Air Pollution

Introduction
Pollution is defined as the undesirable change in the physical, chemical or

biological characteristics of our environment.
The contamination of air due to the presence of harmful substances in the
atmosphere that have negative impacts on the health of humans beings and
other living organisms is known as Air pollution.
The amount of different gases in environment are in fixed ratio, however it
begins to change due to various pollutants. This leads to air pollution.
Sources / Causes
1. Industries: With the increase in number of industries,
the air pollutants have been increasing in atmosphere.
Gases such NO2, H2S and hydrocarbons are released
into the atmosphere.
2. Automobiles: Automobile vehicles are another
source of air pollution. Vehicles release CO, CO2,
NO2, hydrocarbons etc.
3. Domestic sources: Burning of petroleum products
like cooking gas and domestic fuels such as wood, coal
etc. release CO2, CO and other gases.The household
cleaning products and paints contain toxic chemicals
that are released in the air.
4. Agricultural Activities: The insecticides,
pesticides and fertilizers emit harmful chemicals in
the atmosphere and contaminates it. Burning of
crop residues also emits a large amount of smoke
contributing to pollution of air.
5. Ionizing radiation: Ionizing radiations from
nuclear power plant, nuclear explosion and testing
of atomic weapons emit harmful chemicals into the
atmosphere, leading to air pollution.
Air Pollutants
1. Oxides of carbon: CO2 is released by complete combustion of fuel and in biological
respiration whereas CO is released after incomplete combustion of fuel.
2. Oxides of sulphur: They are released by combustion of fuel having sulphur. Oxides of
sulphur are also released from industries
3. Smog: Smog is formed when smoke released by burning of petroleum fuel reacts with
water vapour of fog.
4. Suspended particulate matters (SPM): The dust, ash, grit which are released by
industries, power plants and cement factories is known as SPM.
5. Other pollutants: Other pollutants such as hydrocarbons, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

metals such as Pb, Hg, Cr, Ni, also cause air pollution.
Consequences
Effects of air pollution on the environment:
1. Acid Rain: The oxides of Sulphur and Nitrogen react

with water to form acid. Then, it precipitates on earth as
acid rain. Acid rain decreases the quality of soil and harms
the vegetation and it makes the natural sources of water
acidic.
2. Greenhouse effect: It is caused by the trapping of heat

caused by harmful gases like Carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide in environment. It causes migration of species,
climate change, drought and has a negative impact on
agriculture and livestock.
3. Ozone Layer Depletion: Ozone layer depletion is the thinning of ozone layer due to
greenhouse gases and UV rays. It is mainly caused by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and
halons. When chlorine and bromine atoms come into contact with ozone in the
stratosphere, they destroy ozone molecules. This creates a hole in ozone layer which
increases the amount of UV rays that reach the Earth's surface.
Effects of air pollution on Human Health:

- Carbon monoxide combines with haemoglobin and reduces its oxygen carrying
capacity thus affecting respiratory activities and metabolism. It causes blurred
vision, headache etc.
- Metals like lead causes anaemia, impairs nervous system and functioning of brain,
Nickel and calcium may cause respiratory disorders.
- Biological pollutants and dusts cause allergic reactions.
- Oxides of nitrogen cause irritation to mucus membrane and damage the
respiratory system.
Control Measures
1. Usage of public transport: By reducing the amount of fuel combusted for an
individual’s transportation needs, they can lower the amount of pollutants being
released into the atmosphere. Regular maintenance of vehicles is also necessary.
2. Promoting Afforestation: Trees filter out not only
gases that are harmful to humans, but also the ones
that are harmful to the earth's ecosystems as a whole.
They mostly balance the amount of carbon dioxide
present in the atmosphere.
3. Avoiding the burning of garbage: Burning of garbage is a huge contributor to air
pollution. Another contributor to air pollution is cigarette smoking. Avoiding these
activities and spreading awareness of their negative consequences can be of great help
in the prevention of air pollution.
4. Other preventive methods:
- Effluents from industries should be pretreated before discharging
into the atmosphere.
- Sulphur free / lead free fuel and catalytic converter
can be used in automobiles.
- Alternate sources of energy such as solar energy,
electricity, biogas can be used.
- Creation of public awareness about air pollution and
its effects .
- Population growth is also one of the main causes of
air pollution, therefore growth rate should be controlled.
Devices to control air pollution:
Electrostatic separator
Cyclone Separator
Scrubber
References
https://byjus.com/chemistry/prevention-of-air-pollution/
https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/air-pollution
https://solarimpulse.com/air-pollution-solutions
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/air-pollution-everything-you-need-know
Thank you!
Group - 1
Roll no: 57-70

Air Pollution

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Air Pollution

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Introduction

Pollution is defined as the undesirable change in the physical, chemical or

5. Other pollutants: Other pollutants such as hydrocarbons, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

1. Acid Rain: The oxides of Sulphur and Nitrogen react

2. Greenhouse effect: It is caused by the trapping of heat

Effects of air pollution on Human Health:

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