Air Pollution and Health
Air pollution has been an issue that has been affecting the industrialized world for nearly two centuries now. This is an issue just like global warming or climate change, and if nothing is being done to decrease the effect, it is just going to keep destroying our planet. This issue has progressed to the extent that it has been negatively affecting people’s health.
In terms of health, it mostly affects people’s lungs, because of the polluted air inhaled. All of the components and chemicals that make up air pollution negatively affect the majority of green environments. According to the World Health Organization, 99% of people on Earth breathe polluted air.
Additionally, pollution kills 6.7 million people every year in the world, and 3.2 million of those die from household air pollution. This shows how huge this issue is and why it affects nearly everyone. The consequence of this issue can even be fatal. It is much worse for low-income communities, because cities do less to keep those communities cleaner, which in turn the air pollution increases to a much greater risk.
The Causes of Air Pollution
As shown above, many human industries and activities produce all of the air pollution we see today. The main causes of this pollution are:
- Vehicle emissions.
- Factories.
- Burning fossil fuels.
- Landfills.
- Use of chemicals such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and other toxic pollutants.
These are some of the daily things humans do that continue to produce air pollution, and others make it worse by violating established policies meant to fight pollution. All of this ends up affecting the Earth’s atmosphere.
Since there is so much air contamination, it has resulted in the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Violations in Chicago’s Air Quality
Air pollution in the city of Chicago just keeps getting worse because of violations of the established Clean Air Act policies. Established in 1970, the Clean Air Act allows the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health by regulating the emissions of air pollutants.
People within the communities of Chicago are displeased with the considerable impact of air pollution on their communities. There are many individuals that have complained about certain smells near their homes that may be affecting their well-being.
Anna Johnson, one of these local residents, mentioned that she used to garden in her backyard, but a smell that emanated from a vegetable oil processing factory nearby overpowered her. She stated that, “it burns my nose, it burns my eyes.” Other neighbors described the smell as rotten eggs.
The city decided to take action after plenty of community members’ complaints. City inspectors conducted an evaluation of the smell issue. Accordingly, the health department gave the factory more than twelve tickets in the year 2020. All of the tickets accuse the factory of being responsible for violating policies and polluting the air. However, the company agreed to pay the fines of $12,000, without admitting to polluting the air. This made local residents feel defeated.
In terms of this case, the community felt let down by the city due to the fact that they allowed violations in the policies to take place instead of actually removing the source of the air pollution. Additionally, residents felt defeated because the fines, in their opinion, had not been high enough.
This Is Not the First Time a Case Like This Has Occurred
Many different businesses or factories that city inspectors give tickets to sometimes spend a year or more going through the city’s administrative process.
However, after all of this process, those facilities often end up getting their citation dropped or their fines reduced. Businesses and factories have been given leeway in the form of reduced or waived violation tickets as they negotiate with Chicago officials.
This is a huge issue, especially because it makes businesses, companies, and factories not take this issue seriously. This is made obvious by the fact that they continue to make violations harming the community and the environment.
Chicago Is One of the Worst Cities for Air Pollution
Air pollution has been an ongoing issue in the city of Chicago. The city is not accurately following the guidelines of the Clean Air Act. According to the American Lung Association and their 2019 “State of the Air” report, Chicago ranked as the 18th most polluted city in the nation.
Additionally, Cook County received an “F” grade for smog pollution. This demonstrates that there continue to be violations and that they are not being held accountable. Basically, they should reduce dependence on fossil fuels because this is a source that produces the majority of air pollution. Also, the city needs to stop allowing violations to continue, because it is putting everyone’s health at serious risk.
Written by Jeanette Sanchez
Sources:
American Lung Association: New Report: Chicago Now Ranked 18th Most Polluted City in the U.S.
Block Club Chicago: Chicago Area’s Air Pollution Is Among The Worst In The US, New Analysis Finds
NRDC: Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know
WBEZ Chicago: Polluters like Southeast Side plant often get a pass on air-quality violations in Chicago, Sun-Times finds
Featured Image courtesy of **Mary**‘s Flickr Page — Creative Commons License
Inset Image by MAVERICK PHOTO AGENCY, courtesy of Friends of the Earth Scotland Flickr Page — Creative Commons License
