1.4 Health and Environmental Impacts of Wastes and Waste Management
19
Table 1.7 (continued)
Air pollutant Characteristics
Environment impacts
Sources
CO
• Is a colorless, odourless
and tasteless gas,
produced from the
incomplete combustion
of organic matters
• Can enter the
bloodstream through
the lungs and form
carboxyhemoglobin,
inhibiting the blood’s
capacity to carry
oxygen to the organs
and tissues
• Can lead to impairing
exercise capacity, affect
visual perception,
manual dexterity,
learning functions, and
ability to perform
complex tasks
• Can cause death of
human being at
excessive exposure
(100 ppm or greater)
• Transportation
PM
• Is a complex mixture of
extremely small
particles and liquid
droplets that get into
the air
• They have the ability to
penetrate deep into the
lungs and blood stream
and cause serious
health effects such as
asthma, bronchitis and
emphysema and to
various forms of heart
disease. They can also
adversely affect
vegetation and
structures and
contribute to regional
haze
• Unpaved roads,
construction,
agriculture and forest
fires (96% of TPM)
NH 3
• Is a colorless gas with a
characteristic pungent
smell noticeable at
concentrations above
50 ppm,
• Is primarily produced
in agriculture sector
• Has the ability to
combine with sulphates
and nitrates in the
atmosphere to form
PM 2.5
• Livestock waste
management and
fertilizer production
(90%)
(1) Sulfur oxides (SO x )
SO x , consisting mainly of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), is formed from the sulfur in raw
materials such as coal, oil and metal-containing ores during combustion and refining
processes. SO 2 dissolves in water vapor in air to form acids, and interacts with other
gases and particles in the air to form sulfates and other products that can be harmful
to people and environment. SO 2 in its untransformed state has negative effects on
19
Table 1.7 (continued)
Air pollutant Characteristics
Environment impacts
Sources
CO
• Is a colorless, odourless
and tasteless gas,
produced from the
incomplete combustion
of organic matters
• Can enter the
bloodstream through
the lungs and form
carboxyhemoglobin,
inhibiting the blood’s
capacity to carry
oxygen to the organs
and tissues
• Can lead to impairing
exercise capacity, affect
visual perception,
manual dexterity,
learning functions, and
ability to perform
complex tasks
• Can cause death of
human being at
excessive exposure
(100 ppm or greater)
• Transportation
PM
• Is a complex mixture of
extremely small
particles and liquid
droplets that get into
the air
• They have the ability to
penetrate deep into the
lungs and blood stream
and cause serious
health effects such as
asthma, bronchitis and
emphysema and to
various forms of heart
disease. They can also
adversely affect
vegetation and
structures and
contribute to regional
haze
• Unpaved roads,
construction,
agriculture and forest
fires (96% of TPM)
NH 3
• Is a colorless gas with a
characteristic pungent
smell noticeable at
concentrations above
50 ppm,
• Is primarily produced
in agriculture sector
• Has the ability to
combine with sulphates
and nitrates in the
atmosphere to form
PM 2.5
• Livestock waste
management and
fertilizer production
(90%)
(1) Sulfur oxides (SO x )
SO x , consisting mainly of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), is formed from the sulfur in raw
materials such as coal, oil and metal-containing ores during combustion and refining
processes. SO 2 dissolves in water vapor in air to form acids, and interacts with other
gases and particles in the air to form sulfates and other products that can be harmful
to people and environment. SO 2 in its untransformed state has negative effects on