Air pollution is a known environmental health hazard. We know what we see when brown smog envelops cities, exhaust smoke billows over busy highways, and smoke rises from chimneys. Some air pollutants are invisible to the naked eye, but their pungent odor alerts us.
When national air quality standards were introduced in the 1970s, air pollution was viewed primarily as a respiratory hazard. Over the next decades, as research on air pollution progressed, public health concerns grew to include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, reproductive, neurological and immune system disorders, and cancer. In 2013, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified air pollution as carcinogenic to humans.
NIEHS has been a leader in air pollution research for more than 50 years. The institute continues to fund and study how air pollution affects health and which populations are most affected.
What is air pollution?
Air pollution is a mixture of harmful substances from both anthropogenic and natural sources. Some harmful substances are released naturally into the atmosphere, such as ash and gases from volcanic eruptions. Other emissions can be caused by both human and natural activities, such as smoke from forest fires, often caused by humans, and methane from the decomposition of organic matter from soils and animal pastures.
The main sources of human air pollution are automobile exhaust, fuel oil and natural gas for home heating, by-products from manufacturing and power generation, especially coal-fired power plants, and exhaust from chemical production.
TRAP And Its Components
Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) from automobile exhaust contains most of the elements common to all air pollutants, including various forms of carbon, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, particulate matter, and ground-level ozone are included.
Harmful gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur oxides (SOx) are components of automobile exhaust and by-products of industrial processes. Particulate matter (PM), which includes chemicals such as sulphates, nitrates, carbon and mineral dust, is produced when fossil fuels and organic materials are burned.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are released when fossil fuels are burned and from craft materials like paints, detergents, pesticides, and even glues.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic compounds released during combustion, power generation, and some manufacturing processes. PAHs are also found in fine dust particles.
Ozone, an atmospheric gas, is produced when pollutants from cars, power plants, refineries, and other sources react chemically in the presence of sunlight. it’s called smog
Health Effects Of Air Pollution
Particulate matter (PM 2.5) is 30 times finer than a human hair and can be inhaled deep into the lung tissue. It is responsible for most of the health effects3 of air pollution in the United States. Other important factors and outcomes are:
Respiratory Disease
Air pollution can affect lung development and is linked to emphysema, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). PM and nitric oxide are associated with chronic bronchitis.
Cardiovascular Disease
Air pollution can stress the heart and cardiovascular system in several ways. PM 2.5 can impair the function of blood vessels8 and promote atherosclerosis. Researchers also found that:
Daily short-term exposure to nitric oxide may increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke in postmenopausal women.
• Some studies of older Americans have found that exposure to TRAPs may decrease levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as good cholesterol, which may increase the Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease.
Cancer
Many cancers are linked to air pollution. Researchers have found that occupational exposure to benzene, an industrial chemical and component of gasoline, can cause leukemia and is linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
A long-term study from 2000 to 2016 found an association between lung cancer incidence and increased reliance on coal for energy production.
The risk of developing breast cancer from air pollution is of particular concern: a study of more than 57,000 women found that living near major roads may increase women’s risk of breast cancer.
Who is most affected by air pollution? Pregnant women and children Air pollution has many adverse effects on pregnant women and their unborn babies.
Prenatal exposure to PAHs has been linked to several prenatal and childhood neurological problems, including: B. Effects on brain development, slow processing speed and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- Prenatal exposure to particulate matter has been linked to low birth weight.
Women exposed to high levels of PM 2.5 during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, may be twice as likely to give birth to a child with autism.
Exposure to PM 2.5 during the second and third trimester may increase the chances of these children developing high blood pressure at an early age. In California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, women exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide, nitric oxide or nitrogen dioxide during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy were more likely to have babies with neural tube defects.Older Adult
In older adults, long-term exposure to TRAPs can lead to significant progression in physical disability24. The risk is more pronounced among minorities and low-income people. PM 2.5 has been linked to accelerated memory loss and Alzheimer’s-like brain decline in women over 65–25.
Rural Resident
Many people believe that air pollution is an urban problem. However, residents of rural areas, especially agricultural areas, are also exposed to health risks from air pollution. Research funded by NIEHS found that PM 2.5 concentrations in rural Washington State were comparable to those in urban Seattle, leading to increased asthma symptoms (e.g., wheezing, night waking, and activity limitations) in rural children26.
Large-scale animal feeding operations can affect local air quality through emissions of pollutants such as ammonia gas27 and methane. One study found more severe lung function problems in children with asthma in such areas.
NIEHS And Community Engagement
NIEHS has a long history of direct community engagement, including working closely with Native Americans to identify sources and impacts of pollution on tribal lands, understanding environmental justice issues in urban centers, and conducting critical air pollution surveys. Citizen science involves efforts to improve the quality of information and improve data. As part of these efforts, researchers have found that:
Inhaling dust from active and abandoned mining operations reduces lung function. 28 NIEHS grantees address health threats to underserved communities, such as Native Americans in the West, through culturally appropriate health communication.
NIEHS is also helping residents of Imperial County, California, track air pollution through a network of 40 community-run monitors. In this county, long-term improvements in air quality were associated with significant improvements in children’s lung function.
• Community-level strategies30 can also help reduce exposure to TRAPs: • Use of high-efficiency particulate filters (HEPA). • Creation of land-use buffers and vegetation barriers. • Improving urban design with gardens, parks and street trees. Create active transportation opportunities such as biking and hiking trails.
Why Is It Important To Improve Air Quality
Success stories for cleaning up the air show that these efforts are beneficial to public health.
In children in Southern California, reductions in ambient nitrogen dioxide and PM 2.5 were associated with fewer cases of asthma.
In the Los Angeles area, lower levels of pollution led to fewer bronchitis symptoms.
When fossil fuel power plants are closed, nearby air pollution is reduced. One study found that within 5 kilometers of closed coal and oil power plants, the number of premature births decreased. A study funded by NIEHS found that a mixture of several B vitamins could protect DNA34 from changes caused by PM 2.5 air pollution.
Read Also:
- Environmental Pollution: Causes, Effects, Solutions
- Environmental Pollution: Causes and Prevention
- Effects Of Environmental Pollution
- Causes Of Environmental Pollution
- Environmental Pollution
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