Paper Example on Hazards of Air Pollution

Introduction

Air pollution has been ranked 4th deadliest threat to human life, it has resulted to the loss of lives of over 6.5 million people across the world. The deaths are said to have resulted from air pollution related complications and diseases. With the increased contamination of the air human beings are being prone to a series of health risks, which could even result in loss of lives. Air pollution does not only expose the human life to health risks but also the animals and plants. (Brunekreef, Bert, and Stephen). When the intended air circulation happens to contain some dangerous gases to the animals and plants, even their production is affected. For these reasons, engineers continue to develop solutions to reduce emissions that result in air pollution so that the environment is clean, safer and friendly to support healthy lives. The paper focuses on causes of air pollution, its effects to the society and control measures to air pollution.

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Air pollution arises from a series of events, which include; the burning of fossil fuels that emit Sulphur dioxide, agricultural activities, exhaust from factories and industries as well as mining operations and indoor activities that result to air pollution. Regardless of which activity that happens to lead to air pollution, air contamination can always be maintained, reduced or done away with completely.

For instance, gases that are emitted by vehicles cause immense pollution to the environment. Some of these gases are toxic and they include; benzene which is found in gasoline, methylene chloride and perchloroethylene. Their effects are severe on human health, plants, and animals. The situation can however be contained if engineers developed cars that used alternative energies that do not contaminate the air or come up with machines which emit less of the dangerous gases that cause an imbalance on the atmosphere.

Agricultural activities have also emerged to have a significant contribution to air pollution. The use of pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers contain hazardous gases. The rise of agricultural activities, with farmers aiming at getting better produce continues to expose the environment into more danger in the long run. (Selden, Thomas, and Daqing). There is nothing worse than enjoying your time now at the expense of the future knowing that whatever you are using is degrading the environment. Some of these drugs sprayed on crops result in water pollution, and if the water is consumed untreated it could cause severe complications to the human body. It is, therefore, important to consider alternative ways of ensuring crops are treated without polluting the air. One of the ways would be industries producing insecticides, fertilizers, and pesticides that are environmentally friendly.

Factories and industries that emit large amounts of Carbon-dioxide, organic compounds, hydrocarbons and chemicals to the air contribute a lot to air pollution. Some of the toxins emitted into the air include: dioxins, toluene, mercury and lead compounds. Engineers should seek mechanisms that absorb the gases and recycle the gases before releasing them to the air. They should develop machines that will control the emissions of the dangerous gases to the air. However, if they cannot manage to control the emission of hazardous gases to the air, at least they should be able to have machinery that reduces air contamination significantly. This can be done through the use of spray dryers, Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization System, Mercury Control Technology, Electrostatic Precipitator and CO 2 capture methods.

Mining operations are a huge source of air pollution. The process through which the mining equipment extract minerals emits some dangerous gases which are harmful to the health of the workers as well as those people who stay in the neighborhood. If at all the mining must be done then the workers should have protected gears that will enable them to significantly reduce the risk of the gases harming them. Before the mining activities begin people residing in close range to the mining sites should be asked to evict either temporarily or permanently considering how long the mining process will take. It would be advantageous if the engineers came up with a machine that reduces the emissions of gases while they extract the minerals. The gases are a mix of carbon dioxide and methane. These gases can be captured methane technology and the bubbling method to help reduce the amount of gases being emitted to the air.

Some indoor activities like a painting of houses, cooking by use of gas or firewood can result in air contamination. Some of these gases could lead to respiratory and heart problems. (Seaton) To reduce these effects engineers are looking to develop safer cooking options for human beings to help reduce the risk of heart and lung complaints. The engineers are having an emphasis on clean energy sources like; wind power, use of biomass, and the use of solar systems to help manage and control air pollution.

Conclusion

Air pollution has been on the rise and its contribution to global warming is beginning to be realized. There is an increase in temperatures worldwide, melting of ice and increase in sea levels. There has been also a rise in acidic rain instances and depletion of the ozone layer; all these are due to the emissions of hazardous gases to the air. If the trend increases, the earth and all living creatures will face dire consequences. It is therefore critical that do our best to ensure the environment is habitable now and even in the future. Projects that support actions against air pollution should be funded because that would be a better solution in ensuring the human life, and that of the animals and plants is safe. To manage air pollution, we should advocate for energy efficient devices, use of clean energy resources, conservation of energy, use public means of transport as well as understanding the essence of recycling and reuse of resources. (Devinny, Joseph, Marc, and Todd). If we manage to keep the air clean, cases of respiratory problems, heart attacks, and other health complications will be minimal.

Work Cited

Seaton, Anthony, et al. "Particulate air pollution and acute health effects." The lancet 345.8943 (1995): 176-178.

Brunekreef, Bert, and Stephen T. Holgate. "Air pollution and health." The lancet 360.9341 (2002): 1233-1242.

Selden, Thomas M., and Daqing Song. "Environmental quality and development: is there a Kuznets curve for air pollution emissions?" Journal of Environmental Economics and management 27.2 (1994): 147-162.

Devinny, Joseph S., Marc A. Deshusses, and Todd Stephen Webster. Biofiltration for air pollution control. CRC press, 2017.