Air Pollution
By Tanishka sonar
10th N 14
Acknowldgement
I Would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my EVS
teacher Ms. Clara Ohal as well as I will also like to say thanks to our
principal Ms. Amrita Varma Madma who gave the golden opportunity to
do this wonderful project.
Secondly, I would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped
me a lot, without their help and support it would not have been possible
for us to complete this project.
Introduction
Air pollution is the contamination of
air due to the presence of
substances called pollutants in the
atmosphere that are harmful to the
health of humans and other living
beings, or cause damage to the
climate or to materials.
There are many different types of air
pollutants, such as gases (including
ammonia, carbon monoxide, sulfur
dioxide, nitrous oxides, methane and
chlorofluorocarbons), particulates
(both organic and inorganic) and
biological molecules.
Air quality is closely related to the
Earth's climate and ecosystems
globally. Many of the contributors of
air pollution are also sources of
greenhouse emission i.e., burning of
fossil fuel.
Air pollution is a significant risk factor
for a number of pollution-related
diseases, including respiratory
infections, heart disease, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD), stroke, and lung cancer.
Sources
There are many different
sources of air pollution.
Some air pollutants (such
as nitrogen oxides)
originate mainly from
human activities, while
some (notably radon gas)
come mostly from natural
sources. However, many air
pollutants (including dust
and sulfur dioxide) come
from a mixture of natural
and human sources.
Natural sources
Dust from natural sources,
usually large areas of land with
little vegetation or no
vegetation
Methane, emitted by the
digestion of food by animals,
for example cattle
Radon gas from radioactive
decay within the Earth's crust.
Radon is a colorless, odorless,
naturally occurring, radioactive
noble gas that is formed from
the decay of radium.
Emission factors
Air pollutant emission factors are
reported representative values that
aim to link the quantity of a pollutant
released into the ambient air to an
activity connected with that
pollutant's release.
The weight of the pollutant divided
by a unit weight, volume, distance, or
time of the activity generating the
pollutant is how these factors are
commonly stated (e.g., kilograms of
particulate emitted per tonne of coal
burned).
Pollutants
An air pollutant is a material in the
air that can have many effects on
humans and the ecosystem. The
substance can be solid particles,
liquid droplets, or gases, and often
takes the form of an aerosol (solid
particles or liquid droplets
dispersed and carried by a gas).
Other examples include carbon
monoxide gas from motor vehicle
exhausts or sulfur dioxide released
from factories. Secondary
pollutants are not emitted directly.
Primary pollutants
Ammonia: Emitted mainly by
agricultural waste. Ammonia is a
compound with the formula NH3. It is
normally encountered as a gas with a
characteristic pungent odor. Ammonia
contributes significantly to the
nutritional needs of terrestrial
organisms by serving as a precursor to
foodstuffs and fertilizers.
Ammonia, either directly or indirectly, is
also a building block for the synthesis
of many pharmaceuticals. Although in
wide use, ammonia is both caustic and
hazardous. In the atmosphere,
ammonia reacts with oxides of nitrogen
and sulfur to form secondary particles.
Secondary pollutants
Ground level ozone : Ozone is created when NOx
and VOCs mix. It is a significant part of the
troposphere.It's also an important part of the
ozone layer, which can be found in different
sections of the stratosphere. Photochemical and
chemical reactions involving it fuel many of the
chemical activities that occur in the atmosphere
during the day and night. It is a pollutant and a
component of smog that is produced in large
quantities as a result of human activities (mostly
the combustion of fossil fuels).
Peroxyacetyl nitrate (C2H3NO5): similarly formed
from NOx and VOCs.
Exposure
The risk of air pollution is determined by the
pollutant's hazard and the amount of exposure
to that pollutant. Air pollution exposure can be
measured for a person, a group, such as a
neighborhood or a country's children, or an
entire population. For example, one would want
to determine a geographic area's exposure to a
dangerous air pollution, taking into account the
various microenvironments and age groups.
This can be calculated as an inhalation
exposure. This would account for daily exposure
in various settings, e.g. different indoor micro-
environments and outdoor locations. The
exposure needs to include different ages and
other demographic groups, especially infants,
children, pregnant women, and other sensitive
subpopulations.
Indoor air quality
A lack of ventilation indoors
concentrates air pollution where
people often spend the majority of
their time. Radon (Rn) gas, a
carcinogen, is exuded from the Earth in
certain locations and trapped inside
houses. Building materials including
carpeting and plywood emit
formaldehyde (H-CHO) gas. Paint and
solvents give off volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) as they dry. Lead
paint can degenerate into dust and be
inhaled.
Intentional air pollution is introduced
Health effects
Even at levels lower than those
considered safe by United States
regulators, exposure to three
components of air pollution, fine
particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide
and ozone, correlates with cardiac
and respiratory illness. In 2020,
pollution (including air pollution)
was a contributing factor to one in
eight deaths in Europe, and was a
significant risk factor for pollution-
related diseases including heart
disease, stroke and lung cancer.
Agricultural effects
Various studies have estimated the impacts of
air pollution on agriculture, especially ozone. A
2020 study showed that ozone pollution in
California may reduce yields of certain
perennial crops such as table grapes by as
much as 22% per year, translating into
economic damages of more than $1 billion per
year.
After air pollutants enter the agricultural
environment, they not only directly affect
agricultural production and quality, but also
enter agricultural waters and soil. The COVID-
19 induced lockdown served as a natural
experiment to expose the close links between
air quality and surface greenness.
Economic effects
Air pollution costs the world economy $5 trillion per year as a result of
productivity losses and degraded quality of life, in a 2016 joint study by the
World Bank and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the
University of Washington. These productivity losses are caused by deaths due to
diseases caused by air pollution.
One out of ten deaths in 2013 was caused by diseases associated with air
pollution and the problem is getting worse.
Bibliography
Wikipedia
Google
Textbook
