Article Review : The Particulate Matter 2.5

Until the industrial revolution air pollution occurred only through natural causes and were of no great concern. However, industrial revolution which has made human power to dominate over the planet, has actually led man to dig his own grave. The western world has had as many as four industrial revolutions since 18th century also termed as “The Age of Smoke” (Kasa 2009). In the beginning the coal smoke was confined to a particular area but the concentrations of emissions increased as people began to migrate towards cities (Douglas et al. 2002). This led to continuous worsening of air quality and slow in decline public health conditions, but evidently, not enough to attract the attention of the lawmakers (Borja-aburto et al. 1996).

As the exploration of the industrial development and increased speed of the urban sprawl in Beijing, many severe environmental issues attribute mainly to the anthropocentric activities have been come out of the scene. One of them is the air pollution. Air pollution has been regarded as the most severe environment issue in China since it has already threatened to physical health, especially for the respiratory tract and lung. “In January 2013, Beijing experienced historical heavy air pollution. In this particular month, very few days were observed with blue sky.” (Lijian Han et.al., 2015) According to the analysis of the driving factors, “the population grew fast, and energy consumption and the number of vehicles increased rapidly” (Ju Zhang et.al., 2010), these factors add together can make the air quality worse than any one of them separately can. Firstly, it has been an undoubted truth that more and more people originally lived in rural has been moved to core urban of Beijing since there are more opportunities in there. Therefore, the huge explosion of urban population with more energy release and more CO2 exhalation is seen as an inevitably primary factor causing the bad air quality. What’s more, as the population

There are two main types of air pollution, particulate matter (PM) and ozone. Particulate matter is some tiny dust. For example, according to a beam of light at night there are countless dusts floating in the air. They are particle. Ozone is an invisible chemical gas in the air. When these gas touch with light will become smog. Factory and vehicles exhaust emissions have become the largest cause of PM and ozone pollution in the United States. If a plant wants to run, they need to burn fuel to provide power; however, a lot of particulate matter will float in the air when the factory burns fuel. When people drive cars can

In the past decade, the severe air pollution problem in fast developing countries, particularly in China, has caused highly social and scientific attention. In 2014, 92 % of the world population are exposed over to the WHO Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) PM2.5 concentration level of 10 μg/m3 (World Health Organization, 2016). Ambient particulate matter (PM) pollution ranked as the third leading risk factor in India and Nepal, and ranked as the fifth in China (GBD 2015 Risk Factors Collaborators, 2016). In 2012, about 3 million deaths globally were attributed solely to ambient air pollution, and around 87% of it occurred in low- and middle-income countries (World Health Organization, 2016).

This chapter of the book discussed some of the pollutants that are discharged into the air from coal-fired utilities. It explained how weather conditions play a role in exposure and explained the measuring criteria for particulates. It explained how some particulates stay in the atmosphere longer and therefore travel a greater distance till exposure. It then discussed federal involvement in the issue and some of the Clear Air legislation that has been passed over the years starting with the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955. There were six pollutants that were determined to pose the greatest risk, carbon monoxide, lead, particulate matter (now subdivided be particle size), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. The final report listed

Globally, many countries are increasingly feeling the effects of environmental degradation. This has been occasioned by the increasingly evident effects of poor environmental conservation policy. There are currently taking the brunt of environmental degradation that has been occasioned by rapid the industrialization that has occurred both within and out of the country. “Air pollution has been at fault for a significant portion of the country’s environmental problems. Studies have identified the country’s economic boom as major contributor to this (Jitendra and Tanvi, 42)”. In East Asia, yellow dust it calls “Asian dust” is the biggest issue, which is mostly influenced by China’s industrialization and coal burning electrical generating plants. The main issue concerning South Korea and Japan is the air pollution caused by China's rapid economic growth crossing the boundaries into these two countries, it is blown from China to Korea and Japan causing hazardous air pollution. There causes many problems, it occurs respiratory problems, an increase in incidence of acid rain, highway accidents, and forcing many residents to stay home. Also, dust will enter a human’s mouth and organ which will cause respiratory problems through inhalation. “Air pollutants are gaseous or particulate matter which that have an impact on human health and natural ecosystems” (Lee, Adeel, 134).

As mentioned in Diamond’s book, Collapse, China has been facing and is still facing air pollution and environmental damages. The air pollution crisis in China is caused mainly by their large economic boom causing more factories, vehicles, and overpopulation (Clark, et al.). “Pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide are rising due to the increasing numbers of motor vehicles and the coal- dominated energy generation” (Diamond 363). Because of the immediate effects of air pollution such as the smog that is visible to citizens in China, many citizens wear face masks every day to protect themselves and their health. Diamond also mentions the fact that because China has the worst environmental damages such as air pollution, this might affect the rest of the world.

The article, “Coal and the Environment”, provides the readers will and understanding of how coal works and also how it is dangerous to our environment. Coal on its own is not dangerous to the environment but once the coal is burned, then pollutants are released into the air causing for less clean air. The government has taken a stand on the industries polluting the air we breathe in everyday with the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. These two acts put restrictions on industries that allow for safer and cleaner air.

Emissions from coal fired power plants contribute to global warming, ozone smog, acid rain, regional haze, and perhaps most consequential of all from a public health standpoint, fine particle pollution.

Coal releases dozens of hazardous substances that can be harmful to human health. These are just four of the many things that coal releases: Mercury, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. Every one of these act on the nervous system to cause loss of intellectual capacity. Exposure to coal dust can lead to black lung disease, or pneumoconiosis, which took the lives of 10,000 miners worldwide over the last decade. Black lung disease is similar to diseases you can get from smoking tobacco for a long period of time. This disease is most common with coal miners, because they are constantly exposed to the dangers coal causes. Coal affects not only the human respiratory system, but also the cardiovascular and nervous system. This

Beijing, China has a coal mining history of nearly 800 and some odd years. This has been a major air pollutant and the main reason for it is because its economy has grown substantially in the last 30 years. Worldwide, there are twenty cities with the highest, worst air pollution, sixteen of those cities are within China alone. The main causes of Beijing’s air pollution can be pointed to several factors. Large economical growth, an increase in vehicles on the roads, growth in population, and manufacturing. China has also experienced major economic growth with a large rise in Gross Domestic Product. This increase can be connected with pollution. Vehicles are just one contributor to pollution which we will discuss later in this paper.

Another concern is the stress coal puts on our environment. Coal is known as a dirty-burning source of energy. The U.S. Energy Information Administration found that burning coal released various dangerous emissions including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and carbon dioxide as well as numerous others. Sulfur dioxide contributes to the formation and toxicity of acid rain as well as respiratory illnesses; nitrogen oxides develops smog and more respiratory illnesses; carbon dioxide which is the leading greenhouse gas that damages the atmosphere (EIA 2017) . Not only does coal contribute to our growing environmental problems but also affects human health around the country. Dr. Michael Hendryx of West Virginia University began discovered an alarming correlation with coal production and various ailments. Hendryx found that closer the location of settlements to

On top of emitting 1.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year, coal-fired power plants in the United States also create 120 million tons of toxic waste. That means each of the nation's 500 coal-fired power plants produces an average 240,000 tons of toxic waste each year. A power plant that operates for 40 years will leave behind 9.6 million tons of toxic waste” (2009). Coal Combustion Residue despite containing toxic metals such as arsenic, mercury, lead, selenium, and cadmium that are proven to cause cancer, kidney problems, birth defects, and wreck havoc on the nervous system. Coal Combustion Residue can is disposed by either being land filled, used to reclaim mine shafts, or are stored in pits on-site of coal burning plants. Even without a spill these contaminants can leach into the ground and pose a health risk if they are not disposed of properly.

"For too long the coal industry has used our atmosphere like a sewer for its airborne pollution," says a website www.GreenPeace.org. Coal when burned releases harmful gases, and humans are being affected by this airborne pollution. In the USA there are more than 40% of people who live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution. Many doctors say inhaling these harmful gases could possibly lead to death. Many doctors say that inhaling these gases is like giving your lungs a sunburn. The effects of inhaling these gases have caused premature death, lung damage, and have even been connected to cause heart attacks.

Coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) is a pulmonary disease caused by the inhalation of coal dust, graphite, or other man-made carbon dust over an extended period of time.[1] It can also be defined as the accumulation of coal dust in the lungs and the tissue’s reaction to its presence.[1] CWP causes adverse health effects in coal miners that affect their daily living. Some of these adverse effects and symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath. People that have contracted CWP struggle with normal activities involving breathing, such as walking up flights of stairs, strenuous activity, and many others. In this research paper, the background of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis will be discussed,