The importance of a human’s health has seemed to be dwindling over the last several years. We are increasing the manufacture of toxins through several mediums, and killing way too many people worldwide by contaminating the air. Lung disease is one of the most fatal consequences of such pollution. Today many parts of the world are affected by this issue and two of these countries are India and America. According to the World Health Organization, India has the highest rate of death due to respiratory disease in the world. WHO estimates that approximately 600,000 people die every year due to air pollution. Even though the United States has improved in its air quality since the 1990’s, according to CDC, people with asthma, heart disease, and COPD (long-term lung disease) are the most affected by pollution (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2015). Outdoor air pollution has impacted the respiratory systems of many people around the world in the form of vehicles, factories, and landfills, specifically in India and the United States. Even though there are many people around the world striving to cease the detrimental effects of air pollution, most attempts are in vain and children are still suffering the worst of the symptoms. Over the years there have been proven studies of a strong correlation between highly polluted areas and the number of people with respiratory diseases.
Air pollution comes in many forms, indoors and outdoors. Unclean air of any sort can be considered “polluted”. However, there has been a drastically increased rate of death caused by outdoor pollution, especially for children under the age of five. Cases of pneumonia and other varieties of heart and lung diseases are on a constant increase. The toxic particles enter and affect the respiratory system in a specific mechanism. Once the particulate matter of various sizes and concentrations come in contact with the epithelium of the respiratory parts, they come in the form of oxidants and pro- oxidants (O3 and nitrogen oxide) and create radicals that instigate oxidative stress in the lung’s airways (Arbex 2012). The ultrafine particles, that make up most pollution, easily get absorbed by the human respiratory system. The lungs efficiently transport even such particles that are hazardous to the blood into the circulatory system (Johnson, REAPLH). Incomplete combustion produces ultrafine particles that come together in the form of diesel exhaust fumes. There are multiple factors that increase the risk the of lung disease through exposure to air pollution. For instance, smoking acts as a catalyst for the air pollution to reach the lungs and speeds up the rate at which the disease forms in the lungs. The combination of both smoking an air pollution has a more detrimental effect on the respiratory system (Min 2008). However, it is important to first recognize the impact that air pollution alone has on the body.
Vehicle usage has drastically increased over the last few decades. Fuel efficient cars have just begun to enter the field of vehicles, and most of them are highly priced for everyone to afford. Everyday when so many cars pass by the highways, there are tons of toxic chemicals being emitted into the atmosphere. Anyone who breathes this air is immediately going to be affected and develop a new disease in their system. It is terrifying to think about how people stay for hours in their cars, completely engulfed in the toxic air. Research shows that people who were exposed to more traffic had three times the risk of heart attack, and this increase as people spend more time in their vehicles. The study shows that heart attack become 2.6 times more common in cars, 3.1 times more in public transportation, and 3.9 times more on bicycles (CDC 2015). The Public of India are complaining that the cause for their pollution through automobiles is caused by the lack of maintenance of the roads, fuel that is adulterated, older vehicles, and many others (Open Government Data Platform India 2016). The study also calculates that as of 2014, there were 21,500,165 automobiles produced. With the increased population and the increased growth in the automobile business of India, there are more vehicles on the road. This causes extensively longer time periods of traffic jams, and consequently more people exposed to the unhealthy atmosphere.
Industrial growth has also taken a huge toll on the lives of many people residing near factory sites. In the United States, usually people who do not have the privileges to get the protection they need end up near hazardous sites where there are toxin- emitting factory building, and there is a lot of damage done to the respiratory systems of these people unconsciously. The people who are most affected by the industrial effusions are the poor and the disadvantaged (American Lung Association 2016). Unable to afford a well protected shelter, these people live in cheaper areas, which is usually next to a factory of some other industrial building of some sort. For that matter, anyone who is exposed to the gas emissions from these industrial building has a higher risk of lung disease. . Ultimately they all end up at the hospital, to be diagnosed with some sort of lung disease.
Landfills emit dangerous gases that are hazardous to the health of people living nearby, especially children. Burning waste is a common practice done in many places to disintegrate trash quickly. Even though this may be a useful technique to get rid of trash, people don’t realize the impact it has on the lungs of people breathing into the gases. In India there are several road side piles of trash burning, polluting the air with unwanted chemicals. Given the high rates of poverty in India, many people are forced to live their entire lives surround by such smoke and filth. In the US, the situation is little better, but there is still an issue for the people who live near landfills. (expand on what chemical is emitted when burning the trash and how it affects the respiratory system).
As mentioned earlier, the population that is affected the most by the pollution is the children. Children have high respiratory rates and they absorb more toxins in the air, and this can be fatal as their body’s organs are still developing. When children go out to play they are exposed to automobile pollution, power plants, and many other means of combustible particles. Studies have shown air pollution has been the cause of many respiratory illnesses among the children such as, infant mortality, asthma, and a lower performance of the lungs (Suwanwaiphattana 2012).
There have been several campaigns and laws enforced with the goal to reduce air pollution. In 1955, United States Congress enacted the Air Pollution Control Act, which was the first Clean Air Act that attempted to bring the awareness of the environment’s situation to the country. Even though there was not too much of an improvement after this law was enforced, there was a higher interest in the public regarding the outdoor air health. (Talk about Clean Air India Movement and how India is working towards a cleaner environment).
Air pollution comes in several different forms, and it is important for everyone to be aware of all of them. When looking at pollution outdoors, one can consider the consequences of vehicles, factories, landfills, etc. Many people have paid their price for disregarding these dangerous environmental threats by suffering painful respiratory diseases. Innocent people have died because of the carelessness of others who are capable of watching their actions. If the earth should no longer hold up to such atrocities, everyone needs to step up and make dramatic changes to their lives, caring about one another, eliminating any signs of pollution in the air. Regardless of whether it is in a developing nation like India, or a well-developed nation like the US, the situation is the same, and everyone has the same duty of making the air clean to breathe!