Air Pollution And Effects On Human Health – Pollution is hard to escape, no matter where you live. Indoor and outdoor pollutants have spread to every corner of the world. As levels continue to rise, more people begin to notice negative health effects. A closer look at six major air pollutants reveals just how harmful pollution can be. Here are the effects of air pollution on human health.

Solids include all airborne pollutant particles, many of which are hazardous to human health. Researchers have repeatedly noted a direct association between PM and the progression of lung and heart disease. However, fine particles – or PM 2.5 – can be even more harmful to human health as they can travel to the deepest parts of the lungs and even the blood.

Air Pollution And Effects On Human Health

Exposure to PM 2.5 can cause short-term health effects, including irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, which can lead to coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath. Prolonged exposure will cause more serious consequences. Those who already suffer from asthma and heart disease are likely to see their conditions worsen. Meanwhile, healthy individuals can also develop chronic heart and lung disease or cancer, which can cause premature death.

What Is Ground Level Ozone?

Carbon-containing fuels such as wood, natural gas, oil and coal produce carbon monoxide during combustion. Before the industrial revolution, CO was not a problem. Now cars and power plants generate so much carbon that the planet is warming and people are suffocating. In the United States, transportation alone accounts for nearly 30% of these emissions, making it America’s largest source of CO.

Inhaling high concentrations of carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream, which can cause a number of serious health effects. Headaches, chest pain, decreased reaction time, dizziness, unconsciousness, and even death are common side effects of CO poisoning. Very high CO levels are unlikely outdoors. However, even small amounts can cause serious problems in people with heart disease and other pre-existing health conditions.

When conditions are right, sunlight reacts with pollutants such as carbon monoxide and other vehicle emissions to form ozone. Ozone concentrations are higher at ground level and are a significant factor in causing and aggravating asthma. This gaseous pollutant can also cause wheezing and coughing and increase the risk of respiratory infections and pneumonia.

In the past few years, researchers have also discovered that breathing in ozone can be deadly. Short-term and chronic exposure can damage the central nervous system and cause reproductive and developmental complications. In some cases, ozone has even caused heart attacks, strokes and congestive heart failure. All these health problems can lead to early death.

Solution: Human Health Effects Of Pollution

Burning fuel can also release nitrogen oxide. This pollutant often comes from emissions from cars, trucks, buses, power plants, and commercial equipment. Breathing air with high concentrations of NO2 can irritate the respiratory system and cause coughing, wheezing and breathing problems. Long-term exposure can also increase your likelihood of developing asthma and contracting respiratory infections.

Sometimes NO2 and other oxides such as nitric acid and nitric acid interact with water, oxygen and other chemicals to form acid rain. While walking through acid rain may not cause bodily harm, inhaling nitrogen oxide particles as the liquid evaporates is likely to affect heart and lung function, especially in those who already have asthma.

Marine engines, diesel equipment, smelting, metal extraction and coal emit sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. Natural volcanic activity also accounts for a large amount of SO2 emissions. However, regardless of where this pollutant comes from, it can be harmful to human health, especially during physical activity.

Symptoms resulting from inhaling too much SO2 include throat irritation, coughing and pain on deep inhalation. High concentrations can also affect lung function and worsen asthma attacks and other similar conditions. People with lung disease, the elderly, active people and young children are at greater risk from SO2.

Tracking Air Pollution

Most people think of lead as a physical element. However, this toxic metal can also end up in the air. Nationally, major sources of lead pollution include ore and metal processing and piston-engine aircraft that rely on leaded fuel for flight. However, incinerators and lead battery manufacturers also produce a fair amount of lead emissions.

After lead is inhaled, the material will travel into the bloodstream and accumulate in the bones. Depending on the concentration level, exposure to lead can adversely affect the nervous, immune, reproductive and cardiovascular systems. Like carbon monoxide, lead also robs the blood of oxygen, which can lead to neurological damage, especially in children.

The Environmental Protection Agency, state officials and the national government have already taken steps to reduce air pollution. From reducing energy use to regulating carbon emissions, America is continuously fighting for cleaner air.

However, you can also do your part by minimizing your carbon footprint. Bike to work, shop local, cut waste and do whatever you can to help everyone breathe easier. The planet – and everyone on it – will thank you.

What Are Pm2.5 And Pm10? How They Affect You And Solutions

Starting from early childhood, Jane Marsh loved all animals and became a novelty. Now, Jane serves as Editor-in-Chief where she covers topics related to climate policy, renewable energy, the food industry and more.

We use cookies to ensure we provide you with the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site, we will assume that you are satisfied with it. Ok Privacy Policy The immediate effects of air pollution are hard to ignore. Watery eyes, coughing and shortness of breath are acute and common reactions.

An estimated 92 percent of the world’s population lives in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution and, even at seemingly imperceptible levels, air pollution can increase one’s risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death.

Air pollution is almost as deadly as tobacco. In 2016, it was linked to the deaths of 6.1 million people, according to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Plastics And Human Health

Exposure to high levels of air pollution during pregnancy has been linked to miscarriages, as well as premature birth, autism spectrum disorder and asthma in children.

Air pollution can damage children’s brain development, and pneumonia, which kills nearly a million children under 5 each year, has been linked to air pollution. Children who breathe in higher levels of pollutants also face a higher risk of short-term respiratory infections and lung damage.

Other conditions linked to high levels of air pollution include emphysema and chronic bronchitis, as well as lung cancer.

Pollutants can affect cardiovascular health by hardening the arteries and increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, and there is even emerging evidence that air pollution may be linked to mental health conditions and degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and schizophrenia.

How Air Pollution Affects The Central Nervous System Over Time

While the link of air pollution to respiratory disease may seem obvious, its relationship to heart, brain and fetal health is less so. There are at least two possible mechanisms by which air pollution can harm parts of the body other than the nasal cavity and lungs, said Anthony Gerber, a pulmonologist at National Jewish Health in Denver.

The first relates to inflammation, which is how the body repairs itself after injury or illness.

When the toxic soup of chemical particles and liquid droplets emitted by cars, power plants, fires and factories known as particulate matter is inhaled, the microscopic toxic dust can irritate the nasal passages and result in an allergic-type response to pollution, with symptoms such as coughing and a runny nose.

Scientists believe that as the particles make their way deeper into the airways and lungs, the body may mistake them for infection, triggering an inflammatory response.

Systematic Diagram For Understanding The Effects Of The Household Air…

“When you have a bad cold, you’re sick all over and your muscles might hurt,” Gerber said. “The same thing can happen when you breathe in pollution.”

Scientists believe there is strong evidence to suggest that high levels of air pollution adversely affect health. And a growing body of correlative studies has shown that when people move to cleaner regions or when air pollution levels decrease, health outcomes improve, says Carrie Bratton, an environmental health researcher at the University of Southern California School of Medicine.

USC’s Child Health Study looked at the long-term effects of air pollution on children over the past 25 years and found that children who moved to areas with lower levels of pollution had improved growth and lung performance. Similarly, scientists found that as air pollution levels in Southern California dropped, so did rates of bronchitis like cough, congestion and phlegm. Long-term lung function in children has also improved over the past 20 years as air pollution rates in the Los Angeles basin have declined.

“When you start to see a lot of different studies in different places in the world … showing similar results, the body of evidence makes it more and more credible,” Breton said.

Facts About Air Pollution

Although randomized controlled trials on outdoor air pollution are rare, they do exist. A recent experiment by researchers in London asked people to walk for two hours along busy Oxford Street or in Hyde Park. They discovered that health benefits had been revoked

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