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What Are Toxic Pollutants?

Toxic pollutants are compounds or substances that can cause harmful effects when inhaled. These toxic pollutants can also cause adverse environmental and ecological changes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for monitoring pollutants and putting safeguards in place to protect your health.

  1. Global Warming

    • As the level of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases, all toxic pollutants, in the atmosphere rises, heat becomes trapped in the Earth's atmosphere. Clear cutting and the loss of trees reduces the planet's capacity to remove carbon dioxide from the air. As the carbon dioxide levels increase, a concurrent increase in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere as well as the oceans begins to take effect.

    Urban Air Pollution

    • Congested, smoggy cities often have numerous toxic pollutants produced by motor vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions. These toxic pollutants include carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons or solvents and diesel and gasoline vapors, as well as oxides of nitrogen. Burning fossil fuels also release sulfur oxides. Despite EPA controls, toxic pollutants still exist in numerous large and small cities across the United States, as well as in rural areas.

    Industrial Pollutants

    • Additional pollutants include mineral particles from coal, natural gas and crude oil. The burning of these chemicals causes vapors such as formaldehyde and benzene, which are also found in auto emissions. Perchlorethylene, a chemical commonly used in dry cleaning, is also a toxic pollutant. Methylene chloride, a solvent used in the painting industry, and asbestos, used in the construction industry, are also toxic substances. Aerosols from spraying herbicides and pesticides frequently found in rural areas can be toxic to humans and animals alike.

    Effect on Health

    • Smog, a combination of smoke, chemical pollutants and fog, is particularly hazardous to young children, the elderly and individuals with breathing difficulties such as asthmatics and those that suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Despite EPA controls, many of these pollutants come into direct contact with your airway, lungs and cells. These pollutants can cause serious health concerns such as permanent lung damage and, at the very least, increase your susceptibility to respiratory infections.

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