What is Air Pollution?

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.
There are several main types of pollution and well-known effects of pollution which are commonly discussed. These include smog, acid rain, the greenhouse effect, and "holes" in the ozone layer. Each of these problems has serious implications for our health and well-being as well as for the whole environment.
One type of air pollution is the release of particles into the air from burning fuel for energy. Diesel smoke is a good example of this particulate matter . The particles are very small pieces of matter measuring about 2.5 microns or about .0001 inches. This type of pollution is sometimes referred to as "black carbon" pollution. The exhaust from burning fuels in automobiles, homes, and industries is a major source of pollution in the air. Some authorities believe that even the burning of wood and charcoal in fireplaces and barbeques can release significant quanitites of soot into the air.
Another type of pollution is the release of noxious gases, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and chemical vapors. These can take part in further chemical reactions once they are in the atmosphere, forming smog and acid rain.
Pollution also needs to be considered inside our homes, offices, and schools. Some of these pollutants can be created by indoor activities such as smoking and cooking. In the United States, we spend about 80-90% of our time inside buildings, and so our exposure to harmful indoor pollutants can be serious. It is therefore important to consider both indoor and outdoor air pollution.

Outdoor Air Pollution

Smog is a type of large-scale outdoor pollution. It is caused by chemical reactions between pollutants derived from different sources, primarily automobile exhaust and industrial emissions. Cities are often centers of these types of activities, and many suffer from the effects of smog, especially during the warm months of the year. Additional information about smog and its effects are available from Environment Canada and the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) in southern California.
For each city, the exact causes of pollution may be different. Depending on the geographical location, temperature, wind and weather factors, pollution is dispersed differently. However, sometimes this does not happen and the pollution can build up to dangerous levels. Atemperature inversion occurs when air close to the earth is cooler than the air above it. Under these conditions the pollution cannot rise and be dispersed. Cities surrounded by mountains also experience trapping of pollution. Inversion can happen in any season. Winter inversions are likely to cause particulate and cabon monoxide pollution. Summer inversions are more likely to create smog.
Another consequence of outdoor air pollution is acid rain. When a pollutant, such as sulfuric acid combines with droplets of water in the air, the water (or snow) can become acidified . The effects of acid rain on the environment can be very serious. It damages plants by destroying their leaves, it poisons the soil, and it changes the chemistry of lakes and streams. Damage due to acid rain kills trees and harms animals, fish, and other wildlife. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), andEnvironment Canada are among the organizations that are actively studying the acid rain problem.
The Greenhouse Effect, also referred to as global warming, is generally believed to come from the build up of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced when fuels are burned. Plants convert carbon dioxide back to oxygen, but the release of carbon dioxide from human activities is higher than the world's plants can process. The situation is made worse since many of the earth's forests are being removed, and plant life is being damaged by acid rain. Thus, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air is continuing to increase. This buildup acts like a blanket and traps heat close to the surface of our earth. Changes of even a few degrees will affect us all through changes in the climate and even the possibility that the polar ice caps may melt. (One of the consequences of polar ice cap melting would be a rise in global sea level, resulting in widespread coastal flooding.) Additional resources and information about the Greenhouse Effect and global warming are available from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the Science Education Academy of the Bay Area (SEABA) and the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ).
Ozone depletion is another result of pollution. Chemicals released by our activities affect the stratosphere , one of the atmospheric layers surrounding earth. The ozone layer in the stratosphere protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) from aerosol cans, cooling systems and refrigerator equipment removes some of the ozone, causing "holes"; to open up in this layer and allowing the radiation to reach the earth. Ultraviolet radiation is known to cause skin cancer and has damaging effects on plants and wildlife. Additional resources and information about the ozone depletion problem are available from theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Ozone ACTION.

Indoor Air Pollution

Many people spend large portion of time indoors - as much as 80-90% of their lives. We work, study, eat, drink and sleep in enclosed environments where air circulation may be restricted. For these reasons, some experts feel that more people suffer from the effects of indoor air pollution than outdoor pollution.
There are many sources of indoor air pollution. Tobacco smoke, cooking and heating appliances, and vapors from building materials, paints, furniture, etc. cause pollution inside buildings. Radon is a natural radioactive gas released from the earth, and it can be found concentrated in basements in some parts of the United States. Additional information about the radon problem is available from the USGS and the Minnesota Radon Project.
Pollution exposure at home and work is often greater than outdoors. The California Air Resources Board estimates that indoor air pollutant levels are 25-62% greater than outside levels and can pose serious health problems.
Both indoor and outdoor pollution need to be controlled and/or prevented.
How can we prevent the damaging effects of air pollution?

How can air pollution hurt my health?

Air pollution can affect our health in many ways with both short-term and long-term effects. Different groups of individuals are affected by air pollution in different ways. Some individuals are much more sensitive to pollutants than are others. Young children and elderly people often suffer more from the effects of air pollution. People with health problems such as asthma, heart and lung disease may also suffer more when the air is polluted. The extent to which an individual is harmed by air pollution usually depends on the total exposure to the damaging chemicals, i.e., the duration of exposure and the concentration of the chemicals must be taken into account.
Examples of short-term effects include irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, and upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Other symptoms can include headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Short-term air pollution can aggravate the medical conditions of individuals with asthma and emphysema. In the great "Smog Disaster" in London in 1952, four thousand people died in a few days due to the high concentrations of pollution.
Long-term health effects can include chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Continual exposure to air pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may aggravate or complicate medical conditions in the elderly. It is estimated that half a million people die prematurely every year in the United States as a result of smoking cigarettes.
Research into the health effects of air pollution is ongoing. Medical conditions arising from air pollution can be very expensive. Healthcare costs, lost productivity in the workplace, and human welfare impacts cost billions of dollars each year.
Additional information on the health effects of air pollution is available from the Natural Resources Defense Council. A short article on the health effects of ozone (a major component of smog) is available from the B.A.A.Q.M.D.

How can we prevent
the damaging effects of air pollution?

In many countries in the world, steps are being taken to stop the damage to our environment from air pollution. Scientific groups study the damaging effects on plant, animal and human life. Legislative bodies write laws to control emissions. Educators in schools and universities teach students, beginning at very young ages, about the effects of air pollution.
The first step to solving air pollution is assessment . Researchers have investigated outdoor air pollution and have developed standards for measuring the type and amount of some serious air pollutants.
Scientists must then determine how much exposure to pollutants is harmful.
Once exposure levels have been set, steps can be undertaken to reduce exposure to air pollution. These can be accomplished by regulation of man-made pollution through legislation. Many countries have set controls on pollution emissions for transportation vehicles and industry. This is usually done to through a variety of coordinating agencies which monitor the air and the environment. At the United Nations, the Atmosphere Management Program carries out world wide environmental projects. In the United States, the primary federal agency is the Environmental Protection Agency. Many state and local organizations also participate in monitoring and controlling the environment. These include the San Francisco Bay Area's Air Quality Management District (B.A.A.Q.M.D.), the Air Quality Management District in southern California, the Environmental Protection Agency of California, SmogBusters of southern California, and the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP).
Prevention is another key to controlling air pollution. The regulatory agencies mentioned above play an essential role in reducing and preventing air pollution in the environment.
In addition, it is possible to prevent many types of air pollution that are not regulated through personal, careful attention to our interactions with the environment. In the United States, most household products come with instructions about safe use. Additional information about product chemical safety are available in an article and a fact sheet from Enviro$en$e, and in Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).
Building materials should be reviewed for potential harmful effects. Information on building materials can be found in LBNL's Center for Building Science newsletter. Additional information is available from EcoTech.
Adequate ventilation is also a key to controlling exposure to indoor air pollution. Home and work environments should be monitored for adequate air flow and proper exhaust systems installed. Additional information is available in a book titled Understanding Ventilation .
One of the most dangerous air pollutants is cigarette smoke. Restricting smoking is an important key to a healthier environment. Legislation to control smoking is in effect in some locations, but personal exposure should be monitored and limited wherever possible. Additional information about the effects of "secondhand" cigarette smoke is available from the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) and Medicine On-line.
Only through the efforts of scientists, business leaders, legislators, and individuals can we reduce the amount of air pollution on the planet. This challenge must be met by all of us in order to assure that a healthy environment will exist for ourselves and our children. Find out "What you can do to reduce air pollution".

Why study black carbon pollution?

Black carbon pollution is the release of tiny particles into the air from burning fuel for energy. Air pollution caused by such particulates has been a major problem since the beginning of the industrial revolution and the development of the internal combustion engine . Scientific publications dealing with the analysis of soot and smoke date back as early as 1896. Mankind has become so dependent on the burning of fossil fuels (petroleum products, coal, and natural gas) that the sum total of all combustion-related emissions now constitutes a serious and widespread problem, not only to human health, but also to the entire global environment.
Additional resources dealing with the problems associated with particulate pollution are available from Burning Issues. (This group has additional information at a second site.)
In recent years, there has been great concern about black carbon pollution of the air in parts of Eastern Europe. Education is one important step toward correcting the problem.

Taking black carbon measurement to Eastern Europe

In 1989, a high school biology teacher named Dean Rockwell came from Macomb, Illinois to spend a summer in the DOE Teacher Research Associate Program (TRAC) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He was assigned to work with a research group studying the earth's atmosphere. One of the scientists, a physicist named Tony Hansen, was part of this group. Tony is the inventor of an instrument capable of measuring graphitic carbon aerosol (a suspension of airborn carbon particles better known as soot). Soot is a major atmospheric pollutant. Tony developed a device to measure this pollutant, and he introduced Dean to its use.
After learning more about the instrument, Dean and Tony discussed the possibility of developing a similar device that could be easily understood, built, and operated by students. They challenged themselves to make an instrument that would be inexpensive , so that teachers could afford to assemble it on their small science budgets. Tony and Dean developed a procedure that used simple, commonly available materials such as facial tissue, a vacuum cleaner, a large garbage bag, a light bulb, plastic cups and a $2.40 photo cell that could be attached to an ammeter. Tony and Dean built the instrument out of these simple materials and they tested it. To their surprise, this low-tech procedure produced data that were extremely similar to those provided by Tony's best high-tech equipment!
Tony had developed research collaborations with scientists in Eastern Europe even before the Berlin Wall fell. The air pollution problem, particularly the soot concentration in Eastern European countries, can be ten times greater than the concentration on a bad day in Los Angeles. European scientists discussed their limited resources and their desire to set up a network to monitor air pollution. Tony suggested that they try the instrument that he and Dean had developed. This idea was very interesting to scientists in Slovenia .
Dr. Mirko Bizjak, of the National Chemistry Institute of Slovenia, thought it would be a good idea to involve and educate school children about environmental issues. In the summer of 1992, Dean Rockwell was invited to visit 10 schools in Slovenia and to talk about the program to school science teachers. The teachers were enthusiastic. Through the Slovenian Board of Education, Dr. Bizjak developed information packets and a training video that were sent to interested school teachers.
The idea caught on. School children volunteers and their teachers/mentors built their own sampling and analysis devices in school shops and laboratories.
Dr. Ulle Kikas, an educator and scientist from Tartu University in Tartu, Estonia learned of the Slovenian program in 1992 received instructional materials from Drs. Bizjak and Hansen. The school-based measurement program also caught on fast in Estonia.
Today, over 60 schools in Slovenia share data on the Internet in this national network. Classroom materials have been developed for all grade levels, and older students receive and analyze data. In Estonia, the 12 schools that measure soot in the atmosphere comprise theonly air pollution monitoring network in this small country!
This work has been reported in the Journal for Chemical Education (Vol. 71, pp. 318-23, 1994), the Bulletin of the World Meteorological Organization (Vol. 43, No.1 January 1994, p. 60) and the 5th International Conference on Carbonaceous Particles in the Atmosphere .