drink to the air we breathe. It damages the natural resources needed for a healthy life.

Q.2 How can one reduce pollution?

A.2 We must take individual steps to reduce pollution. People should decompose their waster mindfully, they should plant more trees. Further, one must always recycle what they can and make the earth greener.

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• Environmental Chemistry

Prevention of Air Pollution

What is air pollution.

Air pollution can be defined as the contamination of the atmosphere with anomalous concentrations of substances that are harmful to the health of human beings and other organisms. Typical examples of air pollutants include sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, ammonia, chlorofluorocarbons (often abbreviated to CFCs), and methane. Air pollution is a serious environmental concern since it can cause several diseases in human beings, some even resulting in death. Therefore, the prevention of air pollution is very important. Air pollution is also known to have an adverse impact on a wide spectrum of life forms including crops and animals. It can be noted that air pollution can occur due to natural processes or human activity, the latter being more predominant (air pollution caused by human activity is generally referred to as anthropogenic air pollution).

For a variety of pollution-related diseases including heart disease, respiratory infections, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), lung cancer, and stroke, air pollution is known to be a major risk factor. The consequences of poor air quality on human health are far ranging, but primarily affect the respiratory system of the body along with the cardiovascular system. The type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the health status and genetics of the individual, and the degree of exposure determine the individual reactions to air pollutants. Indoor air pollution and low urban air quality are known to be classified as two of the world’s worst toxic pollution problems.

Table of Contents

What are air pollutants, how can air pollution be prevented, frequently asked questions on prevention of air pollution, recommended video, air and water pollution.

Any material that is present in the environment and can have harmful effects on human beings and the ecosystem can be categorized as an air pollutant. Air pollutants can assume the form of particulate matter, gaseous substances, and droplets that exist in the liquid state. Such pollutants can be of natural or man-made origin. Air pollutants are generally categorized as secondary or primary pollutants. Natural processes (such as the ash produced from a volcanic eruption) typically create primary contaminants. The sulphur dioxide emitted from factories or the carbon monoxide gas produced from motor vehicle exhausts are other examples of primary contaminants.

Secondary contaminants do not enter the atmosphere from direct emissions. Instead, as primary contaminants react or communicate, they form secondary contaminants in the atmosphere. An important example of a secondary pollutant is ground-level ozone. Some contaminants can be both primary and secondary: both directly emitted from natural or anthropogenic activity or produced from other primary pollutants.

Some important measures that can be adopted by individuals to contribute towards the prevention of air pollution have been listed below.

• Usage of public transport and carpooling – by reducing the amount of fuel combusted for an individual’s transportation needs, he/she can lower the amount of pollutants being released into the atmosphere and cause less air pollution. Furthermore, these options are also economically efficient and can help save money as well.
• Switching off the lights when they’re not in use – the majority of our electricity is produced from the combustion of fossil fuels, which are a huge contributor towards air pollution. Therefore, conserving electricity is an effective way of preventing air pollution.
• Reusing and recycling products – By reusing products (that can be reused), the amount of energy that goes into manufacturing another one of those products is conserved. Furthermore, recycling of products is also more energy-efficient than the manufacture of new ones.
• Avoiding the burning of garbage and smoking – burning of garbage is a huge contributor to air pollution. Another contributor to air pollution is cigarette smoking. Avoiding these activities and spreading awareness of their negative consequences can be of great help in the prevention of air pollution.
• Avoiding the use of firecrackers – firecrackers are generally used to celebrate certain occasions. However, they are known to cause severe air pollution and are, therefore, extremely harmful to the environment. Personally avoiding the use of firecrackers and spreading awareness about their negative consequences is a great way to help prevent air pollution.

To learn more about the prevention of air pollution along with the prevention of other important environmental concerns such as soil pollution , register with BYJU’S and download our app.

List some examples of air pollutants.

Typical examples of air pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, ammonia, chlorofluorocarbons (often abbreviated to CFCs), nitrous oxides, and methane.

What are the threats posed by air pollution to human health?

Air pollution can cause several health problems in human beings such as respiratory infections, heart disease, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), lung cancer, and strokes.

What is meant by the term ‘air pollutant’?

An air pollutant can be any material that is present in the environment and has the potential to have harmful effects on the ecosystem and on human health. Air pollutants can exist in the solid, liquid, and gaseous states. Air pollutants can be of natural or man-made origin.

What are secondary contaminants?

Secondary contaminants are a class of air pollutants that don’t enter the atmosphere from direct emissions. Instead, they are formed when primary contaminants react with each other.

How can air pollution be prevented?

Air pollution can be prevented by advocating the use of public transport and carpooling. It can also be controlled by avoiding wastage of electricity and practicing reuse and recycling of compatible products.

Put your understanding of this concept to test by answering a few MCQs. Click ‘Start Quiz’ to begin!

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• Air Pollutants
• Resources for Professionals

About Air Quality

At a glance.

• Today's the day to start thinking about air quality.
• Learn how to navigate air quality conditions with the Air Quality Index and find other helpful resources available to you.

What you can do

The air quality index (aqi).

Sometimes the air quality outdoors may not be safe for everyone. What can you do?

Pay attention to the Air Quality Index (AQI) . The AQI tells you when high levels of air pollution are predicted and how air pollution affects your health.

Finding the AQI is easy. It's on the Web, on many local TV weather forecasts, or you can sign up for free e-mail tools or download the AirNow app .

The AQI is easy to use. If the AQI predicts a "Code Orange" (unhealthy for sensitive groups) day don't cancel your plans—use the AQI to help you plan a better time or place for them.

The AQI tells you about major air pollutants in the U.S. that are regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, including ozone and particle pollution. Ozone and particle pollution may harm the health of hundreds of thousands of Americans each year.

Ozone and particle pollution

Let's say that the ozone level where you live is predicted to be Code Orange tomorrow. If you're a runner—even if you're healthy—that air quality could hurt you. Using the AQI, you can plan your run for when ozone levels will be lower, shorten your run or walk instead, or run on a treadmill indoors.

Particle pollution has been linked to heart attacks and strokes, and even death in people with heart disease. On a day when particle pollution will be at Code Orange, do something less intense. Walk instead of run or do only lighter outdoor work.

Use the AQI Wherever You Go‎

Respiratory health.

Air pollution can make it harder for people with asthma and other respiratory (breathing) diseases to breathe.

Find out how you can protect yourself if you’re living with asthma.

• National Asthma Control Program
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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Learn about COPD, a group of diseases that can make it hard to breathe.

• COPD Resources

Heart disease and stroke

Air pollution can be harmful to heart health and may make it more likely that some people will have a heart attack or stroke. Learn the facts about air pollution and how you can keep your heart healthy.

• Heart Disease, Stroke, and Outdoor Air Pollution

Children's respiratory health

Children and teens may be more sensitive than adults to the health effects caused by air pollution — especially children with asthma. Learn how air quality can affect how much outdoor activity is safe for children.

Air Quality and Outdoor Activity Guidance for Schools

Advice for travelers

Air pollution has decreased in many parts of the world, but it is worsening in certain industrializing countries. Travelers should be familiar with the air quality at their destination.

Pre-Travel Consultation

Wildfire guide factsheets

Factsheets on wildfire smoke safety from Airnow.gov. Most are available in Spanish as well.

Wildfire Smoke: A Guide for Public Health Officials

Air Quality

Outdoor air quality has improved, but challenges remain. Ground-level ozone and particle pollution are two of the many threats to air quality and public health.

For Everyone

Public health.

News release

Air quality alert issued immediately due to wildfire smoke for all of minnesota.

Air quality is expected to reach the red AQI category across all of Minnesota, which is unhealthy for everyone.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued an air quality alert for all of Minnesota. The alert takes effect at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 12, and runs until noon on Monday, May 13. The affected area includes the Twin Cities metro, Brainerd, Alexandria, Albert Lea, Marshall, Worthington, Rochester, Hinckley, St. Cloud, Winona, Ortonville, Mankato, Bemidji, East Grand Forks, Moorhead, International Falls, Two Harbors, Hibbing, Ely, Duluth, Roseau, and the tribal nations of Upper Sioux, Mille Lacs, Prairie Island, Leech Lake, Red Lake, Grand Portage, and Fond du Lac.

A band of very heavy smoke from wildfires in northeast British Columbia has moved into northern Minnesota and will sweep south across the state on Sunday behind a cold front. The smoke will reach central Minnesota by Sunday afternoon and southern Minnesota by Sunday evening. Smoke will clear the northern half of the state overnight and air quality will improve there. Smoke will persist through midday Monday across southern Minnesota and air quality will gradually improve through the day as the smoke begins to disperse. Air quality is expected to reach the Red (Unhealthy) category for much of the state.

Fine particle levels are expected to reach the red air quality index (AQI) category, a level considered unhealthy for everyone, across all of Minnesota. In the red area, sensitive groups should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion and limit time spent outdoors. Everyone should limit prolonged or heavy exertion and time spent outdoors.

What this alert means

Air moves long distances and carries pollutants. During air quality alerts due to wildfires, the air is mixed with harmful smoke. Wildfire smoke spreads or lingers depending on the size of the fires, the wind, and the weather.

The air quality index (AQI) is color-coded. Air quality alerts are issued when the AQI is forecast to reach an unhealthy level, which includes forecasts in the orange, red, purple, and maroon categories. For a full description of each air quality category, visit airnow.gov .

Red air quality: Unhealthy for everyone

Sights and smells: In areas where air quality is in the red AQI category due to wildfires, the sky may look smoky. The air will look hazy, and you won’t be able to see long distances. You may smell smoke.

Health effects: This air is unhealthy for everyone. Anyone may begin to experience symptoms such as irritated eyes, nose, and throat, coughing, chest tightness, or shortness of breath. Sensitive or more exposed individuals may experience more serious health effects, including worsening of existing heart or lung disease and respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, possibly leading to an asthma attack, heart attack, or stroke.

What to do: Reduce outdoor physical activities, take more breaks, and avoid intense activities to reduce exposure. Sensitive and more exposed individuals should avoid prolonged or vigorous activities and consider shortening, rescheduling, or moving outdoor events inside.

Who is most at risk

Poor air quality impacts health. Fine particle pollution from wildfire smoke can irritate eyes, nose, and throat, and cause coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, or fatigue. Smoke particles are small enough that they can be breathed deeply into lungs and enter the bloodstream. This can lead to illnesses such as bronchitis or aggravate existing chronic heart and lung diseases, triggering heart palpitations, asthma attacks, heart attacks, and strokes.

Certain groups experience health effects from unhealthy air quality sooner than others, either because they are more sensitive to fine particle pollution or because they are exposed to larger amounts of it.

Sensitive groups include:

• People who have asthma or other breathing conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• People who have heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes.
• Pregnant people.
• Children and older adults.

People with increased exposure include:

• People who work outdoors, especially workers who do heavy manual labor.
• People who exercise or play sports outdoors, including children.
• People who don’t have air conditioning and need to keep windows open to stay cool.
• People in housing not tight enough to keep unhealthy air out, or who do not have permanent shelter.

Anyone experiencing health effects related to poor air quality should contact their health care provider. Those with severe symptoms, chest pain, trouble breathing, or who fear they may be experiencing a heart attack or stroke should call 911 immediately .

Take precautions

Reduce or eliminate activities that contribute to air pollution, such as outdoor burning, and use of residential wood burning devices. Reduce vehicle trips and vehicle idling as much as possible. Keep windows closed to ensure outside smoke does not enter your home.

Stay informed

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Two Men Indicted for Scheme to Tamper with Pollution Control Systems in Violation of the Clean Air Act

Spokane, Washington - A federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington returned an indictment charging Pavel Ivanovich Turlak; his companies PT Express LLC, Spokane Truck Service LLC, and Paul’s Trans LLC; Ryan Hugh Milliken; and his company, Hardway Solutions; with six counts of violating the Clean Air Act for a scheme to interfere with pollution control software in diesel trucks. Turlak was also charged with six counts of fraud in connection with COVID-19 relief funding.

Turlak’s companies are based in Spokane, Washington. Milliken’s company is based in Mary Esther, Florida.

The indictment alleges that between August of 2017 and November of 2023, Turlak and Milliken tampered with emission control monitoring devices and methods on diesel pickup trucks, including both software and hardware modifications. The illegal software modifications involved “tuning” or “deleting” the trucks by tampering with the “on board diagnostic” (OBD) systems and disabling emission controls, which allowed the trucks to emit substantially more pollutants into the atmosphere.

The indictment alleges Milliken created and sold custom software “delete tunes” to Turlak for specific vehicles based on specifications provided by Turlak. Turlak then charged as much as $3,500 to diesel truck owners to “delete” and “tune” their vehicles by tampering with and rendering inaccurate required monitoring devices.  

Despite the harm to the environment, diesel vehicle owners sometimes seek such illegal modifications to avoid the costs of maintaining and repairing emission control components and to increase speed and fuel efficiency.

The indictment also alleges Turlak falsely and fraudulently sought and received more than $300,000 in federal funding that was designated to go to eligible small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The indictment alleges Turlak and his businesses were not eligible to receive this funding, but falsely certified that they were in order to obtain it.

“Exposure to diesel exhaust can lead to serious health conditions like asthma and respiratory illnesses and can worsen existing heart and lung disease, especially in children and the elderly. Pollution control systems are in place to protect us,” stated Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. “My office is fully committed to enforcing laws to achieve environmental justice and making Eastern Washington a clean, safe place to live and work.”

This case was investigated by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division with assistance from the Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General, and the Spokane Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Jacob Brooks are prosecuting the case. U.S. Attorney Waldref further wishes to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida for its coordination and support.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Robert Curry 

Public Affairs Specialist 

[email protected] 

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