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Air Pollution : The Harmful Effects Of Air Pollution

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One of the most well known problems of the world is air pollution. It’s a pressing matter, as “approximately 3.3 million people die prematurely each year from causes directly linked to air pollution” (Hoyle, “Air Pollution”). These deaths cost the US economy about $225 billion in lost labor income. Also, “diseases attributed to both types of air pollution caused 1 in 10 deaths in 2013, or more than six times the number of deaths caused by malaria” (“Air Pollution Deaths”), which shows that this issue is something that needs to be desperately fixed. Despite many attempts to curb air pollution, it is still a prominent fixture that is not going away. Air contamination has two categories, primary and secondary. Primary pollutants include dust, smoke, and other toxic chemicals, such as exhaust from vehicles and industrial smokestacks. Secondary pollutants are created or modified after being released into the atmosphere, such as smog. As cities grew and expanded, so did air pollution and all its harmful effects. Air pollution is a consequence of industrial growth across the country and the world. (Blanchfield, “Clean Air Act”) There are many causes of air pollution such as, burning of fossil fuels, exhaust from factories and industries, and indoor air pollution. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, typically coal, fuel oil, or natural gas. When these are burned, dangerous emissions of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. Exhaust from factories and industries do not only release carbon dioxide, it also releases other hydrocarbons, organic compounds, and chemicals into the air. Air pollution is not only found outdoors, indoor air pollution is the contamination of indoor air. According to an article by Medline Plus, sources of indoor pollution include mold and pollen, tobacco smoke, household products, and materials used in buildings. Although indoor air pollution usually just causes a little bit of discomfort, it can be hazardous if some people are exposed to it for an extended period of time. Because of air pollution, many people are in danger of respiratory and heart problems, global warming increases, acid rain occurs, and wildlife is negatively affected too. One attempt at controlling air pollution was

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