This blend usually includes particles of aerosols, diesel exhaust, metals, soot, and chemicals. Just as you wouldn’t inhale diesel exhaust coming from a tailpipe because it isn’t good for you, the remainder of the particulate air pollution is just as unhealthy.

The lungs are generally irritated and the particles cause the lining of the lungs to become inflamed, which decreases the function of the lungs. The heart and arteries are found to pump harder, to be deprived of oxygenated blood, and there is an obvious increase in heart disease in areas of higher particulate air pollution. The veins are proven to suffer from more frequent cases of deep vein thrombosis in areas with a high level of particulate air pollution.

Unless an individual or family wishes to move to a cleaner area (which will increase populations and thereby increase particulate air pollution over time) there are not many options for avoiding these unseen particles in the air. It’s not like avoiding bugs that fly around in the air. The particles are microscopic and have to be severely concentrated in order for their presence to be seen, like smog.

Air quality reports, online websites that offer particulate air pollution forecasts, and Environmental Protection Agency services can help families find out just how much the pollution is likely to be in the air for the day. Avoiding contact is nearly impossible, but exercising in high particulate air pollution areas increases exposure. Regardless of where you live, everyone should take their exercise away from major road ways in order to avoid breathing in the particles that come from the passing vehicles.

To help decrease the rate of particulate air pollution, drive less and drive eco friendly vehicles. You can encourage your lawmakers to look into new solutions like zero emission cars and alternative fuel sources to help decrease our air pollution. Cutting your own waste production down will also help since trash collection services generally bury or burn the collected trash. In many land pollution cases, recyclables are burned during the process or instead of recycling.

The biggest threat to preventing particulate air pollution is industry. With every single air control violation industries release toxins into the air that we all end up dealing with in one way or another. Under current laws, the particulate air pollution has a high industrial component. As the laws restrict industry right now there are still way too many pollutants permitted to leave the factory or plant and enter the air. Petitioning lawmakers to start taking air pollution seriously is one of the ways you can help encourage the type of environmental changes that we need.

The threat of particulate air pollution is very real and more studies are released annually that show a direct link between this type of air pollution and an increase in lung, heart, and vein related pollution affected illness. The more air pollution that we place into the air the more air pollution we breathe in again. Perhaps environmentally asleep lawmakers should spend a little more time outside.