Air pollution has been an ongoing issue for decades. With a vast amount of causes, such as: burning fossil fuel, manufacturing, and wildfires; it is hard to completely eliminate air pollution, but something can be done to lessen the severity of air pollution. Long exposure to poor air quality leaves the human respiratory system at risk.
Air pollution can affect those with asthma, especially children. Researchers did a test to see whether air pollution caused by vehicles was a factor that affected the respiratory system of children, ages ten to eighteen (Jerrett et al., 2008). They gathered a selection of children and tested the air in their surrounding area as well as recorded data regarding any effects the air around them had placed on
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Although children are more prone to getting asthma attacks or developing asthma at a young age, adults still have a likelihood of developing asthma even if their body is fully developed.
Severe air pollution and long exposures to air pollution can lead to people developing lung cancer. A research study was done in several European countries to see if air pollution was actually a factor that caused lung cancer (Raaschou-Nielsen et al., 2013). What they found had supported my hypothesis; they found that air pollution in fact, did have a relation to people’s development of lung cancer. The more one is exposed to air pollution, the higher their risk is of developing lung cancer because of all the amount of particulate matter in the air. In addition, a different group of researchers tested a similar theory in Canada, but they went more in-depth and wanted to know what type of gases and/or chemicals, specifically, caused lung cancer (Hystad et al., 2013). They found that the leading cause of lung cancer from air pollution, was from long exposure to nitrogen dioxide, which is commonly found near highways because of automobiles. The closer the people lived near highways, the more lung damage they got from being exposed to such chemicals and gases from automobiles more frequently. Correspondingly, a few years back, Michael Jerrett and his colleagues studied the same factors in Canada as well.
Another big problem in polluting places and things is air pollution which can make air foggy, unbreathable, and toxic. According to “34 Facts about Pollution”, the text states breathing the air in Mumbai, India, for just one day is equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes. One of the things that can cause air pollution is releasing factory fuels and fossil fuels into the air. We also cause it from burning certain things like plastic, chemicals, and other
There are various types of air pollution contributors in California such as fire generated pollutants and vehicle traffic, which add particulate matter and carbon monoxide into the air we breathe. According to an article by Union of Concerned Scientists (Cars, trucks, and air pollution, 2014) particulate matter is made up of fine particles soot and metal that can pose serious threats to human health when deep in the lungs. Other pollutants emitted from vehicles are: nitrogen oxide which lowers the body’s defense system against respiratory infections such as pneumonia, carbon monoxide which blocks oxygen from reaching vital organs, sulfur dioxide which is emitted by both power plants and vehicles affect children and asthmatics, and hazardous air pollutants (toxics) which are chemicals that are linked to cancer, birth defects and other illnesses (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2014).
Air Pollution today has lead CDC's fight against environmental -related respiratory illness, including asthma.An estimated number of 6.5 million deaths are attributed each year to poor air quality, making this the world's largest threat to human health.According to the World Energy Outlook and the IEA estimate that death due to household air pollution in Africa may decrease by 110,00 to 2040.However, due to economic growth, urbanization and automobile emissions, outdoor air pollution may rise from 300,00 to 450,000 over the same period. Am going to be looking at the causes of air pollution. the problems emerging with air pollution and also how we as a community can help decrease the amount of death rate associated with air pollution.I remember growing up in Africa Air pollution was always a talk about a subject that always comes out because it is really contagious due to the fact that we are breathing bad air that is caused by our human contribution to the environment.Air pollution is considered to be a public health problem, it is responsible for most of our health problems after some research has been conducted in many different parts of the world and regions. According to the Geochemistry and Health paleopathological research suggests that air pollution is a form of smoke, plagued our oldest ancestors.Air pollution has emerged as one of the leading risk factors for stroke worldwide.
This article, written by Jocelyn Lockwood, explores the severity and effects of air pollution in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Lockwood begins her article by discussing the findings of the ‘State of the Air 2015’ report, written by the American Lung Association, to emphasize that the amount of pollution in the air is dangerous. The author continues the article by referencing an interview with Blazer, a 9-year-old who has asthma, to give more evidence
Louis. When living in a hard up income area there is always a tightly packed space between older automobiles, busses, and trucks. This destroyed the ozone, which would bring about cardiovascular problems such as asthma attacks. In the article Gammon states that "In Southern California communities , exposure through air pollution and traffic emissions stunts children's lung growth ,according to USC research " This hints that if a child happens to live nearby or is nearby a polluted area he or she is unprotected and is exposed to having
Did you know many upper respiratory diseases such as asthma and others diseases like cataracts and skin cancer are aggravated by air pollution. The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) states that “the following air pollutants are common triggers of asthma, ground level ozone, sulfur dioxide, fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxide.” Air pollution is the presence in or introduction into the air of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.
Air pollution has been recognized as a major threat to environmental health, and the effects that it can have on the population are extremely varied. In the environmental aspects, air
Evidence suggests a role for particles and other traffic-related components in particular (Chiu et al, 2014). Exposure to environmental toxicants, such as air pollution starting in utero, couple potentially alter course of lung growth and affect both the structure and function of the respiratory system. Studies link prenatal air pollution exposure, including fine particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, with wheeze, respiratory tract infections, and reduced lung function in
There has been a decline in the quality of air we breathe in over time, and this can be blamed on the rapid industrialization and urbanization of cities. Rapid urbanization and industrialization has lead to the use of more sophisticated machines such as vehicles, which produce gases, which are majorly responsible for the gradual change in climate. Asthmatic flare ups can be as a result of ‘the exposure to tobacco smoke, vehicular emissions, ozone, plant pollens, mold spores, skin cells and hair from common mammalian pets, waste of dust mites and cockroaches, and cold air’ (Adkinson et al., 2007). Although asthma is said to be more common in urban areas, cases of asthma in rural areas are becoming more common as a result of rapid industrialization. The article states that in coming years, respiratory health is expected to grow even worse “because of interaction between heavier pollen loads and increased air pollution” (Shea, Truckner, Weber, & Peden, 2008, p.
Some of these studies, analysed the association between traffic pollution and the rate of asthma hospitalisation, concluding that traffic-related pollution was one factor that affects asthma (Pereira et al., 2010; Puig-barbera & Bellido-blasco, 2009; Sahsuvaroglu et al., 2009). However, the study of M??lter et al., (2015) suggests a negative association between traffic-related pollution and asthma is
Increase in motor vehicles use and increase exposure to traffic emissions has been linked to adverse health effects such as asthma exacerbation, decrease pulmonary function, adverse health outcomes, and childhood cancer. 2 In urban areas, motor vehicles contribute to more than 50 % of the air pollution. 2
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that is not to be underestimated; it affects approximately 12.1% of children in the United States (English et al. 2006). Asthma is particularly concerning and threatening to children for multiple reasons, one being the anatomy of children. Asthma has no cure however there are some ways to treat asthma. If gone untreated, asthma could be deadly. Many causes of asthma cannot be exterminated however they can be reduced. Air pollution, being one of them, is something that many people may consider to be unavoidable, but in reality it is an unfortunate result of a luxury that the majority of the population consider a necessity.
There are a number of contributing factors in the increase of childhood asthma; for instance, sensitization of allergens, cultural beliefs, and environmental factors, gas and diesel emissions due to the high volume of traffic from the interstates in the surrounding areas. Furthermore, behavioral choices made by parents and other adults are added factors in the increase of asthma rates in children; for instance, mothers that smoke during pregnancy create higher risk for childhood asthma. Adults who smoke in their home, also in their car, with children present, are contributors to the increased rate of asthma.
Thanks for sharing this information. Air pollution is the leading cause of cancer and is so sad that a lot of people are affect from the toxic chemicals polluting the air and nothing is being done to stop the pollution. Here’s a link that explains how outdoor air pollution can causes different kind of cancer.
Another key way that humans are destroying (polluting) the environment is through their uncontrolled disposal of water bottles. When a bottle of water is purchased, the cost is primarily for the plastic. However, people tend to overlook the environmental cost. The production process of water bottle from manufacturing to disposing is costly. Most plastic bottles are manufactured from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, fashioned from crude oil (Schriever, 2013). Oil extraction discharges harm habitats and greenhouse gases, in addition to casting toxins into the atmosphere.