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What Is Air
Pollution?
Definition, Facts, and Environmental Risks
By Larry West
The term "air pollution" is used so commonly that you may
not think definitions are necessary. But the issue is more complicated than it
first appears.
Ask most people to define air pollution, and their first response is
to describe smog, the smelly stuff that turns the air
brown or gray and hovers over urban centers like Los Angeles, Mexico City, and
Beijing.
Even here, though, definitions vary.
Some sources define smog as the presence of unnatural levels of
ground-level ozone, while other sources say things like
"fog mixed with smoke."
A more modern and precise definition is "a photochemical haze
caused by the action of solar ultraviolet radiation on atmosphere polluted with
hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen especially from automobile exhaust."
Officially, air pollution can be defined as the presence of harmful
substances in the air, either particulates or microscopic biologic molecules,
that pose health hazards to living organisms, such as people, animals or
plants.
Air pollution comes in many forms and may include a number of
different pollutants and toxins in various combinations.
Air pollution is far more than a nuisance or inconvenience.
According to the World Health Organization, air pollution
causes the deaths of approximately 4.2 million people annually worldwide.
What Constitutes Air Pollution?
The two most widespread types of air pollution are
the ozone and particle pollution (soot), but air pollution also may
include serious pollutants such as carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, and
sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and toxins
such as mercury, arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde, and acid gases.
Most of these pollutants are man-made, but some air pollution is due
to natural causes, such as ash from volcanic eruptions.
The specific composition of air pollution in a particular location
depends primarily on the source or sources of pollution.
Automobile exhaust, coal-fired power plants, industrial factories, and
other pollution sources all spew different types of pollutants and toxins into
the air.
While we think of air pollution as a condition describing outside air,
the air quality within your home is equally important.
Cooking vapors, carbon monoxide from heating appliances, off-gassing of
formaldehyde and other chemicals from furniture and construction materials, and
secondhand tobacco smoke are all potentially dangerous forms of indoor air
pollution.
Air Pollution and Your Health
Air pollution hovers at unhealthy levels in almost every major U.S.
city, interfering with people’s ability to breathe, causing or aggravating many
serious health conditions, and placing lives at risk.
Many cities worldwide face the same issues, especially in so-called
emerging economies such as China and India, where cleaner technologies are not
yet in standard usage.
Breathing ozone, particle pollution or other types of air pollution
can seriously damage your health.
Inhaling ozone can irritate your lungs, "resulting in something
like a bad sunburn within the lungs," according to the American Lung
Association. Breathing particle pollution (soot) can increase your risk of
heart attack, stroke and early death, and it may necessitate emergency-room
visits for people with asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
A great many cancers are traced to chemical air pollutants.
Air pollution is also a problem in developing countries that are not yet fully
industrialized.
More than half the world's population still cook their meals with
wood, dung, coal or other solid fuels over open fires or on primitive stoves
inside their homes, breathing high levels of pollutants such as particulate
pollution and carbon monoxide, which results in 1.5 million unnecessary deaths
every year.
Who Is Most at Risk?
The health risks of air pollution are greatest among infants and young
children, older adults and people with respiratory diseases such as asthma.
People who work or exercise outside also face increased health risks
from the effects of air pollution, along with people who live or work near busy
highways, factories or power plants.
In addition, minorities and people with low incomes are often
disproportionately affected by air pollution because of where they live, which
places them at higher risk for illnesses related to air pollution.
Low-income populations often live near industrial or inner-city zones
where factories, utilities, and other industrial sources may create unusually
high levels of air pollution.
Air Pollution and the Health of the Planet
If air pollution affects humans, it of course also may also have an
impact on animals and plant life.
Many animal species are threatened by high levels of air pollution,
and weather conditions created by air pollution affect both animal and plant
life.
For example, acid rain caused by the burning of fossil fuels has radically changed the
nature of forests in the U.S. Northeast, upper Midwest, and Northwest.
And it is now indisputable that air pollution causes shifts in global
weather patterns — the raising of global temperatures, the melting of
polar ice sheets and the coming rise in ocean water levels.
How Can Air Pollution Be Reduced?
The evidence is clear that our personal choices and industrial
practices can affect the levels of air pollution.
Cleaner industrial technologies are shown to lower air pollution
levels, and it can be demonstrated that anytime more primitive industrial practices
increase, so do levels of dangerous air pollution.
Here are some of the obvious ways that humans can, and have reduced
air pollution:
o Reduction of fossil fuel burning in favor of renewable energy sources.
Nations that obtain their electrical power from nuclear, hydroelectric, solar
and wind power have lower pollution levels than
those that favor the burning of coal or natural gas.
o Improved gas mileage in automobiles and the introduction of
electric-powered vehicles. California, for example, once plagued with dangerous
smog, has greatly improved its air quality through tight controls on
automobile emissions standards. Similarly, reduction in
the use of other internal combustion engines can reduce air pollution. The
shift to battery-operated or electric lawn mowers and lawn equipment, for
example, has a demonstrable effect on air quality.
o Reduction in agricultural burning — the method of
clearing forested areas for agriculture — can reduce the level of smoke and
carbon dioxide in the air. This is a particular problem in developing
countries.
o Reducing wood burning can also reduce levels of smoke in the air. In
some communities, wood fireplaces are now outlawed, greatly reducing dangerous
levels of smoke in the air. Gas fireplaces are better than wood-burners, and
even better are electric fireplaces that burn no fuels at all.
o Indoor air quality is improved when tobacco smoking is restricted by ordinance.
Citizen pressure to restrict smoking in public places has a real effect on air
quality.
o Reduction of chemical compounds in paints, adhesives, and solvents has
improved the quality of indoor and outdoor air. Always look for low VOC
materials for home improvements, and where practical, opt for water-based
rather than solvent-based paints and other materials. Look for carpets,
fabrics, and furniture that don't off-gas dangerous fumes.
Controlling pollution is possible, but it requires the individual and
political will to do so, and these efforts must constantly be balanced with
economic realities, as green technologies are often more expensive, especially
when they are first introduced.
Such choices are in the hands of each individual: for example, do you
buy a cheap but dirty automobile or an expensive electric car?
Or are jobs for coal miners more important than clean air?
These complex questions are not easily answered by individuals or
governments, but they are questions that should be considered and debated with
eyes open to the real effects of air pollution.
Larry West
Environmental Journalist
Education
B.A., Journalism and Creative Writing,
University of Washington
Introduction
Environmental journalist with 20+ years of
experience
Winner, Edward J. Meeman Award for
Environmental Reporting
Writer and editor for Go West Strategic
Communications since 2002
Experience
Larry West is a former writer for ThoughtCo
who contributed articles for five years. He is a principal and professional
writer and editor for Go West Strategic Communications. He has written about
environmental issues for leading newspapers, magazines, and online
publications.
During his 20-year career in newspapers,
Larry was part of an investigative team whose work was a finalist for the
Pulitzer Prize. He also received the Meeman Award for national
environmental reporting from the Scripps Howard Foundation. Later, Larry served
as press secretary and deputy chief of staff for a U.S. Representative and
served as communications director for a U.S. Senator. He also managed public
affairs for organizations including the Federal Aviation Administration, a
global technology company, and one of the largest ports in the United States.
In each of those positions, Larry was involved in environmental strategy,
policy, and communications.
Education
Larry studied journalism and creative writing
at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. He also taught research
and writing courses in continuing education programs at the University of
Washington and the University of Alaska.
Awards and Publications
While working as a journalist for "The
Seattle Times," Larry's work was awarded the Edward J. Meeman Award
for Environmental Reporting by Scripps Howard, and a finalist for the Pulitzer
Prize.
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