Air Pollution

In both developed and rapidly industrialising countries, the major historic air pollution problem has typically been high levels of smoke and sulphur dioixide arising from the combustion of sulphur-containing fossil fuels such as coal for domestic and industrial purpose. The major threat to clean air is now posed by traffic emissions. Petrol and diesel-engined motor vehicles emit a wide variety of pollutants, principally carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulates (PM₁₀), which have an increasing impact on urban air quality. In addition, photochemical reactions resulting from the action of sunlight on nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and VOCs from vehicles leads to the formation of ozone, a secondary long-range pollutant, which impacts in rural areas often far from the original emission site. Acid rain is another long-range pollutant influenced by vehicle NOx emissions. In all except worst-case situations, industrial and domestic pollutant sources, together with their impact on air quality, tend to be steady-state or improving over time. However, traffic pollution problems are worsening world-wide. Below is an introduction to the principal pollutants produced by industrial, domestic and traffic sources: Click here for a glossary of terms used in air pollution.

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