COMMON AIR POLLUTANT

Here are six toxins that can be found all around us, causing severe health problems and harmful environmental effects.

Particulate Matter

• Otherwise known as 'soot,' particulate matter is a mixture of both tiny solid particles and liquid droplets made up of any number of potentially hazardous components including acids, organic chemicals and toxic metals as well as soil or dust particles.

Lead (Pb)

• Lead is a toxic heavy metal, found naturally in the environment. It's a common pollutant in manufactured products. Motor vehicles and industries are the largest source of lead emissions. 

• Lead can affect the nervous system, kidney function, immune system, reproductive and development systems and the cardiovascular system.

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)

• The group of highly reactive gases known as nitrogen oxides (NOx) is emitted by high-temperature combustion and often appears as a brown dome of haze over cities. 
• Of the group of nitrogen oxides, which also includes nitrous acid and nitric acid, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is of the greatest concern to the EPA. 
• It contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone and fine particle pollution, and is linked to adverse effects on the human respiratory system.

Carbon Monoxide (CO)

• Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless, non-irritating but very poisonous gas emitted from combustion processes that can reduce oxygen delivery into the body's tissues and organs, including the heart and brain, when inhaled. 
• At high levels, carbon monoxide can cause death. Most carbon monoxide emissions in ambient air come from mobile sources.

Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)

• Part of a group known as 'sulfur oxides' (SOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a chemical compound produced by volcanic eruptions and industrial processes. 
• The largest sources of sulfur dioxide emissions are from fossil fuel combustion at power plants. In the presence of a catalyst like nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide can oxidize into acid rain. 
• It, too, is linked to many adverse health effects on the respiratory system.

 

Ozone

• Comprised of three oxygen atoms, ozone is created at ground level by a chemical reaction between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of sunlight. 
• Depending on its location in the atmosphere, ozone can be 'good' or 'bad.'

 

 

Six common air pollutants