Partida 1

Tania Partida
Professor Santosh
English 113B
May 11, 2016

The Dangers of Air Pollution

The single largest environmental health risk is known to be as air pollution. Everywhere
air pollution has killed millions of people. For example, An estimated 7 million people died due
to air pollution globally in 2012 (Khullar). Air pollution is dangerous to be exposed to since it
contains hundreds of harmful substances. Many people are exposed to air pollution almost every
day of their lives. Another thing about air pollution is that not only does it affect people but it
affects plants, animals, and environments. People should have greater environmental awareness
about issues such as this one.
Air pollution is the presence in or introduction into the air of a substance which has
harmful or poisonous effects. It occurs when the air contains gases, dust, fumes, or odor in
harmful amounts. Substances that cause air pollution are called pollutants. Air pollutants are
gases and particles in the atmosphere that harm organisms and affect climate (Friedl). There are
primary and secondary pollutants. Primary pollutants are those that cause direct harm or that
can react to form harmful substances in the atmosphere. Secondary pollutants are those harmful
substances that are created from the reactions between primary pollutants and the components of
the atmosphere. (Friedl) They can also be ground level ozone and peroxyacetyl nitrate. There

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can be almost anything in the air we breathe. Its insane to know that especially because we take
the air into our bodies inside our lungs. Air pollutants can cause a lot of health problems and
damage to almost anything and anyone.

This chart above explains the effects of air pollution and how many people have been affected by
it. Thousands and millions have been victims of air pollution. Some to the extreme that it has
caused them their lives.
People, environments, plants, and animals are all affected by air pollution. It complicates
almost everything because of the poisonous gases it contains. For people it brings all sorts of
health issues. The majority of deaths associated with air pollution were heart disease, stroke,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer (Khullar). The people that are most at
risk of air pollutants are children, older adults, people who are active outdoors, and people with
heart disease or lung diseases. These people are more sensitive to air pollutants and need to be
aware of steps they can take to protect their health. The effects it has on the environments is that

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it causes acid rain, eutrophication, ozone depletion and haze. Animals can obtain health problems
from air pollution as well just like people can. Studies show that air toxics are contributing to
birth defects, reproductive failure, and disease in animals (Sullivan). Even plants are affected by
it and if they are then it complicates their growth and the acid rain can destroy them.
Traffic, power plants, and industrial factories are some causes of air pollution. On the road
today there are at least a billion cars. Most of them run on gasoline and diesel engines that burn
petroleum to release energy. ..Fuels aren't pure hydrocarbons and engines don't burn them
cleanly. As a result, exhausts from engines contain all kinds of pollution, notably particulates
(soot of various sizes), carbon monoxide (CO, a poisonous gas), nitrogen oxides (NO x), volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), and leadand indirectly produce ozone(Woodford). The product
of this is smog and smog can stick around in a city for days. Smog contains ozone which is really
toxic, it can cause difficulties breathing and sometimes even death.

Above here is an example of what smog looks like. Its a brownish color and it clouds over a
city just like this. Majority of electricity today is produced by burning fossil fuels but mostly in

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power plants. Fuels are dirty and they don't burn cleanly, so power plants produce a range of air
pollutants, notably sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates(Woodford). Some industrial
factories produce very minimal air pollution over time but the effects can be extremely
dangerous. The factories that are most harmful are the ones that produce aluminum, metals,
plastic, and steel. There have been accidents where some factories have released a lot of
pollutants over a short period of time. For example, One notable case happened in Bhopal, India
in December 1984, when a large chemical plant run by the Union Carbide company released a
poisonous gas (methyl isocyanate) that hung over the local area, killing around 3000 people and
injuring thousands more(Woodford) Traffic, power plants, and industrial factories produce the
majority of air pollution.
The people, animals, plants, and environments that are most affected by air pollution are
the ones that live in overpopulated areas. Today some of the most polluted cities are Beijing,
China, Delhi, India, and Karachi, Pakistan. The reason why these countries are highly polluted is
because they are overpopulated. Pakistan is on top of the list with a population of 180 million
people and the life expectancy there is 66. Pakistan's major industries include mining,
manufacturing and fuel extraction (Whiting). Most of the cities that are polluted are where some
of its major industries include oil production. Its upsetting to see how terribly polluted these
countries are. If you look at pictures you can see with your own eyes the amount of air pollution
these people are being exposed to everyday of their lives.
Indias most polluted city at top of the list today is Delhi. Some factors as to why Delhi is
the most polluted city is because of the population, transportation, and industrial issues. Delhi
was successful in providing opportunities for employment. A lot of people migrated to Delhi for
better opportunities. What was essentially an administrative center with a population of 1.45

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million in 1951 became a huge urban metropolis with a population of 13.78 million as per the
2001 Census. (Case Study of Delhi). This increased their population rapidly. Their expansion
through trade, commerce, and industry was an issue since pollution was increasing at the same
time with them. Transportation affected Delhi negatively for contributing to the amount of air
pollution. The poor road condition had also to cope with overloaded public transport vehicles
since more and more people needed to commute for longer distances (Case Study of Delhi). The
amount of vehicles on the road quickly increased making traffic more congested. Below shows
an image giving an example of how much traffic there is on highways in India. As you can see it
is a serious issue and threat towards the amount of the citys air pollution.

Industrial pollution helped maintain Delhi very polluted. The other major source of air pollution
load in Delhi was the fuel combustion by both largescale and small-scale industries (Case Study
of Delhi). Thermal power pants were the industries Delhi was most concerned about. Three coal
based thermal power plants were the cause of 10% of the air pollution in 2001 (Case Study of
Delhi). What may have been even worse was that these industries are located in the heart of the
city which means that the people that live close to them are the most affected.

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Most of Beijing, Chinas air pollution issues are blamed on the coal, traffic and its neighbor
Hebei. Coal consumption is the main reason why Beijing became so polluted. Burning coal
releases tons and tons of harmful substances into the air and atmosphere. According
to estimates by Greenpeace, coal consumption is responsible for up to half of Chinas PM2.5
(Freedman). There have been cases where Beijing tries to find solutions. For example, Topdown policies have been effective in moving coal-fired power plants away from major cities, and
replacing smaller, less efficient plants with larger ones (Freedman). In Beijing the delivery
trucks on the road are a large contributor to air pollution. Roadside checks found that 80-90
percent of heavy trucks had fake approvals, Li Kunsheng, head of vehicle emissions enforcement
in the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, said at a recent conference (Freedman). Most
delivery trucks have fake approvals because upgrading turns out to be very expensive. Beijings
neighbor Hebei supports industrial expansion. When industrial factories in Beijing were moved
out in 2008 they were relocating to Hebei. Hebei, which is much poorer than the capital, now
produces a significant chunk of the entire worlds steel and is home to seven of the 10 most
polluted cities in China. Much of that smog ends up in Beijing: for Beijing to clean its air, Hebei
and other close provinces have to as well (Freedman).

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The image on the left shows how Hebei surrounds almost all of Beijing and on the right shows
some of Hebeis industrial factories polluting the air.
Another city who is exposed to high amounts of air pollution is Karachi, Pakistan. In almost
all of Pakistani cities the main sources of pollutants are combustion of fossil fuels from vehicles,
factories, and power plants. The economy in Pakistan and demand for goods grew high around
2002-2004. The major industries in Pakistan are on textiles, cement, fertilizer, steel, sugar,
electric goods, shipbuilding, and the automobile manufacturing industry (Pakistan). Karachi has
emerged as the city with the most industrial activities. With a population of almost twelve
million people there are a lot of vehicles everywhere. The combustion of fossil fuels from
vehicles is highly pollutant. Pakistans road traffic has been growing at an average annual rate
of 14.1% during the 20-year period between 1985 and 2005 (Pakistan). In Pakistan the amount
of public transportation there is available is very minimal. The amount that is available cant
provide services to many people. With that in mind this is why people prefer to travel with their
own transportation for example their cars, motorcycles, and rickshaws. Below is an example of
how people use rickshaws as a method of transportation.

Rickshaws are probably the best method

of transportation to avoid contributing to the air pollution issue in Pakistan.

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Having greater environmental awareness will help solve this issue with air pollution.
Previously in the past there have been laws and regulations to help minimize the air pollution
issue. For example, the Clean Air Act Amendment in 1970, in 1990 when the act was
reauthorized it required most cities to meet existing smog reduction regulations by the year 2005,
and a UN Conference on Climate Change, held in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, produced an
international agreement to combat global warming by sharply reducing emissions of industrial
gases produced by industrialized nations (Solutions to Air Pollution). Although the laws and
regulations dont necessarily mean that people wont break them. For example the delivery
trucks in Beijing arent all legit. It seems as if people dont come to care about the environment
nor their health when they break air pollution laws and regulations. I asked my brother what he
thought about the problem with the Beijing delivery trucks and he said, Those people who dont
want to spend a few more extra dollars to upgrade them to perform better are being selfish to the
environment and people around them.(Partida) I agree with him completely. Just like there are
laws and regulations there are also organizations involved in helping prevent air pollution.
Some organizations involved with helping solve this issue are Clean Air World, National
Association of Clean Air Agencies, and Clean Air Trust. They promote environmental awareness
by keeping people informed and are also nonprofit organizations. Some solutions they mention
are Taking a bus or bike, or buying more efficient appliances, such as economical used cars, you
not only reduce carbon emissions, but you also reduce toxic air pollutants and acid
precipitation(Clean Air Trust). They are actively involved with other issues as well not only air
pollution.
Overall air pollution is an issue that might be around for a very long time. In that case people
need to start being more aware and actively involved. Together we can help solve this issue.

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Works Cited
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Khullar, Arshiya. Who: Air pollution caused one in eight deaths March 25, 2014.
Friedl, Sarah. What is Air Pollution?
Woodford, Chris. Air Pollution March 7, 2016.
Sullivan, Richard. Department of Environmental Protection
Whiting, Natalie. Air Pollution: 10 countries with the worlds dirtiest air May 8, 2014
Author Unknown, Towards Cleaner Air: A Case Study of Delhi
Freedman, Josh. Why Is the Pollution So Bad In Beijing? January 4, 2016.
Author Unknown. Pakistan Country Synthesis Report on Urban Air Quality

Management
9. Author Unknown, Solutions to Air Pollution, 2012.
10. Interview. Partida, Erick. May 9, 2016 6:01 P.M. (10 minutes)
11. Clean Air Trust. Organization. 2002.
Image 1: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-10/benmappyramid.png
Image 2: http://www.cleancutmedia.com/articles/top-10-most-polluted-toxic-cities-in-the-us
Image3:http://indiatoday.intoday.in/auto/story/delhi-to-restrict-vehicles-on-roads-to-beatpollution/1/538690.html
Image4:http://indiatoday.intoday.in/auto/story/delhi-to-restrict-vehicles-on-roads-to-beatpollution/1/538690.html
Image5:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2015/jan/13/hebeis-steel-cities-

chinas-pollution-crisis-in-pictures

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Image6:
http://www.dailytravelphotos.com/images/2009/091201_delhi_india_cycle_rickshaw_motion_pa
n_passenger_look_MG_7513.jpg