Air Pollution by Benzene - Research Paper Example

Air Pollution by Benzene Introduction Air pollution refers to the harmful materials or particulate, biological molecules released into earth’s atmosphere, causing diseases, death to human beings and damage to other living organism such as food crops, or the natural or built environment (Donaldson, 1950). It may be from anthropogenic or from natural resources. Atmosphere is composed of complex natural gaseous systems that is important to support life. Air pollution causes stratospheric ozone depletion which has been identified as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth’s ecosystems. Urban air quality and indoor air pollution has been listed as the World’s worst air pollution (blacksmith institute 2008).Benzene comes in as one of the biggest pollutant of air. Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the chemical formulae C6H6. It have molecules composed of six carbon atoms joined in the form of a ring as shown below. It’s a clear liquid, petroleum based chemical that have a sweet smell. Individuals may be exposed to it in factories,refineries and other industrial settings. Benzene poisoning occurs when someone swallows,touches or breathes in benzene. It’s advised for treatment to actual poison exposure to benzene one should contact the authorities. It may be found in:Diesel fuel and additives to gasoline, various paint, lacquer and varnish removers and many industrial solvents. Above may not include all sources of benzene Poisoning from Benzene has the following: Blurred vision, a burning sensation in the throat and nose. Benzene causes rapid and irregular heartbeat, tight chest and rapid shallow breathing and nausea, loss of appetite and vomiting. Exposure to benzene the following in the nervous system; dizziness, drowsiness, nervousness, tremors, staggering, convulsions, euphoria, unconsciousness, headache and weakness. It also causes pale skin and small red dots on the skin. This research will consist of literature review to explain various studies undertaken to explain pollution by benzene, a critical assessment of risk from exposure to benzene, a technical report of risk assessment of benzene and healthy precautions. Literature Review This section comprises of various studies put forward to explain pollution by benzene. Studies put forward The first study put forwardrefers benzene as an organic compound found in air emissions from burning coal, gasoline and to some extent cigarettes smoke. Benzene concentration in ambient air is very high due vehicle emissions. Its concentration in indoors air are also significant contributors to children’s exposures, especially in homes where people. It classifies benzene as a carcinogen based on occupational studies in adults demonstrated by increased instances of leukemia incidences.it have also shown to cause damage to DNA in experimental animal studies. The health effects of benzene exposure in humans have been studied less extensively in children than in adults though by evidence it may have similar effects. To be specific the most vulnerable are pregnant women and children who are exposed to indoor air, which is a home with higher level of smokers and in outdoor air where there is high concentration of vehicles. The second study is based on how the benzene disclosure of general human populations have consideredcontacts to benzene as a component of combinations of chemicals, for example, vapors, gasoline or vehicle exhaust; such exposures have made it hard to ascribe health properties tobenzene exposure only from those studies (Dougherty 165-167). Detailed analysis and discussion of confounding variables in these studies is offered in other resources.It has shown to affect blood forming cells. It associates benzene with respiratory difficulties in children including bronchitis, wheezing and asthma. This theory shows factors that could lead to high exposure to benzene, this includes, activities that lead to greater dose delivered such as breathing rates and metabolism that could increase the amount of dose absorbed. Nevertheless specific data to have quantitative adjustments for these issues are frequently not available. Other important studies collectively explainstoxic air pollutants are poisonous elements in the air that come from natural bases (for example, radon gas emanating from the ground) or from manmade sources (for instance, chemical compounds from factory smokestacks) and can have negative effects to the environment or your health. Breathing in toxic air pollutants can rise your probabilities of experiencing health difficulties. For instance, breathing in the benzene fumes that result when you pump gas into your car can raise your likelihoods of experiencing health effects that have been connected with exposure to benzene, such as leukemia. A critical assessment of risk from exposure to benzene Risk assessment is one of the tools used in risk management; it refers to the process that governmentofficials and scientist use to do estimates on increased risk of health problems in persons whom are exposed to different amounts of toxic substances. Risk assessment for harmful air pollutants combines outcome of studies on the health properties of various animal and human disclosures to the pollutant with results of studies that approximates the level of peoples exposures at dissimilar distances from the cause of the pollutant. The risk assessment process includes the three steps (Huai7338-7364) The first process is Hazard identification which considers the health problems that are caused by the pollutants. The second process includes exposure assessment and dose response assessment. This process explains how much of the pollutant do people inhale during a specific time period and how many people are exposed. It also explains the health problems at different exposure. The third process includes risk characterization. The process explains the extra risk of health problems in the exposed population A technical report of risk assessment of benzene How much of a pollutant do individuals breathe in during a specific period? Exposure assessment evaluates rate at which pollutant individuals breathe in during a specific time frame, as well as the number of individuals who are exposed (Bright 706). There many sources of toxic air pollutants in this case benzene are, thousands of automobiles and factory smokestacks. So the first step is an exposure assessment, this is to select which pollutant are giving off benzene. Once the source is identified and located the following step is to determine the amounts benzene released in a certain period and how it moves away from their sources. Monitors or computer models are used to estimate the amount of toxin released from the source and also still amount of pollutant at different distances from the source (Jorgensen4367 – 4350). The monitors are used to sample the air and measure how much of the pollutant is present. Those models use mathematical equations that characterize the processes that occur when a facility releases benzene and also the movement of benzene through the air. Factors such as distance from the source to exposed individuals, wind speed and direction, and smokestack height for factories have impacts on these estimates. With information census and from maps we can estimate the number of people exposed and estimates on different places people are each day including indoor, automobile, outdoor, and work place exposure. The final step in an exposure assessment is to approximate the amounts each individualbreathes in.To establish this, scientists takes into account the estimates of breathing rates and lifespan of annormal person with estimates of the volume of pollutant (benzene) in that persons air. What are the health problems at different exposure? This in simple terms means how benzene moves through the body. It first enters the body through inhaling it or children ingesting it contaminated soil or absorbed through the skin. Secondly, movement and changes in the body. Once it enters the body either through inhaling, absorbed through the skin or viadigestive system, it can be carried to other parts of the body through the blood stream. As benzene passes through other part of the body it undergo chemical changes especially through the liver hence more toxic. Thirdly the fate, if inhaled in large amounts can have severe bad effects on the body. How benzene changes the way the body works? It can cause health problems by intrusive with normal body functions. Most normally they change chemical reactions inside individual cells, the structure blocks of living things. These alterations can kill cells, impair cell function, or redirect cell activity(Arylation4768-4774). The outcomes can be damaged organs, birth defects when the cells of an unborn child are impaired, or cancer that advances when cells begin to grow at an uncontrolled rate. Healthy Precautions The law necessitates employers to provide their employees with working conditions that are free of known dangers. Factory administration should givegas marks to its employees. While also reduce all activities that leads to benzene emission. Conclusion. The above report explains sources of benzene, various approaches used to explain benzene and the risk assessment of exposure to benzene. It is clear from the report that benzene is a harmful gas and should minimize its pollution at all times. To individuals who are exposed in their workplace should demand the healthy equipment needed. ] References Acid as a Proton Shuttle and a Key Element in Catalyst Design Lafrance, Marc; Fagnou." Journal of the American Chemical Society 128.51 .2006: 16496-16497. Dougherty, Dennis A. "Cation-π interactions in chemistry and biology: a new view of benzene, Phe, Tyr, and Trp." Science 271.5246.1996: 163-168. Jorgensen, William L., and Daniel L. Severance. "Aromatic-aromatic interactions: free energy profiles for the benzene dimer in water, chloroform, and liquid benzene." Journal of the American Chemical Society 112.12 .1990): 4768-4774Arylation, Palladium-Catalyzed Benzene. "Incorporation of Catalytic Pivalic. Sun, Huai. "COMPASS: an ab initio force-field optimized for condensed-phase applications overview with details on alkane and benzene compounds." The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 102.38.1998: 7338-7364. Wilson Jr, E. Bright. "The normal modes and frequencies of vibration of the regular plane hexagon model of the benzene molecule." Physical Review 45.10 .1934: 706. Read More