Marketing Scoops: How Does Outdoor Air Pollution Affect Indoor Air Quality?

Outdoor air pollution usually makes major air quality headlines. A flight is canceled to Delhi because smog is too dense (1). A red alert for outdoor air pollution is declared due to record levels of dangerous outdoor pollutants (2). And nearly 7 million people die from air pollution each year due to heart disease and respiratory conditions linked to air pollution (3).In 2020 alone, over 160,000 people died from air pollution in just five of the world’s most populous cities……..Continue reading….

Source: IQ Air

Critics:

Burning fuel to generate electricity causes air pollution. Lignite and coal produce most air pollution, followed by oil, and then by fossil gas and biomass. Methane leaks are common in oil and gas production. Other industries cause air pollution too. A 2014 study found that more than half the air pollution in China came from manufacturing and construction. This was due to high emission intensity and high emission factors in its industrial structure.

Polluting industries have been pushed out of richer nations, and China has also started to push its most polluting industries out of the country. Construction and demolition produces dust, but also other pollutants. The particles from construction and demolition are relatively coarse. Though banned in many countries, asbestos persists in older buildings, where it poses a risk of lung disease when disturbed Building materials including carpeting and plywood emit formaldehyde, a gas which can cause difficulty breathing and nausea.

Road vehicles produce a significant amount of all air pollution. For instance, they may be responsible for a third to half of all nitrogen dioxide emissions, and are a major cause of climate change. Vehicles with petrol and diesel engines produce about half of their emissions from their exhaust gas, and the other half from non-exhaust emissions (tyre and brake wear and erosion or disturbance of the road surface); electric vehicles produce no tailpipe emissions, but still produce the other emissions. Diesel trains, ships and planes also cause air pollution.

Agricultural emissions, both from crops and from animal agriculture, contribute substantially to air pollution For instance, methane is emitted by the digestion of food by cattle, causing ground-level ozone. Agriculture is also a major source of ammonia, which can form fine particulate matter. Practices like slash-and-burn in forests like the Amazon cause large air pollution alongside deforestation. Open dumps of waste are a common source of air pollution in low-income countries.

They can promote the growth of microbes which pollute water and air, and be a source of toxins. Through open burning of waste—whether self-ignited or burned on purpose—soot, methane, and other pollutants are released. The waste in landfills itself also produces methane. Globally, a quarter of solid waste is not collected and another quarter is not disposed of properly.

As of 2023, more than 2.3 billion people in developing countries rely on burning polluting fuels such as firewood, agricultural waste, dry dung, coal or charcoal for cooking, which causes harmful household air pollution. Kerosine, another polluting fuel, is used in many countries for lighting and sometimes for space heating or cooking. Globally, 12% of outdoor fine particle pollution comes from household cooking.

Health effects are concentrated among women, who are likely to be responsible for cooking, and young children. Dust from desert can cause poor air quality far from its source. For instance, dust from the Gobi Desert in China and Mongolia can reach Hawaii, and dust from the Sahara reaches the Amazon rainforest in South America. Radon is a radioactive gas that can build up in buildings from the soil. It can cause lung cancer, especially in smokers.

Levels are generally low, but can be elevated in buildings with “leaky” foundations or areas with soils rich in uranium. Volcanic eruptions can be a large source of sulfur dioxide and also produces particle pollution. Vegetation can emit gases that contribute to ozone formation and particle pollution. This is especially true in warmer climates and during the growth season.

These gases react with human pollution sources to produce a seasonal haze Black gum, poplar, oak and willow emit gases that can raise ozone levels up to eight times more than low-impact tree species. Wildfires, which have become more severe and more common due to climate change, release fine particles. They are a major source of air pollution. Air pollutants can be tiny solid or liquid particles dispersed in the air (called aerosols), or gases.

Pollutants are classified as primary or secondary. Primary pollutants are produced directly by a source and remain in the same chemical form after they have been emitted into the atmosphere. Examples include carbon monoxide gas from car exhausts, and sulfur dioxide from factories. Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air when primary pollutants react with each other or with other parts of the atmosphere.

Ground-level ozone is one example of a secondary pollutant. Some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: they are both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants.

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