Environmental Health: Air Pollution in the USA Essay

Introduction

Air pollution is a subject that pertains to environmental health and its influences on human health and diseases. The essay aims at discussing air pollution in the American context to identify the health implications, the causes or origin, and the primary effects on humans.

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The Public Health Implications Associated With Air Pollution in the U.S

The public health effects that are related to air pollution in the U.S are as a result of the lowered quality of air that the people breathe. A reduction in air quality causes three primary health problems for the population including cardiovascular diseases, respiratory illnesses, and allergy-related diseases. Cardiovascular infections have been on the increase in the U.S due to lower quality of air that the people breathe. According to the Environmental Protection Agency U.S (2017), air pollution is linked to higher risks of cardiovascular diseases. Extended exposure to nitrogen oxides as well as the particulate matter has been linked to age blood vessels prematurely. Such effects lead to the fast building up of calcium within the coronary artery, and this causes cardiovascular illnesses in people such as stroke and heart attacks.

Respiratory illnesses associated with air pollution are a public health concern as the problem causes decreased lung function, increase hospital admissions for those with acute respiratory diseases and emergency visits for those with asthma (The U.S Global Change Program, 2016). Air pollution also causes illnesses related to allergies such as Asthma due to breathing carbon dioxide (CO2) at increased levels (The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, 2018). The people have become exposed to allergens and other air pollutants that increase their health risk and severe allergic reactions to those with asthma.

The healthcare implications for air pollution in the U.S has been premature death for the populations, increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits. There have been increased illnesses and deaths occurring in the U.S due to increases in Ozone, and this can extend for the next ten years. For instance, there have been up to 15% increase in mortality risk due to cardiovascular diseases among the U.S population due to exposure to particulate matter (Environmental Protection Agency, 2017). More deaths mean that the country is losing its productive population due to air pollution. The public need awareness of ways of preventing air pollution with better methods being implemented to solve the issue.

The wildfire that occurred in California in 2003 increased hospital visits for the population by 5% due to asthmatic complications (The U.S Global Change Program, 2016). The New York City experienced 3,600 emergency room visits of patients with asthma attacks due to particulate matter exposure (American Public Health Association, n.d). This increase in emergency room visits calls for higher spending on the government in maintaining the emergency departments for hospitals receiving these patients. It also means that the public will continue spending more on emergency visits due to air pollution.

The people who live near busy roads or heavy traffic have an increased risk of experiencing air pollution. Traffic air pollutants have concentrations related to cardiovascular risks. The people who exercise and work outside, children as well as elderly are at higher risk of developing respiratory illnesses due to smog and ozone exposure as it leads to reduced lung functioning. Also, the people suffering from asthma and allergies as the more pollutants intensify the symptoms, hence, triggering asthma attacks among this population. Those living near industries have a higher risk of experiencing air pollution as burning fossil fuels causes an increase in CO2. CO2 is a source of ragweed that produces allergen whose effect is increased allergies due to breathing pollen.

Origin or Causes of Air Pollution in the U.S

In America, air pollution originates from human-made activities including emissions from greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide and ozone (O3). Also, when people burn fossil fuels, particulate matter is exposed to the air that pollutes it as a result (Environmental Protection Agency, 2017). These human-made activities cause chemical emissions in the atmosphere that later affect plants to start releasing allergens that pollute the air.

There are also natural causes of air pollution in the U.S. For instance, wildfires have occurred such as the one that occurred in California in 2003 caused emission of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other compounds (American Public Health Association, n.d; The Public Health Institute, 2016). These compounds worsen the quality of air that people breathe.

The Primary Effects on Humans Associated With Air Pollution in the U.S

The primary impacts of air pollution in the U.S to humans have been mental and psychological. In a study carried out by the University of Washington, humans who have exposure to particulate matter in the U.S have increased mental stress (Sass, Kravitz, Karceski, Hajat, Crowder, & Takeuchi, 2017). Air pollution impacts the brain as it is a cause of mental illness. Human studies show that air pollution exposes people to depression, oxidative stress and neuro-inflammation among other psychological effects. Air pollution also causes psychosocial problems among humans. For example, those affected tend to spend more time indoors than outdoors to avoid breathing the polluted air. They experience social isolation as they cannot access the parks and social other places.

References

American Public Health Association. (n.d). How air quality & pollution impact public health. Retrieved from the Climate Nexus website https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/air-quality/

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). (2018, January). Extreme allergies and climate change. Retrieved from the AAFA website http://www.aafa.org/page/extreme-allergies-and-climate-change.aspx

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2017, January). Linking air pollution and heart disease. Retrieved from the EPA website https://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/linking-air-pollution-and-heart-disease

Public Health Institute. (2016, September). Air quality, climate change, and health. Retrieved from the Climate Health Connect website http://climatehealthconnect.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AirQuality.pdf

Sass, V., Kravitz, N., Karceski, S., Hajat, A., Crowder, K., & Takeuchi, D. (2017). The effects of air pollution on individual psychological distress. Health and Place, 48; 72-79.

The U.S Global Change Research Program (GCRP). (2016, January). Air quality impacts. Retrieved from the GCRP website https://health2016.globalchange.gov/air-quality-impacts