MD RAMJAN,, CHF CAU

2. INTRODUCTION
 Air pollution means any solid, liquid
or gaseous substances present in the
atmosphere in such concentration that
may tend to be injurious to human
beings or other living creatures or
plants or property or enjoyment.
 It may cause diseases, allergies or death
in humans, harm animals and food
crops and may damage the natural
or built environment.
 Human activity and natural processes can both generate air pollution.
 Air pollution hotspots - areas where air pollution emissions expose
individuals to increased negative health effects.

3. CAUSES OF AIR POLLUTION
 Air pollutants - Solid, liquid or gaseous particles in the air that can
have adverse effects on humans and ecosystem. Either man- made or
natural.
 Two types:
1. Primary pollutants : Usually produced from a process.
Eg: CO2 ,SO2 ,NO2 ,CO, volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate
matter, toxic metals, CFCs, ammonia, odours, radioactive pollutants.
2. Secondary pollutants : Formed in the air when primary pollutants
react or interact.
Eg: Smog, ground level ozone, peroxyacetyle nitrate.

4. INDUSTRIES VOLCANIC ERUPTION
DUST STORM VEHICULAR EXHAUST

5. NUCLEAR EXPLOSION WAR EXPLOSIVES
SMOG FOREST FIRE

6. INDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ)
 A lack of ventilation indoors
concentrates air pollution
where people often spend the
majority of their time.
 Sources of indoor pollution :
Radon gas exuded from the
earth, formaldehyde emitted
from carpet and plywood, smoke
from fireplaces, indoor chemical
sprays, faulty chimneys, poorly
adjusted pilot lights, etc.

7. FIREPLACE INCENSE STICK
AEROSOL SPRAY AIR FRESHNER

8. EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION
GLOBAL WARMING AND GREEN HOUSE EFFECT:
 Carbon dioxide acts like the glass of a
greenhouse on a global scale.
 When sun’s rays that penetrate the thick
layer of CO2 strike the earth and are
converted into heat.
 The heated earth reradiates this absorbed
energy as radiations of longer wavelengths.
 Much of this does not pass through CO2 layer to the outer space but it’s
absorbed by the CO2 and water in the atmosphere and adds to the heat
that is already present. Thus the earth’s atmosphere heats up.

9. MELTING OF POLAR ICE CAPS
Green house effect will cause expansion of the oceans and the gradual
melting of polar ice caps with a consequent rise in sea level.

10. OZONE LAYER DEPLETION :
 Compounds containing chlorine and
bromine drift up to the upper
atmosphere where they are broken
up by the intense solar radiation
and form a cocktail of more active
substances which then react with ozone,
causing its depletion.
 The best known are chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs). Other ozone depleters are
halons, methyl chloroform, carbon
tetrachloride, methyl bromide, etc.

11. ACID RAIN :
 Rain water with pH lower than 5.7 is called acid rain.
 SO2 is the primary cause of acid rain which when react with O2 and
H2O forms H2SO4
 Nitrogen oxides also cause acid rain by forming HNO3
 It affects aquatic life, cause damage to common building materials
(limestone and marble), statues and monuments.

12. DAMAGES CAUSED BY ACID RAIN

13. HEALTH EFFECTS :
 Respiratory infections, heart disease, stroke
and lung cancer.
 Difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing,
and asthma.
 An estimated 18,000 people die every day
due to air pollution exposure, making it the
world’s largest single environmental health
risk. (The Hindu)
 India reported 1.1 million deaths due to air pollution in 2015, says a
global study. (Times of India)

14. AGRICULTURAL EFFECTS :
 In India in 2014, it was reported that air pollution by black carbon and
ground level ozone had cut crop yields in the most affected areas by
almost half in 2010 when compared to 1980 levels.
ECONOMIC EFFECTS :
 Air pollution costs the world economy $5 trillion per year as a result of
productivity losses and degraded quality of life, according to a joint
study by the World Bank and the Institute for Health Metrics and
Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.

15. AIR POLLUTION EPISODES
LONDON SMOG(Dec,1952)
•A thick fog contaminated with
industrial smoke(SO2) stayed for
five days.
•Killed 4000 people.
DONORA SMOG (1948)
•20 people died and over 7000 were
injured.

16. BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY(Dec, 1984)
•Methyl isocyanate leakage
•Killed 3787 people and injured
1,50,000 to 6,00,000.
SOUTHEAST ASIAN HAZE (2006)
•Due to uncontrolled burning from
Slash and Burn cultivation in Indonesia.
•Affected Malaysia, Singapore and
Thailand.

17. BEIJING SMOG (2017)
• Due to heavy industrialization.
•Last for nine days.
•PM concentration reached 200 on
the Air Quality Index.
US AIR POLLUTION EVENT (Aug, 2007)
•A large area of high pressure with light
winds has settled over central and
eastern US, bringing unhealthful levels
of ozone and fine particulate matter to
many major cities.

18. CONTROL MEASURES
 Walk, ride a bike, or take public transportation.
 Electric engines should be used instead of steam or diesel engines.
 Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
 Forest cover should be protected to maintain the quality of air.
 Forest fires should be checked.
 Newly designed smoke free furnaces should be used.
 Green belts should be created around densely populated cities. Large
buildings and industries should be restricted along the green belt areas.
 Industries should be located at a safe distance from the residential areas.
 Campaign to reduce coal fired power stations and replace them with
electricity from renewable sources (wind, solar, water).

19. REFERENCES
 Agarwal, Purohit (2006). Environmental Pollution: Causes, Effects and
Control. Agrobios (India). Pg: 108-202.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution
 energydesk.greenpeach.org
 https://www.nrdc.org/stories/air-pollution-everything-you-need-know
 www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/major-air-pollution-episode-
underway
 Times of India – 14 Feb, 2017
 The Hindu – 18 Feb, 2017
 Hindustan Times- 21 Feb, 2017