AIR POLLUTION AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

1. Downloaded from: justpaste.it/What-is-air-pollution AIR POLLUTION AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS What is air pollution? Air is the surrounding mix of gases that we breathe to survive. The air surrounding us that we breathe in majorly comprises two types of gases, i.e. 75 percent nitrogen gas and 21 percent oxygen accompanied with few other gases in minimal quantity including carbon dioxide, argon, etc. Broadly speaking, the air is almost entirely made up of two gases (78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen), with a few other gases (such as carbon dioxide and argon) present in absolutely minute quantities. To simply put, Air pollution is a gas (or a liquid or solid dispersed through ordinary air) released in a big enough quantity to harm the health of people or other animals, kill plants or stop them growing properly, damage or disrupt some other aspect of the environment (such as making buildings crumble), or cause some other kind of nuisance (reduced visibility, perhaps, or an unpleasant odor). Air pollution is the contamination of the air surrounding us which leads to harmful health effects. Air pollution, just like water pollution and land pollution, is the increased concentration of a chemical in the air making it harmless to polluted. For example, Carbon dioxide (CO2) is present in the air around us in a typical concentration of less than 0.05 percent and breathing it in usually does no harm just like you breathe it out all day long but air consisting of high percentage or concentration of carbon dioxide, for example, 5 to10 percent is toxic in nature and may kill you in a matter of minutes. Air pollution often has a tendency to disperse with the blowing wind. With an increase in pollution and polluting activities, the sources of pollution are increasing making dispersal of the pollutants much difficult. The increase has now gone to an alarming rate that people have started to look for HEPA filter air purifiers to purify even their indoor air. This is major because air pollution is no longer an outdoor issue but also an indoor problem in every household. Natural air pollution Air pollution is usually connected with human intervention in nature. However, there are some natural ways that the air surrounding us gets polluted. These natural ways of pollution include Forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and the radioactive decay of rocks inside the earth releasing gases into the air, etc. There are many natural ways that the air surrounding us gets polluted. Air pollution through forest fires causes huge swathes of smoke that further drifts for miles over neighboring cities, countries and even continents depending upon the fire intensity, eg: the Amazon forest fires. Volcanic eruption on a huge level emits a huge amount of dust into the atmosphere further blocking the sunlight and cooling down of the entire planet for a substantial time and at times the cooling down happens for a year or more. Radioactive rocks pollute the air surrounding us by releasing a gas called radon during the decaying process. This also builds up in the basements of buildings and leads to serious effects on people's health each year. Around 21,000 people in the United States have died due to lung cancer caused by radon gas present in the air.

2. All these things are examples of serious air pollution that happen without any form of human intervention. Although we can adapt to natural air pollution, and try to reduce the disruption it causes, we can never stop it happening completely. There are still productive ways to control the pollution level caused by natural ways however the increasing form of human instigated air pollution have given air pollution a tremendous rise. People have started to look for indoor air pollution solution as it has been on an all-time increase besides the outdoor air pollution. Environmental Effects of Air pollution Acidification Air pollution caused by chemical reactions, which involves air pollutants, can create acidic compounds that further cause harm to vegetation and buildings. At times when an air pollutant, such as sulfuric acid mixes with water droplets, makes up clouds thus making the water droplets acidic in nature and hence resulting in acid rain. When acid rain falls over an area, it can kill trees and harm animals, fish, and other wildlife. Acid rain destroys a plant and the soil. Infiltration of Acid rain into the soil modifies the soil composition that is unfit for plant growth and unfit as a source of nutrition to animals that rely on the soil as their habitat or nutrition. Acid rain also alters the chemistry of the lakes and streams that the rainwater flows or gets mixed with thereby harming the aquatic animal and plant life. Eutrophication Rainwater often carries and deposits the Nitrogen in some pollutants on rivers and soils thereby adversely affecting the nutrients in the soil and water bodies. The lakes and water bodies hence develop an algae growth and thus making the conditions under for living organisms (plants and animals) unfit for survival and growth. Ground-level ozone Chemical reactions developed due to air pollutants give rise to poisonous gas ozone- O3. Ozone gas has a tendency to affect people’s health and damage the vegetation, plant and animal life on earth. Hepa filter air purifier helps to keep the ozone level indoors at bay.

3. Particulate matter Also known as PM 2.5, particulate matter is the tiniest and the most harmful type of air pollutant. Keeping the rising PM2.5 at bay is an important aspect of all indoor air pollution solutions. The level of effect usually depends on the length of time of exposure, as well as the kind and concentration of chemicals and particles exposed to. Short-term effects include irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat, and upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Others include headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Short-term air pollution can aggravate the medical conditions of individuals with asthma and emphysema. Long-term health effects can include chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Continual exposure to air pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may aggravate or complicate medical conditions in the elderly. Using HEPA filter air purifiers helps keep the pm 2.5 levels regulated.