Air Pollution and Health

Breathe. Breathing is an essential part of your life. But what happens if the air is not healthy? Not only does air pollution negatively affect the environment’s health, it also negatively affects people’s health. This section will talk about how air pollution impacts your health and what you can do to protect yourself.

Health Effects & Vulnerable Populations

Something to think about…

Everybody is vulnerable to air pollution exposure. But there are some groups of people that have a higher risk of exposure and a higher risk of worse outcomes than other groups of people. These higher risks may be related to their age and the presence of pre-existing conditions, but also their socioeconomic status and even their race.

  • Air pollution exposure affects many different organs and organ systems. Particles can reduce visibility leading to motor vehicle accidents, and they can irritate the eyes.
    Air pollution exposure also increases the risk of asthma attacks, bronchitis, respiratory symptoms, pneumonia, the development of some cancers, and heart attack. Air pollution exposure is associated with impaired blood vessel function and may even speed up hardening of blood vessels.

  • Children are more vulnerable to pollution and toxin exposure due to their growing bodies. Children breathe more rapidly and their hearts beat faster, which means they take in more air and nutrients and gasses travel throughout their bodies faster. Air pollution exposure reduces lung function and negatively affects lung growth in children. It increases the risk of respiratory infections and developing asthma.
    There is some evidence that suggests air pollution exposure may even negatively affect cognitive development.

  • Fine particles increase the risk of the development of dementias such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's. Pollution from agriculture, traffic, energy production are associated with higher rates of dementia diagnoses.
    Although older women already have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis, bone damage can occur with exposure to air pollutants, increasing the risk of osteoporosis.

  • Air pollution exposure increases the risk of developing post-partum depression and increased inflammation. Increased inflammation affects the immune system which can lead to pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes. It also affects birth outcomes, increasing the chances of preterm birth, low birth weight, and stunted growth in the womb.

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Protecting Health

  • Air quality tracking measures the amount of particulate matter (PM) and ground level ozone in the air using sensors set up in different areas. The information collected is translated into a number and color on the Air Quality Index.

    There are a few air quality tracking websites you can follow:
    Air Pollution in Michigan: Real-Time Air Quality Index Visual Map, AirNow MI, and AirNow Interactive Map of Air Quality.

    There are also apps you can download onto your phone.

  • Another way to protect your help is to help reduce air pollution. There are actions that you can take individually and as a community to improve air quality indoors and outdoors. Check out the links to see what you can do!

  • After tracking the air quality, you can make decisions to reduce your exposure. On a bad air quality day, reduce your time outside. Prevent outdoor pollution entering your home by making sure your windows and doors are properly insulated. If you have to go outside wear a KN-95 or N-95 mask. If those masks aren't available, wearing a cloth mask helps too!

  • This part of reducing your health risk is a bit harder and takes longer. As we've discussed, air pollution exposure is not equally distributed. Reducing exposure for these more vulnerable groups will ultimately reduce exposure for everyone.