Air Pollution: Sources, Regulation, and Health Effects
Air pollution results from both natural (e.g., fires, volcanoes, and wind-blown dust) and anthropogenic sources. The particles and gases that comprise air pollution are known to cause adverse health effects in humans. Importantly, subpopulations of people such as those in different life stages (older adults and children) and people with preexisting disease (e.g., asthmatics), or some sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., minority populations) have been shown to be at greater risk from exposure to inhaled ambient air pollutants. To reduce the disease burden related to ambient air pollution, regulations have been promulgated in many countries throughout the world. Evidence from epidemiology and toxicology studies suggests that reductions in air pollution levels yield improvements in health outcomes.