AIR POLLUTIONS

Introduction
Air pollution is the introduction into the atmosphere of chemicals, particulates, or biological materials that
cause discomfort, disease, or death to humans, damage other living organisms such as food crops, or damage
the natural environment or built environment. A substance in the air that can be adverse to humans and the
environment is known as an air pollutant. Pollutants can be in the form of solid particles, liquid droplets, or
gases. In addition, they may be natural or man-made. Pollutants can be classified as primary or secondary.
Usually, primary pollutants are directly produced from a process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption, the
carbon monoxide gas from a motor vehicle exhaust or Sulphur dioxide released from factories. Secondary
pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air when primary pollutants react or interact. An
important example of a secondary pollutant is ground level ozone – one of the many secondary pollutants
that make up photochemical smog. Some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: that is, they are
both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants.

Causes: Factors Responsible for Air Pollution

Air pollution can result from both human and natural actions. Natural events that pollute the air include
forest fires, volcanic eruptions, wind erosion, pollen dispersal, evaporation of organic compounds and
natural radioactivity. Sources of air pollution refer to the various locations, activities or factors which are
responsible for the releasing of pollutants into the atmosphere.
Man-made sources mostly related to burning different kinds of fuel.
 "Stationary Sources" include smoke stacks of power plants, manufacturing facilities (factories) and waste
incinerators, as well as furnaces and other types of fuel-burning heating devices. In developing and poor
countries, traditional biomass burning is the major source of air pollutants; traditional biomass includes
wood, crop waste and dung.
 "Mobile Sources" include motor vehicles, marine vessels, aircraft and the effect of sound etc.
 Chemicals, dust and controlled burn practices in agriculture and forestry management. Controlled or
prescribed burning is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or
greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can
be a tool for foresters. Controlled burning stimulates the germination of some desirable forest trees, thus
renewing the forest.
 Fumes from paint, hair spray, varnish, aerosol sprays and other solvents.
 Waste deposition in landfills, which generate methane. Methane is highly flammable and may form
explosive mixtures with air.  Military, such as nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare and rocketry.

Natural sources
 Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with few or no vegetation.
 Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by animals, for example cattle.
 Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth's crust. Radon is a colorless, odorless, naturally
occurring, radioactive noble gas that is formed from the decay of radium. It is considered to be a health
hazard. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as the
basement and it is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking.
 Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires.
 Vegetation, in some regions, emits environmentally significant amounts of VOCs on warmer days.
These VOCs react with primary anthropogenic pollutants – specifically, NOx, SO2, and anthropogenic
organic carbon compounds – to produce a seasonal haze of secondary pollutants.
 Volcanic activity, which produce sulfur, chlorine, and ash particulates.
A lack of ventilation indoors concentrates air pollution where people often spend the majority of their time.
Radon (Rn) gas, a carcinogen, is exuded from the Earth in certain locations and trapped inside houses.
Building materials including carpeting and plywood emit formaldehyde (H2CO) gas. Paint and solvents give
off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as they dry. Lead paint can degenerate into dust and be inhaled.
Intentional air pollution is introduced with the use of air fresheners, incense, and other scented items.
Controlled wood fires in stoves and fireplaces can add significant amounts of smoke particulates into the air,
inside and out. Indoor pollution fatalities may be caused by using pesticides and other chemical sprays
indoors without proper ventilation. Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and fatalities are often caused by
faulty vents and chimneys, or by the burning of charcoal indoors. Biological sources of air pollution are also
found indoors, as gases and airborne particulates. Pets produce dander, people produce dust from minute
skin flakes and decomposed hair, dust mites in bedding, carpeting and furniture produce enzymes and
micrometer-sized fecal droppings, inhabitants emit methane, mold forms in walls and generates mycotoxins
and spores, air conditioning systems can incubate Legionnaires' disease and mold, and houseplants, soil and
surrounding gardens can produce pollen, dust, and mold. Indoors, the lack of air circulation allows these
airborne pollutants to accumulate more than they would otherwise occur in nature.

Consequences: Effects of Air Pollution

Health Effects
Air pollution is a significant risk factor for multiple health conditions including respiratory infections, heart
disease, and lung cancer, according to the WHO. The health effects caused by air pollution may include
difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing, asthma and aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac
conditions. These effects can result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency room visits,
more hospital admissions and premature death. The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching,
but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Individual reactions to air
pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, the individual's
health status and genetics.
The most common sources of air pollution include particulates, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide.
Both indoor and outdoor air pollution have caused approximately 3.3 million deaths worldwide. Children
aged less than five years that live in developing countries are the most vulnerable population in terms of
total deaths attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution. The World Health Organization states that 2.4
million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution, with 1.5 million of these
deaths attributable to indoor air pollution. The worst short-term civilian pollution crisis in India was the
1984 Bhopal Disaster. Leaked industrial vapours from the Union Carbide factory, belonging to Union
Carbide, Inc., U.S.A., killed more than 25,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to
600,000. The United Kingdom suffered its worst air pollution event when the December 4 Great Smog of
1952 formed over London. In six days more than 4,000 died, and 8,000 more died within the following
months. An accidental leak of anthrax spores from a biological warfare laboratory in the former USSR in
1979 near Sverdlovsk is believed to have been the cause of hundreds of civilian deaths.
Around the world, children living in cities with high exposure to air pollutants are at increased risk of
developing asthma, pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections. Because children are outdoors more
and have higher minute ventilation, they are more susceptible to the dangers of air pollution. Risks of low
initial birth weight are also heightened in such cities.
Environmental Effects
Poisonous air pollutants (toxic chemicals in the air) can form acid rain. It can also form dangerous ground
level ozone. These destroy trees, crops, farms, animals and continue to make water bodies harmful to
humans and animals that live and depend on water.
Economical Effects
The effect of air pollution on the economy may be a derived one. In simple language, the economy thrives
when people are healthy, and business that depends on cultivated raw materials and natural resources are
running at full efficiency. Air pollution reduces agricultural crop and commercial forest yields by billions of
money each year. This in addition to people staying off work for health reasons can costs the economy
greatly.

Control: Measures to reduce Air Pollution

Solution efforts on pollution are always a big problem. This is why prevention interventions are always a
better way of controlling air pollution. These prevention methods can either come from government (laws)
or by individual actions. In many big cities, monitoring equipments have been installed at many points in the
city. Authorities read them regularly to check the quality of air.

Government (or community) level prevention

 Governments throughout the world have already taken action against air pollution by introducing green
energy. Some governments are investing in wind energy and solar energy, as well as other renewable
energy, to minimize burning of fossil fuels, which cause heavy air pollution.  Governments are also
forcing companies to be more responsible with their manufacturing activities, so that even though they still
cause pollution, they are a lot controlled.  Companies are also building more energy efficient cars, which
pollute less than before.

Individual Level Prevention

 Encourage your family to use the bus, train or bike when commuting. If we all do this, there will be fewer
cars on road and less fumes.  Use energy (light, water, boiler, kettle and fire woods) wisely. This is
because lots of fossil fuels are burned to generate electricity, and so if we can cut down the use, we will also
cut down the amount of pollution we create.
 Recycle and re-use things. This will minimize the dependence of producing new things. Remember
manufacturing industries create a lot of pollution, so if we can re-use things like shopping plastic bags,
clothing, paper and bottles, it can help.

Control devices
The following items are commonly used as pollution control devices by industry or transportation devices.
They can either destroy contaminants or remove them from an exhaust stream before it is emitted into the
atmosphere.
 Mechanical collectors (dust cyclones, multi-cyclones)
 Electrostatic precipitators: An electrostatic precipitator (ESP), or electrostatic air cleaner is a particulate
collection device that removes particles from a flowing gas (such as air) using the force of an induced
electrostatic charge. Electrostatic precipitators are highly efficient filtration devices that minimally impede
the flow of gases through the device, and can easily remove fine particulates such as dust and smoke from
the air stream.  Bag houses: Designed to handle heavy dust loads, a dust collector consists of a blower,
dust filter, a filter-cleaning system, and a dust receptacle or dust removal system (distinguished from air
cleaners which utilize disposable filters to remove the dust).
 Particulate scrubbers: Wet scrubber is a form of pollution control technology. The term describes a
variety of devices that use pollutants from a furnace flue gas or from other gas streams. In a wet scrubber,
the polluted gas stream is brought into contact with the scrubbing liquid, by spraying it with the liquid, by
forcing it through a pool of liquid, or by some other contact method, so as to remove the pollutants.
Some Facts and Statistics about Air Pollution
 Air pollution affects kids more than adults due to higher concentrations of polluted air in their systems
per body size.  India is the country with the worst air quality in the world.  The European Union would
save 161 billion Euros a year if deaths caused by air pollution were diminished.  In large cities, over 80%
of fatal pollutants that cause lung damage come from cars, buses, motorcycles and other vehicles on the
road.  According to the World Health Organization, there are as many deaths (1.3 million per year) in the
world due to air pollution as there are deaths due to car accidents.
 The average adult breathes 3,000 gallons of air every day.  The Great Smog of London in 1952 was
one of the worst air pollution events in history with over 8,000 deaths.
 The largest cause of air pollution in Europe is road transportation with over 5,000 people dying each year
from lung cancer and heart attacks caused by vehicle exhaust fumes.

Conclusion
Air pollution can be prevented only if individuals and businesses stop using toxic substances that cause air
pollution in the first place. This would require the cessation of all fossil fuel-burning processes, from
industrial manufacturing to home use of air conditioners. This is an unlikely scenario at this time. However,
we have to make rules which set stringent regulations on industrial and power supply manufacturing and
handling. The regulations are to be designed to further reduce harmful emissions into the Earth's
atmosphere.