Air Pollution: Causes, Effects, and Proposed Solutions

Introduction

Air pollution remains one of the most urgent and serious problems facing the world today. Research conducted in the past has clearly indicated that, in addition to harming the environment, the effects of air pollution on human health are particularly adverse. This paper discusses air pollution, its causes, and its effects. It also proposes solutions that could be embraced to address the problem of air pollution.

Air Pollution: An Overview

In the words of Miller (2005, pp. 347), air pollution is "the presence of chemicals in the atmosphere in concentrations high enough to harm organisms and materials (such as metals and stone used in buildings and statues) and to alter climate." As the author further points out, the effects of air pollution could be serious or simply annoying. In the past, various measures have been taken across the world to decrease air pollutant emissions in an attempt to improve air quality while simultaneously mitigating the adverse effects of air pollution on the environment, on humans, and on other living organisms. Some of these measures include the establishment of bodies charged with monitoring pollution levels. In the United States, such bodies include the Environmental Protection Agency.

Pollution standards set in the past in an attempt to minimize human and environmental exposure to pollutants have had varying levels of success. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC, 2013), although significant gains have been made in improving air quality — largely thanks to Clean Air Act programs — quite a significant number of "fossil fuel power plants, boilers, and cement plants continue to treat our skies like sewers." For this reason, there is a need to embrace more proactive and inclusive measures to rein in the air pollution problem.

There are many sources of air pollution. These can be either natural or human-made. Both gaseous and solid pollutants — whose harm to buildings, vegetation, and living organisms has been well documented — are considered here.

Sources of Air Pollution

Throughout the world, gaseous and solid pollutants from automobiles are regarded as leading sources of air pollution. According to Miller and Spoolman (2011, pp. 470), carbon monoxide, one of the gaseous emissions from motor vehicles, "forms during the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing materials." Industries are also considered major contributors to air pollution, given that many chemical plants release significant levels of harmful gases and particles — such as copper oxides and nitrogen oxide — into the atmosphere. As Miller and Spoolman (2011) note, nitrogen oxide is a product of the reaction between oxygen and nitrogen that occurs at high temperatures in industrial plants and motor vehicle engines.

Some human agricultural practices have also been identified as sources of air pollution. For instance, burning forests and bushes to create land for cultivation leads to the emission of carbon monoxide (Miller and Spoolman, 2011). Paddy fields also emit significant amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Other human activities that generate significant amounts of suspended particulate matter include stone crushing and mining.

Sources of air pollution can also be natural. Some of the natural sources of sulfur compounds — a leading cause of air pollution — include animal waste, volcanoes, and wind erosion. In addition to paddy fields (linked to human activity), the digestion of food by animals such as livestock leads to the emission of methane (Miller and Spoolman, 2011). The acidic plume emitted from volcanoes is another natural air pollutant. Forest fires also release significant levels of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, with the resulting fumes containing substantial amounts of carbon monoxide and particulate matter. When combined, these natural sources contribute significantly to overall air pollution.

The effects of air pollution — both on the environment and on living organisms — can be either serious or simply irritating. Air pollution can affect human health in a number of ways. Some of the less serious effects include eye, nasal, and throat irritations. Nebel and Wright (1993) categorize the effects of air pollution on human lungs into three types: chronic, acute, and carcinogenic.

Regarding chronic effects, the authors point out that "pollutants cause gradual deterioration of a variety of physiological functions over a period of years" (Nebel and Wright, 1993, pp. 340). These chronic effects, as the authors further note, affect almost every individual living in urban areas where significant air pollution occurs. Over time, those exposed to pollutants like sulfur dioxide develop chronic conditions such as bronchitis. Chronic exposure to nitrogen oxide can negatively affect the proper functioning of the immune system, while long-term exposure to carbon monoxide is considered a contributing factor to heart disease (Nebel and Wright, 1993).

Regarding acute effects, Nebel and Wright (1993) note that pollutants can trigger reactions that become life-threatening within a relatively short period — sometimes within a few hours. In such cases, "intense air pollution puts an additional stress on the body, and if a person is already in a weakened condition (e.g., elderly, asthmatic), this additional stress may be fatal" (Nebel and Wright, 1993, pp. 340).

Effects of Air Pollution

Lastly, regarding carcinogenic effects, Nebel and Wright (1993) point out that in some instances, pollutants can trigger cellular changes that lead to cancer. This is especially the case when pollutants have a heavy organic and metal constitution. Cigarette smoking, according to the authors, is a pollution factor that has been undeniably linked to cancer.

Air pollution also has a negative impact on the environment, on materials, and on aesthetics. According to Nebel and Wright (1993), pollutants such as photochemical oxidants and sulfur dioxide have been known to damage forests, orchards, and farm crops. The deterioration and discoloration of buildings and statues has been attributed to specific pollutants. For instance, as Nebel and Wright (1993) point out, sulfur can dramatically accelerate the corrosion of metals, making it not uncommon to encounter discolored and corroded metallic building materials and statues in areas with high sulfur emissions. The aesthetic value of clear blue skies is also diminished by decreased visibility resulting from gaseous and solid air pollutants (Nebel and Wright, 1993).

Given the effects of air pollution outlined above, there is a clear need to take decisive steps toward containing it. Rather than revisiting solutions proposed in the past, this section offers a structured, three-level approach to the problem.

At the individual level, citizens should be encouraged to help reduce air pollution through actions such as driving less. Small behavioral changes, when adopted widely, can contribute meaningfully to improvements in air quality.

At the state and federal level, air pollution control should focus on the formulation and enforcement of policies aimed at reducing emissions. This could be achieved by requiring industries to halt or reduce the release of harmful gases and particles into the atmosphere. Entities that fail to comply with these policies should be subject to penalties.

At the intergovernmental and global level, international bodies should monitor individual governments to ensure they not only develop strategies for reducing air pollution but also enforce laws that limit it. This level of governance could also propose a set of binding or recommended measures for governments to adopt in their efforts to address air pollution. The World Health Organization's guidance on air pollution represents one example of such international standard-setting efforts.

Conclusion

Nebel, B. J. and Wright, R. T., 1993. Environmental Science: The Way the World Works. 4th ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.