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70-810: Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances called pollutants in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. It is also the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment either by chemical, physical, or biological agents that alters the natural features of the atmosphere. There are many different types of air pollutants, such as gases (including ammonia , carbon monoxide , sulfur dioxide , nitrous oxides , methane and chlorofluorocarbons ), particulates (both organic and inorganic) and biological molecules . Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even death to humans; it can also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and crops, and may damage

140-481: A chimney , empowered the Minister to define limits for emissions of grit and dust from furnaces, defined requirements for arrestment plant to be fitted to new furnaces, and provided a framework for control of the height and position of chimneys. The Act also allowed the Minister to create smoke control areas and introduce controls on use of unauthorised fuel in such areas. The 1956 and 1968 Clean Air Acts were repealed by

210-488: A change in the law. The Clean Air Act built on earlier efforts to regulate pollutants, particularly in London, where air quality had long been poor. The Clean Air Act 1956 had multiple measures to reduce air pollution . It allowed the introduction of "smoke control areas" in towns and cities in which only smokeless fuels could be burned. By shifting domestic sources of heat towards cleaner coals, electricity, and gas, it reduced

280-484: A compilation of air pollutant emission factors for a wide range of industrial sources. The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and many other countries have published similar compilations, as well as the European Environment Agency . An air pollutant is a material in the air that can have many effects on humans and the ecosystem. The substance can be solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases, and often takes

350-765: A faster rate of breathing than a child engaged in sedentary activity. The daily exposure must therefore include the amount of time spent in each micro-environmental setting as well as the kind of activities performed there. The air pollutant concentration in each microactivity/microenvironmental setting is summed to indicate the exposure. For some pollutants such as black carbon , traffic related exposures may dominate total exposure despite short exposure times since high concentrations coincide with proximity to major roads or participation in (motorized) traffic. A large portion of total daily exposure occurs as short peaks of high concentrations, but it remains unclear how to define peaks and determine their frequency and health impact. In 2021,

420-653: A health environment is not maintained. Even at levels lower than those considered safe by United States regulators, exposure to three components of air pollution, fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, correlates with cardiac and respiratory illness. Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, and the individual's health status and genetics. The most common sources of air pollution include particulates and ozone (often from burning fossil fuels), nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Children aged less than five years who live in developing countries are

490-546: A legal definition of air pollution, 31 percent lack outdoor air quality standards, 49 percent restrict their definition to outdoor pollution only, and just 31 percent have laws for tackling pollution originating from outside their borders. National air quality laws have often been highly effective, notably the 1956 Clean Air Act in Britain and the US Clean Air Act , introduced in 1963. Some of these efforts have been successful at

560-477: A link between air pollution levels and longevity. The WHO estimates that in 2016, ~58% of outdoor air pollution-related premature deaths were due to ischaemic heart disease and stroke. The mechanisms linking air pollution to increased cardiovascular mortality are uncertain, but probably include pulmonary and systemic inflammation. India and China have the highest death rate due to air pollution. India also has more deaths from asthma than any other nation according to

630-631: A list of bio-agents designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. Department of Agriculture that have the "potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety" to be officially defined as " select agents " and possession or transportation of them are tightly controlled as such. Select agents are divided into "HHS select agents and toxins", "USDA select agents and toxins" and "Overlap select agents and toxins". The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) breaks biological agents into three categories: Category A, Category B, and Category C . Category A agents pose

700-410: A mixture of natural and human sources. There are also sources from processes other than combustion : Air pollutant emission factors are reported representative values that aim to link the quantity of a pollutant released into the ambient air to an activity connected with that pollutant's release. The weight of the pollutant divided by a unit weight, volume, distance, or time of the activity generating

770-438: A potential danger in a wide variety of occupational settings. The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention is an international treaty banning the development, use or stockpiling of biological weapons; as of March 2021, there were 183 states parties to the treaty. Bio-agents are, however, widely studied for both defensive and medical research purposes under various biosafety levels and within biocontainment facilities throughout

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840-403: A real and deadly problem, and the smog's effects were a notable milestone in the modern environmental movement . The government appointed a Committee on Air Pollution chaired by the civil engineer Sir Hugh Beaver to investigate the problem in London. It reported in 1954 on the social and economic costs of air pollution and stated that clean air was then as important as clean water had been in

910-424: A spectrum of clinical disorders that include emphysema , bronchiectasis , and chronic bronchitis . COPD risk factors are both genetic and environmental. Elevated particle pollution contributes to the exacerbation of this disease and likely its pathogenesis. The risk of lung disease from air pollution is greatest for infants and young children, whose normal breathing is faster than that of older children and adults;

980-559: A total of 460,000 deaths in the US were attributed to coal PM 2.5 . The largest cause of air pollution is fossil fuel combustion – mostly the production and use of cars , electricity production, and heating. There are estimated 4.5 million annual premature deaths worldwide due to pollutants released by high-emission power stations and vehicle exhausts. Diesel exhaust (DE) is a major contributor to combustion-derived particulate matter air pollution. In several human experimental studies, using

1050-790: A well-validated exposure chamber setup, DE has been linked to acute vascular dysfunction and increased thrombus formation. A study concluded that PM 2.5 air pollution induced by the contemporary free trade and consumption by the 19 G20 nations causes two million premature deaths annually, suggesting that the average lifetime consumption of about ~28 people in these countries causes at least one premature death (average age ~67) while developing countries "cannot be expected" to implement or be able to implement countermeasures without external support or internationally coordinated efforts. The US EPA has estimated that limiting ground-level ozone concentration to 65 parts per billion (ppb), would avert 1,700 to 5,100 premature deaths nationwide in 2020 compared with

1120-488: A year and fine particulate (PM 2.5 ) pollution around another 2.1 million. The scope of the air pollution crisis is large: In 2018, WHO estimated that "9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants." Although the health consequences are extensive, the way the problem is handled is considered largely haphazard or neglected. The World Bank has estimated that welfare losses (premature deaths) and productivity losses (lost labour) caused by air pollution cost

1190-499: A year that were converted to coke in North-East England in the late nineteenth century emitted some two million tons of volatile matter such as carbonic and sulphurous acid. Therefore, air pollution was not being reduced so much as transferred from the area of consumption to the area of production. The electricity generating industry was a major consumer of coal and contributor to atmospheric pollution. The Beaver committee used

1260-439: Is a leading risk factor for stroke, particularly in developing countries where pollutant levels are highest. A systematic analysis of 17 different risk factors in 188 countries found air pollution is associated with nearly one in three strokes (29%) worldwide (33.7% of strokes in developing countries versus 10.2% in developed countries). In women, air pollution is not associated with hemorrhagic but with ischemic stroke. Air pollution

1330-506: Is a significant risk factor for a number of pollution-related diseases , including respiratory infections , heart disease , chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke , and lung cancer . Growing evidence suggests that air pollution exposure may be associated with reduced IQ scores, impaired cognition, increased risk for psychiatric disorders such as depression and detrimental perinatal health. The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching, but principally affect

1400-650: Is associated with substantially increased mortality "even at low pollution levels below the current European and North American standards and WHO guideline values" shortly before the WHO adjusted its guidelines. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study , air pollution is responsible for 19% of all cardiovascular deaths. There is strong evidence linking both short- and long-term exposure to air pollution with cardiovascular disease mortality and morbidity, stroke, blood pressure, and ischemic heart diseases (IHD). Air pollution

1470-457: Is introduced with the use of air fresheners , incense , and other scented items. Controlled wood fires in cook stoves and fireplaces can add significant amounts of harmful smoke particulates into the air, inside and out. Indoor pollution fatalities may be caused by using pesticides and other chemical sprays indoors without proper ventilation. Also the kitchen in a modern produce harmful particles and gases, with equipment like toasters being one of

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1540-654: Is nitrogen dioxide and other nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted by road vehicles. Across the European Union , air pollution is estimated to reduce life expectancy by almost nine months. In a 2015 consultation document the UK government disclosed that nitrogen dioxide is responsible for 23,500 premature UK deaths per annum. There is a positive correlation between pneumonia -related deaths and air pollution from motor vehicle emissions in England. Eliminating energy-related fossil fuel emissions in

1610-425: The natural environment where they are found in water, soil, plants, or animals. Bio-agents may be amenable to "weaponization" to render them easier to deploy or disseminate. Genetic modification may enhance their incapacitating or lethal properties, or render them impervious to conventional treatments or preventives. Since many bio-agents reproduce rapidly and require minimal resources for propagation, they are also

1680-448: The world economy $ 5 trillion per year. The costs of air pollution are generally an externality to the contemporary economic system and most human activity, although they are sometimes recovered through monitoring, legislation, and regulation . Many different technologies and strategies are available for reducing air pollution. Although a majority of countries have air pollution laws , according to UNEP , 43 percent of countries lack

1750-453: The " Great Smog " fell over the city in December 1952 the effects were unprecedented: More than 4,000 people are thought to have died in the immediate aftermath, raising public concern, with fog so thick it stopped trains, cars, and public events. A further 8,000 died in following weeks and months. Today, the total death toll is believed to be around 12,000. It was apparent that pollution was

1820-583: The 75 ppb standard. The agency projected the more protective standard would also prevent an additional 26,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and more than a million cases of missed work or school. Following this assessment, the EPA acted to protect public health by lowering the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone to 70 ppb. A 2008 economic study of the health impacts and associated costs of air pollution in

1890-941: The American Lung Association; the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 2012; and the US Environmental Protection Agency 2012a. Indoor contaminants that can cause pollution include asbestos, biologic agents, building materials, radon, tobacco smoke, and wood stoves, gas ranges, or other heating systems. Radon (Rn) gas, a carcinogen , is exuded from the Earth in certain locations and trapped inside houses. Building materials including carpeting and plywood emit formaldehyde (H-CHO) gas. Paint and solvents give off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as they dry. Lead paint can degenerate into dust and be inhaled. Intentional air pollution

1960-535: The Clean Air Act 1968. Smog and its health effects continued to be a problem in London. During the London fog of 2–5 December 1957 smoke and sulphur dioxide concentrations reached levels comparable to 1952 and there were 760–1,000 deaths. Another episode in 1962 resulted in 750 deaths. The provisions of the 1956 act were extended by the Clean Air Act 1968 (c. 62), which made it an offence to emit dark smoke from

2030-494: The Geneva Protocol, several countries made reservations regarding its applicability and use in retaliation. Due to these reservations, it was in practice a " no-first-use " agreement only. The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention supplements the Geneva Protocol by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological weapons. Having entered into force on 26 March 1975, this agreement

2100-550: The Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley of Southern California shows that more than 3,800 people die prematurely (approximately 14 years earlier than normal) each year because air pollution levels violate federal standards. The number of annual premature deaths is considerably higher than the fatalities related to auto collisions in the same area, which average fewer than 2,000 per year. A 2021 study found that outdoor air pollution

2170-557: The USA under the Clean Air Act and in Europe under numerous directives (including the Air "Framework" Directive, 96/62/EC, on ambient air quality assessment and management, Directive 98/24/EC, on risks related to chemical agents at work, and Directive 2004/107/EC covering heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air). The risk of air pollution is determined by the pollutant's hazard and

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2240-553: The United States would prevent 46,900–59,400 premature deaths each year and provide $ 537–$ 678 billion in benefits from avoided PM 2.5 -related illness and death. A study published in 2023 in Science focused on sulfur dioxide emissions by coal power plants (coal PM 2.5 ) and concluded that "exposure to coal PM 2.5 was associated with 2.1 times greater mortality risk than exposure to PM 2.5 from all sources." From 1999 to 2020,

2310-411: The WHO halved its recommended guideline limit for tiny particles from burning fossil fuels. The new limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) is 75% lower. Growing evidence that air pollution—even when experienced at very low levels—hurts human health, led the WHO to revise its guideline (from 10 μg/m to 5 μg/m) for what it considers a safe level of exposure of particulate pollution, bringing most of

2380-400: The WHO reported that outdoor air pollution was estimated to cause 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2019. The global mean loss of life expectancy (LLE; similar to YPLL ) from air pollution in 2015 was 2.9 years, substantially more than, for example, 0.3 years from all forms of direct violence. Communities with persons that live beyond 85 years have low ambient air pollution, suggesting

2450-735: The World Health Organization estimated that every year air pollution causes the premature death of 7 million people worldwide, 1 in 8 deaths worldwide. A study published in 2019 indicated that in 2015 the number may be closer to 8.8 million, with 5.5 million of these premature deaths due to air pollution from anthropogenic sources. A 2022 review concluded that in 2019 air pollution was responsible for approximately 9 million premature deaths. It concluded that since 2015 little real progress against pollution has been made. Causes of deaths include strokes, heart disease, COPD , lung cancer, and lung infections. Children are particularly at risk. In 2021,

2520-777: The World Health Organization, these may be defined as asbestosis, lung cancer, and peritoneal mesothelioma (generally a very rare form of cancer, when more widespread it is almost always associated with prolonged exposure to asbestos). Biological sources of air pollution are also found indoors, as gases and airborne particulates. Pets produce dander, people produce dust from minute skin flakes and decomposed hair, dust mites in bedding, carpeting and furniture produce enzymes and micrometre-sized fecal droppings, inhabitants emit methane, mold forms on walls and generates mycotoxins and spores, air conditioning systems can incubate Legionnaires' disease and mold, and houseplants, soil and surrounding gardens can produce pollen , dust, and mold. Indoors,

2590-558: The World Health Organization. In 2019, 1.6 million deaths in India were caused by air pollution. In 2013, air pollution was estimated to kill 500,000 people in China each year. In 2012, 2.48% of China's total air pollution emissions were caused by exports due to US demand, causing an additional 27,963 deaths across 30 provinces. Annual premature European deaths caused by air pollution are estimated at 430,000 to 800,000. An important cause of these deaths

2660-560: The absence of any formal verification regime to monitor compliance. In 1985, the Australia Group was established, a multilateral export control regime of 43 countries aiming to prevent the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons. In 2004, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1540 , which obligates all UN Member States to develop and enforce appropriate legal and regulatory measures against

2730-445: The air when primary pollutants react or interact. Ground level ozone is a prominent example of a secondary pollutant. Some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: they are both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants. Pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by human activity include: Secondary pollutants include: There are many other chemicals classed as hazardous air pollutants. Some of these are regulated in

2800-451: The amount of smoke pollution and sulphur dioxide from household fires. Reinforcing these changes, the Act also included provisions to prevent the emission of dark smoke from chimneys, required new furnaces to be smokeless, allowed local planning authorities to require higher and more effective chimneys on buildings, and required that emitted grit and dust be minimised. By prohibiting what had been

2870-702: The amount of exposure to that pollutant. Air pollution exposure can be measured for a person, a group, such as a neighborhood or a country's children, or an entire population. For example, one would want to determine a geographic area's exposure to a dangerous air pollution, taking into account the various microenvironments and age groups. This can be calculated as an inhalation exposure. This would account for daily exposure in various settings, e.g. different indoor micro-environments and outdoor locations. The exposure needs to include different ages and other demographic groups, especially infants, children, pregnant women, and other sensitive subpopulations. For each specific time that

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2940-403: The body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system . Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, and the individual's health status and genetics . Air pollution is the largest environmental risk factor for disease and premature death and the fourth largest risk factor overall for human health. Air pollution causes

3010-527: The committee's recommendations. The Authority stated that this recommendation "strikes a damaging blow against the economy of electricity development in this country" and that the financial implications "are potentially more serious than those of any previous restrictions or control imposed upon the Authority's activities". The Authority claimed that installing scrubbers in all power stations would entail an annual capital investment of £10 million and would increase

3080-508: The cost of electricity by 0.1 d. per kWh, therefore exceeding the cost-effectiveness criterion suggested in the draft Beaver report. The British Electricity Authority was also critical that the Beaver committee had made no serious attempt to assess the relative economics of different ways of reducing atmospheric pollution. It claimed that burning coal in modern power station boilers that were equipped with efficient grit collectors and into tall chimneys

3150-613: The course of the year from smoke-fogs, not unusually thick, producing or increasing diseases of the lungs". London had seen a succession of acts and rules over the centuries to improve its air—such as the Smoke Nuisance Abatement (Metropolis) Act 1853 and 1856 and the Public Health (London) Act 1891 . However, despite the link between air pollution and health being well understood by the late 19th century, such efforts had not proven to be effective public health measures. When

3220-456: The efficiency of various dissemination techniques or the risks caused by the use of biological agents in bioterrorism . To simulate dispersal, attachment or the penetration depth in human or animal lungs, simulants must have particle sizes, specific weight and surface properties, similar to the simulated biological agent. The typical size of simulants (1–5 μm) enables it to enter buildings with closed windows and doors and penetrate deep into

3290-460: The elderly; those who work outside or spend a lot of time outside; and those who have heart or lung disease comorbidities . Biological agent Some biological agents have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, including serious injury, as well as serious or permanent disability or even death . Many of these organisms are ubiquitous in

3360-478: The emission of gases, grit, and dust from chimneys and smoke-stacks. The Act was a significant milestone in the development of a legal framework to protect the environment. It was modified by later enactments, including the Clean Air Act 1968. The Act was repealed by the Clean Air Act 1993 . London had long been noted for its pea soup fog . In 1880, meteorologist Rollo Russell wrote an influential pamphlet, London Fogs , noting that "numerous deaths occur in

3430-443: The example of the recently commissioned Bankside power station in London to recommend the widespread adoption of flue-gas desulphurisation for all new power stations in urban areas. It claimed that this would be practicable and cost-effective if it added no more than 0.06 d. to 0.07 d. to the cost of a unit of electricity (1 kWh). The British Electricity Authority was sceptical about the benefits of desulphurisation and challenged

3500-663: The extensive use of asbestos in industrial and domestic environments in the past has left a potentially very dangerous material in many localities. Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory medical condition affecting the tissue of the lungs. It occurs after long-term, heavy exposure to asbestos from asbestos-containing materials in structures. Those with asbestosis have severe dyspnea (shortness of breath) and are at an increased risk regarding several different types of lung cancer . As clear explanations are not always stressed in non-technical literature, care should be taken to distinguish between several forms of relevant diseases. According to

3570-469: The form of an aerosol (solid particles or liquid droplets dispersed and carried by a gas). A pollutant can be of natural origin or man-made. Pollutants are classified as primary or secondary. Primary pollutants are usually produced by processes such as ash from a volcanic eruption. Other examples include carbon monoxide gas from motor vehicle exhausts or sulfur dioxide released from factories. Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in

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3640-523: The greatest threat to the US. Criteria for being a Category "A" agent include high rates of morbidity and mortality, ease of dissemination and communicability, ability to cause a public panic, and special action required by public health officials to respond. Category A agents include anthrax , botulism , plague , smallpox , and viral hemorrhagic fevers. Simulants are organisms or substances which mimic physical or biological properties of real biological agents, without being pathogenic. They are used to study

3710-449: The hitherto widely accepted actions of private households, the Clean Air Act 1956 had important implications for the debate about public regulation, public health, and the sphere of legitimate Government intervention. The 1952 smog gave a momentum for tougher action: as well as the Clean Air Act, its effects also led to the introduction of the City of London (Various Powers) Act 1954 , and later

3780-622: The international level, such as the Montreal Protocol , which reduced the release of harmful ozone depleting chemicals, and the 1985 Helsinki Protocol , which reduced sulfur emissions , while others, such as international action on climate change , have been less successful. There are many different sources of air pollution. Some air pollutants (such as nitrogen oxides) originate mainly from human activities, while some (notably radon gas) come mostly from natural sources. However, many air pollutants (including dust and sulfur dioxide) come from

3850-1010: The lack of air circulation allows these airborne pollutants to accumulate more than they would otherwise occur in nature. Air pollution has both acute and chronic effects on human health, affecting a number of different systems and organs but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Afflictions include minor to chronic upper respiratory irritation such as difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing, asthma and heart disease , lung cancer , stroke , acute respiratory infections in children and chronic bronchitis in adults, aggravating pre-existing heart and lung disease, or asthmatic attacks. Short and long term exposures have been linked with premature mortality and reduced life expectancy and can result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency department visits, more hospital admissions and premature death. Diseases that develop from persistent exposure to air pollution are environmental health diseases, which develop when

3920-467: The lungs. This bears a significant health risk, even if the biological agent is normally not pathogenic. While the history of biological weapons use goes back more than six centuries to the siege of Caffa in 1346, international restrictions on biological weapons began only with the 1925 Geneva Protocol , which prohibits the use but not the possession or development of chemical and biological weapons in international armed conflicts. Upon ratification of

3990-404: The mid-nineteenth century. The committee proposed that domestic coal should be replaced by coke , and that greater reliance should be placed on other 'smokeless' fuels such as electricity and gas. Yet, each of the industries that produced smokeless fuels – coke and gas works and electricity generating stations – burned coal to produce the 'smokeless' fuel. For example, the six million tons of coal

4060-418: The most vulnerable population to death attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution. Under the Clean Air Act , U.S. EPA sets limits on certain air pollutants, including setting limits on how much can be in the air anywhere in the United States. Mixed exposure to both carbon black and ozone could result in significantly greater health affects. Estimates of deaths toll due to air pollution vary. In 2014

4130-490: The natural environment (for example, climate change , ozone depletion or habitat degradation ) or built environment (for example, acid rain ). Air pollution can be caused by both human activities and natural phenomena. Air quality is closely related to the Earth's climate and ecosystems globally. Many of the contributors of air pollution are also sources of greenhouse emission i.e., burning of fossil fuel . Air pollution

4200-742: The pollutant is how these factors are commonly stated (e.g., kilograms of particulate emitted per tonne of coal burned). These criteria make estimating emissions from diverse sources of pollution easier. Most of the time, these components are just averages of all available data of acceptable quality, and they are thought to be typical of long-term averages. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants identified pesticides and other persistent organic pollutants of concern. These include dioxins and furans which are unintentionally created by combustion of organics, like open burning of plastics, and are endocrine disruptors and mutagens . The United States Environmental Protection Agency has published

4270-461: The premature deaths of around 7 million people worldwide each year, or a global mean loss of life expectancy (LLE) of 2.9 years, and there has been no significant change in the number of deaths caused by all forms of pollution since at least 2015. Outdoor air pollution attributable to fossil fuel use alone causes ~3.61 million deaths annually, making it one of the top contributors to human death . Anthropogenic ozone causes around 470,000 premature deaths

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4340-525: The proliferation of chemical , biological, radiological , and nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, in particular, to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction to non-state actors . Clean Air Act 1956 The Clean Air Act 1956 ( 4 & 5 Eliz. 2 . c. 52) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted principally in response to London 's Great Smog of 1952 . It

4410-462: The subgroup is in the setting and engaged in particular activities, the exposure to an air pollutant must integrate the concentrations of the air pollutant with regard to the time spent in each setting and the respective inhalation rates for each subgroup, playing, cooking, reading, working, spending time in traffic, etc. A little child's inhaling rate, for example, will be lower than that of an adult. A young person engaging in strenuous exercise will have

4480-407: The world. The former US biological warfare program (1943–1969) categorized its weaponized anti-personnel bio-agents as either "lethal agents" ( Bacillus anthracis , Francisella tularensis , Botulinum toxin ) or "incapacitating agents" ( Brucella suis , Coxiella burnetii , Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus , staphylococcal enterotoxin B ). Since 1997, United States law has declared

4550-524: The world—97.3 percent of the global population—into the unsafe zone. A lack of ventilation indoors concentrates air pollution where people often spend the majority of their time. Indoor air pollution can pose a significant health risk. According to EPA reports, the concentrations of many air pollutants can be two to five times higher in indoor air than in outdoor air. Indoor air pollutants can be up to 100 times higher in some cases than they are inside. People can spend up to 90% of their time indoors, according to

4620-533: The worst sources. Carbon monoxide poisoning and fatalities are often caused by faulty vents and chimneys, or by the burning of charcoal indoors or in a confined space, such as a tent. Chronic carbon monoxide poisoning can result even from poorly-adjusted pilot lights . Traps are built into all domestic plumbing to keep sewer gas and hydrogen sulfide , out of interiors. Clothing emits tetrachloroethylene , or other dry cleaning fluids, for days after dry cleaning. Though its use has now been banned in many countries,

4690-470: Was "an extremely efficient method of controlling pollution in terms ... of capital outlay". The government initially resisted pressure to act, and was keen to downplay the scale of the problem due to economic pressures. It took moves by backbench MPs (including Conservative member Gerald Nabarro , its sponsor ) to pass a Private Member's Bill on domestic coal burning to persuade the Government to support

4760-598: Was found to be associated with increased incidence and mortality from coronary stroke. Associations are believed to be causal and effects may be mediated by vasoconstriction, low-grade inflammation and atherosclerosis . Other mechanisms such as autonomic nervous system imbalance have also been suggested. Research has demonstrated increased risk of developing asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from increased exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Air pollution has been associated with increased hospitalization and mortality from asthma and COPD. COPD comprises

4830-554: Was sponsored by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in England and the Department of Health for Scotland, and was in effect until 1993. The Act introduced a number of measures to reduce air pollution . Primary among them was mandated movement toward smokeless fuels , especially in high-population "smoke control areas" to reduce smoke pollution and sulphur dioxide from household fires. The Act also included measures that reduced

4900-512: Was the first multilateral disarmament treaty to ban the production of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. As of March 2021, 183 states have become party to the treaty . The treaty is considered to have established a strong global norm against biological weapons, which is reflected in the treaty's preamble, stating that the use of biological weapons would be "repugnant to the conscience of mankind". However, its effectiveness has been limited due to insufficient institutional support and

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