Air Pollution & Health

It was not until the 1940s and 1950s that governments began to form policies designed to maintain air quality. Large scale air pollution disasters in Europe and the U.S. convinced officials that air pollution was potentially fatal to humans and perhaps even the planet itself. One of these disasters was known as the ôkiller fogö in Denora, Pennsylvania, that killed 50, and a much more virulent ôfogö in London in 1952 that resulted in the deaths of 4,000 people (Rising, 1998-99, 1). Since that time attempts at combating air pollution have been challenged by increasing industrialism the world over. While many nations have adopted ambient air quality standards over the past five decades, there are still many threats to the environment and human health from air pollution.

It is often the phenomenon of thermal inversion that is responsible for causing the deaths in cities where pollution levels are high due to photochemical smog. It is believed that photochemical smog and thermal inversion precipitated by the byproducts of the burgeoning industrial revolution tha

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tances that often range hundreds of miles. Both forms are dangerous to plants and animals, including humans. The wet form is deposited through acid rain, fog, and snow. The dry form is deposited through gases and particles into water, soil, and onto cars, homes, and plants. Acid rain pollutes our soils and water sources. It destroys our forests and it causes human health damage. It also has a negative impact on our fish and wildlife. Efforts to reduce Acid Rain include the Acid Rain Program which caps sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants at 8.95 million tons annually, allows plants to trade S02 allowances, and reduces nitrogen oxide emission rates (Acid, 2003, 3). Many government efforts have been made to reduce other forms of air pollution like photochemical smog. Many of these efforts have fallen far short of targets. For example, in some of ChinaÆs cities, particulate levels are more than six times higher than World Health Organization Guidelines (Rising, 1998-99, 1). Ozone layer depletion represents a major threat to the environment and human health. Depletion of the ozone layer occurs from the release into the atmosphere of chemicals from industrial production, automobiles, and other energy related products
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Air Act, Acid Rain, London Efforts, Guidelines Rising, Denora Pennsylvania, Health Analysis, Kyoto Protocol, Rain Program, air pollution, acid rain, Rain Available, human health, photochemical smog, Smog Available, ozone layer, air quality, clean air act, air act, clean air, environment human, environment human health, ozone layer depletion, efforts reduce, indoor air pollution, air quality standards,
Approximate Word count = 1237
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)