Air refers to fluid found in the atmosphere. Air is an invisible, odorless and tasteless gas mixture found in the earth’s atmosphere. These characteristics of air enable it to mix with other compounds released to the atmosphere which have almost similar characteristics, but dangerous to human health. These compounds are referred to as pollutants. Therefore, air pollution can be defined as the introduction of foreign compounds other than the compounds that make up the air. Such compounds include gaseous chemicals in the form of gas or particulate in nature that cause harm to human health or other living organisms. These contaminants can also cause harm to the natural environment in the earth’s atmosphere (Liu and Lipták, p. 43).
The effects of air pollution on human health and the environment are detrimental and widespread. This is because every average person is supposed to take approximately 14 kg of air. This means that every time human beings breathe the air in the atmosphere they are prone to inhaling dangerous gaseous compounds. These poisonous compounds find their way in the human respiratory system, and this can have a great impact to the human body system. This also causes discomfort to most of the living things. People have the assumption that air pollution can only be found in places near industries or factories. This is because such companies and industries are known to the release carbon monoxide and Sulphur dioxide among other poisonous compounds. Though it is true that air pollution is likely to be prevalent in areas near such industries, one cannot dispute the fact that air pollution is not limited too such areas. Air pollution is found everywhere, both in doors and outdoors. Therefore, people should be warned and educated on the aspects that lead to air pollution and how to prevent the occurrence of the same (Liu and Lipták, p. 46).
There are different air pollutants released to the atmosphere. This causes a discomfort to the living things, and it negatively impacts on their health. The substances released to the atmosphere in their natural state are called primary pollutants. These are gases like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, dust, fumes from various reactions, or bad odors. These substances undergo certain reactions when they mix with other compounds in the atmosphere to form the secondary compounds (Owen, p. 43).
Causes of air pollution
Air pollution is caused by various pollutants that are released to the atmosphere. These pollutants may be released either naturally or by human beings. There are different kinds of pollutants, some of which are visible, whereas others cannot be seen by the naked human eye. Nonetheless, any foreign substance that is introduced to the atmosphere is referred to as a pollutant. There are various causes of air pollution. Carbon dioxide released from green houses contributes to global warming. This is one of the numerous air pollutants. This causes discomfort to the living things due to changes in the environmental conditions engineered by the global warming aspect. Carbon dioxide is also released by automobiles and power plants. This results from the combustion of fuel and burning of fossils like the natural gas and gasoline compounds. This increases carbon dioxide levels thus contaminating the air that living things breathe. Chlorofluorocarbons also form a greenhouse gas. This gas is a major contributor to global warming that is being experienced in the world today. This gas also depletes the ozone layer.
Sulfur dioxide, a major component of smog usually released from industries and factories, is another major pollutant. It is a very dangerous gas as it pollutes the air, and can also cause water pollution because it mixes with rain to form acid rain. Acidic rain causes corrosion to buildings, and it is harmful to both human and plant health. Apart from industries, volcanic eruptions also release massive amounts of sulfur dioxide that is harmful to human health. Another major cause of pollution is methane that is released from decomposition of organic matter in swampy areas. This gas has a great impact on human health because of the bad odor. Nitrogen oxides, forest fires, and natural radio activity are other causes of air pollution.
Lead compounds, which come from reactions of lead or lead combustion, is another air pollutant. Lead pollution can also come from waste incineration and house renovations. Lead pollutants are detrimental to human health as such pollutants can lead to the damage of the nervous system. Hydro carbons, when burned normally, produce gases that dissolve in the atmosphere hence polluting the environment. These gases are detrimental to human health as they combine with atmospheric gases to form complex compounds that can affect the respiratory system. Ozone (O3) is also another cause of air pollution. This compound is formed by complex reactions of chemicals and other forms of hydro carbons. When these compounds are formed, they affect the natural environment like the plants, animals, as well as buildings (Harrison, p.169).
Effects of air pollution on human health and the environment
Effect on human health
Air pollution can have a great effect on human health, which can both be long term and short term depending on the source of the air pollutant. The severity of the effect that air pollutants have on human health depends on various aspects. It can depend on the concentration and the mixture of the pollutant; the duration of the pollutant exposure to the atmosphere; and the source of pollutant. Some pollutants may not cause serious effects on human health, while others can be very serious to a point of causing death. Air pollution can have adverse effects to the body system. Nevertheless, the severity of pollutants in the body depends on the part of the body system that has been affected. There are various effects on human health, which have been discussed below.
Human respiratory system: Air pollutants can have serious impacts on the human respiratory system. This is because the health safety of the entire respiratory system depends on the quality of the gas that is inhaled in to the lungs. Human beings inhale Oxygen gas from the atmosphere to facilitate the respiration process in the body. However, if the atmosphere is polluted, this gas is inhaled together with the pollutants into the respiratory system. The inhaled substances are likely to cause malfunctioning that may lead to health complications. This is because the respiratory system is sensitive to any pollutant that could be in the air. Air pollutants like ozone, carbon monoxide, and other free metals released to the atmosphere may damage lung tissue cells, alveoli, and air sacs. These are the tissues where gaseous exchange occurs, and if they are affected, this may cause malfunctioning of the lungs. This can easily lead to death if not well addressed. Research has indicated that human beings can only stay for five minutes without fresh air; any time longer than this can lead to death (Gurjar, p.109).
Heart and lung diseases: Air pollutants, if not addressed, can be a major cause of heart diseases common in human beings. For example, if carbon monoxide is inhaled into the respiratory system, it mixes with hemoglobin in the blood system hence forming an unstable and complex compound called carboxyhaemoglobin. This unstable compound stops the normal respiration because it blocks the blood vessels and lessens the amount of oxygen that enters the blood system. This can cause diseases like hypertension. Pneumonia and bronchitis are also diseases arising from pollution of the atmosphere. In addition, exposure to air pollutants may lead to respiratory diseases like lung cancer and other complicated heart diseases (Friis, p. 258). The other effects on human health that may arise due to air pollution include eye irritation due to smoke and other gaseous substances released to the atmosphere; nose and throat irritation; severe headaches; and allergic reactions.
Effects to the environment
Apart from adverse effects on human health, air pollution negatively impacts on the environment in various ways. Acid rain, from reaction of oxides of Sulphur and Nitrogen with rain, has an adverse effect to the environment. When these oxides combine with rain water in the atmosphere, they form compounds of their acids that are harmful to the environment. Acid rain falls to the earth as precipitation mixing with soils to form acidic soils. Acidic soils cannot support plants and/or crops. This poses a great danger to the environment hence leading to adverse effects like soil erosion due to lack of vegetation. Dry precipitation is in the form of gaseous compounds sinking into the soils, whereas wet precipitation comes in the form of rain or water. This acid rain falls on trees damaging them hence leading to destruction of forests. When the rain water from acidic rain is carried to water bodies, it makes them unsuitable for aquatic life.
Depletion of the ozone layer: Ozone layer is a gas found in the upper part of the earth’s atmosphere. The ozone layer reflects harmful sunlight rays hence protecting human health from adverse heating effects. Air pollutants released to the atmosphere deplete the ozone layer, making it non functional. Some of the compounds causing ozone depletion include chlorofluorocarbons. Depleted ozone causes direct sunlight to hit the earth’s surface hence destroys the plants and trees.
Climate changes: This is caused by accumulation of gases in the atmosphere hence increased global warming. These gases include excess carbon dioxide and methane gas. This causes rise in temperature, which has a significant impact on plant and animal life.
Eutrophication: This refers to high concentrations of nutrients like nitrogen in water bodies that stimulate algae formation hence causing great danger and threat to aquatic life. This process naturally occurs in water bodies during the aging process. However, the addition of air pollutants accelerates this process when nutrients are increased. Examples of these pollutants include oxides of nitrogen, which increases the amount of nitrogen that enters the aquatic ecosystems (Steyn and Rao, p. 521).
Air pollution effects to wildlife: Wildlife is affected by air pollutants. Any toxic compound formed due to air pollution has direct impacts on wildlife in several ways. The wildlife experience health difficulties if they are exposed to these pollutants for a long time.
Crop and forest damage: Air pollution harms crops in several ways. The ozone, which appears on the lower part of the atmosphere as ground ozone, causes reduced growth by reducing survival chances to plants and forest trees. In addition, when acid rain is released from the atmosphere, it damages plants and crops. Also, when acidic rains fall directly to the soil, it leads to the formation of acidic soil that cannot support plant growth.
Works Cited
Friis, Robert H. Essentials of Environmental Health. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2012. Print.
Gurjar, Bhola R. Air Pollution: Health and Environmental Impacts. USA: CRC press, 2010. Print.
Harrison, Roy M. Pollution: Causes, Effects and Control. Cambridge: Royal Soc. of Chemistry, 2001. Print.
Liu, David H. F. and Béla G. Lipták. Air Pollution. London: Vhapman & Hall, 1999. Print.
Owen, Harrop. Air quality assessment and management: a practical guide. New York: Spon press. 2002. Print.
Steyn, Douw G, and Trivikrama Rao. Air Pollution Modeling and Its Application Xx. Dordrecht: Springer Verlag, 2010. Print.