Air pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that
cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural
environment or built environment, into the atmosphere.
The atmosphere is a complex dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on
planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a
threat to human health as well as to the Earth's ecosystems.
Indoor air pollution and urban air quality are listed as two of the world's worst pollution
problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute World's Worst Polluted Places report.[1]
Pollutants
Schematic drawing, causes and effects of air pollution: (1) greenhouse effect, (2) particulate
contamination, (3) increased UV radiation, (4) acid rain, (5) increased ground level ozone
concentration, (6) increased levels of nitrogen oxides.
An air pollutant is known as a substance in the air that can cause harm to humans and the
environment. Pollutants can be in the form of solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases. In
addition, they may be natural or man-made.[2]
Pollutants can be classified as primary or secondary. Usually, primary pollutants are directly
emitted from a process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption, the carbon monoxide gas from a
motor vehicle exhaust or sulfur dioxide released from factories. Secondary pollutants are not
emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air when primary pollutants react or interact. An
important example of a secondary pollutant is ground level ozone — one of the many secondary
pollutants that make up photochemical smog. Some pollutants may be both primary and
secondary: that is, they are both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants.
About 4 percent of deaths in the United States can be attributed to air pollution, according to the
Environmental Science Engineering Program at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Major primary pollutants produced by human activity include:
 Sulfur oxides (SOx) - especially sulfur dioxide, a chemical compound with the formula
SO2. SO2 is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and
petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide.
Further oxidation of SO2, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as NO2, forms H2SO4,
and thus acid rain.[2] This is one of the causes for concern over the environmental impact
of the use of these fuels as power sources.
 Nitrogen oxides (NOx) - especially nitrogen dioxide are emitted from high temperature
combustion. Can be seen as the brown haze dome above or plume downwind of cities.
Nitrogen dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula NO2. It is one of the several
nitrogen oxides. This reddish-brown toxic gas has a characteristic sharp, biting odor. NO2
is one of the most prominent air pollutants.
 Carbon monoxide - is a colorless, odorless, non-irritating but very poisonous gas. It is a
product by incomplete combustion of fuel such as natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular
exhaust is a major source of carbon monoxide.
 Carbon dioxide (CO2) - a colorless, odorless, non-toxic greenhouse gas associated with
ocean acidification, emitted from sources such as combustion, cement production, and
respiration
 Volatile organic compounds - VOCs are an important outdoor air pollutant. In this field
they are often divided into the separate categories of methane (CH4) and non-methane
(NMVOCs). Methane is an extremely efficient greenhouse gas which contributes to
enhanced global warming. Other hydrocarbon VOCs are also significant greenhouse
gases via their role in creating ozone and in prolonging the life of methane in the
 atmosphere, although the effect varies depending on local air quality. Within the
NMVOCs, the aromatic compounds benzene, toluene and xylene are suspected
carcinogens and may lead to leukemia through prolonged exposure. 1,3-butadiene is
another dangerous compound which is often associated with industrial uses.
 Particulate matter - Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter (PM) or
fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas. In contrast, aerosol
refers to particles and the gas together. Sources of particulate matter can be man made or
natural. Some particulates occur naturally, originating from volcanoes, dust storms, forest
and grassland fires, living vegetation, and sea spray. Human activities, such as the
burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants and various industrial processes also
generate significant amounts of aerosols. Averaged over the globe, anthropogenic
aerosols—those made by human activities—currently account for about 10 percent of the
total amount of aerosols in our atmosphere. Increased levels of fine particles in the air are
linked to health hazards such as heart disease,[3] altered lung function and lung cancer.
 Persistent free radicals connected to airborne fine particles could cause cardiopulmonary
disease.[4][5]
 Toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium and copper.
 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - harmful to the ozone layer emitted from products currently
banned from use.
 Ammonia (NH3) - emitted from agricultural processes. 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.
 Odors — such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial processes
 Radioactive pollutants - produced by nuclear explosions, war explosives, and natural
processes such as the radioactive decay of radon.
Secondary pollutants include:
 Particulate matter formed from gaseous primary pollutants and compounds in
photochemical smog. Smog is a kind of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau
of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area
caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide. Modern smog does not usually come
from coal but from vehicular and industrial emissions that are acted on in the atmosphere
by ultraviolet light from the sun to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the
primary emissions to form photochemical smog.
 Ground level ozone (O3) formed from NOx and VOCs. Ozone (O3) is a key constituent of
the troposphere (it is also an important constituent of certain regions of the stratosphere
commonly known as the Ozone layer). Photochemical and chemical reactions involving it
drive many of the chemical processes that occur in the atmosphere by day and by night.
At abnormally high concentrations brought about by human activities (largely the
combustion of fossil fuel), it is a pollutant, and a constituent of smog.
 Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) - similarly formed from NOx and VOCs.
Minor air pollutants include:
 A large number of minor hazardous air pollutants. Some of these are regulated in USA
under the Clean Air Act and in Europe under the Air Framework Directive.
 A variety of persistent organic pollutants, which can attach to particulate matter.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental
degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. Because of this, they have
been observed to persist in the environment, to be capable of long-range transport,
bioaccumulate in human and animal tissue, biomagnify in food chains, and to have potential
significant impacts on human health and the environment.
Sources
Sources of air pollution refer to the various locations, activities or factors which are responsible
for the releasing of pollutants in the atmosphere. These sources can be classified into two major
categories which are:
Anthropogenic sources (human activity) mostly related to burning different kinds of fuel
 "Stationary Sources" include smoke stacks of power plants, manufacturing facilities
(factories) and waste incinerators, as well as furnaces and other types of fuel-burning
heating devices
 "Mobile Sources" include motor vehicles, marine vessels, aircraft and the effect of sound
etc.
 Chemicals, dust and controlled burn practices in agriculture and forestry management.
Controlled or prescribed burning is a technique sometimes used in forest management,
farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both
forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for foresters. Controlled
burning stimulates the germination of some desirable forest trees, thus renewing the
forest.
 Fumes from paint, hair spray, varnish, aerosol sprays and other solvents
 Waste deposition in landfills, which generate methane. Methane is not toxic; however, it
is highly flammable and may form explosive mixtures with air. Methane is also an
asphyxiant and may displace oxygen in an enclosed space. Asphyxia or suffocation may
result if the oxygen concentration is reduced to below 19.5% by displacement
 Military, such as nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare and rocketry
Natural sources
 Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with little 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. It is
considered to be a health hazard. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in
buildings, especially in confined areas such as the basement and it is the second most
frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking.
 Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires.
 Vegetation, in some regions, emits environmentally significant amounts of VOCs on
warmer days. These VOCs react with primary anthropogenic pollutants—specifically,
NOx, SO2, and anthropogenic organic carbon compounds—to produce a seasonal haze of
secondary pollutants.[6]
 Volcanic activity, which produce sulfur, chlorine, and ash particulates.

Environmental impacts of greenhouse gas pollutants
The greenhouse effect is a phenomenon whereby greenhouse gases create a condition in the
upper atmosphere causing a trapping of heat and leading to increased surface and lower
tropospheric temperatures. Carbon dioxide from combustion of fossil fuels is the major problem.
Other greenhouse gases include methane, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons,
chlorofluorocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and ozone.
This effect has been understood by scientists for about a century, and technological
advancements during this period have helped increase the breadth and depth of data relating to
the phenomenon. Currently, scientists are studying the role of changes in composition of
greenhouse gases from natural and anthropogenic sources for the effect on climate change.
A number of studies have also investigated the potential for long-term rising levels of
atmospheric carbon dioxide to cause increases in the acidity of ocean waters and the possible
effects of this on marine ecosystems.
Emission factors
Air pollutant emission factors are representative values that people attempt to relate the quantity
of a pollutant released to the ambient air with an activity associated with the release of that
pollutant. These factors are usually expressed as the weight of pollutant divided by a unit weight,
volume, distance, or duration of the activity emitting the pollutant (e.g., kilograms of particulate
emitted per megagram of coal burned). Such factors facilitate estimation of emissions from
various sources of air pollution. In most cases, these factors are simply averages of all available
data of acceptable quality, and are generally assumed to be representative of long-term averages.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has published a compilation of air pollutant
emission factors for a multitude of industrial sources.[7] The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada
and many other countries have published similar compilations, as well as the European
Environment Agency.[8][9][10][11][12]
Indoor air quality (IAQ)
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
(H2CO) 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 with the use
of air fresheners, incense, and other scented items. Controlled wood fires in stoves and fireplaces
can add significant amounts of smoke particulates into the air, inside and out.[13] Indoor pollution
fatalities may be caused by using pesticides and other chemical sprays indoors without proper
ventilation.
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and fatalities are often caused by faulty vents and chimneys,
or by the burning of charcoal indoors. Chronic carbon monoxide poisoning can result even from
poorly adjusted pilot lights. Traps are built into all domestic plumbing to keep sewer gas,
hydrogen sulfide, out of interiors. Clothing emits tetrachloroethylene, or other dry cleaning
fluids, for days after dry cleaning.
Though its use has now been banned in many countries, the extensive use of asbestos in
industrial and domestic environments in the past has left a potentially very dangerous material in
many localities. Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory medical condition affecting the tissue of
the lungs. It occurs after long-term, heavy exposure to asbestos from asbestos-containing
materials in structures. Sufferers have severe dyspnea (shortness of breath) and are at an
increased risk regarding several different types of lung cancer. As clear explanations are not
always stressed in non-technical literature, care should be taken to distinguish between several
forms of relevant diseases. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO)[dead link], these
may defined as; asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma (generally a very rare form of cancer,
when more widespread it is almost always associated with prolonged exposure to asbestos).
Biological sources of air pollution are also found indoors, as gases and airborne particulates. Pets
produce dander, people produce dust from minute skin flakes and decomposed hair, dust mites in
bedding, carpeting and furniture produce enzymes and micrometre-sized fecal droppings,
inhabitants emit methane, mold forms in walls and generates mycotoxins and spores, air
conditioning systems can incubate Legionnaires' disease and mold, and houseplants, soil and
surrounding gardens can produce pollen, dust, and mold. Indoors, the lack of air circulation
allows these airborne pollutants to accumulate more than they would otherwise occur in nature.
Health effects
The World Health Organization states that 2.4 million people die each year from causes directly
attributable to air pollution, with 1.5 million of these deaths attributable to indoor air pollution.[14]
"Epidemiological studies suggest that more than 500,000 Americans die each year from
cardiopulmonary disease linked to breathing fine particle air pollution. . ."[15] A study by the
University of Birmingham has shown a strong correlation between pneumonia related deaths and
air pollution from motor vehicles.[16] Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution
than to automobile accidents.[citation needed] Published in 2005 suggests that 310,000 Europeans die
from air pollution annually.[citation needed] Causes of deaths include aggravated asthma, emphysema,
lung and heart diseases, and respiratory allergies.[citation needed] The US EPA estimates that a
proposed set of changes in diesel engine technology (Tier 2) could result in 12,000 fewer
premature mortalities, 15,000 fewer heart attacks, 6,000 fewer emergency room visits by
children with asthma, and 8,900 fewer respiratory-related hospital admissions each year in the
United States.[citation needed]
The worst short term civilian pollution crisis in India was the 1984 Bhopal Disaster.[17] Leaked
industrial vapors from the Union Carbide factory, belonging to Union Carbide, Inc., U.S.A.,
killed more than 25,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000. The
United Kingdom suffered its worst air pollution event when the December 4 Great Smog of 1952
formed over London. In six days more than 4,000 died, and 8,000 more died within the following
months.[citation needed] An accidental leak of anthrax spores from a biological warfare laboratory in
the former USSR in 1979 near Sverdlovsk is believed to have been the cause of hundreds of
civilian deaths.[citation needed] The worst single incident of air pollution to occur in the United States
of America occurred in Donora, Pennsylvania in late October, 1948, when 20 people died and
over 7,000 were injured.[18]
The health effects caused by air pollution may include difficulty in breathing, wheezing,
coughing and aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. These effects can result
in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency room visits, more hospital
admissions and premature death. The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching,
but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Individual
reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of
exposure, the individual's health status and genetics.[citation needed]
A new economic study of the health impacts and associated costs of air pollution in the Los
Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley of Southern California shows that more than 3800 people
die prematurely (approximately 14 years earlier than normal) each year because air pollution
levels violate federal standards. The number of annual premature deaths is considerably higher
than the fatalities related to auto collisions in the same area, which average fewer than 2,000 per
year.[19]
Diesel exhaust (DE) is a major contributor to combustion derived particulate matter air pollution.
In several human experimental studies, using a well validated exposure chamber setup, DE has
been linked to acute vascular dysfunction and increased thrombus formation.[20][21] This serves as
a plausible mechanistic link between the previously described association between particulate
matter air pollution and increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
Effects on cystic fibrosis
A study from around the years of 1999 to 2000, by the University of Washington, showed that
patients near and around particulate matter air pollution had an increased risk of pulmonary
exacerbations and decrease in lung function.[22] Patients were examined before the study for
amounts of specific pollutants like Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Burkholderia cenocepacia as
well as their socioeconomic standing. Participants involved in the study were located in the
United States in close proximity to an Environmental Protection Agency.[clarification needed] During the
time of the study 117 deaths were associated with air pollution. Many patients in the study lived
in or near large metropolitan areas in order to be close to medical help. These same patients had
higher level of pollutants found in their system because of more emissions in larger cities. As
cystic fibrosis patients already suffer from decreased lung function, everyday pollutants such as
smoke, emissions from automobiles, tobacco smoke and improper use of indoor heating devices
could further compromise lung function.[23]
Effects on COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) includes diseases such as chronic bronchitis,
emphysema, and some forms of asthma.[24]
A study conducted in 1960-1961 in the wake of the Great Smog of 1952 compared 293 London
residents with 477 residents of Gloucester, Peterborough, and Norwich, three towns with low
reported death rates from chronic bronchitis. All subjects were male postal truck drivers aged 40
to 59. Compared to the subjects from the outlying towns, the London subjects exhibited more
severe respiratory symptoms (including cough, phlegm, and dyspnea), reduced lung function
(FEV1 and peak flow rate), and increased sputum production and purulence. The differences
were more pronounced for subjects aged 50 to 59. The study controlled for age and smoking
habits, so concluded that air pollution was the most likely cause of the observed differences.[25]
It is believed that much like cystic fibrosis, by living in a more urban environment serious health
hazards become more apparent. Studies have shown that in urban areas patients suffer mucus
hypersecretion, lower levels of lung function, and more self diagnosis of chronic bronchitis and
emphysema.[26]
Effects on children
Cities around the world with high exposure to air pollutants have the possibility of children
living within them to develop asthma, pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections as well
as a low initial birth rate. Protective measures to ensure the youths' health are being taken in
cities such as New Delhi, India where buses now use compressed natural gas to help eliminate
the “pea-soup” smog.[27] Research by the World Health Organization shows there is the greatest
concentration of particulate matter particles in countries with low economic world power and
high poverty and population rates. Examples of these countries include Egypt, Sudan, Mongolia,
and Indonesia. In the United States, the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, however in 2002 at
least 146 million Americans were living in non-attainment areas—regions in which the
concentration of certain air pollutants exceeded federal standards.[28] Those pollutants are known
as the criteria pollutants, and include ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide,
carbon monoxide, and lead. Because children are outdoors more and have higher minute
ventilation they are more susceptible to the dangers of air pollution.
Health effects in relatively "clean" areas
Even in areas with relatively low levels of air pollution, public health effects can be substantial
and costly. This is because effects can occur at very low levels and a large number of people can
potentially breathe in such pollutants. A 2005 scientific study for the British Columbia Lung
Association showed that a 1% improvement in ambient PM2.5 and ozone concentrations will
produce a $29 million in annual savings in the region in 2010.[29] This finding is based on health
valuation of lethal (mortality) and sub-lethal (morbidity) effects.
Reduction efforts
There are various air pollution control technologies and land use planning strategies available to
reduce air pollution. At its most basic level land use planning is likely to involve zoning and
transport infrastructure planning. In most developed countries, land use planning is an important
part of social policy, ensuring that land is used efficiently for the benefit of the wider economy
and population as well as to protect the environment.
Efforts to reduce pollution from mobile sources includes primary regulation (many developing
countries have permissive regulations),[citation needed] expanding regulation to new sources (such as
cruise and transport ships, farm equipment, and small gas-powered equipment such as lawn
trimmers, chainsaws, and snowmobiles), increased fuel efficiency (such as through the use of
hybrid vehicles), conversion to cleaner fuels (such as bioethanol, biodiesel, or conversion to
electric vehicles).
Legal regulations
In general, there are two types of air quality standards. The first class of standards (such as the
U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards) set maximum atmospheric concentrations for
specific pollutants. Environmental agencies enact regulations which are intended to result in
attainment of these target levels. The second class (such as the North American Air Quality
Index) take the form of a scale with various thresholds, which is used to communicate to the
public the relative risk of outdoor activity. The scale may or may not distinguish between
different pollutants.
Atmospheric dispersion
The basic technology for analyzing air pollution is through the use of a variety of mathematical
models for predicting the transport of air pollutants in the lower atmosphere. The principal
methodologies are:
 Point source dispersion, used for industrial sources.
 Line source dispersion, used for airport and roadway air dispersion modeling
 Area source dispersion, used for forest fires or duststorms
 Photochemical models, used to analyze reactive pollutants that form smog
The point source problem is the best understood, since it involves simpler mathematics and has
been studied for a long period of time, dating back to about the year 1900. It uses a Gaussian
dispersion model for buoyant pollution plumes to forecast the air pollution isopleths, with
consideration given to wind velocity, stack height, emission rate and stability class (a measure of
atmospheric turbulence).[32][33] This model has been extensively validated and calibrated with
experimental data for all sorts of atmospheric conditions.
The roadway air dispersion model was developed starting in the late 1950s and early 1960s in
response to requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and the U.S. Department of
Transportation (then known as the Federal Highway Administration) to understand impacts of
proposed new highways upon air quality, especially in urban areas. Several research groups were
active in this model development, among which were: the Environmental Research and
Technology (ERT) group in Lexington, Massachusetts, the ESL Inc. group in Sunnyvale,
California and the California Air Resources Board group in Sacramento, California. The research
of the ESL group received a boost with a contract award from the United States Environmental
Protection Agency to validate a line source model using sulfur hexafluoride as a tracer gas. This
program was successful in validating the line source model developed by ESL inc. Some of the
earliest uses of the model were in court cases involving highway air pollution, the Arlington,
Virginia portion of Interstate 66 and the New Jersey Turnpike widening project through East
Brunswick, New Jersey.
Area source models were developed in 1971 through 1974 by the ERT and ESL groups, but
addressed a smaller fraction of total air pollution emissions, so that their use and need was not as
widespread as the line source model, which enjoyed hundreds of different applications as early
as the 1970s. Similarly photochemical models were developed primarily in the 1960s and 1970s,
but their use was more specialized and for regional needs, such as understanding smog formation
in Los Angeles, California.
Cities
Air pollution is usually concentrated in densely populated metropolitan areas, especially in
developing countries where environmental regulations are relatively lax or nonexistent.
However, even populated areas in developed countries attain unhealthy levels of pollution.

Carbon dioxide emissions

Most Polluted World Cities by PM

Particulate matter,
City
μg/m³ (2004)
169 Cairo, Egypt
150 Delhi, India
128 Kolkata, India (Calcutta)
125 Tianjin, China
123 Chongqing, China
109 Kanpur, India
109 Lucknow, India
104 Jakarta, Indonesia
101 Shenyang, China

Per capita CO2 emissions

Countries with the highest per capita CO2 emissions

Carbon dioxide emissions per year
Country
(Tons per person) (2006)
 Qatar 56.2
 United Arab Emirates 32.8
 Kuwait 31.2
 Bahrain 28.8
 Trinidad and Tobago 25.3
 Luxembourg 24.5
 Netherlands Antilles 22.8
 Aruba 22.3
 United States 19
 Australia 18.1

Total CO2 emissions

 Countries with the highest CO2 emissions
Carbon dioxide emissions per
Country Percentage of global total
year (106 Tons) (2006)
China 6,103 21.5%
United States 5,752 20.2%
Russia 1,564 5.5%
India 1,510 5.3%
Japan 1293 4.6%
Germany 805 2.8%
United Kingdom 568 2.0%
Canada 544 1.9%
South Korea 475 1.7%
Italy 474 1.7%