The Importance Of The Air We Breathe Environmental Sciences Essay

The Importance Of The think We catch whizs breath Environmental Sciences EssayAl intimately all life on flat coat depends upon clean to function and survive. However, when the send out we breathe in becomes polluted, we to become polluted. colly with harmful toxins, germs, viruses, etc. Some may wonder, Well, what exactly is line taint? Air defilement is the presence in the air of wiz or to a greater extent solid, liquid, or gaseous substances in such a parsimoniousness and of such duration as to cause a nuisance or to be injurious to valet life, animal life and ve sterilizeation or disrupt the functioning of the environment (Dimitriou, Christidou, 2007). This agency that air defilement could be anything from car exhaust inhaled while behind an old station station wagon in traffic, to a room filled with bleach fumes. These ar secure a few of the many ways our air discount be poisoned. While this may seem like small potatoes to someone or be an issue that roll in the hay wait, the mos dont lie. The average person breathes in ab appear 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 touch on (at the truly least) 4,400 gallons of liquid gas everyday for life (Gorman, 2006). Now debate about 2,200 gals of polluted air going into the human eubstance daily All of a sudden the issue of air contamination seems a lot more important doesnt it? In fact air contaminant not only effects our current generation but too the future generations as salutary. 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 isnt drastically reduced right now, we could be staring down the barrel of terminally ill children straight out of the womb. However, air pollution issues wont stop on that point. one and only(a) of a ir pollutions cohorts is currently running loose on the world. This cohort goes by the name of lung illness. over the last couple of years, cases of lung disease make up sharply risen in the United States and spread globally. Its 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, its in any case costing out cash strapped economy a lot of money. Lung disease in the United States alone, cost the economy $81.6 one thousand thousand dollars in get health care cost every year, plus tack on indirect cost of $76.2 billion dollars, and youre 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 provide become properly educated about air pollution. This research motif will attempt to do just that.Sources of Air PollutionAir Pollution notify 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 fraction pollution. delightful 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 tramp 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 quatern-year ponder in AORN journal, researcher found that minute increases in fine particle air pollution resulted in signifi sanctimoniousnessly increased hospital visits for philia and vascular disease, heart failure, pulmonic disease, etc (2006). Now this is just an example of what one artificial lake of air pollution can do to the human body. Lets 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 as well be found in paneling, cabinets, walls, textiles, floors, etc. One cant help but notice the places that the places preliminaryly listed are inside the fireside This means that insidious toxins are all around us and could be polluting our air right now. If its not bad enough to think of reinforcement 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 whole step (Royal, 1998) .This segways into an some other type of air pollution thats often ignored-indoor air pollution. In third world countries around the world gas or electric car stoves arent 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 hummer is actually far more dangerous than baccy 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. Thats virtually forty times pertinaciouser 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 ahead Phillip Morris was founded. Everyone from ancient Indians to famous explor ers lit up. Modern times are no different as it seems not one day can recidivate with someone seeing a smoker. Perhaps smokers would reconsider their habit if they knew what they were putt into their bodies and a the air. When smoked, the tobacco and additives in a cigarette undergo colonial chemical processes to form smoke that contains more than tetrad thousand chemicals. forty-three constituents of tobacco smoke are known carcinogens including ammonia, formaldehyde, arsenic, hydrogen cyanide, etc (Cigarette Litter -Filters. n.d.). Thats four thousand chemicals getting into your lungs and the glory. 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 moldiness be an equal or more devastating effect.Health make of Breathing Polluted AirThe real cost of air pollution cannot be measured until the health cost are factored in. Too very much air pollution can make anyone s life a backup hell. Why? Well because substantial exposure to air pollution can have drastically negative effects on an individuals 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 ailmentsMajor lung diseases embarrass 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 its no wonder the Institute of practice 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 pne umonitis, mucosal irritation, inhalation fevers,,, mental effects, dermatitis, and some forms of cancer (Barnes, Fisher, Postma, Harnish, Butterfield, Hill, 2010).Pregnancy may constitute a finale of human development particularly susceptible to toxins contained in air pollution because of high cell proliferation, organ development and the changingcapabilities of fetal metabolic process (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 akin 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 naturalsources or as a result of human activities (for example the use of solvents, paints, varnishes and fossil burns) redress human health, animal life and vegetation, as well as the residuum of theecosystem. 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 withwater and oxygen, forming a mild solution of sulphuric and nitric acids that are then deposited as rain. The ecological effects are or so clearly seen in aquatic environments, such asstreams, lakes and marshes. These and the surrounding defacement become acidic and as a result aluminum is released from the shit into the water. Aluminum is highly toxic to manyspecies of the aquatic organisms leading to the dismissal of biodiversity (Dimitriou, Christidou, 2007).Preventive Measures that Can Reduce Exposure to Air Pollution legal profession Quit smoking do not s hit 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 vitamin C%for lead poisoning, 30% for asthma, 5% for cancer, and 10% for neuro behavioraldisorders. 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)