Air Pollution: Reasearch Report

Essay by kashkeyHigh School, 12th gradeA, January 2006

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Air pollution is made up of various kinds of gases, and particles that reduce the quality of the air. Plants and animals and their habitats can also be harmed by air pollution. Air pollution has thinned the protective ozone layer above Earth. It can damage buildings, monuments, statues, and other structures. Air pollution can also result in haze, which reduces visibility and can sometimes interfere with aviation.

The most abundant of air pollutants are Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxides and Sulfur Oxides. These chemicals are the waste byproducts of fuels that are used in transportation, industrial processes and general combustion. Contrary to the beliefs of many people, air pollution does not only occur in urban regions but also within the countryside. Within the city construction, factory exhaust and automobiles are the causes of air pollution. Whereas in the country air pollution is created by also by automobiles but also from rock quarries, dirt and gravel roads, and the smoke from the burning of crops and wood fires.

A major part of the air pollution within a city is ground-level ozone. Ground level ozone is formed when fuel and engine gasses that are already released into the air react with the sunlight when they come into contact, with each other. During the hotter summer months when the air is still and the surrounding temperature is warmer due to the bright sun the ozone levels increase. This ground level ozone is very different to the ozone layer in the Earth's atmosphere that protects the planet form the harmful radiation that is given off the sun.

The History of Air Pollution

Air pollution is not a new problem. In fact it has been a problem since 900 BC when Hit, a town located West of Babylon, was the center of asphalt mining. King Tukulti,