Pollution is the introduction of conta minants into a na tural environment tha t causes instabili ty, disorder, harm

or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. [1 ]Pollution can take the form
of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, hea t, or light. Pollutants, the elements of pollution, can be
foreign substances or energies, or na turally occurring; when na turally occurring, they are considered
conta minants when they exceed na tural levels. Pollution is of ten classed as point source or nonpoint source
pollution. The Blacksmi th Insti tuteissues annually a list of the world's worst polluted places. In the 2007 issues
the ten top nominees a re loca ted in Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine, and Za mbia.[2]

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particula te ma tter, or biological ma terials tha t cause ha rm or
discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause da mage to the na tural environment or buil t
environment, into the a tmosphere.
The a tmosphere is a complex dyna mic na tural gaseous system tha t is essential to support life on
planet Earth. Stra tospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threa t to huma n
heal th a s well as to the Earth's ecosystems.

There are many different chemical substances tha t contribute to air pollution. These c hemicals come from a
variety of sources.
Among the many types of air pollutants are ni trogen oxides, carbon monoxides, and organic compounds tha t can
evapora te and enter the a tmosphere.
Air pollutants have sources tha t are both na tural and human. Now, humans contribute substantially more to the
air pollution problem.
Forest fires, volcanic eruptions, wind erosion, pollen dispersal, evapora tion of organic compounds, and na tural
radioactivi ty are all among the na tural causes of air pollution.
Usually, natural air pollution does not occur in abundance in particular locations. The pollution is spread around
throughout the world, and as a result, poses li ttle threa t to the health of people and ecosystems.
Though some pollution comes from these na tural sourc es, most pollution is the resul t of human acti vi ty. The
biggest causes are the opera tion of fossil fuel-burning power plants and automobiles tha t combust fuel.
Combined, these two sources are responsible for about 90% of all air pollution in the Uni ted Sta tes.
Some ci ties suffer severely because of hea vy industrial use of c hemicals tha t cause air pollution. Places like
Mexico Ci ty and Sao Paulo have some of the most deadly pollution levels in the world.

Air pollution is responsible for ma jor heal th effec ts. Every yea r, the health of countless people i s ruined or
endangered by air pollution.
Many different chemicals in the air affect the human body in negati ve ways. Just how sick people will get
depends on wha t chemicals they are exposed to, in what concentra tions, and for how long.
Studies have esti ma ted tha t the number of people killed annually in the US alone could be over 50,000.
Older people a re highly vulnerable to di seases induced by air pollution. Those with hea rt or lung disord ers a re
under additional risk. Children and infants are also a t serious risk.
Because people are ex posed to so many potentially dangerous pollutants, i t is of ten hard to know exactly which
pollutants are responsible for causing sickness. Also, because a mix ture of different pollutants can intensify
sickness, it is of ten difficult to isola te those pollutants tha t are a t fault.
Many diseases could be caused by air pollution without their becoming apparent for a long ti me. Disea ses suc h
as bronchi tis, lung cancer, and hea rt disea se may all eventually appear in people exposed to air pollution.
Air pollutants such as ozone, ni trogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide also have ha rmful effec ts on
natural ecosystems. They can kill plants and trees by destroying th eir leaves, and can kill animals, especially
fish in highly polluted ri vers.

Air pollution has many disa strous effects tha t need to be curbed. In order to accomplish thi s, governments,
scientists and environmentalists are using or testing a vari ety of me thod s aimed a t reducing pollution.
There are two main types of pollution control.

Input control involves preventing a problem before i t occurs, or a t least li mi ting the effec ts the process will
produce.

Five major input control methods exist. People may try to restric t popula tion grow th, use less energy,
improve energy efficiency, reduce waste, and move to non-polluting renewable forms of energy production.
Also, automobile-produced pollution can be decrea sed with highly beneficial resul ts.

Output control, the opposi te method, seeks to fix the problems caused by air pollution. This usually means
cleaning up an area tha t ha s been da maged by pollution.

Input controls a re usually more effective than output controls. Output controls a re also more expensive,
making them less desi rable to tax payers and polluting industries.

Current air pollution control efforts are not all highly effec tive. In wealthier countries, industries a re of ten
able to shif t to methods tha t decrease air pollution. In the Uni ted Sta tes, for exa mple, air pollution control
laws have been successful in stopping air pollution level s from ri sing. However, in developing countries and even
in countries where pollution is strictly regulated, much more needs to be done.