Common Indoor Pollutants: Carbon Monoxide and Respirable Particulate Matter

Research Paper
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Introduction
Indoor air pollution refers to the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of air that is in the indoor environment within a home, an institution or a commercial facility. The pollution is caused by gases and particles that contaminate the air. It is important to note that indoor air pollution is a major concern in both developed and developing countries. In developed counties, people spend most of their time indoors and this possesses a great risk because the air in the house may be polluted thus causing a dangerous situation. On the other side, developing countries may experience more indoor air pollution because of the use of fuel such as charcoal and wood which is used for heating and cooking. Indoor air pollution is dangerous and it is estimated that it causes millions of deaths every year. This paper will examine the similarities and differences between carbon monoxide (CO) and respirable particulate matter (PM10), explain how CO is emitted and how it affects the human health also explain its emission trend.
One of the common gaseous pollutants is carbon monoxide (CO), this is an odorless, colorless gas which is formed by incomplete combustion of fuels. This feature makes it hard for people to detect the presence of the gas and it, therefore, means that threatening accumulation of the gas can build up indoors and individuals have no way to identifying the problem until they become sick. Additionally, when individuals become sick the symptoms are similar to the flu which may cause the victim to ignore the early signs of CO poisoning. In homes, CO may occur from fuel-burning appliances which include cloth dryers, water heaters, generators, wood and gas stoves, fireplaces as well as from furnaces or boilers (Aydin & Boke, 2010).
Additionally, particulate matter which is also known as particle pollution is a complex mixture of solid particles which consist if dry solid fragments, solid cores with liquid coatings and small droplets of liquid. Ordinarily, these particles vary significantly is shape, size and their chemical compositions and they can be made up of many different materials which include dust, soot and soil specks. The particles with a diameter of 10 micrometer or less are known as respirable particulate matter (PM10). Some of the indoor reparable particulate matter sources may include stoves, fireplaces and candles (Daly, Schmid & Riediker, 2010). When these particles are inhaled they affect both the lungs and the heart.
Both CO and respirable particulate matter are similar and different in several ways. First, both are similar in that they mainly result from burning of fuels and smoking. Additionally, these two pollutants may sometimes not be detected by human sense and this makes it difficult for individuals to understand when they are in danger. However, the symptoms of the two pollutants are very different and it is therefore easy to identify them after thorough analysis. Some of the signs of CO poisoning include a mild headache and breathlessness and with continued exposure one may experience severe headaches, dizziness, fatigue and nausea. Eventually, the symptoms may progress to impaired judgment and loss of consciousness (Minnesota Department of Health, 2018). On the other side, the symptoms of respirable particulate matter poisoning may include irregular heartbeat, decreased lung function, non-fatal heart attacks, and increased respiratory symptoms such as irritation of the airways, coughing and difficulty breathing.
CO may be emitted when carbon and oxygen are combined to produce two gases. Ordinarily, when the combustion of carbon is complete, that is when it is burned in presence of enough air, the product produced is carbon dioxide (CO2). On the other side, when the combustion of c...