Health Effects of Air Pollution

This online engineering PDH video presentation provides an overview on the types of compounds which when emitted into the air may potentially have dangerous health impacts, the types of health effects likely caused by excessive air toxic exposure, and how health risk factors for different compounds are calculated and used.

As we have seen recently in well-publicized videos and news from China, air pollution can have a major effect not just on public health, but on business growth. China has emphasized economic growth over environmental protection, resulting in many of their large cities being heavily polluted, resulting in greater hospitalizations, premature deaths, and living with protective masks. These all certainly effect economic growth after all. Unlike water and land pollution, which can be segregated from the public, pollution from automobiles, trucks, factory stacks, etc. goes into the air which everybody eventually breathes, and can be affected by. Yet we live in a time of diverse fuel and chemical usage. It is important to understand the potential impacts of the byproducts of combustion or use of chemicals have on public health to develop and comply with laws based on minimizing impacts and to be a good neighbor.

This 2 PDH online video presentation is intended primarily for chemical, environmental, mechanical and industrial engineers who are interested in gaining a better understanding of the health effects of air pollution caused by transportation sources as well as industry, and how government uses such findings to make regulations.