Pollution In Our Community 1

The Effects of Air Pollution to the Human Health

Annotated Bibliography

Vianney Rodriguez

University of Texas at El Paso

Pollution In Our Community 2

Suro, R. (1991, December 21). Pollution Tests Two Neighbors: El Paso and Juarez.

Retrieved March 26, 2017, from

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/22/us/pollution-tests-two-neighbors-el-

paso-and-juarez.html

Air pollution has been a major problem in the border cities as described in this article by Robert

Suro. In October, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency categorized the magnitude

of air pollution in El Paso as "serious." That is not as bad as the "extreme" designation

applied to Los Angeles, but it is worse than the "moderate" given to Dallas. These border

cities are only a slight portion of the actual population of the city of Dallas. The comparison

with such a vast city should be considered an enormous red flag for the citizens of El Paso

and Mexico. On the other side of the border people burn wood and use gas heaters to stay

warm during the winters and as to the Americans we stay warm with the burners installed in

our homes. The vast amount of vehicles and factories unleash many gases to the air. As

stated in the article in the New York Times, El Paso is one in only five cities that exceeds the

environmental quality of air pollutants. Ozone, carbon monoxide and particulate matter are

the three pollutants that are being generated in these cities.

With this evidence it is clear to say that that the people of both sides of the border

contribute greatly to the disturbance of the air. The effect of this situation can lead to

greater problems in the further future if it not taken care of. As stated in the article, it is

unfair to point fingers as to who truly is in greater fault when both cities contribute evenly to

the destruction of the air and endanger the health of one another.
Pollution In Our Community 3

Bienkowski, B. (2015, July 24). Bad air means lower grade point averages in Texas.

Retrieved March 26, 2017, from

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2015/jul/air-pollution-

children-health-iq-grades-point-average-environmental-justice-texas

Brian Bienkowski believes that the pollution of the air contributes to the success of the

students academic achievement. In his article he uses fourth and fifth graders from the El

Paso communities as the major victims. He states that the heavily exposure to contaminants

of air at home can contribute to a lower grade point averages of these young students. This

study was used to prove that the disturbance of the air contaminants not only effect the

environment but our own children as well. This city of 675,000, as stated in this article, is

very bad when it involves the particulate matter. This particulate matter can be described as

a mix of substances that are being emitted into the air by combustion sources such as cars,

trucks, industrial plants and wood burning. This study doesnt exactly stated that the air

pollution itself brings students grades down but is a major contributions as to why students

have a higher risk of having low grades due to the many effects it brings to them. The health

conditions proposed by the exposure to their developing anatomy.

Health and Environmental Effects of Hazardous Air Pollutants. (2017, February 09).

Retrieved March 26, 2017, from https://www.epa.gov/haps/health-and-

environmental-effects-hazardous-air-pollutants

In this article the dangers of air contaminations are proposed to the reader on how the human

body is affected on a daily basis. As humans we are required to breathe oxygen to be able to

function properly and live. Pure air is a major source of our lives, without oxygen we would not

be able to live. When our bodies are exposed to dirty air we risk our health by exposing it to
Pollution In Our Community 4

many viscous health conditions such as damaging the immune system, neurological, and

reproductive development, and respiratory systems. From the PDF provided on this article the

effects of air pollution to the health of humans, environment, climate and atmosphere is being

described. As humans, we create gases that damage the stratosphere, a layer in the atmosphere

that protects us from the heat (UVs) from the sun. These gases are thinning out the stratosphere

that are increasing the average temperatures on earth creating climate change. This climate

change affects the environment and wildlife by exposing it to higher temperatures and making

life unsuitable for them. These gases are coming from the ozone we create by the usage of cars,

trucks, burning of wood and other matters result in global warming. Eventually, if nothing is

done to prevent the increase of this pollution life will be extremely hard to sustain on earth due to

the high temperatures and pollutants in the air.

Pollution In Our Community 5

References

Patil, R. R., Chetlapally, S. K., & Bagvandas, M. (2015). Application environmental

epidemiology to vehicular air pollution and health effects research. Indian

Journal Of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 19(1), 8-13.

doi:10.4103/0019-5278.156999

Air pollution deaths on the rise, study predicts. (n.d.). Retrieved March 16, 2017,

from http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/16/health/air-pollution-deaths-rising/

Ostro, B. (1980). Air Pollution, Public Health, and Inflation. Environmental Health

Perspectives, 34, 185-188. doi:10.2307/3428959

Pollution of the Environment. (1966). Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and

Sciences,19(6), 2-7. doi:10.2307/3823290

Rossati, A. (2017). Global Warming and Its Health Impact. International Journal Of

Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 8(1), 7-20.

Bienkowski, B. (2015, July 24). Bad air means lower grade point averages in Texas.

Retrieved March 26, 2017, from

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2015/jul/air-pollution-

children-health-iq-grades-point-average-environmental-justice-texas

Suro, R. (1991, December 21). Pollution Tests Two Neighbors: El Paso and Juarez.

Retrieved March 26, 2017, from

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/22/us/pollution-tests-two-neighbors-el-

paso-and-juarez.html
Pollution In Our Community 6

Acosta, L. L. (2015, August 28). UTEP Study Links Air Pollution to Children's Low GPAs.

Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://news.utep.edu/utep-study-links-air-

pollution-to-childrens-low-gpas/

Health and Environmental Effects of Hazardous Air Pollutants. (2017, February 09).

Retrieved March 26, 2017, from https://www.epa.gov/haps/health-and-

environmental-effects-hazardous-air-pollutants