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Air Pollution
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Air Pollution
I chose air pollution as the topic because air is one of the most critical requirements of life, and without it, life would stop within seconds. Valero (2014) says that air pollution has become a widespread problem around the world and humans are almost losing the battle for clean air. In spite of the efforts over the years to combat air pollution, it is taking an ever increasing toll on human health, the economy, and the environment. According to Shifrin (2014), air pollution was an exclusive problem of the urban centers in the industrialized world, but now it is a global phenomenon and more than a billion people or 1/5th of all humanity lives in environments with air quality that do not meet the quality standards set by the WHO.
The three key points to understanding air pollution are;
1. The types of pollutants
2. Sources of air pollution
3. Effect of air pollution
The Type of Air Pollutants
There are primary and secondary air pollutants. The primary air pollutants include the Sulfur oxides, Nitrogen oxides and other toxic by-products of industrial processes. Further oxidation of Sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the presence of a catalyst would result in acid rain that is potentially harmful. Nitrogen oxides like Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are also emitted in high-temperature combustion and have similar effects. These oxides are responsible for photochemical smog. Other primary pollutants include carbon dioxide (Co2), carbon monoxide (CO), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), Particulate matter, toxic heavy metals, Ammonia (NH3), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and radioactive pollutants (Valero, 2014).

The secondary pollutants include the particulate matter (pm) formed as a result of the photochemical smog and the gaseous form of the primary air pollutants. The smog combines in the atmosphere with the help of the sunlight to form secondary pollutants and may combine again with primary pollutants to form photochemical smog. Other secondary air pollutants include the ground-level ozone (O3) form from the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), and nitrogen oxides and peroxyacetyl nitrite (PAN) formed in a similar manner as Ozone (Shifrin, 2014).
Sources of Air Pollution
The primary sources of air pollutions are anthropogenic mainly from burning different types of fuel in power plants, manufacturing facilities, waste incinerators, motor vehicles, aircraft, and marine vessels. Other sources also include fumes from paints, Varnish, solvents, Aerosol sprays, and hair spray. Landfills of waste also generate methane, though not a toxic gas, it can displace oxygen, besides being highly flammable. Military exercises using nuclear, chemical, germ warfare, and rockets cause pollution as well (Shifrin, 2014).
Effects of pollution
All air pollutants effect human health depending on the level of concentration and the type of pollutants they can be fatal or lead to long-term health effects. Carbon Monoxide affects the respiratory system because the blood hemoglobin has a stronger affinity to Carbon monoxide than for oxygen resulting in a lower capacity of blood carrying oxygen leading to asphyxiation or lack of oxygen. Sulfur dioxide affects the respiratory system and leads to a severe headache, besides affecting the environment by causing corrosion and affecting plants. Chlorofluorocarbons destroy the ozone layer that filters the UV rays from reaching the atmosphere, if the ozone layer is depleted, the consequences could be catastrophic. Nitrogen oxides cause respiratory problems and affect the photosynthesis of plants while the particulate matter of Lead halides is highly toxic to all animals (Valero, 2014).
Addressing Air Pollution
Most industries have adopted the mechanical collectors for particulate matter using cyclonic separation to remove particulate from the air. The system uses vortex separation which involves rotational effects and gravity. Electronic precipitator (ESP) is another method of removing particulate from the air. There are also the particulate scrubbers used in different industries. Vehicular pollution has been reduced significantly and can be reduced further through regular engine tune-up and replacing the old polluting engines with current efficient engines. By using catalytic converters and modifying engines to have efficient fuel combustion and reduce Carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and nitrogen oxide emissions. Different countries around the world have legislation aimed at reducing air pollution (Valero, 2014).
Conclusion
Air pollution is now a worldwide problem affecting a huge proportion of the population. Air pollution is caused by both the primary and the secondary air pollution. The major air pollutants include the carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, Nitrogen oxides among other industrial by-products and emission fro vehicles. There are efforts all over trying to minimize and reduce the effects of air pollutions and have clean air (Valero, 2014).
Reference List
Shifrin, N. (2014). Environmental perspectives: A brief overview of selected topics. New York,
NY: Springer.
Valero, D. (2014). Fundamentals of air pollution (5th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Academic Press.