Danger In The Air!
Teacher Background
Air Pollution and Heath

This module contains numerous activities for students to investigate the factors of air pollution that negatively impacts a person's health. Students will examine information provided by various agencies and at various sites. They will conduct simple experiments and conclude this part of the module by making suggestions for improving air quality.

Activities directly related to health issues are:

• Sulfur Dioxide activity (Activity #2: Effects of Air Pollution on Plant Growth)--after growing plants students release gas. Observe, record, analyze and make report/presentation. Kits from Hubbard, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729.
• Interviewing activity (Activity #3: You ask the Questions)--that will require students to conduct interviews, gather information, analyze information and make a presentation of the interviews. Interview form is provided but paper and pencil will be adequate.
• Web-based research on health (Activity #5: Air Pollution and Health Issues) --mainly accessing data, recording, interpreting and reporting the data. Students will make a report of their computer search and investigation and conduct simple experiments. Students will also make observations.
• Monitoring plant growth versus pollution, an optional activity (Activity #6: The Effect of Air Pollution on Plant Growth)

Air pollution affects human health in a number of ways. Air pollution increases the frequency and severity of lung diseases. In severe air pollution situations, thousands of people have died and suffered. Some of the less serious health effects include sore and running eyes, shortness of breath, decreased lung capacity and fatigue. About 64,000 people in the US die prematurely each year from cardiopulmonary causes that are linked to particulates in the air. Commonly known as particulate air pollution, it is composed of smoke, soot, particulates from gaseous emissions from coal powered industrial plants and boilers, and from gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. It is documented by prestigious committees that air pollution is the actual cause of deaths.

The particulates/pollutants are:

• Carbon monoxide which is an odorless, colorless gas that weakens the contractions of the heart thus reducing the amount of blood pumped to various parts of the body.
• Ozone which is also a colorless gas that is the primarily cause of smog. Smog causes eye irritation and affects the respiratory system by harming the mucous membrane of the nose, throat and airways.
• Nitrogen dioxide which is a brown colored gas that affects asthmatics and has been shown to harm the lungs of test animals.
• Sulfur dioxide which is a colorless gas that can become pungent when accumulated in large concentrations. Sulfur dioxide also harms the respiratory system.

The elderly and those with heart and lung problems are at the greatest risk of death from the effects of air pollution but pollutants damage and injure everyone's respiratory systems. The state of Washington has cleaner air than several years ago because of the enforcement measures and policies of State and Federal agencies, yet there were four "unhealthy days" in 1994.

• Teachers' Guide to the Module
• Activity #4: Finding and Analyzing Air Quality Data
• Atmospheric Constituents and Pollutants
• Temperature Inversion Simulation
• Web Site Resources
• Educational Standards and Benchmarks
• What is in our air and how did it get there? (first page of this module)