AIR POLLUTION Air pollution is the presence of abnormal concentration and abnormal constituents in air.

We know that Fresh air is needed for a healthy life. That is why people go out for morning walks so that they can breathe as much fresh air as possible. But the quality of the air has been deteriorating in urban areas. It is being polluted by smoke, harmful gasses, dust articles and other matters. The burning of petrol and diesel in running vehicles emits carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and unburnt hydrocarbon particles. These pollutants are released in the air breathe. They are very harmful for out health. The burning of various fuels in factories and power plants emit carbon monoxide carbon dioxide and other poisonous gases that are left off in the atmosphere. Yet without burning fuel, the production of goods in industries is not possible. So the growth of industrial production is at the cost of polluting air. Various chemical industries such as those manufacturing acids, plastics, dyes and paint, paper, pesticides, petrochemical emit hazardous fumes and gases such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and fluorocarbons. Industrial dust also causes air pollution. Dust coming out from the cement kilns, lime kilns, stone crushing and asbestos factories are the main causes of breathing problems and lung diseases in our country. Smoking of cigarettes and bedis is very injurious to health. It causes heart diseases, various respiratory problems and cancer. Tobacco smoke is a pollutant particularly in closed spaces such as buses, trains, cinema halls and restaurants. Smoke emitted by a smoker but inhaled by a non-smoker is known as secondary or they are in the vicinity of a smoker. That is why smoking is banned in public places. Air pollution affects the health of people adversely. The presence of carbon monoxide in the air we breathe causes headache nausea and suffocation. Various other respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis, bronchitis and asthma are common in our country due to poor air quality. Dust in air causes asthma and allergies. In winter days fogs containing particulate matter causes bronchitis and cough. A different dimension of air pollution is the problem of ozone depletion. The presence of pollutants like fluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) in the air has depleted ozone in the atmosphere. This has created a hole in the ozone layer of the

atmosphere. CFC is chemicals used in refrigerators and air-conditioners and cooking agents. The ozone layer protects life on earth by preventing harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun from entering the atmosphere. This layer has now become too thin and has developed a hole exposing human life to the dangerous ultraviolet rays of sun. Long exposure to ultra-violet rays of sun causes cancer and other genetic disorders in human beings. Gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and methane in the atmosphere trap the heat waves of the sun and cause melting of polar ice has increased the water level in oceans and seas causing frequent floods and droughts across the world. The global climatic change has mostly affected the agriculture. This increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere is known as the green-house effect. Often the easiest solution to an air pollution problem is to stop the quality process. Once the decision has been made that the process is necessary, the engineer must consider the possibility of controlling the emissions by changing the process. In addition a change of raw material and modification of the process might also be used to achieve a desired result.