Outdoor Air pollution - Term Paper Example

Outdoor Air Pollution Outdoor Air Pollution Introduction Air pollution normally occurs anywhere. Basically, outdoor air pollution is as a result of the environment getting contaminated by a physical, biological or chemical agent. This agent or agents therefore modify the atmosphere’s natural and basic characteristics. The common sources of outdoor air pollution include forest fires, stoves at home, industrial facilities and motor vehicles. Sulfur dioxide, Particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone and nitrogen dioxide are some examples of common pollutants. In light of this, the paper will analyze and explore outdoor pollution. Subsequently, the paper will mainly focus on the three major air pollutants: ozone, PM2.5 and nitrous oxides. When inhaled, these outdoor pollutants tend to aggravate an individual’s lungs thus leading to or contributing to the development or onset of infections, chronic lung ailments for example asthma, and lung cancer (Neidell, 2004). Furthermore, the pollutants often lead to dry eyes, headaches, nausea, fatigue and nasal congestion. Individuals who previously had lung diseases face a greater risk as a result of these pollutants than individuals who have never had lung disease ailments. In America and the world at large, outdoor air pollution costs the federal government and other relevant governments billions of dollars yearly. These funds are often set aside for the various healthcare initiatives. Additionally, productivity loss as a result of a sick workforce is costly. This illustrates that all Americans incur the expenses resulting from outdoor air pollution, even those who are not ill. DAmato (2002) defined air pollutants as particles or elements found in the air normally at ground level that affects the health of animals, humans and plants negatively. To counter or study the issue of air pollution, the fields of meteorology, chemistry and biology have to be collaboratively studied. A summary of the major air pollutants Ozone (O3) Ozone is a highly or very reactive and volatile gas which occurs as a result of sunlight acting on nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons released during the process of fuel combustion. When exposed to high ozone levels, the lungs mostly start searing. Ozone when inhaled in large or toxic amounts reduces the strength of lungs thereby reducing their performance. Also, it leads to lung inflammation and sometimes individuals experience searing pain when they try to breathe. Cohen et al (2005) argued that ozone (O3) is often linked with many respiratory cases which lead to hospital admissions. Particulate matter outdoor air pollution (PM) Particulate matter encompasses a wide array of substances such as dust, airborne acid droplets and carbon particles. Generally, particulate matter is associated or leads to an increase in premature deaths. This pollutant is very toxic to individuals who have lung diseases. For instance, people experiencing bouts of asthma or COPD (chronic obtrusive pulmonary disease) are adversely affected by particulate matter. Also, individuals experiencing emphysema, heart disease and chronic bronchitis are adversely affected by this pollutant. Too much exposure to this pollutant normally leads to wheezing, respiratory irritation and asthma attacks. Nitrous oxide (NOx) This pollutant is basically formed when fuels burn at very high temperatures. Apart from being a lung irritant, nitrous oxide reacts with other elements to form ozone. Additionally, it weakens the body’s resistance to infections like influenza. The World’s Most Polluted Cities According to a world health organization (WHO) report, a lot of people residing in the world’s cities are mostly exposed to toxic amounts of outdoor air pollution. The organization analyzed over 1600 cities located in 91 nations around the globe. Furthermore, it found out that a paltry 12% of people in the world were living in safe cities that adhered to or met the WHO’s guidelines on outdoor air pollution. According to WHO, the world’s most polluted cities are new Delhi India, Beijing China, Santiago Chile, Mexico City Mexico and Ulaanbaatar Mongolia respectively. 1. New Delhi, India. The WHO ranked New Delhi India as the city with the worst air pollution in the world. New Delhi has six times more particulate concentrations than what the WHO considers to be safe. As such, a study conducted by Harvard international review implied that about 40% of New Delhi’s 13.8 million people are affected by respiratory diseases. According to the report, dust emanating from the dusty overcrowded roads and car exhaust emissions are the main pollution causes in New Delhi. Due to these conditions, taxi drivers and construction workers in the city are the worst affected. They often contract respiratory diseases which sometimes lead to even death. 2. Beijing china Beijing is experiencing one of the worst air pollution cases currently. The situation is so severe that the city was recently engulfed in a dangerous haze. As such, some school’s outdoor activities have been postponed or cancelled altogether. Moreover, the Chinese authorities and health personnel have recommended the elderly, individuals with respiratory diseases and children to stay indoors and desist from venturing out. The extent of air pollution in India makes it to be the second most polluted city in the world. According to experts, Beijing has very high levels or concentrations of nitrogen dioxide. It is just ahead of Sao Paulo and Mexico City in terms of nitrogen dioxide concentrations. Although the city made some progress during the 2008 Olympic Games by banning nearly half of its cars, the situation returned back to its former self after the end of the games. 3. Santiago Chile The WHO recommends that a city should not have more than 50 micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic meter. Thus, a city’s level should not exceed this upper limit. However, Santiago has surpassed this limit and reached up to 200 micrograms per cubic meter. For example, the city’s particulate matter in some instances surpassed 444 micrograms. Also, the WHO ranks Santiago second in terms of cities having the worst or highest level/amount of ground level ozone. 4. Mexico City, Mexico Researchers from Salzburg University conducted a research on the level of pollution in the city. According to the research, the city has very high levels of nearly all the three major pollutants in addition to other pollutants like carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. 5. Ulaanbaatar Mongolia The city of Ulaanbaatar has a particulate concentration which is 14 times more than the WHO’s recommended matter concentration. Therefore, the city has 75.1μg/ m3. This has led to many people suffering from cardiovascular ailments and chronic bronchitis. The city is often characterized by thick smog which necessitates drivers to use or switch on headlights to increase daytime visibility. Air Pollution Trends in Los Angeles Weather conditions and local topography provide a hindrance to the act of fighting air pollution in the city of Los Angeles (Jerret et al, 2005). In the last 30 years, there have been concerted efforts to minimize outdoor air pollution in the city. Although there have been significant changes as a result of these efforts, thick haze and smog are common occurrences in los angles. The Los Angeles’s san Berbardino and riverside have the worst cases of air pollution in the whole of the United States for both ozone (O3) and particulate matter. An ever increasing population and industry in the city greatly contribute to air pollution. The three major pollutants are commonly or frequently monitored to ensure they adhere to the air pollution standards. Since 1990, some significant steps or progress has been made in the fight against ozone pollution. There were about 12 instances of 102 stage 1 smog in the city of Los Angeles. Stage 1 smog implies that the air pollution in the area is considered to be unhealthy and toxic (it is more than 200 parts per billion). This was a reduction compared to the many episodes that occurred earlier in 1976. Despite this great reduction in pollution, the 1998 levels (ozone) still did not correspond to the agreed federal standard (120ppb) in about 62 days. Despite the reduction in both three pollutants over the last 30 years, the geographical positions of areas with the highest concentration in the city have shifted. The eastern part of San Gabriel valley used to be the worst affected area in the past. However, today, the central San Bernardino Mountains have the highest concentrations of the three pollutants, more specifically ozone. These geographical shifts are as a result of new efficient fuel formulations and good or better emission controls which have led to the reduction of the toxic or volatile elements. The new fuel formulations make the emissions to react more slowly when exposed to intense sunlight. Historic Ozone Air Quality Trends Number of Basin Days* Exceeding Health Standard Levels Los Angeles County Year State Standard (.09 ppm**) Federal Standard (.12 ppm) Health Advisory (.15 ppm) Stage 1 Episode (.20 ppm) Stage 2 Episode (.35 ppm) Basin Maximum (ppm) 1999 118 41 12 0 0 0.17 1998 114 62 43 12 0 0.24 1997 141 68 28 1 0 0.21 1996 151 90 53 7 0 0.24 1995 154 98 59 14 0 0.26 1994 165 118 96 23 0 0.30 1993 185 124 92 24 0 0.28 1992 191 143 109 41 0 0.30 1991 183 130 100 47 0 0.32 1990 184 130 107 41 0 0.33 1989 211 157 120 54 0 0.34 1988 216 178 144 77 1+ 0.35 Retrieved from http://www.laalmanac.com/environment/ev02.htm When emitted in summer, the nitrogen oxides and fine particle matter lead to the formation of photochemical fog. This fog (photochemical smog) therefore mainly occurs after when nitrogen oxides interact with volatile compounds in the presence of sunlight to produce toxic secondary pollutants known as ozone. Thus, when UVB reacts with nitrogen oxides, it produces toxic ground level ozone. Since it is normally colorless, it can only be seen when there is a haze. As earlier stated, ozone as a secondary product is primarily formed when the primary air pollutants (NOX & VOCs) react with ultraviolet radiation. Since ozone is dependent on sunlight, it occurs in high amounts on sunny days or during summer. During sunny days, the pollutant (ozone) exceeds Ontario’s accepted level of 80ppb. For photochemical smog to form, UVB, NOx & VOCs, temperature inversion elements have to interact. Chemical Formation of Photochemical Smog NO + VOC + UVB  NO2 + VOC* (1) NO2 + O2 + UVB  O3 + NO (2) As sunlight declines during the day, NO slowly removes ozone: O3 + NO  O2 + NO2 (3) Morning Hour Concentrations Source: US EPA As ozone increases during the day or summer, small particulate matter also increases. These matter help in scattering more light hence contributing to more photochemical reactions. Major Sources of; Fine Particulate Matter Generally, particulate matter in Ontario is as a result of residents burning wood, industry and transportation activities. Also, they occur as a result of some reactions between nitrogen oxides and sulfur pollutants. Furthermore, soil and materials erosion, forest fires, sandpits, quarries and farming activities lead to an increase in fine particulate matter emission. Nitrogen dioxide Fuel combustion in both vehicles and industrial operations is the primary source of nitrogen dioxide. Ozone Ozone is basically produced due to the reaction of volatile elements and nitrogen oxides. Human activity which leads to the emission of these elements includes transportation and industry activities. These pollutants have adverse effects on individuals when the concentrations exceed the recommended levels set in Ontario. When an individual is exposed to higher concentrations of ozone, PM2.5 and nitrous oxides, he experiences various form of ailments no matter how short the exposure (KuÈnzli et al, 2000). However, the individual will experience mild effects when exposed for an hour, 8 hour or 24 hour period. When exposed to the pollutants for a long period of time such as 1 year, people become adversely affected. Subsequently, their mortality rate tends to be directly proportional to the amount of time one is exposed to the pollutants. As such, people who are exposed to the elements for longer periods tend to experience severe negative consequences. These may even lead to death. According to Ostro (2004), exposure to high concentration of the pollutants in the short run leads to lung tissue damage, watery eyes, an irritating mouth, throat or nose. Additionally they may lead to wheezing and sneezing. In the long run, they can make diseases such asthma, emphysema and bronchitis to worsen. Human health in general has deteriorated over the past few years as a result of air pollution. Despite the levels of air pollution reducing, both cardiovascular and respiratory diseases continue to gradually increase year in year out. Findings from ICAP 2005 illustrated that hospital admissions as a result of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases were or are n the rise. These findings were based on hospital admissions of only air pollution related ailments. Future estimates and projections also showed an increasing trend in both deaths resulting from cardiovascular and respiratory ailments and hospital admissions. Respiratory and cardiovascular diseases are primarily as a result of air pollution. The trend in concentration of air pollutants and the number of daily admissions from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, 2002 – 2005 according to Schwartz (1996). pollutants 2002 2003 2004 2005 CO 1.070 1.050 1.13 1.19 NO2 0.027 0.3030 0.32 0.33 NO 0.013 0.015 0.028 0.029 O3 0.028 0.025 0.027 0.029 PM 91.00 99.00 105.00 111.00 HOSPITAL ADMISSION Respiratory disease 4.428 5.121 5.064 5.300 Cardiovascular disease 3.419 3.368 3.400 3.914 Ischemic heart diseases 5.218 5.359 5.247 5.59 The federal government has taken the initiatives to advocate for the use of environmentally means of transport and the development of fuel efficient engines. This program is aimed at reducing the amount of emissions from vehicles. While in office, president bush championed for the adoption of the clean air interstate rule. However, the rule was shot down when at the floor of congress. Nevertheless, president bush advocated for the introduction of the air mercury rule. This rule was solely created to regulate the emissions of mercury in America. Also, the federal government urged the United Nations to come up with a new global climate strategy after the expiry of the Kyoto plan. Additionally, the federal government is intent on controlling the amount or level of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Moreover, the government is urging for the adoption of green and re-usable energy. Green energy emits little or no harmful toxics into the air. References Cohen, A. J., Ross Anderson, H., Ostro, B., Pandey, K. D., Krzyzanowski, M., Künzli, N., ... & Smith, K. (2005). The global burden of disease due to outdoor air pollution. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 68(13-14), 1301-1307. DAmato, G., Liccardi, G., Damato, M., & Cazzola, M. (2002). Outdoor air pollution, climatic changes and allergic bronchial asthma. European Respiratory Journal, 20(3), 763-776. Historic ozone air quality trends n a. Retrieved from http://www.laalmanac.com/environment/ev02.htm Jerrett, M., Burnett, R. T., Ma, R., Pope III, C. A., Krewski, D., Newbold, K. B., ... & Thun, M. J. (2005). Spatial analysis of air pollution and mortality in Los Angeles. Epidemiology, 16(6), 727-736. KuÈnzli, N., Kaiser, R., Medina, S., Studnicka, M., Chanel, O., Filliger, P., ... & Sommer, H. (2000). Public-health impact of outdoor and traffic-related air pollution: a European assessment. The Lancet, 356(9232), 795-801. Neidell, M. J. (2004). Air pollution, health, and socio-economic status: the effect of outdoor air quality on childhood asthma. Journal of health economics, 23(6), 1209-1236. Ostro, B. (2004). Outdoor air pollution. WHO Environmental Burden of Disease Series, (5). Schwartz, J. (1996). Air pollution and hospital admissions for respiratory disease. Epidemiology, 20-28. Read More