Main Air Pollutants (Examples)

The main air pollutants they have been created by man, that is, they are exogenous pollutants. Gases and others toxic substances are issued by various human economic activities. For example: carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides.

Pollution occurs when the presence or accumulation of a substance negatively affects the ecosystem.

Sources of contamination can take various forms:

It can serve you:

Main air pollutants

1. Carbon monoxide (CO). Colorless gas highly toxic in high concentrations or by prolonged exposure. In general it is not usually found in concentrations high enough to cause rapid poisoning. However, the stoves that burn fuel (firewood, gas, coal) are very dangerous if they do not have an adequate installation that allows an air outlet. Four million people die annually from carbon monoxide poisoning. Comes from:

1. Nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2, NOx). Mix nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide. Although it is produced in large quantities by human activity, it is oxidized (dissolved by oxygen) in the atmosphere. One of the negative effects of these
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   oxides is that they intervene in the formation of acid rain, becoming pollutants not only of the air but also of the soil and water. Comes from:

1. Sulfur dioxide (SO2). A relationship has been discovered between respiratory conditions in humans and the concentration of sulfur dioxide in the air. In addition, it is the main cause of acid rain, which affects the ecosystem as a whole, polluting soils and water surfaces. It comes almost exclusively (93%) from burning fossil fuels (Petroleum derivatives). This burning occurs mainly to obtain energy, but also in industrial processes (“chimney industries”) and in transportation.

1. Suspended particles. Also called particulate matter, they are the particles solid or liquid that remain suspended in the air. In order for a non-gaseous substance to be suspended in air, it must have a specific diameter called “aerodynamic diameter” (the diameter that a sphere that has a density of 1 gram per cubic centimeter so that its terminal velocity in air is the same as that of the particle in question). Comes from:

1. Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC). They were very common in the manufacture of aerosols, although their use has now decreased due to their drastic negative effects on the environment. They are also used in refrigeration systems. This gas binds to the ozone particles of the layer that protects the planet, decomposing it. The call "ozone hole”Leaves areas of the earth's surface defenseless against solar rays harmful to both man and plants Y animals.

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