Human Health and Air Pollution7SCIENCE

How is human health affected by air pollution?

• Smog warnings– Cities– Children and elderly people

should stay indoors• Athletes train outside– Adjust training schedules to avoid smog and dirty air

conditions

How dangerous is this dirty air?

• Damaging to lung tissue, making people more susceptible to diseases like asthma

• You may feel:– Burning eyes– Dry throat– Headache

• Acid rain: when you inhale air from acid rain, the acid gets deposited in your lungs– More respiratory illness, less oxygen and makes

your heart work harder!

Particulate air pollution

• Particulates:– Solid particles that are produced in the air, and are

of different sizes– Less than 1/10th the diameter of a human hair

• Formed from burning coal and other fossil fuels

• Affects normal breathing and can cause lung diseases

Reducing air pollution

• Pollutants and other contaminants in the air don’t stop when they reach the city or country borders or oceans– Float wherever the wind carries them– Even if one city or country reduces air pollution, than

pollution from another city may travel on the wind

• If cities and countries cooperate, then pollution can be reduced!

Movement of air pollution in Asia

Reducing air pollution• One solution burning coal: Scrubbers!

– Coal has a lot of sulfur in it• Review: What type of smog is produced from this process of

burning coal?• When coal is burned, smoke is formed, and particulates may

be released • Many power plants have scrubbers,

which can lower the acidity of the smoke and remove the particulates

• Another solution: Alternative or renewable energies!