Ozone Levels In Houston Essay

People may believe that the most important environmental issues threatening our world would be human overpopulation, ocean acidification, and pollution. However we are forgetting how important every environmental issue is to our planet and the humans that populate it. Ozone depletion affects both the planet and the people. It is a very serious environmental issue that if not solved can cost us some serious loss. The depletion of our ozone layers and the creation of the ozone hole has occurred since the 1980’s, and it 's only getting worst. The ozone layer is a form of oxygen in the molecular form of O3. It is an unstable gas with a pungent odour, it is bluish and it is located in two parts of the atmosphere: the stratosphere and the

Lockwood, Jocelyn. “Air Quality Worsened in DFW: American Lung Assoc.” NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, 29 Apr. 2015, www.nbcdfw.com/weather/stories/Air-quality-Worsened-in-Dallas-Fort-Worth-American-Lung-Association-301752691.html. Accessed 26 Apr. 2018.

According to scientific studies, climate change could be a responsible factor behind the formation of more ozone smog, and increased production of allergenic pollen (Drought Increases Air Pollution… (n.d.) The health of many people is susceptible to irritation of respiratory system from coming in contact with this polluted air from smog, pollen pollution, and wildfire smoke (NRDC: Climate Change Threatens ....... (n.d.). Anybody can be affected by breathing ozone, but certain age group and disease condition make them more vulnerable. Outdoor workers and even people exercising outside, vulnerable age groups such as children, teens, and older individuals, people with existing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, are more prone to outdoor ozone ”(Ozone Pollution - American Lung…n.d.). Health risk could range from mild "shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing; asthma attacks;"certain individuals might be prone to lung infections; their lungs could be inflamed (Ozone Pollution - American Lung…n.d.). People diagnosed with asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease might face more infections and in need of more care (Ozone Pollution - American Lung…n.d.). According to Natural Resources Defense Council, an approximated "881,500 kids and 2,294,800 adults" are asthma victim per year (Climate Change Threatens Health....n.d.).

It’s a good thing that the U.S came up with laws that limit air pollution. Congress made the Clean Air Act in 1970 to protect public health from different types of air pollution caused by different pollution sources. What the act does is sets standards for air quality to limit the amount of pollutants to specific levels. It sets certain limits for governments and industries to pollute at a certain rate. I think that in the world we live in today, how industrialized it is, it is important to know how polluted the air you breathe in is. So, how polluted is East Los Angeles’

No matter where you are at today the air quality is poor and increasing in most cities. Dallas-Fort Worth is ranked number seven according to the American Lung Association’s air quality report for having the worst air. Everywhere you look there is pollution and its time to take dramatic measures in order to lower health and en-vironmental problems. Problems that are increasing due to the higher demand for goods, services, and transportation.

The most widespread pollutant in the U.S. is ozone which is also one of the most dangerous. The ozone layer found high in the stratosphere shields us from a lot of the sun’s UV rays. When Ozone pollution (or smog) is at ground level where we can breathe it, it causes serious health problems; it’s dangerous to breathe, it aggressively attacks lung tissue by reacting chemically with it, it may also cause premature birth, premature death, infant mortality, and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.

In the article, "Life in San Joaquin Valley, the Place with the Worst Air Pollution in American" for The Guardian. Rory Carroll explains, "Pollution is blamed for high rates of cancer, asthma and hundreds of premature deaths each year." People aren't unaware of the surrounding like the places they live many people are unsure of pollution that happens in their daily life. Many people experience the symptoms that contribute to the air pollution but don't recall what was the cause. Air pollution isn't being hidden from people you can smell it in our daily lives here in the San Joaquin Valley some of the major smell are the chemicals and

The primary health issues that come with the impact of air pollution are asthma, cardiovascular illnesses and premature mortality. These health issues are due to pollution and the poor air quality such as ozone. Thus, human health becomes a concern and issue. The individuals who are usually more vulnerable to such illnesses are the children and elderly. For example, there’s approximately 162,438 children under the age of and 258,586 adults aged 65 years and older in Riverside county that are prone to environmental health illnesses (cdph). According to UCLA institute of the Environment and Sustainability,

The University of Texas Health Science Center has found that the amount of PM2.5 in the air in Houston, Texas can be linked with a small increase in mortality rate. Houston is largely industrialized which accounts for the emission of pollutants that negatively affect the people and environment. Home to America’s largest petrochemical industry, as well as many ports and forms of transportation, it’s little surprise that the concentration of PM2.5 in the city can be greater than some other cities. Scientists recorded the levels of PM2.5 in Houston over 11 years and found that though the PM2.5 particles’ mass was greater than the national standard on only 17 days out of the 11 years, on those single days, the mortality risk increased by 1.43%.

Living in a place with bad air quality is a risk to everyone, but there are people with significantly higher instability. People with pre-existing maladies, mainly cardiovascular and respiratory, are more susceptible to more severe illnesses. Children are also more vulnerable than healthy adults. This is because their systems and internal organs are not fully

In 1992, the United Nations described Mexico City’s air as the most polluted on the planet. Six years later,earned its name “the most dangerous city in the world for children”. But despite more than a decade of dangerous pollution, a haze hangs over the city most days, obscuring the surrounding snow-capped mountains and endangering the health of its inhabitants. Geography interferes with human population to produce a poisonous scenario. Located in the crater of an extinct volcano, Mexico City is about 2,240 metres above sea level. The lower levels of oxygen at this altitude cause incomplete fuel in engines and higher types of compounds. Intense sunlight turns these into abnormal smog levels. Overall, the smog prevents the sun from heating up atmosphere enough to penetrate the ozone layer above the city. Solving this problem has been a priority for Mexico. Recent efforts to lower levels of emissions have been successful. In the 1990s, the government introduced air quality improvement programs that included a rotating one-weekday ban on car use. On days of high pollution, the ban extends to every second day. In addition to this program, car owners must have their vehicles certified every six months.

The Clean Air Act enforces several programs that protect public health by regulating emission of hazardous air pollutants. These programs focus on many factors designed to improve public health and the environment. One focus includes the reduction of outdoor air pollutants that are responsible for causing acid rain, haze, smog, and other issues. Another requires the progressive elimination of production and use of chemicals proven responsible for depletion of the stratospheric ozone. The CAA also aims to reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants that are suspected or known to cause detrimental health effects, including asthma and cancer. The most serious health risks are associated with two of the six common pollutants: particles and ozone. The efforts of the CAA have led to drastic improvements in the levels of these two pollutants. Between 1980 and 2012, the EPA found that national concentrations of ozone improved by 25%. Particle concentrations began being measured in 2000, and it was found that between 2000 and 2012, fine particle concentrations improved 37% and coarse particle concentrations improved 27% (2015). Due to these improvements, Americans inhale lower amounts of dangerous pollutants, which led to the prevention of 205,000 premature deaths solely in the year 1990 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

Los Angeles has been able to reduce ozone levels by more than one-third in the last 15 years, but still is not enough because there is still ozone gas generated by pollution from vehicles, power plants, factories, etc. (Barboza). This ozone can inflame the lungs and worsen any respiratory illness and it is especially dangerous to children. I believe that the pollution generated by cars has also increase lately due to the population increase and to companies like Uber and Lyft, which are great forms of transportations, but are not helping the environment because it means that more cars are being added to the

They found that for each increase in 10-ppb of annual ozone, there was a decrease in performance of the attention, short-term memory test and in coding ability test (Chen & Schwartz, 2009).

Scientists all over the world have been widely researching to find out ways in which the ozone layer is being destroyed through human actions. The ozone layer is gradually being destroyed by ozone depleting chemicals. These chemicals include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydroflourocarbons (HFCs), methyl bromide, halons, methyl chloroform and carbon tetrachloride among others (Ryding 173). These chemicals are used locally in coolants, fire extinguishers, solvents, pesticides, aerosol propellants and foaming agents.