There are many types of air pollution that can be a health threat inside the home just as it is a threat outside the home. Each varying type of air pollution is generally linked to a specific cause.

Most of us have been educated at one point in our life about outdoor air pollution. Acid rain and smog are well known terms, especially on the west coast of the United States.

Smog is the result of emissions that is trapped in rain and fog, causing a serious health threat to those under the smog. One day of heavy smog can be about the same as sitting in a room with 12 chain smokers for one year.

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The greenhouse effect, which we all associate with the phenomenon of global warming, is generally caused by the release of gases. Methane gas is one of the main causes of the greenhouse effect. Methane, which is often associated with fecal waste, is actually a threat to the health of the ozone layer as well.

Most destructive methane gas comes from the methods used to extract natural gas from the earth to use in the heating of homes and businesses. The methane gas that is released under these circumstances is quite potent and has the potential to deplete the ozone to a significant degree.

The combustion of waste products is another main offender when it comes to the release of methane gas. These two contributors to the release of dangerous levels of methane are facing strict governmental regulation to help keep the ozone layer intact.

The burning of fossil fuels is a large factor in creating other types of air pollution. We burn fossil fuels for heat, energy, and occasionally as an alternative power source.

When we burn fossil fuels we release a toxin known as sulphur dioxide. Crude oil and coal are the two main fossil fuels that contain sulphur dioxide that is released into the atmosphere when burned.

Unfortunately, this toxin is dangerous to humans and can be released during the cultivation of coal, which is one of the causes of lung problems among coal workers. This gas sticks to air molecules and can be a significant cause of smog. Smog is one of the highly dangerous aspects of air pollution that can cause a number of health problems in humans.

Volatile Organic Compounds are also typically associated with smog and other forms of human health hazard air pollution contaminants. Nitrogen oxides are usually counted in the particles of many types of pollution, including Volatile Organic Compounds.

This type of air pollution is responsible for the destruction of the ozone layer, the destruction of human lung tissue, and poses a serious health threat to babies, elderly, and the infirm.

These gases are the result of cars on the road, cruise ship emissions, the use of gasoline powered devices like snowblowers or chainsaws, and tanker emissions. There are more types of air pollution than have actually been labeled.

It will require a dedicated global effort to decrease the destruction of the air quality and to allow the atmosphere a chance to repair itself from the destruction that humankind has already caused.