Smog: What is it?
Smog is a portmanteau for smoke and fog, which means smoky fog. It's intended to refer back to the "pea-soup" fog that happened in London in the 19th century into the mid-20th. Smog was caused from large amounts of coal being burned within the city, and the smog contained soot particles from the smoke, sulfur dioxide and other components. Smog leaves airborne particles and ground level ozone trapped at ground level, allowing the noxious gas to sit. The following can be included in this deadly mix: Aldehydes, Nitrogen oxides(nitrogen dioxide), peroxyacyl nitrates, tropospheric ozone and volatile organic compounds. Being highly reactive and oxidizing, it's considered a problem of modern industrialization. It can also have an impact on precipitation and the climate.
natural causes
There are two key things to create smog. An volcano can create those two things at high levels each time it erupts, and they are large amounts of particulate matter and sulphur dioxide. Instead of smog though, it's called vog, since it's from a volcanic eruption, which is a natural occurrence. Another natural occurrence would be the radiocarbon in some plant life, and it's been connected to the smog in some areas. The Creosote bush in Los Angeles has had an effect on the smog, and scientists think that it's more than just fossil fuel combustion.
Modern Day Problems
Modern day smog is present in all cities, and is still a really big problem, and is probably an even worse problem now than it was in the past. However it's more common in places where they have warm, sunny dry climates with large numbers of motor vehicles. With air pollution in Los Angeles coming from vehicle emissions from the internal combustion engines and industrial fumes, it reacts with the sunlight in the atmosphere in a negative way. This then forms secondary pollutants combined with primary emissions creates photochemical smog; which is when the chemicals react to sunlight, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere. The pollution levels in Los Angeles and Mexico City have been increased by inversion, which is when the temperature changes drastically. Even though it mostly affects large cities, it can be carried on the wind to surrounding towns and affect them as well, just not as severely.
Pollution index
The smog levels were measured by instruments called Nephelometers. Haze, associated with smog, indicated poor air quality. Accurate air indexes were then put into place, the American Air Quality Index, Malaysian API(Air Pollution Index),and the Singaporean Pollutant Standards Index. Malaysian API doesn't have a capped value, but when the readings reach over 500 they are considered hazardous. When this happens, a state of emergency is put into place, and all ports in the affected area are closed. This happened in the 1997 Southeast Asian Haze and the 2005 Malaysian Haze. Closings were applied to the following towns: Port Klang, Kuala, Selangor and the state of Sarawak.
Health Effects
With ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide are highly dangerous to senior citizens, children, and anyone who has heart and lung conditions; Emphysema, Bronchitis and Asthma. Inflammation of breathing passages, decreased lung functions, shortness of breath, pain when breathing deeply and wheezing and coughing are just some of the things that can come from smog. Other health effects may be eye and nose irritation, with the protective membranes drying out in the nose and throat, and smog interferes with the body's ability to fight infection, which means your more likely to get sick easier than someone who doesn't live in a city where smog is. The high ozone levels means that more people were admitted into the hospitals, some of which died from respiratory problems.
Smog alone is responsible for around 9,500 premature deaths each year in Ontario, Canada. A 20 year study by the American Cancer Society shows that increased exposure increases your likelihood of premature death from a respiratory disease; the 8 hour standard incubation is insufficient. There was a study featuring 806 who had babies that had birth defects between 1997 and 2006, while another 849 women had babies that were healthy. This just goes to show that were you live has a big impact on your children, even before they're born. Smog was found in the San Joaquin Valley of California, which was linked to two types of neural tube defects: spina bifida. A condition that has, among other developments, had malformations on the spinal cord). Also anencephaly, which results from underdevelopment or absence of part or all of the brain, which if it's not fatal will result in profound impairment. An increase of 18% went up for low birth weights, and that's below the accepted safe levels.
Smog alone is responsible for around 9,500 premature deaths each year in Ontario, Canada. A 20 year study by the American Cancer Society shows that increased exposure increases your likelihood of premature death from a respiratory disease; the 8 hour standard incubation is insufficient. There was a study featuring 806 who had babies that had birth defects between 1997 and 2006, while another 849 women had babies that were healthy. This just goes to show that were you live has a big impact on your children, even before they're born. Smog was found in the San Joaquin Valley of California, which was linked to two types of neural tube defects: spina bifida. A condition that has, among other developments, had malformations on the spinal cord). Also anencephaly, which results from underdevelopment or absence of part or all of the brain, which if it's not fatal will result in profound impairment. An increase of 18% went up for low birth weights, and that's below the accepted safe levels.