One of our era’s greatest scourges is air pollution — on account not only of its impact on climate change but also on public and individual health due to increased morbidity and mortality rates. Many pollutants have become major factors in causing diseases among humans. Among them is Particulate Matter (PM), particles of variable but very small diameter that penetrate the respiratory system via inhalation, causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, reproductive and central nervous system dysfunctions, and cancer.
Despite the ozone in the stratosphere playing a protective role against ultraviolet irradiation, PM is harmful when present in high concentrations at the ground level. Furthermore, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are all considered air pollutants harmful to humans.
Carbon monoxide can even provoke direct poisoning when consumed at high levels. Heavy metals such as lead, when absorbed into the human body, can lead to direct poisoning or chronic intoxication, depending on exposure. Diseases occurring from the aforementioned substances include principally respiratory problems such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma, bronchiolitis, lung cancer, cardiovascular events, central nervous system dysfunctions and cutaneous diseases.
Last but not least, climate change resulting from environmental pollution affects the geographical distribution of many infectious diseases, as do natural disasters. The only way to tackle this problem is through public awareness coupled with a multidisciplinary approach by scientific experts; national and international organisations must address the emergency of this threat and propose sustainable solutions.
Approach To The Problem
Interactions between humans and their physical surroundings have been extensively studied, as multiple human activities influence the environment. The environment is a coupling of the biotic (living organisms and microorganisms) and the abiotic (hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere).
Pollution is defined as the introduction of substances harmful to humans and other living organisms into the environment. Pollutants are harmful solids, liquids or gases produced in higher than usual concentrations that reduce the quality of our environment.
Human activities have an adverse effect on the environment by polluting the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the soil in which plants grow. Although the industrial revolution was a great success in terms of technology, society and the provision of multiple services, it also introduced the production of huge quantities of pollutants emitted into the air that are harmful to human health.
Without any doubt, global environmental pollution is considered an international public health issue with multiple facets. Social, economic and legislative concerns and lifestyle habits are related to this major problem. Clearly, urbanisation and industrialisation are reaching unprecedented and upsetting proportions worldwide in our era. Human-caused air pollution is one of the biggest public health hazards worldwide, given that it accounts for about nine million deaths per year.
Sources Of Air Pollution
It is known that the majority of environmental pollutants are emitted through large-scale human activities such as the use of industrial machinery, power-producing stations, combustion engines and cars. Because these activities are performed on such a large scale, they are by far the major contributors to air pollution, with cars estimated to be responsible for approximately 80% of today’s pollution.
Other human activities are also influencing our environment to a lesser extent. These activities include field cultivation techniques, gas stations, fuel tanks heaters, and cleaning procedures, as well as several natural sources, such as volcanic and soil eruptions and forest fires. The classification of air pollutants is based mainly on the sources producing pollution. Therefore, it is worth mentioning the four main sources, following the classification system: Major sources, Area sources, Mobile sources and Natural sources.
Major sources include the emission of pollutants from power stations, refineries and petrochemicals, the chemical and fertiliser industries, metallurgical and other industrial plants, and, finally, municipal incineration.
Indoor area sources include domestic cleaning activities, dry cleaners, printing shops and petrol stations.
Mobile sources include automobiles, cars, railways, airways and other types of vehicles.
Finally, natural sources include, as stated previously, physical disasters such as forest fire, volcanic erosion, dust storm and agricultural burning.
However, many classification systems have been proposed. Another type of classification is a grouping according to the recipient of the pollution, as follows:
Air pollution is determined as the presence of pollutants in the air in large quantities for long periods. Air pollutants are dispersed particles, hydrocarbons, CO, CO2, NO, NO2, SO3, etc
Air Pollutants
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports on six major air pollutants, namely particle pollution, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and lead. Air pollution can have a disastrous effect on all components of the environment, including groundwater, soil and air. Additionally, it poses a serious threat to living organisms.
In this vein, our interest is mainly to focus on these pollutants, as they are related to more extensive and severe problems in human health and environmental impact. Acid rain, global warming, the greenhouse effect and climate changes have an important ecological impact on air pollution.