Topic: Effects of Air pollution on Human health.
Introduction
Air pollution is a major concern of the new civilized world, which has a serious toxicological
impact on human health and the environment. Although several physical activities (volcanoes,
fire, etc.) may release different pollutants in the environment, anthropogenic activities are the
major cause of environmental air pollution. It has several different emission sources but motor
vehicles and industrial processes contribute to the major part of air pollution.
Air pollution is the introduction into the atmosphere of chemicals, particulates, or biological
materials that cause discomfort, disease, or death to humans, damage other living organisms such
as food crops, or damage the natural environment or built environment. Air pollution is a mixture
of natural and man-made substances in the air we breathe. It is typically separated into two
categories; outdoor air pollution and indoor air pollution. A substance in the air that can be
adverse to humans and the environment is known as an air pollutant. Pollutants can be in the
form of solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases.
In recent years, despite considerable improvements in air pollution prevention and control,
outdoor air pollution has remained a major environmental health hazard to human beings. Poor
air quality is now one of the most important environmental problems in the world. In some
developing countries, the concentration of air quality far exceeds the limit for human respiration.
Moreover, it is widely acknowledged that outdoor air pollution increases the incidence rates of
multiple diseases. Hazardous chemicals can escape to the environment by accident, but several
air pollutants are released from industrial facilities and other activities and may cause adverse
effects on human health and the environment. Particulate Matter is a complex mixture that may
contain soot, smoke, metals, nitrates, sulfates, dust, water, and tire rubber. It can be directly
emitted, as in smoke from a fire, or it can form in the atmosphere from reactions of gases such as
nitrogen oxides. Two particulate matter called PM10 and PM2.5 also known as particle pollution
is the common type of air pollution in Bhutan.
The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. Small
particles (known as PM2.5 or fine particulate matter) pose the greatest problems because they
pass the body’s natural defenses and can get deep into the lungs and potentially in the
bloodstream.
To our knowledge, few studies have systematically reviewed the literature in the broad field of
outdoor air pollution exposure research, especially concerning related health outcomes. The
purposes of this study were as follows; 1) provide a systematic overview of relevant studies on
outdoor air pollution to the overall health of human beings. 2) to see the link between air
pollution and human health issues. 3) to study diseases caused by particulate matter to human
health.
Research Question
How does air pollution affect our human health?
Sub questions
1. How is human health affected by air pollution?
2. How does particulate matter affect human health?
3. What are the main sources of particulate matter?
Literature Review
The different composition of air pollutants, the dose and time of exposure, and the fact that
humans are usually exposed to pollutant mixtures than to single substances can lead to diverse
impacts on human health. Human health effects can range from nausea and difficulty in
breathing or skin irritation, to cancer. They also include birth defects, serious development
delays in children, and reduced activity of the immune system. Leading to several diseases.
Numerous studies describe that all types of air pollution, at higher concentrations, can affect the
human body. Nevertheless, similar effects are also observed with long term exposure to lower
pollutant concentrations. Particulate matter is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets
suspended in the air (Tan, 2014). The increasing concentrations of PM , NO , and O were
10 2 3
significantly associated with depressive symptoms measured repeatedly among elderly people in
Korea (Lim et al., 2012). There is an increasing body of evidence showing the impact of air
pollutants on human health such as in respiratory, and cardio and cerebrovascular systems. The
potential adverse health effects of particulate air pollution have been a major focus of attention
for many years. Individuals suffering already from cardiorespiratory disease or other respiratory
diseases such as asthma may be at greater risk of developing adverse responses if exposed too
high to the ambient levels of PM2.5(Osunsanya et al., 1999). Toxic chemicals can interfere with
normal body functions, resulting in many health problems. Some of these effects are acute,
including eye irritation, headaches, and nausea, while others may be chronic and irreversible
such as organ damage, birth defects, heart disease, cancer, and even death(Tan, 2014).
Toxicological evidence for adverse health effects caused by traffic derived PM is still only
marginal (Bree & Cassee, 2000). Particulate matter has recently become an issue of increasing
importance in pollution studies due to its noticeable effects on human health. Various studies on
air pollution effects on human health have indicated a strong relationship between air pollutant
concentrations and observed health effects. Primary PM2.5, such as black carbon and organic
carbon which is emitted directly into the atmosphere have more health damage than the
secondary PM2.5 (Tang et al., 2018). Exposure to PM2.5 reduces the life expectancy of the
population of the region by about 8.6 months on average (Myong, 2016).
The construction site needs to control and monitor its emission of particulate matter, as the
particulate matter from construction especially PM2.5 can cause health effects to the human,
environment and also can lead to serious climate change (Rosman et al., 2019). It was also
observed that increased exposure of humans in a diversity of pollutants, dietary interventions,
rich in plant-derived foods, may protect or decrease their effects on different organs (Kampa &
Castanas, 2008).
Methodology
The study utilizes the quantitative approach measurement that follows a deductive approach and
produces data in the form of numbers. Data will be collected from existing statistics which is
referred to as secondary data and the researcher analyzed the previously collected survey or
similar data that another researcher has gathered.
Secondary data is relatively cheap and saves time, permits comparisons across different groups
for analysis, and importantly allows asking about issues not addressed by original researchers
and answers new questions.
The data will be collected from the research journals, newspapers, and official documents such
as annual reports that are concerning air pollution and its effects on health in Bhutan and in other
countries that have more air pollution.
The data collected will be analyzed using computational techniques like SPSS software by
displaying different graphs for each question.
Result and Analysis
References
Bree, L. van, & Cassee, F. R. (2000). Toxicity of Ambient Air PM10. Research for Man and
Environment, 787, 1–52.
Kampa, M., & Castanas, E. (2008). Human health effects of air pollution. Environmental
Pollution, 151(2), 362–367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2007.06.012
Lim, Y. H., Kim, H., Kim, J. H., Bae, S., Park, H. Y., & Hong, Y. C. (2012). Air Pollution and
Symptoms of Depression in Elderly Adults. Environmental Health Perspectives, 120(7), 1023–
1028. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104100
Myong, J.-P. (2016). Health Effects of Particulate Matter. The Korean Journal of Medicine,
91(2), 106–113. https://doi.org/10.3904/kjm.2016.91.2.106
Osunsanya, T., Prescott, G., & Seaton, A. (1999). Acute health effects of ultrafine particles.
Thorax, 54(SUPPL. 3).
Rosman, P. S., Samah, M. A. A., Yunus, K., & Hussain, M. R. M. (2019). Particulate matter (PM
2.5) at construction site: A review. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering,
8(1C2), 255–259.
Tang, L., Nagashima, T., Hasegawa, K., Ohara, T., Sudo, K., & Itsubo, N. (2018). Development
of human health damage factors for PM2.5 based on a global chemical transport model.
International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 23(12), 2300–2310.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-014-0837-8
Tan, Z. (2014). Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-212-8
