Air pollution

Air pollution from a coking oven
2016 Environmental Performance Index – darker colors indicate lower concentrations of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, as well as better indoor air quality.
Deaths from air pollution per 100,000 inhabitants (IHME, 2019)

Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances called pollutants in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials.[1] It is also the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment either by chemical, physical, or biological agents that alters the natural features of the atmosphere.[1] There are many different types of air pollutants, such as gases (including ammonia, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, methane and chlorofluorocarbons), particulates (both organic and inorganic), and biological molecules. Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even death to humans; it can also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and crops, and may damage the natural environment (for example, climate change, ozone depletion or habitat degradation) or built environment (for example, acid rain).[2] Air pollution can be caused by both human activities[3] and natural phenomena.[4]

Air quality is closely related to the Earth's climate and ecosystems globally. Many of the contributors of air pollution are also sources of greenhouse emission i.e., burning of fossil fuel.[1]

Air pollution is a significant risk factor for a number of pollution-related diseases, including respiratory infections, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, and lung cancer.[5] Growing evidence suggests that air pollution exposure may be associated with reduced IQ scores, impaired cognition,[6] increased risk for psychiatric disorders such as depression[7] and detrimental perinatal health.[8] The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching, but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to,[9][10] the degree of exposure, and the individual's health status and genetics.[11]

Outdoor air pollution attributable to fossil fuel use alone causes ~3.61 million deaths annually, making it one of the top contributors to human death,[5][12] with anthropogenic ozone and PM2.5 causing ~2.1 million.[13][14] Overall, air pollution causes the deaths of around 7 million people worldwide each year, or a global mean loss of life expectancy (LLE) of 2.9 years,[15] and is the world's largest single environmental health risk, which has not shown significant progress since at least 2015.[5][16][17][18] Indoor air pollution and poor urban air quality are listed as two of the world's worst toxic pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute World's Worst Polluted Places report.[19] The scope of the air pollution crisis is large: In 2018, WHO estimated that "9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants."[20] Although the health consequences are extensive, the way the problem is handled is considered largely haphazard[21][20][22] or neglected.[18]

Productivity losses and degraded quality of life caused by air pollution are estimated to cost the world economy $5 trillion per year[23][24][25] but, along with health and mortality impacts, are an externality to the contemporary economic system and most human activity, albeit sometimes being moderately regulated and monitored.[26][27] Various pollution control technologies and strategies are available to reduce air pollution.[28][29] Several international and national legislation and regulation have been developed to limit the negative effects of air pollution.[30] Local rules, when properly executed, have resulted in significant advances in public health.[31] Some of these efforts have been successful at the international level, such as the Montreal Protocol,[32] which reduced the release of harmful ozone depleting chemicals, and the 1985 Helsinki Protocol,[33] which reduced sulfur emissions,[34] while others, such as international action on climate change,[35][36][37] have been less successful.

  1. ^ a b c "Air pollution". www.who.int. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  2. ^ Manisalidis I, Stavropoulou E, Stavropoulos A, Bezirtzoglou E (2020). "Environmental and Health Impacts of Air Pollution: A Review". Frontiers in Public Health. 8: 14. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2020.00014. ISSN 2296-2565. PMC 7044178. PMID 32154200.
  3. ^ Howell R, Pickerill J (2016). "The Environment and Environmentalism". In Daniels P, Bradshaw M, Shaw D, Sidaway J, Hall T (eds.). An Introduction To Human Geography (5th ed.). Pearson. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-292-12939-6.
  4. ^ Dimitriou A, Christidou V (26 September 2011), Khallaf M (ed.), "Causes and Consequences of Air Pollution and Environmental Injustice as Critical Issues for Science and Environmental Education", The Impact of Air Pollution on Health, Economy, Environment and Agricultural Sources, InTech, doi:10.5772/17654, ISBN 978-953-307-528-0, retrieved 31 May 2022
  5. ^ a b c "7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution". WHO. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  6. ^ Allen JL, Klocke C, Morris-Schaffer K, Conrad K, Sobolewski M, Cory-Slechta DA (June 2017). "Cognitive Effects of Air Pollution Exposures and Potential Mechanistic Underpinnings". Current Environmental Health Reports. 4 (2): 180–191. doi:10.1007/s40572-017-0134-3. PMC 5499513. PMID 28435996.
  7. ^ Newbury JB, Stewart R, Fisher HL, Beevers S, Dajnak D, Broadbent M, et al. (2021). "Association between air pollution exposure and mental health service use among individuals with first presentations of psychotic and mood disorders: retrospective cohort study". The British Journal of Psychiatry. 219 (6) (published 19 August 2021): 678–685. doi:10.1192/bjp.2021.119. ISSN 0007-1250. PMC 8636613. PMID 35048872.
  8. ^ Ghosh R, Causey K, Burkart K, Wozniak S, Cohen A, Brauer M (28 September 2021). "Ambient and household PM2.5 pollution and adverse perinatal outcomes: A meta-regression and analysis of attributable global burden for 204 countries and territories". PLOS Medicine. 18 (9): e1003718. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003718. ISSN 1549-1676. PMC 8478226. PMID 34582444.
  9. ^ Stanek LW, Brown JS, Stanek J, Gift J, Costa DL (2011). "Air Pollution Toxicology—A Brief Review of the Role of the Science in Shaping the Current Understanding of Air Pollution Health Risks". Toxicological Sciences. 120: S8–S27. doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfq367. PMID 21147959. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  10. ^ Majumder N, Kodali V, Velayutham M, Goldsmith T, Amedro J, Khramtsov VV, et al. (2022). "Aerosol physicochemical determinants of carbon black and ozone inhalation co-exposure induced pulmonary toxicity". Toxicological Sciences. 191 (1): 61–78. doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfac113. PMC 9887725. PMID 36303316.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Daniel A. Vallero was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Lelieveld J, Klingmüller K, Pozzer A, Burnett RT, Haines A, Ramanathan V (25 March 2019). "Effects of fossil fuel and total anthropogenic emission removal on public health and climate". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 116 (15): 7192–7197. Bibcode:2019PNAS..116.7192L. doi:10.1073/pnas.1819989116. PMC 6462052. PMID 30910976. S2CID 85515425.
  13. ^ "Fine Particulate Matter Map Shows Premature Mortality Due to Air Pollution - SpaceRef". spaceref.com. 19 September 2013. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  14. ^ Silva RA, West JJ, Zhang Y, Anenberg SC, Lamarque JF, Shindell DT, et al. (2013). "Global premature mortality due to anthropogenic outdoor air pollution and the contribution of past climate change". Environmental Research Letters. 8 (3): 034005. Bibcode:2013ERL.....8c4005S. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/034005.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference 10.1093/cvr/cvaa025 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "Energy and Air Pollution" (PDF). Iea.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  17. ^ "Study Links 6.5 Million Deaths Each Year to Air Pollution". The New York Times. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  18. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00090-0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ "Reports". WorstPolluted.org. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  20. ^ a b "9 out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air, but more countries are taking action". World Health Organization. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Cheap air pollution monitors help plot your walk". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Assessing the risks to health from air pollution". www.eea.europa.eu. European Environment Agency. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference documents.worldbank.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference commondreams.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fortune2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Batool R, Zaman K, Khurshid MA, Sheikh SM, Aamir A, Shoukry AM, et al. (October 2019). "Economics of death and dying: a critical evaluation of environmental damages and healthcare reforms across the globe". Environmental Science and Pollution Research International. 26 (29): 29799–29809. Bibcode:2019ESPR...2629799B. doi:10.1007/s11356-019-06159-x. ISSN 1614-7499. PMID 31407261. S2CID 199528114.
  27. ^ Bherwani H, Nair M, Musugu K, Gautam S, Gupta A, Kapley A, et al. (10 June 2020). "Valuation of air pollution externalities: comparative assessment of economic damage and emission reduction under COVID-19 lockdown". Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health. 13 (6): 683–694. Bibcode:2020AQAH...13..683B. doi:10.1007/s11869-020-00845-3. ISSN 1873-9318. PMC 7286556. PMID 32837611.
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fensterstock1971 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fensterstock1972 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ US EPA O (22 September 2014). "Pollution Prevention Law and Policies". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  31. ^ Frieden TR (January 2014). "Six Components Necessary for Effective Public Health Program Implementation". American Journal of Public Health. 104 (1): 17–22. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301608. ISSN 0090-0036. PMC 3910052. PMID 24228653.
  32. ^ Environment UN (29 October 2018). "About Montreal Protocol". Ozonaction. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  33. ^ "The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer". United States Department of State. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  34. ^ "Protocol On Further Reduction Of Sulphur Emissions To The Convention On Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution | International Environmental Agreements (IEA) Database Project". iea.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  35. ^ Nations U. "ClimateChange". United Nations. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  36. ^ "Climate change". www.who.int. World Health Organization. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  37. ^ "Global Climate Agreements: Successes and Failures". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 7 June 2022.