The Importance Of The Air We Breathe Environmental Sciences Essay

Almost all life on earth depends upon clean to function and survive. However, when the air we breathe in becomes polluted, we to become polluted. Polluted with harmful toxins, germs, viruses, etc. Some may wonder, “Well, what exactly is air pollution?” Air pollution is the presence in the air of one or more solid, liquid, or gaseous substances in such a concentration and of such duration as to cause a nuisance or to be injurious to human life, animal life and vegetation or disrupt the functioning of the environment (Dimitriou, & Christidou, 2007). This means that air pollution could be anything from car exhaust inhaled while behind an old station wagon in traffic, to a room filled with bleach fumes. These are just a few of the many ways our air can be “poisoned”. While this may seem like small potatoes to someone or be an issue that can wait, the numbers don’t lie. The average person breathes in about 2,200 – 2,400 gals of air, in order to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide with 2,200 – 2,700 gals of blood. This requires processing (at the very least) 4,400 gallons of liquid & gas daily for life (Gorman, 2006). Now think about 2,200 gals of polluted air going into the human body daily! All of a sudden the issue of air pollution seems a lot more important doesn’t it? In fact air pollution not only effects our current generation but also the future generations as well. Since about 1995, the number of studies linking air pollutants to prenatal problems such as LBW, SGA, preterm birth and cardiac birth defects has grown rapidly (Ritz & Wilhelm, 2008). This means if the amount of air pollution isn’t drastically reduced right now, we could be staring down the barrel of terminally ill children straight out of the womb. However, air pollution issues won’t stop there. One of air pollution’s “cohorts” is currently running loose on the world. This “cohort” goes by the name of lung disease. Over the last couple of years, cases of lung disease have sharply risen in the United States and spread globally. It’s become so prevalent, that it has already reached #3 on the top 10 list of killers in the U.S. Lung disease causes a whopping 1 out of every 7 deaths! When that number is tallied the actual number is very sad and disappointing. Millions upon millions of people are suffering because of this disease caused by air pollution. Not only is air pollution causing lives, it’s also costing out cash strapped economy a lot of money. Lung disease in the United States alone, cost the economy $81.6 billion dollars in direct health care cost every year, plus tack on indirect costs of $76.2 billion dollars, and you’re staring down the barrel of a total of more than $157.8 billion dollars in expenses (Gorman, 2006). The story just seems to get sadder and sadder as time progresses. However, there is still hope if society can become properly educated about air pollution. This research paper will attempt to do just that.

Sources of Air Pollution

Air Pollution can be caused by simple everyday things ranging from car exhaust & stoves, to more complicated things such as factory emissions. One by product of these “method of pollution” is referred to fine particle pollution. Fine particle air pollution consists of microscopic particles of dust & soot that are about 30 xs smaller than the width of a single human hair! So what can a few particles of dust do to a full grown person? Turns out these little “problems” can cause major life altering illnesses. According to a four-year study in AORN journal, researcher found that “minute increases in fine particle air pollution resulted in significantly increased hospital visits for heart and vascular disease, heart failure, pulmonary disease, etc” (2006). Now this is just an example of what one source of air pollution can do to the human body. Let’s look at more.

Formaldehyde is a common source of air pollution. In fact formaldehyde has been such a nuisance to the clean air cause that the EPA deemed it a human carcinogen. Despite this finding from a very trusted source, it continues to be widely used in the manufacturing of construction materials, furniture, and can also be found in paneling, cabinets, walls, textiles, floors, etc. One can’t help but notice the places that the places previously listed are inside the home! This means that dangerous toxins are all around us and could be polluting our air right now. If it’s not bad enough to think of living with a harmful substance-think about the possibility of wearing one. Formaldehyde is also key ingredient used to produce permanent-press clothing. All of these products can “off gas” slowly seep) formaldehyde, therefore deteriorating indoor air quality (Royal, 1998).

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This segways into another type of air pollution that’s often ignored-indoor air pollution. In third world countries around the world gas or electric stoves aren’t readily available. Therefore the majority of the population uses wood burning stoves. How does a wood stove cause indoor air pollution one may ask. Well, wood smoke is actually far more dangerous than tobacco smoke in some cases. Tobacco smoke (another source of air pollution that will be discussed next) causes damage inside the body for roughly thirty seconds after it is introduced into the body. Wood smoke on the other hand can damage cells inside the body for twenty minutes. That’s almost forty times longer than tobacco smoke! (Henkle, Mandzuk, Emergy, Schrowe, & Sevilla-Martir, 2010).

However, tobacco smoke is by far a more common source of air pollution and perhaps the oldest. Oldest? Yes, people were lighting up long before Phillip Morris was founded. Everyone from ancient Indians to famous explorers lit up. Modern times are no different as it seems not one day can pass with someone seeing a smoker. Perhaps smokers would reconsider their habit if they knew what they were putting into their bodies and a the air. When smoked, the tobacco and additives in a cigarette undergo complex chemical processes to form smoke that contains more than four thousand chemicals. Forty-three constituents of tobacco smoke are known carcinogens including ammonia, formaldehyde, arsenic, hydrogen cyanide, etc (“Cigarette Litter -Filters”. n.d.). That’s four thousand chemicals getting into your lungs and the atmosphere. So as you can see from the previous few lines, cigarette smoke is a key player in the air pollution game. However, sadly with every cause thats been listed, there must be an equal or more devastating effect.

Health Effects of Breathing Polluted Air

The real cost of air pollution cannot be measured until the health cost are factored in. Too much air pollution can make anyone’s life a living hell. Why? Well because substantial exposure to air pollution can have drastically negative effects on an individual’s overall well being. For example if a person inhaled too much car exhaust, tobacco smoke, factory smoke, etc they would be at risk for the following ailments:

“Major lung diseases include chronic bronchitis, sarcoidosis, emphysema interstitial lung disease, asthma, and other types of COPD. There are more than twenty eight other classified lung diseases, including, lung cancer, necrotizing and other forms of pneumonia, pleural effusions, asbestosis, pulmonary edema, pulmonary hypertension, cystic fibrosis, and rheumatoid lung disease” (Gorman, 2006).

With such a long list of ailments attributed to air pollution it’s no wonder the Institute of Medicine suggest that indoor air pollutants may lead to the development of a variety of diseases and symptoms, including allergies, asthma, central nervous system effects, infection, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, mucosal irritation, inhalation fevers,,, psychological effects, dermatitis, and some forms of cancer (Barnes, Fisher, Postma, Harnish, Butterfield, & Hill, 2010).

Pregnancy may constitute a period of human development particularly susceptible to toxins contained in air pollution because of high cell proliferation, organ development and the changing

capabilities of fetal metabolism (Ritz & Wilhelm, 2008)

For example, reports by the Institute of Medicine (IOM)

estimated the contribution of environmental pollutants to the incidence,

prevalence, mortality, and costs of four pediatric diseases in American children.

Most increases in admissions occurred on the same day as the change in air pollution level, suggesting that there was a short time period between the change in air pollution and the physiological response of the participants (2006)

The presence in the atmosphere of solid, gaseous or liquid substances emitted by natural

sources or as a result of human activities (for example the use of solvents, paints, varnishes and fossil fuels) damages human health, animal life and vegetation, as well as the balance of the

ecosystem. Climate change and ‘acid rain’ are among the consequences of air pollution

(Dimitriou, & Christidou, 2007)

Acid rain’ is a broad term; it refers to a complex chemical and atmospheric phenomenon that occurs when emissions of nitrogen or sulphur dioxides react in the atmosphere with

water and oxygen, forming a mild solution of sulphuric and nitric acids that are then deposited as rain. The ecological effects are most clearly seen in aquatic environments, such as

streams, lakes and marshes. These and the surrounding soil become acidic and as a result aluminum is released from the soil into the water. Aluminum is highly toxic to many

species of the aquatic organisms leading to the loss of biodiversity (Dimitriou, & Christidou, 2007).

Preventive Measures that Can Reduce Exposure to Air Pollution

Prevention Quit smoking; do not frequent places where there is a lot of second hand smoke, Check the quality of air in your community. Contact the local EPA for more information. Test for radon gas in your home. Use indoor air filters in rooms where you spend the most time. Reduce the amount of energy you consume to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Do not exercise in areas of high pollution. If you work in a high-risk job, take precautions to protect your lungs. Use-masks or filters, and take frequent breaks to get a few deep breaths of cleaner air (Gorman, 2006).

Studies have calculate that if air pollution was limited the stats for certain diseases would drop 100%

for lead poisoning, 30% for asthma, 5% for cancer, and 10% for neuro behavioral

disorders. Total costs to society (direct medical costs and indirect societal costs, such as lost work days) w e re estimated to range from 48.8 billion to 64.8 billion dollars (Barnes, Fisher, Postma, Harnish, Butterfield, & Hill, 2010)