Introduction :

Air pollution is the modification of the natural

characteristics of the atmosphere by a chemical, particulate matter,
or biological agent. Air pollution occurs when the air contains
gases, dust, fumes or odour in harmful amounts. That is, amounts
which could be harmful to the health or comfort of humans and
animals or which could cause damage to plants and materials. The
atmosphere is a complex, dynamic natural gaseous system that is
essential to support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone
depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threat
to human health as well as to the Earth's ecosystems.

Worldwide air pollution is responsible for large numbers of

deaths and cases of respiratory disease. While major stationary
sources are often identified with air pollution, the greatest source of
emissions is actually mobile sources, mainly automobiles. Gases
such as carbon dioxide, which contribute to global warming, have
recently gained recognition as pollutants by climate scientists, while
they also recognize that carbon dioxide is essential for plant life
through photosynthesis.

“ Air Pollution “ can be defined as the presence in the outdoor

atmosphere of one or more contaminants in such quantities and of
such duration as may be injurious to human, plant, or animal life, or
to materials, or which may unreasonably interfere with the
comfortable enjoyment of life or property, or the conduct of
business.

Air is the ocean we breathe. Air supplies us with oxygen

which is essential for our bodies to live. Air is 99.9% nitrogen,
oxygen, water vapor and inert gases. Human activities can release
substances into the air, some of which can cause problems for
humans, plants, and animals.

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Components of air:
Air is a mixture of gases, 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen
with traces of water vapor, carbon dioxide, argon, and various other
components. We usually model air as a uniform (no variation or
fluctuation) gas with properties that are averaged from all the
individual components.

Ratio compared Molecular Boiling Point

to Dry Air (%) Mass Chemical
Gas
By By -M- Symbol K (oC)
volume weight (kg/kmol)
-182.9
Oxygen 20.95 23.20 32.00 O2 90.2
5
-195.7
Nitrogen 78.09 75.47 28.02 N2 77.4
9
Carbon
0.03 0.046 44.01 CO2 194.7 -78.5
Dioxide
-252.8
Hydrogen 0.00005 ~ 0 2.02 H2 20.3
7
Argon 0.933 1.28 39.94 Ar 84.2 -186
Neon 0.0018 0.0012 20.18 Ne 27.2 -246
Helium 0.0005 0.00007 4.00 He 4.2 -269
Krypton 0.0001 0.0003 83.8 Kr 119.8 -153.4
-6
Xenon 9 10 0.00004 131.29 Xe 165.1 -108.1

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Air Pollutants
There are many substances in the air which may impair the
health of plants and animals (including humans), or reduce visibility.
These arise both from natural processes and human activity.
Substances not naturally found in the air or at greater
concentrations or in different locations from usual are referred to as
pollutants

The combustion of gasoline and other hydrocarbon fuels in

automobiles, trucks, and jet airplanes produces several primary
pollutants: nitrogen oxides, gaseous hydrocarbons, and carbon
monoxide, as well as large quantities of particulates, chiefly lead. In
the presence of sunlight, nitrogen oxides combine with
hydrocarbons to form a secondary class of pollutants, the
photochemical oxidants, among them ozone and the eye-stinging
peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN). Nitrogen oxides also react with oxygen
in the air to form nitrogen dioxide, a foul-smelling brown gas. In
urban areas like Los Angeles where transportation is the main
cause of air pollution, nitrogen dioxide tints the air, blending with
other contaminants and the atmospheric water vapor to produce
brown smog.

Sources of air pollution

Sources of air pollution refer to the various locations,
activities or factors which are responsible for the releasing of
pollutants in the atmosphere. These sources can be classified into
two major categories which are:

 Anthropogenic sources (human activity) mostly related to

burning different kinds of fuel
 "Stationary Sources" as smoke stacks of power plants,
manufacturing facilities, municipal waste incinerators.
 "Mobile Sources" as motor vehicles, aircraft etc.
 Marine vessels, such as container ships or cruise ships, and
related port air pollution.
 Burning wood, fireplaces, stoves, furnaces and incinerators .
 Oil refining, and industrial activity in general.

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  Chemicals, dust and controlled burn practices in agriculture
and forestry management, (see Dust Bowl).
 Fumes from paint, hair spray, varnish, aerosol sprays and
other solvents.
 Waste deposition in landfills, which generate methane.
 Military, such as nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare
and rocketry.

Natural sources
 Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with
little or no vegetation.
 Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by animals, for
example cattle.
 Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth's crust.
 Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires.
 Volcanic activity, which produce sulfur, chlorine, and ash
particulates.

Major pollutants produced by human

activity include:
 Sulfur oxides (SOx) especially sulfur dioxide are emitted from
burning of coal and oil.
 Nitrogen oxides (NOx) especially nitrogen dioxide are emitted
from high temperature combustion. Can be seen as the
brown haze dome above or plume downwind of cities.

 Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless, non-irritating but

very poisonous gas. It is a product by incomplete combustion
of fuel such as natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular exhaust is
a major source of carbon monoxide.
 Carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas emitted from
combustion.
 Volatile organic compounds (VOC), such as hydrocarbon fuel
vapors and solvents.
 Particulate matter (PM), measured as smoke and dust. PM10
is the fraction of suspended particles 10 micrometers in
diameter and smaller that will enter the nasal cavity. PM2.5 has

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 a maximum particle size of 2.5 µm and will enter the
bronchies and lungs.
 Toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium and copper.
 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), harmful to the ozone layer
emitted from products currently banned from use.
 Ammonia (NH3) emitted from agricultural processes.
 Odors, such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial
processes
 Radioactive pollutants produced by nuclear explosions and
war explosives, and natural processes such as radon.
 Secondary pollutants include:
 Particulate matter formed from gaseous primary pollutants
and compounds in photochemical smog, such as nitrogen
dioxide.
 Ground level ozone (O3) formed from NOx and VOCs.
 Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) similarly formed from NOx and
VOCs.

 A large number of minor hazardous air pollutants.

Nitrogen Oxides Air Pollution:

 NOx contributes to ground-level ozone (“smog”) pollution
which can cause serious respiratory problems, especially for
young children, the elderly, and even healthy adults that are
active outdoors.
 Ozone pollution can decrease the ability for plants to convert
sunlight to energy, reducing plant growth.
 NOx air pollution also transforms in the atmosphere into
unhealthy nitrate aerosol particulates.
 Particulates can affect respiratory function, damage
lung tissue, and lead to premature death.
 Fine particles also can greatly impair scenic vistas. The
percentage of such visibility impairing particulates due
to nitrate aerosols has been increasing in almost all
national parks across the country.

 NOx air pollution contributes to acidifying nitrate deposition.

 Nitrate deposition changes water and soil chemistry
which can lead to fish kills, alter alpine plant
communities and reduce tree growth.

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  Nitrate deposition has worsened significantly across the
interior West in the past fifteen years.
 Nitrate deposition also results in excess nitrogen in
ecosystems, which can cause changes in vegetation,
loss of biodiversity, and increased greenhouse gas
emissions. Such harmful impacts have been
documented in the central Rocky Mountains and the
West Coast.

Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a significantly toxic gas and has
no odor or color. It is the most common type of fatal
poisoning in many countries. Exposures can lead to
significant toxicity of the central nervous system and heart.
Following poisoning, long-term sequelae often occur.
Carbon monoxide can also have severe effects on the
baby of a pregnant woman. Symptoms of mild poisoning
include headaches and dizziness at concentrations less
than 100 ppm. Concentrations as low as 667 ppm can
cause up to 50% of the body's hemoglobin to be converted
to carboxy-haemoglobin (HbCO). Carboxy-haemoglobin is
quite stable but this change is reversible. Carboxy-
haemoglobin is ineffective for delivering oxygen, resulting
in some body parts not receiving oxygen needed. As a
result, exposures of this level can be life-threatening..

This odorless, colorless gas is formed by the

combustion of fossil fuels such as gasoline and is emitted
primarily from cars and trucks. When inhaled, CO blocks
the transport of oxygen to the brain, heart, and other vital
organs in the body. Fetuses, newborn children, and people
with chronic illnesses are especially susceptible to the
effects of CO.

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 Because it is odorless, carbon monoxide is an
insidious poison. It produces only mild symptoms of
headache, nausea, or fatigue, followed by
unconsciousness. An automobile engine running in a
closed garage can make the air noxious within a few
minutes; a leaking furnace flue may fill a house with
unsuspected poison. Fuel gas, which may contain as much
as 50 percent carbon monoxide, often has small quantities
of unpleasant-smelling sulfur compounds purposely added
to make leaks noticeable.

Particulate matter
Particulate matter includes a wide range of pollutants -- road
dust, diesel soot, fly ash, wood smoke, and sulfate aerosols that
are suspended as particles in the air. These particles are a mixture
of visible and microscopic solid particles and minute liquid droplets
known as aerosols.

Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter

(PM), aerosols or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid
suspended in a gas. Sources of particulate matter can be man
made or natural. Some particulates occur naturally, originating from
volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires, living
vegetation, and sea spray. Human activities, such as the burning of
fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants and various industrial
processes also generate significant amounts of aerosols. Averaged
over the globe, anthropogenic aerosols—those made by human
activities—currently account for about 10 percent of the total
amount of aerosols in our atmosphere. Increased levels of fine
particles in the air are linked to health hazards such as heart
disease.

Where do fine particles come from?

Combustion of fossil fuels is the principal source of

fine particle emissions, including the burning of coal, oil,
diesel fuel, gasoline, and wood in transportation, power
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generation, and space heating. Old coal-fired power plants,
industrial boilers, diesel and gas-powered vehicles, and
wood stoves are the worst culprits. High temperature
industrial processes such as metal smelting and steel
production are also significant sources

How do particles cause harm to human health?

The exact toxicological mechanisms are not well understood, but

researchers have a number of theories. For instance, studies show
that particulate matter causes respiratory symptoms, changes in
lung function, alteration of mucociliary clearance, and pulmonary
inflammation which can lead to increased permeability of the lungs.
Increased permeability might precipitate fluid in the lungs in people
with heart disease. In addition, mediators released during an
inflammatory response could increase the risk of blood clot
formation and strokes.

Particulate exposure might also increase susceptibility to

bacterial or viral respiratory infections, leading to an increased
incidence of pneumonia in vulnerable members of the population.
Potential mechanisms could include impairment of clearance
mechanisms or immune system function. In the presence of pre-
existing heart disease, acute bronchiolitis or pneumonia induced by
air pollutants might precipitate congestive heart failure.

Particulate air pollution might also aggravate the severity of

underlying chronic lung disease, causing more frequent or severe
exacerbation of airways disease or more rapid loss of lung function.

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Ozone (O3)
The primary ingredient in the smog, ozone is created when
hydrocarbons and nitrous oxides from automobile combustion react
with sunlight. Though beneficial in the upper atmosphere, at the
ground level this gas irritates the respiratory system, causing
coughing, choking, and reduced lung capacity

Repeated exposure to unhealthful levels of ground-level

ozone affects lung tissue. Ozone is an irritant that can cause
choking, coughing and stinging eyes. Ozone damages lung tissue,
it may exacerbate respiratory disease, and ozone makes people
more susceptible to respiratory infections.

While anyone who is active or works outdoors is affected by

unhealthful ozone levels, children and the elderly are especially
vulnerable to ozone.

Ground-level ozone is formed by a reaction between certain

chemicals and nitrogen when there is sunlight. These chemicals
are created by automobiles, trucks, and buses; large industry; utility
companies; gas stations; print shops; paint stores; cleaners; and
off-road equipment, such as aircraft, locomotives, construction
equipment, and lawn and garden equipment.

Effects
Repeated exposure to ozone pollution for several
months may cause permanent structural damage to the
lungs. Because ozone pollution usually forms in hot
weather, anyone who spends time outdoors in the summer
is at risk, particularly children, moderate exercisers, and
outdoor workers.

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Air Pollution By Automobiles
Air pollution is a serious concern and it causes serious
consequences such as Acid Rain, Ozone layer depletion, photochemical
smog, and the Greenhouse effect to our environment. Automobiles
produce emission adn despense 9 different gases such as Carbon
Monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides,
Hydrocarbons, Ozone, particulates, Lead adn chlorofluorcarbons. Stricter
fuel standards should be created. we should enhanse fuel efficiency
standards and improve vehicle maintanance. People should use smaller
standard cars because they run easier adnpollute the air less then big
trucks that use deisel fuel. Also people could use carpools.

Cars and trucks are ultimately responsible for most of the

pollution and damage caused by the oil extraction industry,
including disastrous oil spills and pollution from oil refineries. Also,
it appears that our country’s oil dependency is at least partly
responsible for our present involvement in a Middle East war. As a
matter of environmental and national security we must wean
ourselves from this costly fuel.

Indoor air quality

A lack of ventilation indoors concentrates air pollution where
people often spend the majority of their time. Radon (Rn) gas, a
carcinogen, is exuded from the Earth in certain locations and
trapped inside houses. Building materials including carpeting and
plywood emit formaldehyde (H2CO) gas. Paint and solvents give off
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as they dry. Lead paint can
degenerate into dust and be inhaled. Intentional air pollution is
introduced with the use of air fresheners, incense, and other
scented items. Controlled wood fires in stoves and fireplaces can
add significant amounts of smoke particulates into the air, inside
and out. Indoor pollution fatalities may be caused by using
pesticides and other chemical sprays indoors without proper
ventilation.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and fatalities are often

caused by faulty vents and chimneys, or by the burning of charcoal
indoors. Chronic carbon monoxide poisoning can result even from
poorly adjusted pilot lights. Traps are built into all domestic
plumbing to keep sewer gas, hydrogen sulfide, out of interiors.
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Clothing emits tetrachloroethylene, or other dry cleaning fluids, for
days after dry cleaning.

Though its use has now been banned in many countries, the
extensive use of asbestos in industrial and domestic environments
in the past has left a potentially very dangerous material in many
localities. Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory medical condition
affecting the tissue of the lungs. It occurs after long-term, heavy
exposure to asbestos from asbestos-containing materials in
structures. Sufferers have severe dyspnea (shortness of breath)
and are at an increased risk regarding several different types of
lung cancer. As clear explanations are not always stressed in non-
technical literature, care should be taken to distinguish between
several forms of relevant diseases. According to the World Health
Organisation (WHO), these may defined as; asbestosis, lung
cancer, and mesothelioma (generally a very rare form of cancer,
when more widespread it is almost always associated with
prolonged exposure to asbestos).

Biological sources of air pollution are also found indoors, as

gases and airborne particulates. Pets produce dander, people
produce dust from minute skin flakes and decomposed hair, dust
mites in bedding, carpeting and furniture produce enzymes and
micron-sized fecal droppings, inhabitants emit methane, mold forms
in walls and generates mycotoxins and spores, air conditioning
systems can incubate Legionnaires' disease and mold, and
houseplants, soil and surrounding gardens can produce pollen,
dust, and mold. Indoors, the lack of air circulation allows these
airborne pollutants to accumulate more than they would otherwise
occur in nature.

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Health effects
The World Health Organization states that 2.4 million people
die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution.Many
of these mortalities are attributable to indroor air pollution.
Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to
automobile accidents. Published in 2005 suggests that 310,000
Europeans die from air pollution annually. Direct causes of air
pollution related deaths include aggravated asthma, bronchitis,
emphysema, lung and heartdiseases, and respiratory allergies. The
US EPA estimates that a proposed set of changes in diesel engine
technology (Tier 2) could result in 12,000 fewer premature
mortalities, 15,000 fewer heart attacks, 6,000 fewer emergency
room visits by children with asthma, and 8,900 fewer respiratory-
related hospital admissions each year in the United States

The worst short term civilian pollution crisis in India was the
1984 Bhopal Disaster. Leaked industrial vapors from the Union
Carbide factory, belonging to Union Carbide, Inc., U.S.A., killed
more than 2,000 people outright and injured anywhere from
150,000 to 600,000 others, some 6,000 of whom would later die
from their injuries. The United Kingdom suffered its worst air
pollution event when the December 4th Great Smog of 1952
formed over London. In six days more than 4,000 died, and 8,000
more died within the following months.An accidental leak of anthrax
spores from a biological warfare laboratory in the former USSR in
1979 near Sverdlovsk is believed to have been the cause of
hundreds of civilian deaths. The worst single incident of air pollution
to occur in the United States of America occurred in Donora,
Pennsylvania in late October, 1948, when 20 people died and over
7,000 were injured.

The health effects caused by air pollutants may range from

subtle biochemical and physiological changes to difficulty in
breathing, wheezing, coughing and aggravation of existing
respiratory and cardiac conditions. These effects can result in
increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency room
visits, more hospital admissions and premature death. The human
health effects of poor air quality are far reaching, but principally
affect the body's respiratory system.

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Environmental impacts
The greenhouse effect is a phenomenon whereby
greenhouse gases, create a condition in the upper atmosphere
causing a trapping of heat and leading to increased surface and
lower tropospheric temperatures. It shares this property with many
other gases, the largest overall forcing on Earth coming from water
vapour. Other greenhouse gases include methane,
hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons, NOx,
and ozone. Many greenhouse gases, contain carbon, and some of
that from fossil fuels.

This effect has been understood by scientists for about a

century, and technological advancements during this period have
helped increase the breadth and depth of data relating to the
phenomenon. Currently, scientists are studying the role of changes
in composition of greenhouse gases from natural and
anthropogenic sources for the effect on climate change.

A number of studies have also investigated the potential for

long-term rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to cause
slight increases in the acidity of ocean waters and the possible
effects of this on marine ecosystems. However, carbonic acid is a
very weak acid, and is utilized by marine organisms during
photosynthesis.

Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed.

Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect
of about 33 °C (59 °F), without which Earth would be uninhabitable.
Rather, the issue is how the strength of the greenhouse effect is
changed when human activity increases the atmospheric
concentrations of some greenhouse gases.

On Earth, the major greenhouse gases are water vapor,

which causes about 36–70% of the greenhouse effect (not
including clouds); carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26%;
methane (CH4), which causes 4–9%; and ozone, which causes 3–
7%. Molecule for molecule, methane is a more effective
greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but its concentration is much
smaller so that its total radiative forcing is only about a fourth of that
from carbon dioxide. Some other naturally occurring gases
contribute very small fractions of the greenhouse effect; one of

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these, nitrous oxide (N2O), is increasing in concentration owing to
human activity such as agriculture. The atmospheric concentrations
of CO2 and CH4 have increased by 31% and 149% respectively
since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s.
These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the
last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been
extracted from ice cores. From less direct geological evidence it is
believed that CO2 values this high were last attained 20 million
years ago.

Acid rain

Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation which is

unusually acidic. It has harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals
and buildings. Acid rain is mostly caused by human emissions of
sulfur and nitrogen compounds which react in the atmosphere to
produce acids. In recent years, many governments have introduced
laws to reduce these emissions.

Emissions of chemicals leading to acidification

The most important gas which leads to acidification is sulfur

dioxide. Emissions of nitrogen oxides which are oxidized to form
nitric acid are of increasing importance due to stricter controls on
emissions of sulfur containing compounds. 70 Tg(S) per year in the
form of SO2 comes from fossil fuel combustion and industry, 2.8
Tg(S) from wildfires and 7-8 Tg(S) per year from volcanoes.

Natural Phenomena

The principal natural phenomena that contribute acid-

producing gases to the atmosphere are emissions from volcanoes
and those from biological processes that occur on the land, in
wetlands, and in the oceans. The major biological source of sulfur
containing compounds is dimethyl sulfide.The effects of acidic
deposits have been detected in glacial ice thousands of years old in
remote parts of the globe.

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Human activity

The principal cause of acid rain is sulfur- and nitrogen

compounds from human sources, such as electricity generation,
factories and motor vehicles. Coal power plants are one of the most
polluting. The gases can be carried hundreds of kilometres in the
atmosphere before they are converted to acids and deposited. In
the past, factories had short funnels to let out smoke, but this
caused many problems; thus, factories now have longer smoke
funnels. However, this causes pollutants to be carried farther,
causing greater ecological damage.

Vehicle emissions are the Number One source of air pollution

in INDIA. Diesel trucks and cars emit a wide variety of unhealthy
gases, such as carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, polyaromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other products of incomplete
combustion. Diesel emissions are a leading source of the highly
toxic dioxin, which accumulates up our food chain. Many
Northeast Wisconsin counties are Ozone Non-Attainment Areas, or
nearly so, due primarily to vehicle emissions (with major help from
industrial sources). The nitrous oxides are converted by sunlight
into unhealthy groundlevel ozone, especially on hot windless
summer days.

How can we reduce air Pollution?

1. Modify Your Transportation --- Your car is a significant source of

air pollution, so switching to a more gas-efficient vehicle will be a
big help.

2. Conserve Energy --- Your home energy consumption translates

into air pollution, therefore any energy conservation or efficiency
improvements you make will help

3. Reduce Waste --- Manufacturing of unnecessary or disposable

goods often produces air pollution, so reduced purchasing of
disposables will help. In general, follow the solid waste mantra -
"Reduce, Reuse, Repair, And Recycle" - and this will reduce air
pollution as well from transporting, treating, or disposing of
unnecessary wastes. .

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4. Eliminate Toxic Chemical Use at Home --- A surprising number of
household or home shop chemicals are toxic and volatile. Many
release vapors into the air, inside the home and out. This can be
serious health threat to your family, and contributes to community-
wide levels of air pollutants.

5. No Burn Barrels --- Northeast Wisconsin communities need to

pass and enforce ordinances prohibiting individuals or businesses
from burning trash in their back yards. This type of uncontrolled
burning is extremely polluting, especially when many people are
doing it. When trash is burned incompletely and at relatively low
temperatures, a great deal of soot and ash is produced. Many
plastics, coatings, inks, paints, metals and treated woods will
produce toxic chemical air pollutants such as dioxin, lead, arsenic,
chromium, etc.

6. Cut Back or Eliminate Lawn Mowing --- Gasoline-powered lawn

mowers and similar yard equipment can produce much higher rates
of air pollution than an equivalent horsepower in a car, due to
engine inefficiencies and the lack of catalytic converters. You can
help reduce these emissions by converting a large portion, or all, of
your lawn to trees, shrubs and easy-care perennials. Then use a
non-motorized push-style lawnmower to cut your remaining lawn.
Modern versions of these push mowers are easy to use, and will
help you get a little exercise and fresh air, without the fumes.

7. Plant leafy trees and shrubs --- Deciduous trees and shrubs (the
kinds that drop leaves in the fall) are excellent air filters to help
reduce smog and cool the air on hot summer days.

9. Limit Your Family Size --- Every person uses natural resources,
which results in air pollution. Our human population is rapidly rising
to levels which make it increasingly difficult to control air pollution
while sustaining a healthy environment. If each couple limited
themselves to no more than 2 children, our world’s population could
stabilize and support everyone without conflict or suffering.

10. Get Involved and Talk to Your Legislators --- Many of our
current governmental regulations are not strong enough to address
our air pollution problems. Citizens need to contact their
legislators and ask for better policies.
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