Effect of Air Pollutants on Health | Environmental Chemistry | Chemistry | FuseSchool

in this video we are going to learn about the effects on our health from a range of air pollutants if you live in the city you may already be aware of the effects of hair pollution on your health

you may already have had some breathing discomfort or painful eyes the ones that we'll be focusing on in this video are

particulate matter called PMS ozone O3 nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide more often than not these pollutants exist as

a direct result of human activity one such human activity is the burning of fossil fuels in power stations or

cars particulate matter is a mixture of sulfate nitrate ammonia sodium chloride carbon mineral dust and water it cons

cons of a complex mixture of solid and liquid particles of organic and inorganic substances suspended in the air these particles are identified

according to their aerodynamic diameter as either pm10 particles with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 10 microns or PM

2.5 these have aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 microns in comparison the average size size of a human hair is

60 microns PM 2.5S are more dangerous since when inheld they may reach deep into the lungs and interfere with gas exchange the health effects of

particulate matter are felt in both the developed and developing World chronic exposure to particles contributes to the risk of developing cardiovascular and

respiratory diseases typically Asthma as well as lung cancer ozone O3 absorbs harmful U Rays from the

Sun in the upper atmosphere and can help prevent the increaseed risk of skin cancer however ground level ozone causes problems it does so by a photochemical

reaction which is triggered by the absorption of light the reactions between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds lead to the formation

of a photochemical smog and ground ozone you see this more often in the summer and it can appear as an orange brown Haze over a city this smog including the

ground ozone causes breathing problems can trigger asthma attacks and lead to lung disease next nitrogen dioxide emissions come from cars and factories

where fuels are combusted you may recall oxygen forms about 21% of our atmosphere whilst nitrogen forms 79% in a hot

engine a tiny amount of nitrogen atoms join with oxy atoms to form mixtures of nitrogen oxides called nox Studies have proven that there is a causal

relationship between the symptoms of bronchitis a respiratory disease being seen in children with asthma as a result of long-term exposure to this pollutant

finally there is sulfur dioxide can you think how this chemical might be formed pause the video and continue and ready the correct answer is that any sulfur

combusted in the presence of oxy typically coming from fossil fuels which naturally contain tiny amounts of sulfur and also the smelting of mineral ores

lead to the formation of sulfur dioxide in turn these pollutants affect the respiratory system and cause irritation of the eyes if you breathe this in

you're more likely to cough or secrete more mucus and will be at a higher risk of developing chronic bronchitis in summary all are causing unnecessary

deaths especially where the emissions of these pollutants can be avoided through the use of catalytic converters in cars and by scrubbing of Power Station gases