Air Pollution Essay, Research Paper
Air Pollution
With the great concern surrounding the destruction of the earth’s atmosphere due
to air pollution, the immediate and direct harm caused to the human body is often over
shadowed. While many are aware that our careless use of hazardous chemicals and fossil
fuels may leave the planet uninhabitable in the future, most over look the fact that they
also cause real damage to our bodies at this moment. Such pollutants cause damage to our
respiratory system, leading to the fluctuation of the life span of an individual depending
on a number of conditions. Amongst these conditions are the individuals specific
geographic location, age, and life style. This paper is structured as a series of relevant
questions and answers to report on the description of these pollutants there affects on our
bodies. In order to understand how air pollution affects our body, you must under stand
exactly what this pollution is. The pollutants that harm our respiratory system are known
as particulates. Particulates are the small solid particles that you can see through a ray of
sunlight. They are products of incomplete combustion in engines (example: automobile
engines), road dust, and wood smoke. Billions of tons of coal and oil are consumed
around the world every year. When these fuels burn they produce smoke and other
by-products into the atmosphere. Although wind and rain occasionally wash away the
smoke given off by power plants and automobiles, much still remains. Particulate matter
(soot, ash, and other solids), usually consist of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide,
sulfur dioxide, various nitrogen oxides, ozone, and lead. These compounds undergo a
series of chemical reactions in the presence of sunlight, the result is smog (a term used to
describe a noxious mixture of fog and smoke) The process by which these pollutants
harm our bodies begins by simply taking a breath. Particulates are present every where, in
some areas they are as dense as 100,000 per milliliter of air. The damage begins when the
particulates are inhaled into the small air sacs of our lungs called alveoli. With densities
such as 100,000 per milliliter a single alveolus may receive 1,500 particulates per day.
These particulates cause the inflammation of the alveoli. The inflammation causes the
body to produce agents in the blood that in crease clotting ability, which leads to the
decreased functionality of the cardiovascular system, resulting in diseases and increased
mortality. In the blood, carbon monoxide interferes with the supply of oxygen to all
tissues and organs, including the brain and heart. Particulates accumulate on the mucous
linings of the airways and lungs and impair their functioning. Continued exposure to
particulates damages the lungs and increases an individual’s chances of developing such
conditions as chronic bronchitis and emphysema. While you may see pollutants such as
particulates, other harmful ones are not visible. Amongst the most dangerous to our
health are Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur dioxide, and Ozone. If you have
ever been in an enclosed parking garage or a tunnel and felt dizzy or light-headed then
you have felt the effect of carbon monoxide(CO). This odorless, colorless, but poisonous
gas is produced by the incomplete burning of fossil fuels, like gasoline or diesel fuel.
Carbon Monoxide comes from cars, trucks, gas furnaces and stoves, and some industrial
processes. CO is also a toxin in cigarettes. Carbon Monoxide combines with hemoglobin
in the red blood cells, so body cells and tissues cannot get the oxygen they need. Carbon
Monoxide attacks the immune system, especially affecting anyone with heart disease,
anemia, and emphysema and other lung diseases. Even when at low concentrations CO
affects mental function, vision, and alertness. Nitrogen Oxide is another pollutant that has
been nicknamed a jet-age pollutant because it is only apparent in highly advanced
countries. Sources of this are fuel plant, cars, and trucks. At lower concentrations nitrogen
oxides are a light brown gas. In high concentrations they are major sources of haze and
smog. They also combine with other compounds to help form ozone. Nitrogen Oxides
cause eye and lung irritation, and lowers the
colds, bronchitis, and influenza. For children and people with asthma, this gas is can
cause death. Nitrogen Oxides maybe the most dangerous of these pollutants because it
also makes nitric acid, when combine with water in rain, snow, fog, or mist. This then
becomes the harmful acid rain. Sulfur Dioxide is a heavy, smelly, colorless gas which
comes from industrial plants, petroleum refineries, paper mills, and chemical plants.
When combined with water it becomes sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid dissolves marble, turns
plants yellow, and eats away at iron and steel, you can imagine the possible damage to
human tissue. It’s effect on people with asthma, heart disease, and emphysema is
devastating. It is also a major contribute to acid rain. There are numerous cases displaying
the grave danger of particulate air pollution. One popular example occurred in London,
England in the year 1952. In this case excessive deaths were caused as a result of
respiratory and cardiovascular problems in that year. The research at that time revealed an
association between particulate and sulphur dioxide concentrations in the air and risk of
respiratory disease and death. The excessive problems are thought to have been caused by
“winter smogs”. Winter smogs were frequent problem during the 1940s through the 1950s
when coal was the main fuel for both domestic and commercial use. Winter smogs are
caused by temperature inversions which trap particulates close to the ground. The air and
smoke trapped contained high concentrations of soot, sulphur dioxide, and other
pollutants. This winter smog took the lives of over 3,500 people. A similar incident in the
United States came about as a result of the same type of temperature changes and smog.
In 1948 six thousand people became drastically ill and twenty died as a direct result of
winter smog in Pennsylvania. More recently an even greater tragedy occurred. One of the
great human and environmental disasters of the 1980s occurred on December 3, 1984, in
Bhopal, India. About 50 tons of methyl isocyanate escaped into the air from a pesticide
company owned by the American corporation Union Carbide. Estimates of the death toll
in surrounding neighborhoods were as high as 2,500. About 100,000 others were injured
by the gas leak. Since the in industrial revolution city dwellers have always been exposed
to higher levels of particulate air pollution. As I have mentioned, the fuels use in the
urban factories release large amounts of pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and soot.
Another main factor is the heavy use if motor vehicles by the city population. In the city,
where many people and objects occupy a small area the problem is amplified. Depending
on the weather conditions the threat can become even greater. Another major factor is the
individual. While sex does not matter age and health history do. It has been proven that
death or illness from air pollution is more likely in young people, old people, and people
that smoke. Children are often more vulnerable to those pollutants for two main reasons.
The first being that because of their small size their heartbeats and metabolic rates are
faster. Therefore all reactions within their bodies including the harmful ones of pollutants
(chiefly the replacement of oxygen with carbon monoxide in the blood stream) take place
at an accelerated pace. The second is the relatively weak immune systems of young
children. Particulates that act as irritants take a greater toll on their still developing
bodies. The same threats that air pollution pose to young people effect older members of
society. Although their metabolic rates not high, their immune systems maybe equally as
weak. An investigation conducted by the Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation on
the joint effects of air pollution and smoking showed that smokers in Beijing, China
suffered from greater problems in their pulmonary artery functions. They also had a vital
lung capacity decrease of over 10%. It is apparent that our careless use of fossil fuels and
chemicals is destroying this planet. And it is now more than ever apparent that at the
same time we are destroying our bodies, proving that our pollution is not just a problem
that we can pass on to our children.