(b) Discuss the causes of air pollution and its effects on human health. (c) How can air pollution be prevented or minimized? (d) How is water pollution caused? (e) Explain the factors on which toxicity of a substance depends on. (f) What is meant by thermal pollution?
Answers
=> (b) Exposure to high levels of air pollution can cause a variety of adverse health outcomes. It increases the risk of respiratory infections, heart disease and lung cancer. Both short and long term exposure to air pollutants have been associated with health impacts. More severe impacts affect people who are already ill.
(c) Air pollution can be prevented by advocating the use of public transport and carpooling. It can also be controlled by avoiding wastage of electricity and practicing reuse and recycling of compatible products.
(d) The toxicity of a substance depends on three factors: its chemical structure, the extent to which the substance is absorbed by the body, and the body's ability to detoxify the substance (change it into less toxic substances) and eliminate it from the body.