Air pollution Social Sciences Term Paper Research Paper

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Air Pollution
Air is considered as a very basic and important element that provides oxygen alongside other gases that are essential for supporting life on earth. Air comprises of a mixture of invisible gases surrounding the planet. However, as much as clean air is a requirement for sustenance of balance on earth, its quality is often compromised by pollution. In this case, air pollution occurs in the event that certain gases, as well as particles, build up within the atmosphere to harmful levels that impact health negatively. Such negative effects range from respiratory alongside breathing problems (Archer-Nicholls et al. 1). The gases alongside particles as mentioned, referred to as pollutants, originate from man-made sources that include fossil fuels as well as natural sources such as forest fires and volcanic eruptions. Air pollutants are classified as either primary or secondary pollutants. Primary pollutants include carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), Sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitric oxide (NO), ammonia (NH3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), VOCs, and particulates (PM). Secondary pollutants include Sulphur trioxide (SO3), nitric acid (HNO3), sulphuric acid (H2SO4), and Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), Ozone (O3), Ammonium (NH4+).
Air pollution is considered an environmental issue that results from emissions from different sources. The sources of air pollution range from agriculture as well as industrial emissions, combustion, transport, and power engines, domestic heating, and other chemical emissions. Air pollution is considered as one of the re-known causes of preventable deaths on the global platform (WHO, 2014). The higher percentage of death cases that result from air pollution presents a strenuous cost to the global economy. Further, air pollution is considered destructive to the biological systems and could possibly lead to the damage of plants, therefore, reduces the productiveness of crops such as wheat, maize, and rice (Archer-Nicholls et al. 1).
Chemical process
Notably, air pollutants are considered to have the most devastating impact on the environment with the pollutants presenting unique scientific challenges. Some of the air pollutants include particulate matter (PM), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and ozone (O3). For instance, the particulate matter presents a highly complex mixture comprising of both organic and inorganic compounds. The particulate matter is released into the atmosphere in a different state such as the direct release of black carbon from combustion, release of aerosols being formed from complex chemical reactions. It is identified that there is always complete transformation and change of particle properties through oxidization over a period of time. Such chemical process changes the size and chemistry of the particles that ultimately affects the air quality as well as the health issues. Moreover, the Ozone layer is not directly released from man’s activities but results from the complex reactions that involve NOx, sunlight, water vapor, and VOCs that is considered damaging air pollutant. The NOx comprises NO and NO2 which presents a crucial pollutant that results from the combustion processes from power stations as well as road transportation. NO2 is basically considered to have a direct devastating effect on health especially the cardiovascular system. Finally, the VOCs are a combination of different organic compounds released to the atmosphere from the petrochemical activities, solvents, natural processes (trees, plants, and oceans), as well as combustion processes. Some of the VOCs such as benzene as well as 1, 3 butadiene are considered carcinogenic and therefore, very harmful to health (Archer-Nicholls et al. 2).
Figure 1: Interactions between air pollution and climate (Courtesy: John Reily, MIT)
In contrast with the stratospheric ozone in the upper atmosphere that shields the earth from the ultraviolet radiation, the tropospheric ozone which is the ground-level ozone is dangerous to human health owing to being lung irritant and also damages plants. The formation of the ground-level ozone takes place within the urban atmospheres through reactions between oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons. In this case, the oxides of nitrogen originate from the combustion process. The high temperatures resulting from combustion converts some of the N2 and O2 within the air into oxides of nitrogen with greater amounts generated depending on the higher temperatures produced. Further, there are hydrocarbons that emanate from natural sources as well as from the activities that relate to organic solvents or fuels. In this case, chemical reactions take place between the hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen resulting in ozone and other chemicals such as aldehydes, hydrogen peroxide, peroxyacetyl nitrate, nitric acid and suspension of molecular species of low volatility. These compositions have environmental effects that also include a negative impact on health especially within urban areas (Atkinson 2063).
The increasing number of combustion fossil fuels especially from automobiles from urban areas produces high concentrations of NO, which eventually converts to NO2, thus:
714375889002NO + O2 2NO2
The NO2 eventually reacts as explained contributing to the formation of the ozone (O3). In t...