Introduction to air pollution.

What is air pollution?

Air pollution occurs when gases, dust particles, fumes (or smoke) or odour 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.

There are two types of pollutants:
Primary pollutants are those gases or particles that are pumped into the air to make it unclean. They include carbon monoxide from automobile (cars) exhausts and sulfur dioxide from the combustion of coal.

Secondary pollutants: When pollutants in the air mix up in a chemical reaction, they form an even more dangerous chemical. Photochemical smog is an example of this, and is a secondary pollutant.


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AIR POLLUTION

Air Pollution

Air pollution refers to the discharge of harmful gases and dust into the atmosphere. When these harmful substances enter the air around us, they may cause irreversible damage to humans and to our environment.

Some of the main air pollutants are:

• Sulphur dioxide (SO₂)
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Ozone (O₃)
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)

So, what about those gases?

SULPHUR DIOXIDE

Responsible for acid rain.

CARBON MONOXIDE

Enters the blood stream and reduces the delivery of oxygen to the body's organs and tissues.
Elevated levels of CO may result in impairment of visual perception, work capacity, manual dexterity, learning ability and performance of complex tasks.

OZONE

Damage to lung tissues and reduces lung functioning.
Reduces agricultural crop yield; causes foliar damage in many crops and trees.

NITROGEN DIOXIDE

Contributes to acid rain.
Irritates lungs and lowers resistance to respiratory infections e.g. influenza

Scientists also have found that some of these air pollutants are responsible for the following phenomena:

• Acid Rain
• Ozone Depletion
• Global Warming

What causes air pollution?

Air pollution can be caused by two main components, natural and human factors.

Natural factors such as volcano eruptions and natural forest fires often cause tons of ash and tiny air pollutants to be released to our earth's atmosphere.

Did You Know? According to the World's Health Organization, each year about tens of thousands of people die in the world's major cities due to the breathing in of poor quality air. As many as one billion people around the world are regularly exposed to pollution levels up to 100 times more than WHO guidelines.

However, the human factors are much more devastating.

IN INDUSTRIES

The most serious cause of air pollution is heavy industrial activity. Many heavy industries produce a large amount of air pollutants. This often causes air pollution.

IN POWER PLANTS

When fossil fuels such as coal and oil are burnt to produce electricity, large quantities of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide ( gases that are responsible for acid rain) are released into the air. These substances are damaging to the environment and all things.

IN VEHICLES

Vehicles use either diesel or petrol to generate power and, as a result, produce fumes that contain lead and carbon monoxide which pollute the environment and harm living things.

IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

In these countries, the burning of wood and animal waste for cooking and heating also adds pollutants into the air.

Plastic Pollution

One of the most serious threats to our oceans is plastics pollution. Plastic constitutes approximately 90% of all trash floating on the ocean’s surface, with46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile. Why is there so much plastic in the ocean? Unlike other types of trash, plastic does not biodegrade; instead, it photo-degrades with sunlight, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces, but they never really disappear. These plastic pieces are eaten by marine life, wash up on beaches, or break down into microscopic plastic dust, attracting more debris.

Plastic is also swept away by ocean currents, landing in swirling vortexes called ocean gyres. The North Pacific Gyre off the coast of California is home to theGreat Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest ocean garbage site in the world. The floating mass of plastic is twice the size of Texas, with plastic pieces outnumbering sea life by a measure of 6 to 1. These floating garbage sites are impossible to fully clean up.

Plastic poses a significant threat to the health of sea creatures, both big and small. Over 100,000 marine mammals and one million seabirds die each year from ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic.

Plastic is also unusually toxic once it enters the ocean environment. Plastic particles are magnets for different types of pollutants, such as DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants), and expel harmful chemicals such as BPA (Bisphenol A). Organisms at the bottom of the food chain, such as plankton and krill, ingest the chemicals along with the microscopic plastic particles. As larger fish consume the smaller ones, the chemicals work their way up the food chain. Ultimately, people consume the largest fish, having a devastating effect on human health.

It takes 500-1000 years for plastic to degrade. Even if we stopped using plastics today, they will remain with us for many generations, threatening both human and ocean health. Despite these alarming facts, there are actions we can take to address the problem of plastics.