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Can
you see the buildings? |
Air
Pollution |
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In the past three decades, environmental
measures have cleared up much of the visible pollution that once hovered
menacingly over urban areas, but smog, soot and haze persist in many
cities and even cloud the views in wilderness areas. Air pollution
is aggravated because of four developments: increasing traffic, growing
cities, rapid economic development, and industrialization. Worldwide
air pollution is responsible for large numbers of deaths and cases
of respiratory disease.
Every year, approximately 1,000
new chemicals are developed and added to the 70,000 chemicals, 9 million
mixtures, formulations and blends of chemicals already in commercial
use. Few of these chemicals have been adequately assessed for their
potential toxicity, either individually or in combination with other
chemicals.
There are two main types of air pollution: |
- Indoor Air Pollution
This includes Second-Hand Smoke, Household Products, Nitrogen
Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Formaldehyde, Mold, Microbes and Radon.
- Outdoor Air Pollution
This includes Smog, Acid Rain, The Greenhouse Effect, and Ozone
Depletion
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Air pollutants can be divided into three
groups:
Criteria pollutants - Air toxics - Biological pollutants
-Criteria air pollutants are used as indicators of air quality.
-Air toxics are pollutants that are present in the air in low concentrations
and are hazardous to human, plant or animal.
-Biological pollutants are microbiological contamination (moulds,
the skin of animals or humans and the remains and dropping of pests
such as cockroaches) Biological pollutants can be airborne and can
have a significant impact on indoor air quality.
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Current
Air Quality Index Sites
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Some
information was borrowed from
Natural
Resources Defense Council
nutramed.com
Australian
Government Department of Environment |
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