The Effects of Air Pollution on Respiratory Health
People who are suffering from asthma have attacks that are caused by various factors that are considered as triggers. Some of these triggers are contaminants or pollutants that can be found in the air. According to researches, air pollution is one of the key contributing factors that cause asthma, a chronic respiratory disease that has increased in the past twenty years.
According to KidsHealth.org, the Earth’s ozone has an upper atmosphere that plays a key role in protecting us from harmful radiation known as UV rays. However, ground-level ozone is considered as different.
In the year 2004, the American Lung Association has released a report and identified “particle pollution” in its “State of the Air”. It refers to particulates such as smog, dust, smoke, soot, aerosol droplets and other fine irritants that go deep in human lungs can cause health problems. The American Lung Association stated that 23 percent of the population who lives in area encounters particle pollution at unhealthy levels all year.
Experts say that other air pollutants include gases such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and industrial fumes are major contributors to the ozone and particle pollutants. In addition, even outdoor smoke, cigarette smoke and other types of smoke can lead to asthma attacks in adults and young kids as well.
Air Pollution in Children
According to KidsHealth.org, kids can be affected by indoor and outdoor air pollution due to their faster breathing rates and their lungs are still in the process of growing. Kid’s asthma has become more common, and research studies show that it is the most common chronic disease in children.
The problem triggers inflammation a person’s bronchial tubes leading to his lungs. This can lead to coughing and wheezing sound that is a sign of an asthma attack.
Secondary Effects Of Air Pollution
occurrence of harmful chemicals in the atmosphere results in air pollution. This is often due to emissions from factories and automobiles, as well as chemicals from improper burning and destruction of plastic and artificial rubber. While the methods on how to prevent air pollution has a number of primary effects, they also have secondary effects.
According to recent researches, secondary pollution take place when car exhaust and factory emissions, and other primary forms of air pollution work together with each other to form new forms of pollution. For example, acid rain is a form of secondary air pollution. If you stop primary pollutants from getting into the air, you are reducing the elements necessary for secondary pollution to form, thereby making the secondary effect that these additional contaminants do not form in the first place.
Finding effective methods on how to prevent air pollution has led to the development of innovative technological advancements and alternative ways to produce energy and fight pollution. For example, sources that are renewable such as wind and sunlight that are exploited through wind turbines and solar cells have always been obtainable, but the aim to prevent pollution spurred development of methods to make them more practical and inexpensive. Even technologies such as electric cars have significantly developed and improved through efforts to prevent air pollution.
Many activities that cause pollution are inefficient but these things are expensive. For instance, the engine for internal combustion is far from the best engine that could be used in cars. In addition, if you can gather electricity from a renewable source like wind to charge your electric car, this will not create pollutants that can trigger air pollution. Doing so will also save your money. Lastly, savings in energy costs can really help you a lot.
