What are the Harmful Effects of Air Pollution From Industries?

Air pollution from industry damages human health. Inhalation of pollutants is a major cause of hospital admissions for asthma and other breathing difficulties. Pollutant particles also fall from the air to pollute waters and the ground; this poisons animals and plants, allowing pollutants to enter the food chain. Electrical power plants are among the main producers of industrial air pollution.

Smog

• Smog is a layer of poor quality air commonly produced on hot, still days. Sulfuric particles contained in smog originate in industrial emissions, causing breathing difficulties and worsening asthma. Smog's main component is ozone, produced when emissions from industry and other sources react with sunlight. Ozone can reduce lung function and damage lung linings. Ozone exacerbates asthma and contributes to chronic lung disease. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable. Air quality worsens at the hottest part of the day. Heed air quality warnings: stay inside when ozone is high.

Acid Rain

• Acid rain is caused by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emitted from burning fossil fuels. Electrical power plants produce about 70% of sulfur dioxide and 30% of nitrous oxide pollution. These compounds mix with moisture in the air to form sulfuric and nitric acids. Acid "rain" can be any form of precipitation---including fog. Acid rain contributes to deforestation, corrodes buildings and statues and etches paints on cars and other surfaces. Nitrous oxide falling into lakes causes sudden, excessive algae growth. This "algal bloom" causes oxygen depletion. Water life cannot survive in acidified, deoxygenated conditions.

Sooty Deposits

• Industrial cities show visible signs of air pollution in the blackened appearance of older buildings and statues. Soiling is due to dirt particles in the air. There is worse news hidden beneath the soot: old monuments are being eaten away. Sooty deposits contain sulfur dioxide, which is corrosive. Dry deposition of sulfur and nitrous oxide is more corrosive to buildings than the moist form---acid rain. Stone and steel are building materials vulnerable to corrosion by air pollution. Calciferous stones--limestone, marble, sandstone--are most vulnerable. Acidic deposits leach away the calcium carbonate content. Without this calcium matrix, sand particles wash away. Salts accumulate at the surface, exfoliating the stone. Brick is quite impervious to acid damage. However, mortar holding brickwork together is not, since it is made from calcium carbonate and sand.

Toxins

• Electric power plants and, to a lesser extent, other industrial plants emit toxins into the air. These include mercury, dioxins, lead, asbestos, benzene, toluene, chromium and cadmium. All pose serious health risks to humans and to wildlife. Mercury builds up in fish---hence health warnings concerning fish consumption. Metal processing plants are the biggest source of lead pollution. Lead is deposited on leaves of plants. Plants are eaten by animals and lead enters the human food chain. Lead causes learning difficulties in children and may contribute to high blood pressure.

Greenhouse Gases

• Greenhouse gases--carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases and methane--trap heat within the atmosphere. This leads to climate change and global warming. Greenhouse gases are produced by industrial processes, including both the production and burning of fossil fuels.