Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Air Pollution
Air Pollution is mixing of some substances in the ambient air in such concentrations that a situation
arises in which man and his environment is badly affected. (WHO)
The atmoshere is a comlex natural gaseous system that is essential to suort life on !arth. "f the
natural roortional amounts of the constituents of air become changed due to various reasons or
if some substances# such as dust articles# smo$e# gases orvaours# coarse or fine articulate
matters including solid or li%uid articles get mixed with air in such amounts and concentrations
that the functional activities of flora and fauna in the ecosystems of the earth are disturbed and
badly affected# then that air may be termed as olluted.
Air Pollution& 'lassification
Anthropogenic (man-made) sources:These are mostly related to the burning of multile tyes of fuel.
Stationary sourcesinclude smo$e stac$s ofower lants# factories and waste incinerators# as well as
furnaces and other tyes of fuel+burning heating devices. "n develoing and oor countries# traditional
biomass burning is the ma,or source of air ollutants- traditional biomass includes wood# cro waste and
dung.
!aste depositioninlandfills# which generatemethane. 0ethane is highly flammable and may form
exlosive mixtures with air. 0ethane is also anashyxiantand may dislace oxygen in an enclosed
sace. Ashyxia or suffocation may result if the oxygen concentration is reduced to below 12.34 by
dislacement.
Sources
"atural sources:
)ustfrom natural sources# usually large areas of land with few or no vegetation
.mo$eandcarbon monoxidefromwildfires
Air ollution ris$ is a function of the ha6ard of the ollutant and the exosure to that ollutant.
Air ollution exosure can be exressed for an individual# for certain grous (e.g. neighborhoods or children
living in a county)# or for entire oulations. <or examle# one may want to calculate the exosure to a
ha6ardous air ollutant for a geograhic area# which includes the various microenvironments and age grous as
well as inhalation exosure.
This would account for daily exosure in various settings (e.g. different indoor micro+environments and
outdoor locations).
The exosure to an air ollutant must integrate the concentrations of the air ollutant with resect to the
time sent in each setting and the resective inhalation rates for each subgrou for each secific time
"mact of Air Pollution On Health
"t is estimated that globally some = million remature deaths may be attributed to air
ollution (WHO)."ndia has the highest death rate due to air ollution.
Around the world# children living in cities with high exosure to air ollutants are at increased
ris$ of develoing asthma# neumonia and other lower resiratory infections.
A review of evidence regarding whether ambient air ollution exosure is a ris$ factor
for cancer in ;>>= found solid data to conclude that long+term exosure to P0 ;.3
(fine articulates) increases the overall ris$ of/ung 'ancer.
Air ollution is also emerging as a ris$ factor for stro$e# and cardiovascular diseases
li$e heart failure# articularly in develoing countries where ollutant levels are
highest.
"mact on Weather and 'limate
.mog& /imits visibility# causes resiratory roblems and bronchial related deaths
Acid 5ains& Acid rain is caused by emissions ofsulfur dioxideandnitrogen oxide# which react with
thewatermolecules in the atmoshere to roduce acids. Acid rain has been shown to have
adverse imacts on forests# freshwaters and soils# $illing insect and a%uatic life+forms as well as
causing damage to buildings and having imacts on human health.
0easures to 'ontrol Air Pollution
'hange in <uel& This techni%ue involves the use of less olluting fuel to reduce air ollution. !.g. Cse
of low sulfur fuel instead of high sulfur fuel. The other choice can be the use of natural gas as a fuel.
"ntroduction of comressed natural gas# roane# ethanol and oxygenated fuels for automobiles
have heled in the reduction of air ollutants.
The emissions from the lant should be assed through a control device before releasing to
atmoshere. The ollutants are removed# destroyed or transformed in the control device before
discharging into ambient air.