Air Pollution

Introduction
Air pollution is a major problem of recent decades, which has a serious

toxicological impact on human health and the environment. The sources of
pollution vary from small unit of cigarettes and natural sources such as volcanic
activities to large volume of emission from motor engines of automobiles and
industrial activities. Long-term effects of air pollution on the onset of diseases such
as respiratory infections and inflammations, cardiovascular dysfunctions, and
cancer is widely accepted, hence, air pollution is linked with millions of death
globally each year.
Definitions
Air pollution is defined as all destructive effects of any sources which contribute to
the pollution of the atmosphere and/or deterioration of the ecosystem. Air pollution
is caused by both human interventions and/or natural phenomena. It is made up of
many kinds of pollutants including materials in solid, liquid, and gas phases. Air
pollutions of indoors will not be specifically considered in this article.
Environmental Damages
Ecologically, air pollution can cause serious environmental damages to the

groundwater, soil, and air. It is also a serious threat to the diversity of life. Studies
on the relationship between air pollution and reducing species diversity clearly
show the detrimental effects of environmental contaminants on the extinction of
animals and plants species. Air suspended toxicants may also cause reproductive
effects in animals. Acid rain, temperature inversion, and global climate changes
due to the emissions of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere are other major
ecological impacts of air pollution.
Air Pollutants and Their Toxicities
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports on six major air pollutants, namely
particle pollution, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen
oxides, and lead. Air pollution can have a disastrous effect on all components of
the environment, including groundwater, soil, and air. Additionally, it poses a
serious threat to living organisms. In this vein, our interest is mainly to focus on
these pollutants, as they are related to more extensive and severe problems in
human health and environmental impact. Acid rain, global warming, the
greenhouse effect, and climate changes have an important ecological impact on air
pollution.
Domestic Activities on Air Pollution
Human activities have an adverse effect on the environment by polluting the water
we drink, the air we breathe, and the soil in which plants grow. Although the
industrial revolution was a great success in terms of technology, society, and the
provision of multiple services, it also introduced the production of huge quantities
of pollutants emitted into the air that are harmful to human health. Without any
doubt, the global environmental pollution is considered an international public
health issue with multiple facets. Social, economic, and legislative concerns and
lifestyle habits are related to this major problem. Clearly, urbanization and
industrialization are reaching unprecedented and upsetting proportions worldwide
in our era.
Air pollution mainly affects those living in large urban areas, where road emissions
contribute the most to the degradation of air quality.
Industrial Activities
Industrial activities are responses to the need to better the lots of man but these are
not without attendant consequences on the environment.
It is known that the majority of environmental pollutants are emitted through large-
scale human activities such as the use of industrial machinery, power-producing
stations, combustion engines, and cars. Because these activities are performed at
such a large scale, they are by far the major contributors to air pollution, with cars
estimated to be responsible for approximately 80% of today's pollution. Some
other human activities are also influencing our environment to a lesser extent, such
as field cultivation techniques, gas stations, fuel tanks heaters, and cleaning
procedures, as well as several natural sources, such as volcanic and soil eruptions
and forest fires.
Lastly, pollution is classified following type of origin:
Radioactive and nuclear pollution, releasing radioactive and nuclear pollutants into
water, air, and soil during nuclear explosions and accidents, from nuclear weapons,
and through handling or disposal of radioactive sewage.
Radioactive materials can contaminate surface water bodies and, being noxious to
the environment, plants, animals, and humans. It is known that several radioactive
substances such as radium and uranium concentrate in the bones and can cause
cancers.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Air pollutions have major impacts on human health, triggering, and inducing many
diseases leading to high morbidities and mortalities, particularly in the developing
countries such as Iran. Therefore, air pollutions control is vital and should be on
the top of priority list of the governments. The policy makers and legislators in
these countries must update all laws and regulations related to air pollutions.
Coordination between different departments involving in air pollutions must be
leaded by a powerful environmental protection organization. An effective
environmental protection organization should have enough budgets for
administration, research, development, monitoring, and full control of the
environment including air pollution.
REFERENCES
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6. Air pollution – Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Air_pollution)

Air Pollution

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Air Pollution

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Introduction

Air pollution is a major problem of recent decades, which has a serious

Ecologically, air pollution can cause serious environmental damages to the

Domestic Activities on Air Pollution

Lastly, pollution is classified following type of origin:

Conclusions and Recommendations

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