Many effects may also be associated, independently or in combination with, stress, work pressures, and seasonal discomforts. The impact of air pollution on deaths, disease burden, and. Impacts of air pollution on human health, ecosystems and. Health impacts of air pollution around the world, nine out of 10 people breathe unhealthy air. Children and teens may be more sensitive than adults to the health effects caused by air pollution especially children with asthma. A separate summary for policymakers is also available. Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substancesenergies or naturally occurring contaminants. Health effects of particulate matter final eng whoeurope world. Impacts of population growth and land use on air quality.
Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution. Steps you can take to reduce health effects from air pollution epa childrens respiratory health. A wide range of adverse effects of ambient air pollution on health has been well documented by studies conducted in various parts of the world. This awareness has been bolstered by global data revealing the staggering magnitude of the health effects of pollution. In relation to the air, there are different kinds of pollution that occur indoors as opposed to outdoors and vice versus. Along with harming human health, air pollution can cause a variety of environmental effects. Following is a list in no particular order of some of the issues in understanding health impacts of air pollution. To inform action at subnational levels in india, we estimated the exposure to air pollution and its impact on deaths, disease burden, and life expectancy in every state of india in 2017. In children, air pollution is linked to asthma and bronchitis, increases in school absences and er visits. Oxidative stress and the cardiovascular effects of air. Human health effects of air pollution marilena kampa, elias castanas laboratory of experimental endocrinology, university of crete, school of medicine, p.
Air pollution may be described as contamination of the atmosphere by gaseous, liquid, or solid wastes or byproducts that can endanger human health and welfare of plants and animals, attack materials, reduce visibility to read about how haze caused by. However, some groups of people are especially sensitive to common air pollutants such as particulates. Introduction an important reason for controlling air pollutants such as particulate matter or sulfur dioxide is the damaging effects they have on. Trends in ambient air pollution exposure and health impacts. Air pollution causes and effects on human health home air. Dec 14, 2016 air pollution in its most basic definition is the introduction of harmful substances into the earths atmosphere. These substances linger and cause many adverse effects. Awareness of health effects of air pollution is increasing globally, and has now become a priority issue on the environmental, health and political agenda. As you know, humans and other living creatures rely on the atmosphere for respiration. Eutrophication destroys a spawning areas for economically valuable fish. Air pollution and its effects on health case studies, india. A major study on urban pollution carried out in 650 cities worldwide has confirmed the fear that air pollution impacts on human health in the short term and is directly linked to the deaths of elderly people and those already suffering from illness on a daily basis the study, performed by an international team of 50 scientists and published in the specialist new england journal of medicine.
Health and environmental effects of hazardous air pollutants. Cut back or reschedule strenuous outside activities. Studies have shown indoor air pollution to be associated with increased chronic obstructive pulmonary. These effects, as discussed in this report, depend fundamentally on the nature of the compound in question, the concentration in the air and the time of individual exposure.
Air pollution is now the biggest environmental risk for early death, responsible for as many as 5 million premature deaths each year from heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and respiratory diseases. Box 2208, heraklion, 71003, greece received 4 june 2007. Mercury learn more about mercury and what is being done to protect your health. Its magnitude and effects on health article pdf available in indian journal of community medicine 381. Agriculture and environmental pollution india water portal. Major worldwide sources of pollution from particulate material include burning of wood and land clearing, transportation, and industrial sources, particularly power. A call to action to protect childrens health air pollution has become a child health crisis in ulaanbaatar, putting every child and pregnancy at risk. Because a few prominent aspects of indoor air pollution, notably environmental tobacco smoke pg. The effects of air pollution on health are very complex as there are many different sources and their individual effects vary from one to the other. Over the past three or four decades, there have been important advances in the understanding of the actions, exposureresponse characteristics, and mechanisms of action of many common air pollutants. Effects of nuclear pollution the effects vary from organism to organism and from level of radioactivity of nuclear isotopes. The climatehealth connection while air pollution is a known threat to human health, it also poses a threat to global climate.
Context shortterm exposure to high levels of air pollution may trigger myocardial infarction mi, but this association remains unclear objective to assess and quantify the association between shortterm exposure to major air pollutants ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter. Introduction an important reason for controlling air pollutants such as particulate matter or sulfur dioxide is the damaging effects they have on human health. It is not only the ambient air quality in the cities but also the indoor air quality in the rural and the urban areas that are causing concern. In mongolia, air pollution has been reported to enhance urinary excretion of 1hydroxypyrene in children, which is a bio. The quantity and quality of scientific literature on the health effects of air pollution vary considerably by pollutant type and by health outcome. According to the world health organization who, ambient air pollution aap levels exceed recommended limits for as much as 92% of the worlds population, and, compared to all other forms of environmental pollution e. In 21st century europe, air pollution has greatly improved by most measures but is still a substantial health problem, responsible for the early deaths of hundreds of thousands of people each year. Quantifying the effect alone is not enough to change policy and improve health the term smoga combination of smoke and fogwas invented by a british doctor a century ago.
Methodology for valuing the health impacts of air pollution. A multidisciplinary approach using epidemiology, animal. The risks include but are not limited to stillbirth, preterm birth, lower birth weight, pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma and death. However, the concept of healthrelated quality of life hrqol, which refers to the individuals perception of wellbeing, should also be included as an adverse health outcome of air. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light. Although the effects of these severe pollution episodes remain a topic of debate, welldocumented, episoderelated increases in morbidity and mortality from cardiopulmonary causes provided clear evidence that extremely high concentrations of air pollution can have adverse effects on health pope et al. Air pollution is an important determinant of health. The level of health risks posed by wastewater with heavy metals was determined using different indices, including the transfer factor tf, daily intake of metals dim and health risk index hri or health quotient hq. Track changes publication series 4 book 5 impacts of. Economic cost of the health impact of air pollution in. The health effects of air pollution in delhi, india.
Effects of secondary pollutants on human health became evident from population. This course is an attempt to answer such questions. The radiations destroy the cells in human body and causes cancer. Effects of air pollution and seasons on healthrelated. Heavy metals contamination and what are the impacts on living.
The health effects of air pollution in delhi, india by maureen l. Among them are respiratory diseases including asthma and changes in lung function, cardiovascular diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes such as. Air pollution is the black cloud belching from an industrial smokestack. Despite these, little is known about the health impact of urban air pollution at the cellular and subcellular levels among people residing in the indian mega cities. Environmental impacts of natural gas union of concerned. Causes, effects, and solutions for today and tomorrow since people living in the twentyfirst century have the likelihood of experiencing the effects of harmful pollution, looking at the causes of this water and air pollution is definitely vital in halting its devastating consequences. It causes different kinds of respiratory diseases like heart attack, cancer, bronchitis etc. There is growing awareness of the adverse effects on health of air pollution following both acute and chronic exposure, with a rapidly expanding body of evidence linking air pollution with an increased risk of respiratory e. There is evidence that medications used to manage lung or heart disease may reduce the severity of health effects caused by air pollution liu 2009, qian 2009. Heavy metals contamination and what are the impacts on. The cost of air pollution consequences on the economy p.
Air pollution is a complex and ubiquitous mixture of pollutants including particulate matter, chemical substances and biological materials. A longer exposure to radioactive radiations can damage the dna cells that results in cancer, genetic defects for the generations to come and even death. Indoor air pollution 2 000 000 deaths from ari in air pollution suspended particulate matter increases the risk of acute respiratory infections co and other toxic gases may impair development and health. Health effects of particulate matter air pollution have been reported in terms of mortality and morbidity of cardiopulmonary diseases, prevalence of respiratory symptoms and hospital admission 35. While most studies of air pollution health effects have been in the general population, studying subgroups with chronic disease has the potential to define the magnitude of the health effects in sensitive populations and may provide unique insights into the mechanism of pollutant effects. Air pollution is a major planetary health risk, with india estimated to have some of the worst levels globally. The health effects of air pollution in mongolia such as mortality, morbidity and symptoms have been previously reported. Elderly people, children and infants, and people with lung or heart disease are most affected by exposure to both pollutants. Since the early 1980s, the core mission of hei is to study the health effects of air pollution with a focus on vehicular emissions.
Even healthy people can experience health impacts from polluted air including respiratory irritation or breathing difficulties during exercise or outdoor activities. Your actual risk of adverse effects depends on your current health status, the pollutant type and concentration, and the length of your exposure to the. Health impacts of air pollution environmental defense fund. Of the various kinds of pollution, the air pollution has attracted high priority in respect of environmental regulation since the environmental damage due to such pollution mostly affects human wellbeing directly by way of adverse health effects on the population exposed to it. The effects of air pollution are very harmful for health. Over the past 30 years, researchers have unearthed a wide array of health effects which are believed to be associated with air pollution exposure. Air pollution is a major concern of new civilized world, which has a serious toxicological impact on human health and the environment. Its the smelly exhaust of an old car that burns oil. Oct 29, 2009 shafaque saira malik s presentation on effects of pollution on health in the international training on effects of climate change and aqm slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Its the smog that settles over some cities, dimming the skyline. Noxious health effects caused by air pollution can be classified as due to either chronic or acute exposure.
Despite their widespread use, little is known about whether these programmes produce any observable public health benefits. Parr is head of the divisions section on nutritional and healthrelated environmental studies. Plan strenuous outside activities when air quality is better. Tremendous increase in impervious surfaces has far reaching effects on the landscape and environment of the region. Air pollution causes damage to human health, crops, ecosystems and cultural heritage the scientific data presented in this brochure have been collated by the working group on effects to support the revision of the 1999 protocol to abate acidification, eutrophication and groundlevel ozone. Children living near diesel trucking routes are more likely to have decreased lung function, bronchitis and allergies. The health risks from unsafe water and sanitation derive from faecal contamination, bacteria and. Despite their widespread use, little is known about whether these programmes produce any observable publichealth benefits.
Air pollution causes and effects on human health the term pollution is a negative term we frequently hear used by the media and those in our community. Acid rain is precipitation containing harmful amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. Endosulphan problem 2 fish stocks and marine biodiversity. There is significant inequality in exposure to air pollution and related health risks. The consequence could be adverse health effects that could be subclinical or overt. Air pollution and health effects srikanth s nadadur. Accordingly, it offers both summary information for the former and full discussion, primarily for the latter. Overall health effects even healthy people can experience health impacts from polluted air including respiratory irritation or breathing difficulties during exercise or outdoor activities. Air pollution worldwide is a growing threat to human health and the natural environment. This paper summarizes the evidence about the health effects of air pollution from. Shah asv, langrish jp, nair h, mcallister da, hunter al, donaldson k et al. Mar 01, 2018 according to the world health organization who, ambient air pollution aap levels exceed recommended limits for as much as 92% of the worlds population, and, compared to all other forms of environmental pollution e.
The health effects notebook for hazardous air pollutants detailed information about the health effects of hazardous air pollutants haps is available in separate fact sheets, for nearly every hap specified in the clean air act amendments of 1990. Nair is head of the nuclear medicine section of the iaea division of human health, of which mr. The level of health risks posed by wastewater with heavy metals was determined using different indices, including the transfer factor tf, daily intake of metals dim and health risk index hri or. Health effects of air pollution deohs home university of. Air pollution causes and effects on human health home. Exposure to air pollution, both household and ambient, is associated with a broad range of acute and chronic health effects from minor physiologic disturbances, to death from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases70. Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change.
More recently, the scope has broadened to air pollution in general, because ultimately people are exposed to a mixture of pollutants from different sources. To reduce adverse health effects on days when air pollution is high, government agencies worldwide have implemented air quality alert programmes. Rather than discussing the health effects of the many different pollutants which can be found in indoor air, the approach has been to group broad categories of adverse health effects in separate chapters. Ambient air pollution is a major health risk globally. When air quality is dampened by pollution, immediate and longer term consequences take. The results suggest that health improvements can be expected to appear almost immediately and can be seen following almost any decrease in the concentration of pm for example, the observed beneficial effects in respiratory health of the swiss children occurred following relatively small changes of rather moderate air pollution levels enormously strengthens the argument for optimal air quality management. Pollution is the result of people plus economic activity, both increasing at a significant rate. Your actual risk of adverse effects depends on your current health status, the pollutant type and concentration, and the length of. Policy brief for gsdr 2016 update the rapidly growing. Pdf air pollution from fossil fuel combustion has been known to affect human health for centuries.
Family physicians can use the aqhi and its health messages to teach patients with asthma and other highrisk patients how to reduce health risks from air pollution. Review of evidence on health aspects of air pollution. These acids are formed primarily by nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. This report contains a summary discussion of human health effects linked to iap in homes and other nonindustrial environments.
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