454 Preventing and Reducing Harm from Toxics
Air Pollution
Air is polluted when it becomes contaminated with poisonous gases and small
dust particles. Most air pollution is caused by burning fossil fuels (oil, coal,
diesel, gasoline) to run engines, factories, and power plants (see page 526).
Wind and rain can carry air pollution far from where the pollution was made.
This causes health problems for people everywhere. Air pollution is usually
worse in cities, industrial areas, low-lying areas or those circled by mountains,
and places where air gets trapped and does not move well.
Air pollution may contain heavy metals such as mercury and lead
(see pages 337 to 340, and 368 to 370), POPs (see page 340), and other toxic
chemicals such as sulfur dioxide.
If you are doing community air pollution monitoring, it is useful to know
which chemicals are in the air. But keep in mind that it is usually more useful
to know how to protect yourself and your community from harm from air
pollution than it is to know exactly what is in the air.
Air pollution causes serious health problems, including many cancers and
respiratory illnesses (see pages 327 to 331). Air pollution causes acid rain that
damages forests, water sources, and buldings, as well as our lungs. Also, air
pollution is one of the main causes of global warming (see page 33).
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012