regions where it is still in use and continues to
exist in high concentrations in the atmosphere
[5]. Lead is classified both as a HAP [4] and a
criteria pollutant in the USA [2].
Mercury (Hg) is a HAP [4] with a number of
industrial applications, many still in use today
[21] and is a component of compact fluorescent
light bulbs. Coal combustion–based electricity
generation is one of mercury’s major atmospheric
emission sources. Mercury is toxic to humans and,
once in the environment, can be methylated,
whereupon it can easily bind to proteins and
enter the food chain [21].
Currently Recognized Air Pollution
Problems
Before resources can be committed to monitoring
air pollution, the nature and extent of the problems
air pollution creates must be understood. Fenger [5]
cites three types of air pollution problems. These are
local problems such as health effects and damage to
goods and capital, regional problems such as acidification, and global problems such as climate
change. As air pollution problems scale up in physical area (from regional to global, for example), their
effects tend to scale up in terms of time. For example, an air quality episode may aggravate asthma in a
population over the course of the episode (hours to
days), whereas acidification will impact the environment for decades and climate change will have
impacts potentially lasting millennia [22]. The problems receiving the most government recognition are
the local problems. Regional problems are recognized by most governments, while some global
problems are only recently appearing on the air
pollution agenda of some authorities (for example,
the US EPA only gained powers to regulate CO 2
emissions as of December, 2009).
Nowhere is the hierarchy of air pollution problems more apparent than in the US EPA’s division
between primary and secondary air quality standards. Primary standards are set to protect public
health, while secondary standards are set to mitigate regional problems, such as acidification, and
biosphere damage [2]. There are no tertiary standards set to mitigate global problems. However, in
Europe, the “EU Focus on Clean Air” [23] lists
climate change and the destruction of the ozone
layer among air pollution issues, placing global
problems alongside childhood asthma and acidification of forests.
In addition to human health and regional problems, the economic problems caused by air pollution are recognized by governments. For example,
Environment Canada recognizes that illness and
mortality resulting from air pollution can cause
workers to miss work and thereby have an adverse
affect on the productivity of industry [24]. Economic problems arising from air pollution are
discussed below along with other problems currently recognized by government agencies.
Health
Human health is often the primary concern
related to air pollution, and a great deal of
work has been done to connect various air pollutants to health risks. Table 4 identifies some of
the health problems associated with the different
air pollutants. The references given are examples of studies that have made connections
between pollutants and health problems. Thus,
Table 4 should not be interpreted as an exhaustive and critical review of the current state of
knowledge regarding air pollutant health
effects. In some cases, many more studies have
confirmed these connections. However, in many
cases, the underlying mechanisms that would
conclusively demonstrate a cause and effect
relationship have yet to be identified. At the
present time, PM 2.5 is considered to be one of
the pollutants of greatest concern [13, 25, 26],
but it is made up of thousands of chemicals that
can each have different types of effects. Ultrafine particles are a subsize of PM 2.5 , and they
warrant further study to better understand the
range of impacts on health they may cause.
The health effects of air pollution are usually
more pronounced in urban populations [5]. Urban
settings tend to host more combustion
(of transportation and heating fuels, for example)
per area, leading to more emission of air pollution
per area than in rural settings. The higher population
densities of urban settings results in greater air pollution population exposure. With over half of all
Air Pollution Monitoring and Sustainability
391
exist in high concentrations in the atmosphere
[5]. Lead is classified both as a HAP [4] and a
criteria pollutant in the USA [2].
Mercury (Hg) is a HAP [4] with a number of
industrial applications, many still in use today
[21] and is a component of compact fluorescent
light bulbs. Coal combustion–based electricity
generation is one of mercury’s major atmospheric
emission sources. Mercury is toxic to humans and,
once in the environment, can be methylated,
whereupon it can easily bind to proteins and
enter the food chain [21].
Currently Recognized Air Pollution
Problems
Before resources can be committed to monitoring
air pollution, the nature and extent of the problems
air pollution creates must be understood. Fenger [5]
cites three types of air pollution problems. These are
local problems such as health effects and damage to
goods and capital, regional problems such as acidification, and global problems such as climate
change. As air pollution problems scale up in physical area (from regional to global, for example), their
effects tend to scale up in terms of time. For example, an air quality episode may aggravate asthma in a
population over the course of the episode (hours to
days), whereas acidification will impact the environment for decades and climate change will have
impacts potentially lasting millennia [22]. The problems receiving the most government recognition are
the local problems. Regional problems are recognized by most governments, while some global
problems are only recently appearing on the air
pollution agenda of some authorities (for example,
the US EPA only gained powers to regulate CO 2
emissions as of December, 2009).
Nowhere is the hierarchy of air pollution problems more apparent than in the US EPA’s division
between primary and secondary air quality standards. Primary standards are set to protect public
health, while secondary standards are set to mitigate regional problems, such as acidification, and
biosphere damage [2]. There are no tertiary standards set to mitigate global problems. However, in
Europe, the “EU Focus on Clean Air” [23] lists
climate change and the destruction of the ozone
layer among air pollution issues, placing global
problems alongside childhood asthma and acidification of forests.
In addition to human health and regional problems, the economic problems caused by air pollution are recognized by governments. For example,
Environment Canada recognizes that illness and
mortality resulting from air pollution can cause
workers to miss work and thereby have an adverse
affect on the productivity of industry [24]. Economic problems arising from air pollution are
discussed below along with other problems currently recognized by government agencies.
Health
Human health is often the primary concern
related to air pollution, and a great deal of
work has been done to connect various air pollutants to health risks. Table 4 identifies some of
the health problems associated with the different
air pollutants. The references given are examples of studies that have made connections
between pollutants and health problems. Thus,
Table 4 should not be interpreted as an exhaustive and critical review of the current state of
knowledge regarding air pollutant health
effects. In some cases, many more studies have
confirmed these connections. However, in many
cases, the underlying mechanisms that would
conclusively demonstrate a cause and effect
relationship have yet to be identified. At the
present time, PM 2.5 is considered to be one of
the pollutants of greatest concern [13, 25, 26],
but it is made up of thousands of chemicals that
can each have different types of effects. Ultrafine particles are a subsize of PM 2.5 , and they
warrant further study to better understand the
range of impacts on health they may cause.
The health effects of air pollution are usually
more pronounced in urban populations [5]. Urban
settings tend to host more combustion
(of transportation and heating fuels, for example)
per area, leading to more emission of air pollution
per area than in rural settings. The higher population
densities of urban settings results in greater air pollution population exposure. With over half of all
Air Pollution Monitoring and Sustainability
391