Air pollutants

Air pollutants are the main causes of global environmental hazards. Carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, particulates and nitrogen oxides resulting from industrialisation and population growth, the activities of the energy and transport industries (burning of fossil fuels) and agricultural activities are the main causes of air pollution.

Air is polluted by all kinds of substances (gaseous, solid and liquid) that are present in the air in greater quantities than their estimated average content. The World Health Organization defines polluted air as air the chemical composition of which ‘may adversely affect human, plant and animal health, as well as other elements of the environment (water, soil)’.

Air pollutants (particulate or gaseous) are the most dangerous of all pollutants due to the fact that they are mobile and thus travel over long distances.

The ever-increasing demand for energy has made combustion the main source of atmospheric pollutants of anthropogenic origin. Such pollutants are mainly: sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (N_xO_y), coal dust (X₂), volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), ozone, lead and particulate matter. Sources of air pollution are: chemical treatment of fuels, chemical, refinery and metallurgical industries, storage of raw materials and precipitation, motorisation. Apart from the effects of human activity, there are also mature sources of air pollution. These are: weathering of rocks, forest and steppe fires, lightning, cosmic dust, volcanic eruptions and biological processes.

Air pollutants are mainly absorbed by humans during the breathing process. They cause respiratory diseases, reproductive disorders and allergies. They have a negative effect on the plant world, disturbing photosynthesis, respiration and transpiration processes, and contaminate drinking water. Air pollution secondarily contaminates water and soil. On a global scale, they influence climate change on Earth.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization) the cost of air pollution in Europe is about USD 1.6 trillion, causing about 600,000 premature deaths and numerous diseases. The effects of air pollution also include acid rain, smog, odours, the hole in the ozone layer, and the greenhouse effect.

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