Name: _______________________________ Date: _________ 8A/B Ms. Katsoulas
How Air Pollution Affects Human Health
How is breathing on a smoggy day like breathing trash?
On a smoggy day, you're breathing garbage. No different from tossing trash out of a car
window with no intention of picking it up, we spew trash into the air as we drive, as
we heat our homes, and as we manufacture goods. Would we tolerate all this trash if it
were in our houses lying on the ground?
Smog Effects on Human Health
Human health suffers in locations with high levels of air pollution.
Pollutants and their Effects
Different pollutants have different health effects:
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Lead is the most common toxic material and is responsible for lead
poisoning.
Carbon monoxide can kill people in poorly ventilated spaces, such as
tunnels.
Nitrogen and sulfur-oxides cause lung disease and increased rates of
asthma, emphysema, and viral infections such as the flu.
Ozone damages the human respiratory system, causing lung disease.
High ozone levels are also associated with increased heart disease
and cancer.
Particulates enter the lungs and cause heart or lung disease. When
particulate levels are high, asthma attacks are more common. By some
estimates, 30,000 deaths a year in the United States are caused by fine
particle pollution.
Human Illnesses from Air Pollution
Many but not all cases of asthma can be linked to air pollution. During the 1996 Olympic
Games, Atlanta, Georgia, closed off their downtown to private vehicles. This action
decreased ozone levels by 28%. At the same time, there were 40% fewer hospital visits
for asthma. Can scientists conclude without a shadow of a doubt that the reduction in
ozone caused the reduction in hospital visits? What could they do to make that
determination?
Lung cancer among people who have never smoked is around 15% and is increasing. One
study showed that the risk of being afflicted with lung cancer increases directly with a
person’s exposure to air pollution ( Figure below ). The study concluded that no level of
air pollution should be considered safe. Exposure to smog also increased the risk of dying
from any cause, including heart disease.
A lung tumor is highlighted in this illustration.
One study found that in the United States, children develop asthma at more than twice the
rate of two decades ago and at four times the rate of children in Canada. Adults also
suffer from air pollution-related illnesses that include lung disease, heart disease,
lung cancer, and weakened immune systems. The asthma rate worldwide is rising 20% to
50% every decade.
Summary
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Pollutants emitted into the air cause lung and other diseases in humans.
Asthma, lung cancer, and other lung diseases are linked to air pollution.
Disease rates for air pollutant related diseases are rising.
Practice
Use this resource to answer the questions that follow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjpKnoHOu8M
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What is your body's first line of defense against air pollutants?
What happens when people breath in air pollutants?
Besides lung problems, what other types of problems can air pollutants
cause?
Which populations are most effected by air pollution?
Why is air population especially dangerous for infants and toddlers?
When does pollution affect everybody?
What else does poor air affect negatively?
Review
-Lung cancer is on the rise in people who've never smoked. To what might you
attribute this fact?
-What experiments have been done, deliberately or inadvertently, to test the
effects of air pollution on asthma?
-How might the increase in asthma be related to air pollution?
What is air pollution?
Air pollution (say: po-loo-shun) occurs when gases, dust particles,
fumes (or smoke) or odor are introduced into the atmosphere in a way
that makes it harmful to humans, animals and plant. This is because the
air becomes dirty (contaminated or unclean).
The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air (made up of various gases) called the
atmosphere. The atmosphere helps protect the Earth and allow life to exist.
Without it, we would be burned by the intense heat of the sun during the day or
frozen by the very low temperatures at night.
Any additional gas, particles or odors that are introduced into the air (either by
nature or human activity) to distort this natural balance and cause harm to living
things can be called air pollution
What causes 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. Pollution
from natural occurrences are not very often.
Human activities that result in air pollution include:
1. Emissions from industries and manufacturing activities
Consider a typical manufacturing plant: You will notice that there are long tubes
(called chimneys) erected high into the air, with lots of smoke and fumes coming
out of it. Waste incinerators, manufacturing industries and power plants emit
high levels of carbon monoxide, organic compounds, and chemicals into the air.
This happens almost everywhere that people live. Petroleum refineries also
release lots of hydrocarbons into the air.
2. Burning Fossil Fuels
After the industrial age, transportation has become a key part of our lives. Cars
and heavy duty trucks, trains, shipping vessels and airplanes all burn lots of
fossil fuels to work. Emissions from automobile engines contain both primary and
secondary pollutants. This is a major cause of pollution, and one that is very
difficult to manage. This is because humans rely heavily on vehicles and engines
for transporting people, good and services.
Fumes from car exhauts contain dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide,
oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and particulates. On their own, they cause
great harm to people who breath them. Additionally, they react with
environmental gases to create further toxic gases. Click here to see the effects
3. Household and Farming Chemicals
Crop dusting, fumigating homes, household cleaning products or painting
supplies, over the counter insect/pest killers, fertilizer dust emit harmful
chemicals into the air and cause pollution. In many case, when we use these
chemicals at home or offices with no or little ventilation, we may fall ill if we
breathe them.
What are the common air pollutants around?
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Fuel combustion from vehicles and engines.
Reduces the amount of oxygen reaching the body’s organs and tissues;
aggravates heart disease, resulting in chest pain and other symptoms.
Ground-level Ozone (O3)
Secondary pollutant formed by chemical reaction of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) and NOx in the presence of sunlight.
Decreases lung function and causes respiratory symptoms, such as coughing
and shortness of breath, and also makes asthma and other lung diseases get
worse. More on Ground Level Ozone Here
Lead (Pb)
Smelters (metal refineries) and other metal industries; combustion of leaded
gasoline in piston engine aircraft; waste incinerators (waste burners), and
battery manufacturing.
Damages the developing nervous system, resulting in IQ loss and impacts on
learning, memory, and behavior in children. Cardiovascular and renal effects in
adults and early effects related to anaemia.
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
Fuel combustion (electric utilities, big industrial boilers, vehicles) and wood
burning.
Worsens lung diseases leading to respiratory symptoms, increased
susceptibility to respiratory infection.
Particulate Matter (PM)
This is formed through chemical reactions, fuel combustion (e.g., burning
coal, wood, diesel), industrial processes, farming (plowing, field burning), and
unpaved roads or during road constructions.
Short-term exposures can worsen heart or lung diseases and cause
respiratory problems. Long-term exposures can cause heart or lung disease and
sometimes premature deaths.
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
SO2 comes from fuel combustion (especially high-sulfur coal); electric utilities
and industrial processes as well as natural occurances like volcanoes.
Aggravates asthma and makes breathing difficult. It also contributes to
particle formation with associated health effects
What are the effects of air pollution?
Below are a few key effects of air pollution. The last page on FactSheethas some
specific air pollution incidents that are worth checking out.
Acidification:
Chemical reactions involving air pollutants can create acidic compounds which
can cause harm to vegetation and buildings. Sometimes, when an air pollutant,
such as sulfuric acid combines with the water droplets that make up clouds, the
water droplets become acidic, forming acid rain. When acid rain falls over an
area, it can kill trees and harm animals, fish, and other wildlife.
Acid rain destroys the leaves of plants.
When acid rain infiltrates into soils, it changes the chemistry of the soil making it
unfit for many living things that rely on soil as a habitat or for nutrition. Acid rain
also changes the chemistry of the lakes and streams that the rainwater flows
into, harming fish and other aquatic life.
Eutrophication:
Rain can carry and deposit the Nitrogen in some pollutants on rivers and soils.
This will adversely affect the nutrients in the soil and water bodies. This can
result in algae growth in lakes and water bodies, and make conditions for other
living organism harmful.
Ground-level ozone:
Chemical reactions involving air pollutants create a poisonous gas ozone (O3).
Gas Ozone can affect people’s health and can damage vegetation types and
some animal life too.
Particulate matter:
Air pollutants can be in the form of particulate matter which can be very harmful
to our health. The level of effect usually depends on the length of time of
exposure, as well the kind and concentration of chemicals and particles exposed
to. Short-term effects include irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, and upper
respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Others include
headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Short-term air pollution can
aggravate the medical conditions of individuals with asthma and
emphysema. Long-term health effects can include chronic respiratory
disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver,
or kidneys. Continual exposure to air pollution affects the lungs of growing
children and may aggravate or complicate medical conditions in the elderly.
Air pollution prevention, monitoring and solution.
Solution efforts on pollution is 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 equipment have been installed at many
points in the city. Authorities read them regularly to check the quality of air.
Let's see more below:
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.
Car manufacturing 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 less 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.
Can air quality and air pollutants be monitored?
Yes. Click this image to see how it works and some examples.
Indoor Air Pollution
‘Indoor air’ is air within a building such as your home, classroom, office,
shopping center, hospital or gym. We say ‘Indoor Air Pollution’ if indoor air is
contaminated by smoke, chemicals, smells or particles.
Unlike outdoor air pollution, the effect of indoor air pollution is health related and
less of an environmental issue. In colder regions, building and heating methods
make use of airtight spaces, less ventilation and energy efficient heating.
Sometimes synthetic building materials, smells from household care and
furnishing chemicals can all be trapped indoors. As less fresh air gets indoors,
the concentration of pollutants such as pollen, tobacco smoke, mold, pesticides,
radon, asbestos and carbon monoxide trapped inside the building increases and
people breathe that in.
Did you know:
Around 3 billion people cook and heat their homes using open fires and leaky
stoves, and burning biomass (wood, animal dung and crop waste) and coal.
Nearly 2 million people die prematurely from illness attributable to indoor air
pollution from household solid fuel use.
Nearly 50% of pneumonia deaths among children under five are due to
particulate matter inhaled from indoor air pollution.
More than 1 million people a year die from chronic obstructive respiratory
disease (COPD) that develop due to exposure to such indoor air pollution.
Both women and men exposed to heavy indoor smoke are 2-3 times more
likely to develop COPD
Source: WHO: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs292/en/
Common indoor air pollutants include:
Tobacco smoke:
This is smoke burning cigarettes or exhaled smoke by people smoking.
Biological Pollutants:
These include allergens such as pollen from plants, hair from pets, fungi and
some bacteria.
Radon:
This is a gas that is naturally emitted from the ground. Radon can be trapped in
basements of building and homes. The gas is known to cause cancer after
exposure over a period.
Carbon Monoxide:
This is a poisonous gas with no color or smell. Carbon monoxide is produced
when fuels such as gas, oil, coal or wood do not burn fully
Basic Air Pollution Facts
Below are some random facts and info on environmental pollution.
Air pollutants (dangerous things that make the air unclean)come in the form
of gases or particles.
It is estimated that you breathe 20,000 liters of air each day. This means the
more polluted the air is, the more we breathe into our lungs dangerous
chemicals.
Air can be polluted both indoors and outdoors. Tobacco and other kinds of
smoking are examples of indoor air pollution.
Sick Building Syndrome is a health condition related to pesticides, insecticides
and chemicals we use at home and offices.
In the great "Smog Disaster" in London in 1952, four thousand people died in
a few days due to the high concentrations of pollution.
Click to read more:
Air pollution affects kids more than adults because, for their body size, kids
breathe more air and spend more time playing outside.
More hazardous pollutants are discharged into the air each year than are
released to surface water, ground water, and land, combined.
Motor vehicles produce more air pollution than any other single human
activity. One full commuter bus can mean 40 less cars going through your
neighborhood.
In America, vehicle exhaust contributes roughly 60% of all carbon monoxide
emissions nationwide, and up to 95% in cities
-Human Impacts on the Earth Environment
-Effects of Air Pollution
-Effects on the Environment
Particulates can reduces visibility and create smog.
Smog reduces the amount of sunlight that reaches the ground, altering the overall
temperature of an area.
Ozone also reduces plant productivity and kills plants that are sensitive to it, which
affects ecosystems.
Oxides such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur oxide create acids that lead to acid
rain. Acid rain damages plants and aquatic ecosystems.
Effects on Humans
Excessive amounts of lead can cause lead poisoning.
Carbon monoxide can be deadly in a poorly ventilated space. Oxides, ozone, and
particulates can cause lung cancer, asthma, heart disease, and other illnesses in humans.
Diseases from air pollutants are rising every year.
Concept Check
What are the effects of particulates on the environment? What causes acid rain? What
happens to the environment? What are some effects on health caused by pollutants?
Name: ________________________ Date: ________ Ms. Katsoulas
Four in 10 Americans Are Breathing Unhealthy Air. Are
You? (Photo: Getty Images)
Air pollution has been linked to a host of health issues, from
stroke to low birth weight, according to recent studies. And in the
American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2015 report, roughly four
in 10 U.S. residents live in counties where the ozone or particle
pollution has reached to unhealthy levels — news that may affect more
than 138.5 million.
The new report measures both areas of high particle pollution and high
ozone pollution. Tiny particle pollution carries risks like premature
death, asthma attacks and lung cancer. Ozone pollution near ground
levels bumps risk of hospital visits, wheezing and coughing, asthma
issues, heart attacks and even untimely death.
It’s not all bad news. Many cities have seen notable improvements,
especially the eastern half of the U.S. — a region that’s made air quality
a priority with cleaner power plants and diesel fleets. Thirteen of the 25
metropolitan areas with the worst year-round particle pollution levels
earned a “best year yet” badge, including Indianapolis and
Birmingham, AL.
On the flip side, the American Lung Association report says that
climate change is a factor in the rising risk of air pollution on human
health — especially out west, where high temperatures and drought
create the perfect conditions for particle pollution. Western areas, like
San Francisco and Visalia in California, have seen a record number of
days where those pollution levels were highest.
In terms of ozone pollution, the West also saw jumps in the average
number of high-pollution days — and overall, ozone improvement (or
lack thereof) was mixed. Across the nation, 12 of the worst areas saw an
increase in the number of high-pollution days, whereas 13 saw a drop