The Effects of Air Pollution on Public Health
The air we breathe is vital to our survival as a species on Earth. Air, by definition, includes nitrogen and oxygen, which the body needs to live. However, those two gases are not the only thing we are inhaling. “Air pollution occurs because of physical, chemical, and dynamic processes that ultimately lead to gases or particles being emitted by a source and then being accumulated in the atmosphere” (Swift, 1999). The atmosphere around us is riddled with micro particles of all forms. Some are natural and harmless, while others cause unknown damage to our bodies. These harmful particles floating around collectively pollute the air we breathe. Many uncontrollable natural processes emit gases and particles, but there are a lot of man-made processes that unnecessarily release handfuls of harmful particles into the air we breathe. The health effects of breathing in contaminated air are grim and possibly deadly. The worst news of all: it may be too late to clean our only source of oxygen, a vital key to our survival. There are many different aspects of how public health is affected by air pollution. Some of the larger things are unnatural cause’s verses natural causes, the long term-effects, the short-term effects, and the future of public health.
First, anything that emits gases and particles into the atmosphere is a pollutant. The use of cars and other form of transportation is a huge contributor to the gases emitted into the air each day. “Transportation, including both gasoline and diesel automobiles and aircraft, along with electric utilities comprise nearly 97% of the emissions” (Künzli, 2000). The engines in these vehicles are powered by the burning of gasoline. When gasoline is burned, its chemical composition changes, and the released compounds of carbon and hydrogen form carbon dioxide within the air we breathe. This is one of the most abundant and harmful toxins currently in the Earth’s atmosphere. Transportation, along with the smoking of cigarettes, are just two of the many luxuries causing huge health issues that will be discussed later on. The most effective way, and possibly the only way as stated by Slayer (1971), to stop the release of toxins into the air is to simply stop using the products that are releasing the particles. This would mean no forms of modern day gas guzzling transportation, and we would have to invent a completely new way to produce many of the products that are made in large industrial plants.
Also, man-made sources that produce toxic particles as mentioned above are by far the worst contributors of air pollution; however they are not the only. Other sources include wildfires, volcanoes, and wind erosion. All contribute to air pollution, but these natural processes should not be monitored or stopped. Wildfires burn a lot of woods in a short period of time, releasing an uncalculated amount of carbon dioxide into the air. But wildfires are a necessary part of the natural cycle of the Earth. The planet could easily absorb these small bursts of air pollution and restore balance to the atmosphere if these natural causes were the only thing causing the pollution of the atmosphere. It is our unexpected contribution to the toxins in the air that is causing the unbalance in nature, along with most of our health issues.(sandberg)
Now, pollution in the air has many different consequences, some short term and some long term. Some of the short-term effects include allergies and irritation in the ears, nose, and throat. Air pollution affects people in many different ways. Not all people are as prone to the effects of air pollution but the ones that are tend to be those of lower health. Populations particularly at risk are the elderly, sick, young, disabled and the poor (Xia & Tong, 2008). One of the short term effects of air pollution is an increase of allergic reactions. People with allergies need to pay more attention, because pollution acts as a trigger to inflame already existing allergic reactions. So people with even the most common allergies such as pollen or grass can be triggered and some of the more severe reactions can occur (Xia & Tong, 2008). The more an area is populated, the more Nitrogen dioxide is present. Nitrogen dioxide affects asthmatic people more intensely than others (Xia & Tong, 2008). It causes those with asthma to be more susceptible to lung infections and intense asthma attacks. Asthma attacks can lethal if severe enough. Sulfur dioxide affects people with chronic conditions as well. Since it tightens the airways it can cause people with asthma or emphysema to have stronger symptoms than normal due to the increased lack of breath. Air pollution from industrial plants, factories and automobiles all contribute significantly to an increase in asthma attacks (Xia & Tong, 2008). Those that are unfortunate enough to live close to such places run the risk of sickness every day because of air pollution. Even short term exposure to significant particulate matter can cause intense coughing spells, sneezing, and eye watering and burning (Xia & Tong, 2008). The elderly, sick, young, disabled and the poor are more affected by air pollution. The cause of that is because the elderly, sick, and young have a weakened immune system. Also the disabled and poor do not have the resources readily available to acquire necessary medications and vaccinations to have such immune systems (Xia & Tong, 2008).
Whether, the pollutants we breathe are from a wildfire or from toxins released by cars, whether we are rich or poor, the long term health effects are the same. The most common health risk to be linked with air pollution, specifically second-hand smoke, is long term chronic obstructive lung disease (Kraft). This is a serious disease that limits the amount of oxygen that reaches our lungs, ultimately leading to death. Other long term health effects include reduction and loss of lung function, development and exacerbation of asthma and bronchitis, chest pain that leads to heart attacks, impaired neurobehavioral development, and premature death (Price). “…Polluted air often leads to the initiation, but especially to the development of some diseases already existent” (Colburn). This supports why most of these health effects are so severe. It is likely that many people with these deadly health issues related to inhaling polluted air already had an existing condition, such as asthma or a respiratory infection like bronchitis. Unfortunately, all of the mentioned health effects associated with long term exposure to air pollution mentioned above are merely hypothesized results. It is hard to measure what long term exposure to air toxins does to the human body because it is hard to create a controlled experiment where the only variable effecting a person’s health is air pollution. Only a handful of studies have delved into the long-term effects of air pollution; and in the United States, only two studies have reached more than 15 years of follow up time with their case studies (hraft).
Moreover, Kraft states that “levels of particulate matter air pollution have been shown to be associated with mortality rate, and the mortality rate did not decrease as control strategies were implemented to reduce total particle loading”. This means that even if a highly polluted city puts policies into effect that decrease the amount of air pollution released, it would not be enough to minimize the health effects brought on by air pollution exposure. Saylor (1971) supports this by saying that drastic measures need to be taken if we have any hope of getting the toxins we release into the air under control, which would ultimately reduce the health risks associated with air pollution for future generations. All transportation within cities would have to be replaced with a substitute that produces no pollutants, and toxic emission-free industrial plants would have to be implemented. “Otherwise, people will continue to be exposed to oxidant levels which will have deleterious effects on their health” (Saylor, 1971).
Furthermore, the future of public health is important. If we do not change how we are living, the earth will go through many changes. Like extinction, human illness, global warming, and even the economic system will change (Greenberg, 1987). Extinction will soon be a factor in this world, because pollution has an adverse impact on wildlife and will continue to do so well into the future. As pollutant levels increase, human exposure to toxins will also increase as in animals. More toxins in the air will make illnesses worse. Intensifying them and making sickness extremely worse. Also global warming will continue to get worse, the more that pollution levels start to escalate. As global warming continues to get worse, more animals get affected and eventually die off eventually leaving humans with less food resources. The more that greenhouse gases get trapped close to the ozone layer, the greater the global warming. Since pollution can effect human illnesses that means it can in turn affect the economic system. With people sick, they will buy less from the markets, and stores that put money back into the economic system. Another example, if students do not go to school due to all this new illness they will miss so many opportunities and the government will lose so much money (Greenberg, 1987). This will create a cycle of hard-ship for all the other countries, because we have a safety net system. This means all the economic systems are built to help the other, incase on fall someone else can pick them back up. Now the future of air pollution has a good and a bad side. The government has put in place the Clean Air Act, which puts limits on emitted pollutants. That is a great start to improving the future. It shows that we as humans care about our beautiful earth and can make a difference in how long it will last and support our life. However, the population of the earth is steadily increasing, and more countries are becoming industrialized (Hales, 2007). So that means although the people are trying to help, if we are only focused on the United States nothing will change. We need to include the whole world. Air pollution will always be a problem unless the world comes together to stop “the shrinking of the world” (Hales, 2007).
Finally, Humans are more aware of their environment and more people are coming around to the idea that things need to change now, for the sake of for future generations to come. Even though more people are coming around to the idea of change it doesn’t mean that everyone is willing to accept it, there are some people who believe that global warming does not exist and that the earth will correct and heal itself. Even though the facts are concrete, such people cannot be swayed. Air pollution affects almost all aspects of the world. Like natural causes, and the unnatural causes. It ranges from short-term to long-term effects, were the consequences could be severe. And to top it off the future of our planet relies on what we do now. Air pollutants do not just affect the health of the environment but also human. “Whether people believe in climate change or not, the evidence is pervasive (Hales, 2007). Lastly when people say they do not believe in climate change, it is hard for Hales to understand because the evidence is all around us. Those who choose to look the other way just have not been affected by air pollution personally (Hales, 2007). Most people do not get that fresh air is one of the basic requirements for every individual to thrive in life-time. It is hard to point the finger at any one thing because there are many different types of pollution along with the fact that pollution is cause from natural and man-made sources.
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