Air is one of the most important constituents of man’s environment. An average human being requires about 12kg of air each day, which is nearly 12 to 15 times greater than the amount of food consumed. Clean and pure air is very essential for human health and survival. Any change in the natural and normal composition of air may adversely affect the living system, particularly the human life invariably
What is Air Pollution?
Air pollution is defined as the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more contaminants such as fumes, dust, gases, mist, odor, smoke, smog or vapors in considerable quantities and duration which is injurious to human, animal and plant life or which unreasonably interferes with the comfortable enjoyment …show more content…
Contact the pollution control authorities in your community for the levels or air pollutants. Identify main air pollutants and the possible causes of air pollution.
The main air pollutants I identified after contacting our local air pollution control NAPC (Nigeria air pollution control) are:
Carbon monoxide: It is a colorless, odorless, and non-irritating but very poisonous gas. It is produced by incomplete combustion of fuel such as natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular exhaust is a major source of carbon …show more content…
This reddish-brown toxic gas has a characteristic sharp, biting odor. NO2 is one of the most prominent air pollutants.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): It is harmful to the ozone layer, and emitted from products currently banned from use.
Carbon dioxide (CO2): It is a colorless, odorless, nontoxic greenhouse gas associated with ocean acidification, emitted from sources such as combustion, and cement production.
Possible causes of Air Pollution are by:
Bush burning: Bush burning is the common source of air pollution in my community. Most times, the burning of bush is done prior to land cultivation as one of the initial steps of land preparation. The process of bush burning leads to the release of various types of gaseous pollutants in the air such as oxides of carbon, sulphur.
Refuse burning: Refuse disposal is a major environmental problem that has contributed immensely to high level of air pollution in my community. The refuse is usually from multiple sources including domestic, and agricultural sources. One of the environmentally unfriendly methods of managing the waste is by open burning. Often times the air within refuse burning sites is contaminated with oxides of, carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur which are major air