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Looking down from the Hollywood Hills, with Griffith Observatory on the hill in the foreground, air pollution is visible in downtown Los Angeles on a late afternoon.. Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials into the atmosphere that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damage ecosystems.
Air pollution can occur naturally or be caused by human activities. [4] Air pollution causes around 7 or 8 million deaths each year. [5] [6] It is a significant risk factor for a number of pollution-related diseases, including heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung cancer.
The history of environmental pollution traces human-dominated ecological systems from the earliest civilizations to the present day. [1] This history is characterized by the increased regional success of a particular society, followed by crises that were either resolved, producing sustainability, or not, leading to decline.
1947 – Los Angeles Air Pollution Control District created; first air pollution agency in the US. 1948 – Federal Water Pollution Control Act; 1955 – National Air Pollution Control Act; 1959 – California Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board created to test automobile emissions and set standards.
The Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 (Pub. L. 84–159, ch. 360, 69 Stat. 322) was the first U.S. federal law to address the national environmental problem of air pollution. This was "an act to provide research and technical assistance relating to air pollution control". [2]
The Air Quality Act of 1967 (Pub. L. 90–148) authorized planning grants to state air pollution control agencies, permitted the creation of interstate air pollution control agencies, and required HEW to define air quality regions and develop technical documentation that would allow states to set ambient air quality and pollution control ...
The January 2024 version of the WHO database contains results of ambient (outdoor) air pollution monitoring from almost 5,390 towns and cities in 63 countries. Air quality in the database is represented by the annual mean concentration of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5, i.e. particles smaller than 10 or 2.5 micrometers, respectively). [1 ...
Fumifugium is considered a milestone in the development of air pollution science. In The Big Smoke: A History of Air Pollution in London Since Medieval Times, Peter Brimblecombe comments that "Fumifugium... is an outstanding work and cannot fail to remind the reader that [Evelyn] was a man with extraordinary powers of perception". [1]