How Much Pollution is let Out from Cars?
For every kilometer the average car is driven, 0.24kg of air pollution is produced. This is a large amount, and it is damaging our atmosphere.
The different gases which are let out of cars are;
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Carbon monoxide – a colourless, odorless gas. When reacts with oxygen it forms, Carbon Dioxide. It is a very poisonous gas.
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Hydrocarbons – an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon.
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Nitrogen monoxide – reacts quickly with oxygen in the air to form nitrogen dioxide. It is a harmful gas.
Carbon monoxide
atom
A type of hydrocarbon
Called ‘methane’
Two nitrogen monoxide atoms
Graphs to show if there is a correlation between
Asthma and Traffic pollution
Outdoor pollution does NOT cause asthma
Traffic-Associated Increases in
Poorly Controlled Asthma in Adults
Is there a correlation between asthma and traffic pollution?
There is no clear link between concentrations of air pollutants and people starting to get asthma. However, people who already have asthma are more inclined to having sensitive lungs. This could lead to the air pollutants irritating a person’s lungs. If this was the case, this could make their lungs sensitive to things that could trigger an attack.
Here is a news paper article written in 2001 which is trying to prove that ‘Pollution could cause asthma’
“Experiments using monkeys suggest that traffic pollution could cause asthma in children, rather than simply trigger attacks.
But a British expert says there is plenty of evidence suggesting precisely the opposite.
Scientists at the University of California at Davis studied the effect of repeated exposure to ozone - a constituent of traffic smog - on rhesus monkeys.
They found that after living in an environment described as "similar to Mexico City" for only a few months, the young animals had developed symptoms of borderline asthma.
These included reduced lung capacity, and an apparently increased sensitivity to the dust mite allergen, wheezing when exposed to it for short periods.
Monkeys exposed on a regular basis to both ozone and dust mite allergen had more severe reactions, including decreased blood oxygen levels.”
ARGUMENTS
Reasons why there might be a link between asthma and traffic pollution
One of the most well-known impacts of air pollution is an increase in asthma attacks. The incidence of asthma appears to have more than doubled in the last 15 years. Some of this increase may be due to changes in how doctors categorise asthma, but it is now widely accepted that the incidence of asthma has increased considerably. Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood with around 1 in 7 children affected.
Evidence of a link between pollution and asthma is certainly accumulating, but there is no proof yet of a causal relationship. What we do know, however, is that pollution can aggravate asthma symptoms and can also trigger an asthma attack in people who are already asthmatic. There is evidence that use of asthma medication and hospital admissions diagnosed as asthma increase during severe pollution episodes.
Government health experts have concluded that “there is a consistent, though modest, association between exposure to traffic and asthma prevalence in children”. Other researchers have found that people living in streets with heavy traffic tended to suffer more illness than residents of streets with light traffic. Similar studies in other countries have shown a relationship between the amount of traffic in an area and people with respiratory symptoms or wheeze.
The pollutants which are of most concern in relation to asthma are ozone, particulates and nitrogen oxides. Mixtures of pollutants may also be particularly damaging.
There are several theories on how pollution might trigger asthma attacks. One is that ozone may damage the lining of the airways and allow other allergens, such as pollen or substances from house dust mite etc, to enter and thereby set up the allergic response.
ARGUMENTS
Reasons why there might not be a link between asthma and traffic pollution
There is no clear link between traffic pollution causing asthma, but people who already have it, air pollutants may irritate their lungs – triggering an attack.
Speaking from a personal view, I am one of the many people in the world who is a sufferer of asthma. I have not found that heavy traffic pollution has affected me, however, my asthma is not as severe as some peoples, and so they may find that it does affect them.
I have had asthma all my life, but recently, have not been having so much trouble with it – if the statistics are correct, and that traffic pollution is increasing, causing more people to suffer from asthma – I feel that this is wrong, due to the fact that my asthma is getting better.
I live in a busy town, where I am sure that there is lots of pollution, and regularly go into town where there would be most pollution – thus, it should cause my asthma to worsen. However, seeing as it is getting better, I feel that there is no such correlation between asthma and traffic pollution.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion to the evidence in which I have found, I think it is proven that there is a slight link to traffic pollution causing asthma, however, it is not all that clear. Scientists are still researching to see if they can find a clear correlation, but as of yet, there is none.
Asthma has been around for hundreds of years, before motorised transport was invented, such as cars and lorries. Therefore, we know that traffic pollution is not the cause of asthma, and that is more likely to be pollen or hay. Traffic pollution may help make asthma worse, or trigger off an attack but it is not the cause.
REFERENCES
- Twenty First Century science – GCSE chemistry