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Common Pollutants

Common pollutants are the most commonly found air pollutants in the U.S. and pose the greatest threat to your health and the environment. The six most-common air pollutants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates as a top priority include particle ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide and lead.

  1. Ground-Level Ozone

    • Ground-level ozone forms from the chemical reaction between nitrogen oxides and organic compounds from motor vehicle and industrial emissions, gasoline vapors, chemical solvents and natural sources. Add sunlight and hot weather, and ground-level ozone increases to harmful levels. Exposure to high levels of ground-level ozone can worsen asthma, bronchitis and emphysema and cause chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, congestion, decreased lung function and, with frequent exposure, permanent lung damage. Ground-level ozone also makes plants more vulnerable to disease, insects, other pollutants and severe weather, damages tree and plant vegetation, and decreases forest and crop growth.

    Particle Pollution

    • Particle pollution, or particulate matter, is made up of nitrate, sulfate and other acid droplets, organic chemical, metals and soil and dust particles and found near roadways and dusty industries and in smoke and haze from fires and power plants and industrial and automobile emissions. Exposure to high concentrations small enough to inhale and pass into the lungs and bloodstream can decrease lung function and cause respiratory symptoms, chronic bronchitis, irregular heartbeat, nonfatal heart attacks and early death in people with heart or lung diseases. Particulate matter makes lakes and streams acidic, changes or reduces coastal water and soil nutrients and damages forests and farm crops.

    Carbon Monoxide

    • The colorless, odorless gas carbon monoxide (CO) is primarily emitted from motor vehicles. However, with improved automobile emission controls, CO concentrations have been reduced in most areas of the U.S. and kept below the national CO standards since the early 1990s, as of 2010, according the the EPA. Exposure to high concentrations of CO reduces the delivery of oxygen to the body's tissues and major organs, and exposure to significantly high concentrations can even result in death.

    Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide

    • Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are types of the highly reactive gases nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide, respectively. NO2 comes from motor vehicle, power plant and off-road equipment emissions, while SO2 comes from power plant and industrial fossil fuel emissions and from burning locomotive, large ship and non-road equipment fuels. However, as of 2010, national NO2 levels have decreased by over 40 percent and SO2 levels by 70 percent since 1980, according to the EPA. Both long-term and short-term exposure to high concentrations of NO2 and SO2 can cause respiratory problems, decrease lung function, increase asthma symptoms and worsen respiratory and heart diseases.

    Lead

    • Lead, a metal found both in the environment and in manufactured products, is primarily emitted from automobiles and industrial sources. However, with the increased removal of lead from automobile gasoline, lead emissions from automobiles decreased by 95 percent and lead from other sources by 94 percent between 1980 and 1999, according to the EPA. Inhaling lead from the air or consuming lead-contaminated water, food, soil and dust causes lead to pass into the blood and buildup in the bones, affecting kidney function and the nervous, immune, reproductive, developmental and cardiovascular systems. Environmental effects of lead exposure include loss of biodiversity and decreased plant and animal growth and reproduction.

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