For nursing and public health Professional

1. Air Pollution –Cause, Effects &
Control
Presented By:
Jagan Kumar Ojha
M.Sc. in Community Health Nursing
SUM Nursing College

2. • Pollution is an unfavorable alteration in the physical,
chemical or biological characteristics of air, water and
land that may or will adversely affect human life,
industrial life, industrial progress, living conditions and
cultural assets.
Pollution

3. • The substances that cause the undesirable changes in the
air, water and land are referred to as the pollutants. Thus,
pollutant is a substance (e.g., dust, smoke), chemicals
(e.g., SO2 or Methyl mercury) or factor (like heat, noise
etc.) that on release into the environment has an actual or
potential adverse effect on human interests.
Pollutants

4. According to the Indian Protection Act (1986)
“… a pollutant has been defined as any solid, liquid
or gaseous substance present in such concentration as may
be or tend to be injurious to the environment…”
Pollutants

5. According to WHO
Air pollution is defined as “.... Phenomenon in which
substances put into air by the activity of mankind into
concentration sufficient to cause harmful effect to his
health, vegetables, property or interfere with the
enjoyment of his property .....”
Air Pollution

6. The various sources of air pollution are :
1. Industrial pollutants:
 CO, CO2, SO2, H2S and hydrocarbons are most common air
pollutants which are discharged into air from industrial chimneys
and power houses. These gases are produced due to burning of
fossil fuels and by combustion of lignite at thermal power stations.
 It has been observed that industrial processors like metallurgical
plants and smelters, chemical plants, petroleum refineries, pulp and
paper mills, sugar mills and cotton mills and synthetic rubber
manufacturing plants are responsible for about one-fifth of the air
pollution.
Causes of Air Pollution

7. 2. Automobiles
• Automobiles (cars, scooters, motor cycle etc.) have been regarded
as the greatest sources of air pollution. They produce nearly 2/3 of
the carbon monoxide and ½ of the hydrocarbons and nitrous
oxides. The automobile exhaust has also leaded gas and particulate
lead. The combustion of petroleum emits particulate lead
compounds.
• Benzene, toluene and xylene are the three volatile organic
compounds (VOC) present in urban atmosphere mainly due to use
of petrol and diesel in automobiles. The concentrations of benzene
in air showed strong correlations with the incidence of cancer.
Air Pollution

8. 3. Burning of Fuels
• Fossil fuels are the sources of energy for cooking, heating,
lightening our houses, washing clothes through washing machine,
or for running TV etc. Coal and a variety of hydrocarbons
including methane and soot, ashes and SO2 are also the products
of coal burning. It has been recorded that electrical power plants,
burning fossil fuels, particularly coal and sometimes petrol or
diesel, produce two-thirds of the SO2.
• In majority of the Indian cities, towns and villages cooking is done
by burning colas, which is an important cause behind the
increment of benzene concentration in the atmosphere.
Air Pollution

9. 4. Aircraft Emissions
The pollution from the aircraft is also an important component of the
total air pollution problem in the world. Aircrafts are responsible for
about 2.5% of the CO emissions and about 1% of the hydrocarbon
emissions
Air Pollution

10. 5. Agricultural Activities
• Burning of forest areas, grasslands etc. for pastures and croplands
produces about 60 to 65% of CO2. About 40% of methane is
produced from paddy fields, guts of livestocks and also from
burning of biomass.
• Crop spraying and dusting for pest and weed control are
responsible for emitting organic phosphates, chlorinated
hydrocarbons, arsenic and lead into air.
Air Pollution

11. 6. Ionizing Radiation
• These radiations are characterized by sufficiently great energy to
ionize atoms and molecules. Ionizing radiation like alpha and beta
particles are produced during nuclear explosions, scientific
experiments where radio-isotopes are used and atomic weapon
testing. Radiations are also caused by naturally occurring
radioactive substances.
Air Pollution

12. 7. Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM)
• SPM is a major air pollutant. Dust is generated from sources such
as coal dust (from oil refineries, power plants etc.) cement dust,
silica dust (from stone crushing). A huge amount of dust is also
blown by transport vehicles.
Air Pollution

13. Effect of Air Pollution

14. • Air pollution is a significant risk factor for multiple health
conditions including respiratory infections, heart disease, and lung
cancer, according to the WHO.
• The health effects caused by air pollution may include difficulty in
breathing, wheezing, coughing, asthma and aggravation of
existing respiratory and cardiac conditions.
• Principally affect the body's respiratory system and the
cardiovascular system.
• Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of
pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, the
individual's health status and genetics.
Health Effect of Air Pollution

15. • Around the world, children living in cities with high exposure to
air pollutants are at increased risk of developing asthma,
pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections.
• Because children are outdoors more and have higher minute
ventilation for which they are more susceptible to the dangers of
air pollution. Risks of low initial birth weight are also heightened
in such cities.
Health Effect of Air Pollution

16. • Poisonous air pollutants (toxic chemicals in the air) can form acid
rain. It can also form dangerous ground level ozone.
• These destroy trees, crops, farms, animals and continue to make
water bodies harmful to humans and animals that live and depend
on water.
Environmental Effect of Air Pollution

17. Green house effect is also a direct consequence of air pollution. A
large amount of CO2 gets introduced into the atmosphere due to
burning of fossil fuels, furnaces etc and gets confined exclusively in
troposphere. In dense concentration, it can act as a serious pollutant.
The temperature at the surface of the earth is being maintained by the
energy balance between the sun’s rays . But some of the sun’s rays
that penetrate the thick layer of CO2 get converted into heat. The
heated earth is unable to re-radiate this absorbed energy so much of it
doesn’t not pass through CO2 layer to the outer space but ultimately
increase the extra heat. An increased heating of earth may result in
melting of the polar ice caps and finally cause a rise in the sea level.
This phenomenon is termed as green house effect.
Environmental Effect of Air Pollution

18. • Air pollution have an effect on economy also. Because the
economy thrives when people are healthy, and business that
depends on cultivated raw materials and natural resources are
running at full efficiency.
• Air pollution reduces agricultural crop and commercial forest
yields by billions of money each year. This in addition to people
staying off work for health reasons can costs the economy greatly.
Economical Effect of Air Pollution

19. • Coal dusts are a source of nuisance for household articles and
impart a dirty look.
• The stone in Parthenon in Athens has deteriorated in the past 50
years for air pollution. Similarly statue of Liberty is discolored
from SO2 and NO2 and Taj Mahal from SO2 emitted from
Mathura refineries. Dirt and tar stick to the building stones and
painted surface, which are very difficult to remove completely.
Effects of Air Pollution on Aesthetic Value

20. Effect of Air Pollution

21. Effect of Air Pollution

22. Prevention & Control of Air Pollution
• Solution efforts on pollution are always a big problem. This is
why prevention interventions are always a better way of
controlling air pollution. These prevention methods can either
come from government (laws) or by individual actions.
• So air pollution is regarded as a grave danger for the healthy
sustenance of all forms of life on this earth. The various
measures to control air pollution are given below:

23. Prevention & Control of Air Pollution
Government (or community) level prevention
• Governments throughout the world have already taken action
against air pollution by introducing green energy. Some
governments are investing in wind energy and solar energy, as
well as other renewable energy, to minimize burning of fossil
fuels, which cause heavy air pollution.
• Companies should build more energy efficient vehicles, which
pollute less than before. Pollution caused by two stroke engines
can only be minimized by using the technology for four stroke
engines.
• Sulphur free and lead free fuel should be used for motor vehicles.

24. Prevention & Control of Air Pollution
Government (or community) level prevention
• The height of the chimneys of factory should be tall enough to
reduce the rate of pollution at the ground level.
• To remove the particulate matter in the smoke, it should be
filtered before releasing into the air.
• Plantation should be done on a large scale to reduce the level of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

25. Prevention & Control of Air Pollution
Control Device Installation:
• The following items are commonly used as pollution control
devices by industry or transportation devices. They can either
destroy contaminants or remove them from an exhaust stream
before it is emitted into the atmosphere.
• Control equipments like gravity settling tanks porous filters and
electrostatic precipitators should be installed in factories to
minimize air pollution. The method used for pollutant separation
is dependent on the size of the pollutant particles. Gravity settling
chambers are used for particles having size more than 50 μm.
Electrostatic precipitators or Cyclone collectors are used for
small sized particles.

26. Prevention & Control of Air Pollution
Individual Level Prevention
• Encourage your family to use the bus, train or bike when
commuting. If we all do this, there will be fewer cars on road and
less fumes.
• Use energy (light, water, boiler, kettle and fire woods) wisely.
This is because lots of fossil fuels are burned to generate
electricity, and so if we can cut down the use, we will also cut
down the amount of pollution we create.
• Recycle and re-use things. This will minimize the dependence of
producing new things. Remember manufacturing industries
create a lot of pollution, so if we can re-use things like shopping
plastic bags, clothing, paper and bottles, it can help.

27. SUMMARIZATION

28. THANK YOU