Hazards Of Air Pollution On Human Health

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Polluted air contains one, or more, hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant that creates a hazard to general health. It is usually measured in terms of "particulate matter", or, the number of particles of these potentially hazardous substances as a percentage of air. According to the National Resources Defense Council, some 64,000 people in the USA may be dying prematurely each year from cardiopulmonary causes linked to air pollution. This link was made when the National Resources Defense Council applied findings from a 1995 study by the American Cancer Society and the Harvard Medical School. Air pollution from coal-fired power plants accounts for about 30,000 premature deaths in the USA each year. It is estimated that in the most polluted cities, lives are shortened by an average of one to two years. Particulate matter includes a wide range of pollutants — road dust, diesel soot, fly ash, wood smoke, nitrates in fertilizers, sulfate aerosols, lead, arsenic, etc. The principal source of such particle emission is the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline, and wood. Air pollution from coal burning in electric utilities is a dominant cause of smog, deadly soot, global warming, pollution in our National Parks, toxic contamination of fish and polluted estuaries.
The suggested Federal limit of an "average" of 50 micrograms of "particulate matter" per cubic foot of air (in a one year period) is considered poor air quality. There is evidence that the daily peak levels that contribute to the year average, can have significant impact on an individuals health. The elderly and those with heart, lung, or asthma problems are most at risk. The exact impact of poor air quality on health is not thoroughly understood, but long term exposure to particulates may increase susceptibility to infections. Those with chronic lung diseases or heart disease may also have their conditions exacerbated. Monitoring the daily pollution forecasts may be useful for those with chronic conditions, so that outside exposure can be limited on bad days.

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• Hazards
• Of
• Air
• Pollution
• On
• Human
• Health