Essay on Air Pollution

This is the first 1,000 characters of 690 words (2.76 pages) in the essay titled Air Pollution

Air Pollution

Air Pollution

CFish Mr. Nollen
Biology 2B
8 May, 1996

The Problem

Contamination of the atmosphere by gaseous, liquid, or solid wastes or
by-products that can endanger human health and the health and welfare of plants
and animals, or can attack materials, reduce visibility, or produce undesirable
odors. Among air pollutants emitted by natural sources, only the radioactive
gas radon is recognized as a major health threat. A byproduct of the
radioactive decay of uranium minerals in certain kinds of rock, radon seeps into
the basements of homes built on these rocks. According to recent estimates by
the U.S. government, 20 percent of the homes in the U.S. harbor radon
concentrations that are high enough to pose a risk of lung cancer.

Each year industrially developed countries generate billions of tons of
pollutants. The level is usually given in terms of atmospheric concentrations
or, for gases in terms of parts per million, that is, number of pollutant
molecules per million air molecules. Many come from directly identifiable
sources; sulfur dioxide, for example, comes from electric power plants burning
coal or oil. Others are formed through the action of sunlight on previously
emitted reactive materials. For example, ozone, a dangerous pollutant in smog,
is produced by the interaction of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides under the
influence of sunlight. Ozone has also caused serious crop damage. On the other
hand, the discovery in the 1980s that air p

To continue reading the complete essay right now, you must do the following:

View this essay for only $12.00 (one time fee). Click the Paypal button now.

Your purchase is 100% secure. You will have the essay instantaneously.