Effects Of Air Pollution: Is It Safe To Take A Deep Breath?

Effects Of Air Pollution: Is It Safe To Take A Deep Breath? Since the days of cavemen building fires in poor ventilated caves, the effects of air pollution have been a fact of life. Unfortunately, that fact of life has become a major pollution issue that needs to be dealt with. Increased industrialization, building, and population have caused the levels of air pollution to go soaring. The effects of air pollution are not good and have harmed many species and continue to be the main reason for many diseases and even death.

Reasons for Pollution

Air pollutants stem from many sources and are made up of many types of molecules. A few contributing components include:

Carbon Dioxide Burning fossil fuels, such as gasoline
Nitrogen Dioxide Burning biomasses and fossil fuels
Nitrous Oxide From nitrogen based fertilizers
Sulfur Dioxide Combustion of sulfur-based fuels, such as oil
Chlorofluorocarbons Or Freon come from refrigerants, aerosol cans, and the burning of plastics
Smog A combination of gases that are released with the burning of fuels from industries, transportation devices, and fires

Indoors And Out

There is no escaping the effects air pollution and they are all negative. It is true that those who live in and around cities are increasingly exposed, due to the amount of industry, autos on the roadways, and population. However, those who live on farms are subjected to exhaust from farm equipment, fertilizers, and animal waste that contain chemicals. Some may think that they are safe if they are in the confines of their own home but that is not true. There are air pollutants inside that are just as dangerous. Poor ventilation of heating and cooling systems, household chemicals, fibers, and more contribute to air pollutants.

What Happens As The Result

The damage done by air pollution touches many organisms and many are not directly exposed. The effects of air pollution can travel in the atmosphere for days, therefore spreading across the miles from its original source. The results can vary, but some examples include:

Plant life Plants clean the air of carbon dioxide, but with deforestation comes fewer plants to do so. Plants will also absorb the toxic levels of carbon dioxide, which will lessen their protective waxy coating. This coating is vital for water and food storage, so without this then disease and pests are more likely to attack and the plant will die.
Health The lungs need oxygen to survive and that oxygen is carried through the blood stream to the heart and then pumped to the other organs throughout the body. Many illness are linked to air pollution, such as: common cold, croup, asthma, bronchitis, COPD, lung cancer, heart failure, coronary disease, and much more.

The effects of air pollution are not a new problem, but it seems to get worse and not better. The governments have gotten better regulating and fining the big industries, but it is hard to regulate air pollution on the personal level. It is our responsibility to regulate and decrease our use of air pollutants or else we will not live in our world as we have grown accustomed to.

Can the Effects of Air Pollution Harm Me? You and your children could be at risk when breathing in polluted air. There are two types of, effects of air pollution, and they are long term, and short term effects. Just how badly each person is harmed by pollution will depend on the duration of exposure, as well as the amount they were exposed to during that time. These together, are referred to as the total exposure to the pollution. Elderly people, as well as children usually are more harmed by the effects of air pollution, than a healthy adult. It is also dangerous for people with asthma or lung disease to be exposed to air pollution. People know that pollution is harmful and could even kill you, but the benefits we get from activities causing pollution, often outweigh the potential harm, in our minds. It is not until we have felt the effects of air pollution personally that we begin to be concerned with fixing the problem.

The short term effects of air pollution have probably harmed you already without you realizing it. Some of the short term effects include irritation to the nose, throat, and eyes. Some more serious effects include things like bronchitis, respiratory infections, and even pneumonia. You might have gotten these problems from air pollution and didn’t even realize it. You probably only think the effects of air pollution include the long term effects like lung cancer, and respiratory disease. So then you might have never realized, that the last time you had a respiratory infection, you were being harmed by air pollution. Although the long term effects of air pollution are much more serious you are being harmed by air pollution every time you breathe in something you shouldn’t. When the long term effects start to harm you, it is much too late to start thinking about how to cut back on air pollution. These terrible problems include lung cancer, chronic respiratory disease, heart disease, and organ damage. The organ damage can happen to your lungs, brain, nerves, kidneys, and liver. One very preventable way of polluting the air includes smoking cigarettes. Many people die each year, before their time, because of smoking cigarettes. When someone smokes around children, they can damage their lungs even before they are fully developed. Smoking and other air pollution can harm the elderly, and irritate their already present medical conditions. All of the human related sources of air pollution can be prevented, if we all keep trying to find ways to do what we need to do, without polluting the air we breathe.