The Impact of Outdoor Air Pollution - Assignment Example

The Impact of Outdoor Air Pollution Summary There are different types of pollution. Among the types of pollution, there is the air pollution. Air pollution can be either indoor or outdoor. These two can affect each other (outdoor pollution may lead to indoor pollution and the indoor pollution may contribute to the outdoor pollution). Outdoor air pollution affects the developing countries more than the developed ones due to the advanced technologies and government regulations that exist in the developed countries. There are different forms of air pollution. Air pollution may be natural or artificial meaning it may occur naturally or it may occur due to human activities. Other pollutants may be emitted directly and others may be result from chemical and physical conversion of precursors in the atmosphere. The outdoor air pollution is mostly caused by industrial activities and carbon monoxide emissions. This is mainly due to urbanization. Other pollutants result from natural causes, for instance, pollen, gases emitted from earth fissures, smoke from bush fires or forest and fog. The outdoor air pollution has numerous adverse effects on the environment, health, indoor air pollution and socio-economic status of a country. Since human exposure is through inhalation, the air pollution may cause respiratory diseases in humans. Some remedies exist to reduce the emission of outdoor air pollution and other methods of reducing the effects of exposure. Different governments have tried their best to reduce the emission of air pollutants. People are also going green meaning they are doing their best to reduce the emission of artificial air pollutants. Contents Summary 1 Contents 2 List of Illustrations 4 Introduction 5 Background 6 Purpose/Audience 7 Forms of Air Pollution 7 Analysis of the Causes of Outdoor air pollution 8 Industries 8 Human activity 9 Nature 10 Analysis of Impact of Outdoor Air Pollution 10 Environmental 11 Health 11 Socio-economic 11 Indoor air pollution 12 Possible Remedies to Outdoor Air Pollution 12 Government policies 12 Environmental conservation 13 Proper self care 13 Proper implementation plan for the remedy and possible challenges 13 Benefit of the project 14 Limitations 14 Conclusion 14 References 15 Appendix 16 List of Illustrations Fig.1- A Graph showing one of the world’s worst Air Pollution Disasters Table 1- A table showing the damage of both indoor and outdoor air pollution in different countries Introduction This project seeks to examine the impact of outdoor air pollution. This kind of pollution normally posses harm to humans. Therefore, it is a critical topic worth highlighting. In the recent years, there have been increased concerns over the adverse effects of air pollution on human health. There is overwhelming evidence showing that the outdoor air pollution can cause acute respiratory infections especially in children. This is because exposure from inhalation directly affects the respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous systems of human beings. This results to impaired different illnesses including impaired pulmonary functions and may even lead to death. However, it is very hard to quantify the actual exposures of outdoor air pollution as the activity patterns, behaviors of different individuals vary, and they are responsible for affecting their levels of exposure. Nevertheless, in developing counties, outdoor air pollution constitutes one of the most critical environmental problems (Brebbia & Longhurst, 2010). This discussion is meant to be a warning to those people who conduct the activities that cause different air pollutions. Moreover, the research, especially the ways of dealing with the adverse effects of outdoor air pollution and the ways of avoiding it will go a long way in helping the people who are at risk of exposure. In addition, the research is targeting the government agencies involved with controlling the air pollution so that they can come with proper measures of controlling outdoor air pollution and reducing exposures. The main aim of exploring this subject is to address the issues posed by air pollution and remedies to the adverse effects thus turning to be reference respective authorities. Background Pollution refers to a situation where contaminants are introduced to the natural environment causing adverse effects. Outdoor air pollution refers to a situation where biological molecules, particles and other harmful substances are introduced to the atmosphere causing diseases, death in people and other damages to plants and animals. There is a wide range of air pollutants that exist in the natural environment and they may have adverse effects on the human health. Outdoor air pollution is usually due to small particles from car exhaust, smoke, dust, factory emissions or even pollen during pollination. Considering that these particles are present in the atmosphere, chances of inhaled and absorbed by human beings are extremely high. When inhaled, they lead to throat irritation, digestive problems, chest complications as well as dizziness and fever. Chronic respiratory problems such as asthma also arise from the same (Brebbia & Longhurst, 2010). When pollutant mixtures that varies within minimum spatial distances is the air pollution found in urban areas, for instance, traffic-related specific air pollutants are higher in busy streets than in the suburbs. Therefore, if the ways of capturing and classifying where people spend most of their time is improved, an understanding of the exposures and the behaviors that may affect the human health will be possible. In developing countries, outdoor air pollution is one of the most critical environmental problems because of the numerous negative effects it has on humans and therefore, the outdoor air pollution needs to be controlled. Purpose/Audience The research intends to analyze outdoor air pollution impact, which is a menace presently showing an upward trend. The health of human beings is at risk; hence seeking adequate and effective solutions is quite commendable. The audience that this research seeks to reach includes those who conduct human activities such as burning wood that contribute to air pollution. In addition, it tries to reach those affected by the same to offer help find solution to their problem. The government too is a target audience since they have to put strict measures to prevent avoidable pollution from occurring. Forms of Air Pollution It is possible to categorize air pollutants by their source or by their chemical or physical characteristics. An air pollutant may be directly emitted (primary pollutant) or formed in the atmosphere via chemical and physical conversion of precursors (secondary pollutant). For example, emission of carbon monoxide is a primary pollutant while ozone is a secondary pollutant as it is formed in the atmosphere when the sunlight chemically converts other pollutants into oxidant species including the ozone. When the emission of the air pollutants is natural, it is referred to as biogenic but when it is because of human activity, it is referred to as anthropogenic (Frumkin 2010). The air pollutants differs in physical form and they can either be particles or in gaseous form. Aerosols pollutants are those that consist of small solids or liquid particles that are suspended in the atmosphere. The chemical composition and physical form of a pollutant affects its ability of penetrating the respiratory system. Another way of classifying air pollutants is by their legal regulation. The criteria pollutants are the key outdoor pollutants like carbon monoxide, lead and ozone. The hazardous air pollutants include volatile organic chemicals, herbicides and pesticides. The air pollutant types include sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead, photochemical oxidants, beryllium, asbestos, fluorides, mercury, odors emitted from both artificial and natural sources, agricultural and commercial poisons and radio activity. Analysis of the Causes of Outdoor air pollution Industries The outdoor air pollution is mainly a phenomenon of cities and towns including the peripheral corridors and urban areas where there is significant traffic and industrial activities. Industrial activities emitting air pollutants remain a big problem to the developed countries and even a bigger problem to the developing ones. In Asia, the economic development is accelerating especially in the highly populated India and China. Accompanying this increased speed of industrialization is the severe outdoor air pollution in urban centers. This makes most of the Asian cities be in the list of most polluted cities in the world. While the power plants, domestic coal fires and heavy industries have ceased to exist in most parts of Europe and have been replaced by advanced emission-control technologies and cleaner fuels, the situation in developing countries, in relation to these pollution sources, is worsening over time (Chung, Zhang & Zhong, 2011). Human activity With the fire discovery, humans have been polluting the air inside where they live (indoor pollution) and the air outside (outside pollution). As the urban areas developed, the pollution sources, the industrial processes and the chimneys, they became concentrated leading to visible and damaging pollution dominated by smoke (Frumkin 2010). Initially, air pollution was generally a local issue generated from hearths and furnaces. However, since then, the nature of air pollution has changed together with industrialization, the changing populations and fossil fuel-based transportation. The high-volume production and transportation of pollution across large distances means that the damaging effects of air pollution often occur far from the source. The air pollution problems currently experienced range geographically from the local to the global scale and occurs on a variety of timescales. The fossil fuel combustion, mostly from motor vehicles, constitutes the most significant source of artificial air pollution. The other causes may include attrition (the emission of minute particles into the atmosphere through the grinding action of friction), incineration or evaporation. Nature The air pollutants can be natural or artificial, either in gaseous or particulate form. Pollens from plants and weeds, because they are responsible for hay fever and allergies, they are the most significant causes of natural air pollution. Other sources include airborne sand and soil, salt spray, gases emitted from earth fissures, smoke from bush fires or forest and fog (Chung, Zhang & Zhong, 2011). Analysis of Impact of Outdoor Air Pollution Air pollution has long been a contributor of ill health. The harmful effects of air pollution were recognized early. Almost 2,500 years ago, the Hippocrates noted that the health of human beings can be affected by the air they inhale and the quality of air found in different places (Frumkin 2010). The modern day recognition of the dangers of outdoor air pollution can be traced to the several extreme episodes that have occurred in the past century. In 1930, in Meuse valley Belgium, more than sixty people died during a similar episode, which was over ten times the underlying mortality rate. In describing the event, specialists warned that if such an event were to occur in a large city, thousands of people would die. In October of 1948, industrial pollution settled in Donora, a small town in Pennsylvania killing twenty people during and shortly after the event, which was about six times the mortality rate. The most severe event took place in London in December 1952 where the pollution levels and the subsequent health effects were so severe that the connection between air pollution and health was readily apparent. Environmental The lack of access to clean water ranks as the single most important damage of air pollution to the environment. In addition, in some developing countries, air pollution has affected the soil salinity. The particulate air pollutants can mix with the rainwater making water bodies unfit for human consumption and affects the soil salinity (Ahmed, Kulsum, & Triana, 2008). Health When people inhale air pollutants, they lead to throat irritation, digestive problems, chest complications as well as dizziness and fever. Chronic respiratory problems such as asthma also arise from the same (Brebbia & Longhurst, 2010). The outdoor air pollution may cause stroke in humans via various mechanisms that include activated thrombosis pathways and systemic inflammations, arteriolar narrowing, impaired vasodilatation and atherosclerosis (Maheswaran, Pearson, Beevers, Campbell & Wolfe, 2014). Socio-economic Millions of people die from the effects of air pollution every year. Millions of other people suffer from a wide range of heart diseases. The huge costs of treating the people with ill health and lives lost have to be beard by the society. There exists extensive epidemiological evidence of the health impacts arising from air pollution and the associated economic costs. The benefits brought about by reducing the burden of economic costs that are imposed by the air pollution can outweigh the investments monetary costs (Chung, Zhang & Zhong, 2011). Indoor air pollution The smoke generated from the indoor air pollution may lead to critical masses in densely populated regions causing outdoor air pollutions and contributing to the outdoor air pollution caused by industrial activities and vehicle emissions. The reverse is also true. The outdoor air pollutions can penetrate buildings and get trapped causing indoor air pollution. Most indoor air pollutants originate from outdoor air pollution, for instance, ambient air pollution episodes, outdoor pollutants entering via fresh air intakes (ventilation systems) that are not designed properly or soil gas from basements. Most of the air pollutants originate from different sources such as the volatile organic compounds from the petrochemical industries. The indoor air pollution is very dangerous due to the long period of exposure and may cause acute respiratory infections (Wang, Hung & Pereira, 2005). Possible Remedies to Outdoor Air Pollution Government policies In response to the severe air pollution episodes that occurred in the previous century, many governments enacted legislations to improve the quality of air and initiated researches to increase the understanding of risks to health. Today, most of the industrialized countries rarely experience air pollution concentrations on the scale of the London fog of 1952. However, exceedingly high levels still exist in many developing regions. Despite the regulatory control measures that have lowered concentrations, the air pollution continues to harm health in the industrialized countries as well (Frumkin 2010). Environmental conservation The outdoor air pollutant mixtures may differ within short spatial distances, as the air pollution found in urban areas, for instance, traffic-related specific air pollutants may be more in the busy streets than in the suburbs. Thus, if the ways of capturing and classifying where people spend most of their time is improved, an understanding of the exposures and the behaviors that may affect the human health will be possible (Wang, Hung & Pereira, 2005). Proper self care The air quality alerts may serve numerous public health purposes. Informing the residents of a particular region affected by air pollution about the quality of the bad air, they will be able to protect themselves from the episodes by reducing or even avoiding the exposures (Noonan, 2014). Proper implementation plan for the remedy and possible challenges The developing countries are making a remarkable progress towards the improvement of air quality. The efforts are commendable but they need intensification. There have been numerous technological and regulatory actions in recent years. The government agencies concerned with air quality alerts should find a way of informing the public about possible air pollution episodes on time. This will go a long way in reducing the effects of the pollution. However, this may pose a challenge. People may opt to use vehicles, which emit pollutant gases, instead of their bicycles after an air quality alert warning with an aim of reducing exposure. This will have a negative effect, as the increased use of vehicles after the alert will cause an increase in outdoor air pollution (Noonan, 2014). Benefit of the project Understanding the causes of pollution, their impact and ways of reducing air pollution will go a long way in decreasing the effects of outdoor air pollution. Many people do not know the causes of air pollution and they may be contributing to the pollution indirectly. Educating them will lead to a reduction of artificial air pollutants. Additionally, educating the public on the adverse effects of population will lead to a reduction of illnesses caused by exposure to air pollutants. Thus, this project will go a long way into protecting the lives and health of people who are at risk of inhaling the contaminants. Limitations Some causes of outdoor air pollution are beyond control. In the case of pollen for example, pollination is natural process that cannot be controlled. Wind is also a natural process and is responsible for transporting the pollutants from one atmospheric environment to another. Moreover, there exists limited data and resources that prevented the estimation of damages caused by outdoor air pollution in some countries (Ahmed, Kulsum, & Triana, 2008). Conclusion In developing countries, outdoor air pollution is one of the most critical environmental problems because of the numerous negative effects it has on humans and therefore, the outdoor air pollution needs to be controlled. Studies show that the developing countries face high risks of exposure to air pollutants as compared to the developed countries. This is because the developed countries use technologies that are more advanced in their industries that reduce the amount of harmful gases released to the atmosphere. Over the years, the amount of pollutants has decreased with the increase in industrialization due to urbanization brought about by the increased populations especially in the developing economies. The outdoor air pollution has very negative effects on the health of humans and other living things in general especially crops. The pollution also affects the environment and the socio-economic status of a country. The government uses a lot of money in treating the people affected by the air pollution and the families suffer a lot in taking care of their sick relatives. Different governments have taken steps to reduce the air pollution and people are learning the methods of reducing the artificial air pollution. References Ahmed, Kulsum, & Triana E. Sánchez. Strategic Environmental Assessment for Policies: An Instrument for Good Governance. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2008. Print. Brebbia, C. A., & Longhurst, J. W. S. (2010). Air pollution XVIII. Southampton: WIT. Chung, K., Zhang, J., & Zhong, N. (2011). Outdoor air pollution and respiratory health in Asia. Respirology, 16(7), 1023-1026. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1843.2011.02034.x Frumkin, Howard. Environmental Health: From Global to Local. John Wiley & Sons. 2010. Print Maheswaran, R., Pearson, T., Beevers, S. D., Campbell, M. J., & Wolfe, C. D. (2014). Outdoor air pollution, subtypes and severity of ischemic stroke - a small-area level ecological study. International Journal Of Health Geographics, 13(1), 1-18. doi:10.1186/1476- 072X-13-23 Noonan, D. S. (2014). Smoggy with a Chance of Altruism: The Effects of Ozone Alerts on Outdoor Recreation and Driving in Atlanta. Policy Studies Journal, 42(1), 122-145. doi:10.1111/psj.12045 Wang, L. K., Hung, Y.-T., & Pereira, N. C. (2005). Advanced Air and Noise Pollution Control. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press. Appendix Fig.1 Table 1 Read More