ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE

“AIR POLLUTION “

SUBMITTED TO: SIR. DEWEY Q. SANTOS

SUBMITTED BY: RUSH AIKEL M. DEMILLO

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. There are

many different types of air pollutants, such as gases (including ammonia,

carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, methane, carbon dioxide

and chlorofluorocarbons), particulates (both organic and inorganic), and

biological molecules. Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even

death to humans; it can also cause harm to other living organisms such as

animals and food crops, and may damage the natural environment (for

example, climate change, ozone depletion or habitat degradation) or built

environment (for example, acid rain). Air pollution can be caused by both

human activities and natural phenomena.

globally and accounts for an estimated 7 million premature deaths every

year. Air pollution and climate change are closely linked as all major

pollutants have an impact on the climate and most share common sources

with greenhouse gases. Improving our air quality will bring health,

development, and environmental benefits. Air pollution is a significant risk

factor for a number of pollution-related diseases, including respiratory

infections, heart disease, COPD, stroke and lung cancer. Growing evidence

suggests that air pollution exposure may be associated with reduced IQ

scores, impaired cognition, increased risk for psychiatric disorders such as

depression and detrimental perinatal health. 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, and the individual's health

status and genetics. Outdoor air pollution attributable to fossil fuel use alone
causes ~3.61 million deaths annually, making it one of the top contributors

to human death, with anthropogenic ozone and PM2.5 causing ~2.1 million.

Indoor air pollution and poor urban air quality are listed as two of the

world's worst toxic pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute

World's Worst Polluted Places report.

An article from the official site of the Natural Resources Defense

Council titled "Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know" quotes their

director, John Walke, saying that most air pollution comes from energy use

and production. Air pollution is framed as a destructive cycle by taking the

form of carbon dioxide and methane raises the earth's temperature and

thereby contributing to climate change.

only worsened with the rising temperature. Smog, or ground level ozone, is

when one combusts fossil fuels and reacts with heavy sunlight. Soot is a

byproduct of the combustion of fossil fuels, it consists of chemicals, soils,

smoke, dust and or allergens that takes the form of either gas or solids that

are carried in the air. Smog and soot primarily come from engines, be it from

vehicles, power plants or anything of the like.

Air Pollution– Earlier the air we breathe in use to be pure and fresh.

But, due to increasing industrialization and concentration of poisonous gases

in the environment the air is getting more and more toxic day by day. Also,

these gases are the cause of many respiratory and other diseases. Moreover,

the rapidly increasing human activities like the burning of fossil fuels,

deforestation is the major cause of air pollution. The fossil fuel, firewood,

and other things that we burn produce oxides of carbons which got released

into the atmosphere. Earlier there happens to be a large number of trees

which can easily filter the air we breathe in. But with the increase in demand

for land, the people started cutting down of trees which caused deforestation.

That ultimately reduced the filtering capacity of the tree.

Moreover, during the last few decades, the numbers of fossil fuel

burning vehicle increased rapidly which increased the number of pollutants

in the air. Its causes include burning of fossil fuel and firewood, smoke

released from factories, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, bombardment,

Besides, there are some other air pollutants like industrial waste, agricultural

waste, power plants, thermal nuclear plants, etc.

The greenhouse effect is also the cause of air pollution because air

pollution produces the gases that greenhouse involves. Besides, it increases

the temperature of earth surface so much that the polar caps are melting and

most of the UV rays are easily penetrating the surface of the earth. Effects

Of Air Pollution On Health The air pollution has many bad effects on the

health of people. It is the cause of many skins and respiratory disorder in

human beings. Also, it causes heart disease too.

Air pollution causes asthma, bronchitis, and many other diseases.

Moreover, it increases the rate of aging of lungs, decreases lung’s function,

damage cells in the respiratory system. Although the level of air pollution

has reached a critical point. But, there are still ways by which we can reduce

the number of air pollutants from the air.

Air pollution is very important topic for those interested in studying

the environment because of its importance and the damage caused by it to

human, animal and plant life. This research addresses the concept of air

pollution, its causes, and its danger, and sheds light on the influence of

climate elements on environmental pollution and the effect of temperature,

rain, humidity, wind direction and speed, and atmospheric pressure on the

increase or decrease of air pollution. This research discusses the sources of

air pollution, including natural ones, including dust, smoke resulting from

fires, erupting volcanoes, and others, including those resulting from human

uses such as the use of fuel and others. The research addressed the damages

caused by the emission of gases in its various sources. This research work

discusses the types of air pollutants and methods of measuring them, as well

as the sources and causes of indoor air pollution.

pollution due to the escalation of toxic gases that cause serious diseases to

humans and other living organisms. The research deals with ways to reduce

air pollution, most notably the search for an alternative source of energy,

improving vehicle engines, agriculture and increasing green spaces.

Reforestation- The quality of air can be improved by planting more and

more trees as they clean and filter the air.

Policy for industries- Strict policy for industries related to the filter of gases

should be introduced in the countries. So, we can minimize the toxins

released from factories.

Use of eco-friendly fuel- We have to adopt the usage of Eco-friendly

fuels such as LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas), CNG (Compressed Natural

Gas), bio-gas, and other eco-friendly fuels. So, we can reduce the amount of

harmful toxic gases. To sum it up, we can say that the air we breathe is

getting more and more polluted day by day. The biggest contribution to the

increase in air pollution is of fossil fuels which produce nitric and

Sulfuric oxides. But humans have taken this problem seriously and are

devotedly working to eradicate the problem that ey have created. Above all,

many initiatives like trees, use of eco-friendly fuel are promoted worldwide.