1. Air pollution: Section 2 – Health impacts

2. Air Pollution Who is impacted most by air pollution? -Young -very old
-Those with heart or lung problems.
Increases effects of pre-existing diseases: emphysema, heart disease, and lung cancer.
Fun Fact: The American Lung Association has estimated that Americans pay tens of billions of dollars a year in health costs to treat respiratory diseases caused by air pollution.

3. Short-Term Effects of Air Pollution on Health
Effects of short term exposure:
headache; nausea; irritation to the eyes, nose and throat; coughing; tightness in the chest; and upper respiratory infections, such as bronchitis, pneumonia
-reversible if exposure decreases

4. Long-Term Health Effects of Air Pollution
emphysema, lung cancer, and heart disease.
Long-term exposure may be permanent

5. Indoor Air Pollution Indoor air quality can be worse than outdoor Why?
Enclosed space- less circulation
Causes of harmful indoor pollutants:
Plastics and industrial chemicals
Found in: carpets, building materials, paints, and furniture, particularly when these items are new.

6. Indoor Air Pollution

7. Indoor Air Pollution
Sick-building syndrome symptoms, such as headache, fatigue, eye irritation, and dizziness, that may affect workers in modern, airtight office buildings.
-believed to be caused by indoor air pollutants.
-most common in hot places where buildings are tightly sealed to keep out the heat.

8. Indoor Air Pollution Solutions: Identify Remove
Ventilate- especially when painting or cleaning

9. Radon Gas Radon gas -colorless, tasteless, odorless, and radioactive.
-element produced by the decay of uranium, a radioactive element that occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust.
-Radon can seep through cracks and holes in foundations into buildings and adheres to dust particles

10. Radon Gas- harmful effects
Destroys the genetic material in cells that line the air passages which can lead to cancer
Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States behind smoking

11. Asbestos
Asbestos is any of six silicate minerals that form bundles of minute fibers that are heat resistant, flexible, and durable.
Uses: insulation and as a fire retardant
Was used in building materials
Banned in the 1970’s

12. Asbestos- harmful effects
Asbestos fibers can cut and scar the lungs, causing the disease asbestosis.
Results: difficulty breathing, those exposed may eventually die of heart failure.

13. Noise Pollution Unnecessary noise
Health problems: loss of hearing, high blood pressure, and stress.
Loud sounds have caused whales and dolphins to become stranded on beaches.

14. Noise Pollution
A decibel :unit used to measure loudness (dB)
Quietest sound that a human ear can hear is 0 dB.
Each dB level is 10x greater than the previous level
Sound of 120 dB is at the threshold of pain. Permanent deafness may result from continuous exposure at this level

15. Noise Pollution

16. Light Pollution light pollution
Health effects: increase headaches, fatigue, stress, and anxiety in humans.

17. Light Pollution Environmental concerns
-inefficient lighting is energy waste.
-light is directed upward into the night sky and lost to space.
Examples include lighting on billboards, poor-quality street lights, and the lighting of building exteriors.
Solutions: shielding light so it is directed downward, using time controls, and using low-pressure sodium sources- most energy-efficient sources of light.

18. Describe three possible short-term effects and long-term effects of air pollution on human health.
Explain what causes indoor air pollution and how it can be prevented.
Describe three human health problems caused by noise pollution.
Describe solutions to energy waste caused by light pollution.