Sources of Air Pollution
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There are various locations, activities or factors which are responsible for releasing pollutants into the atmosphere. These sources can be classified into two major categories.
Anthropogenic (man-made) sources:
These are mostly related to the burning of multiple types of fuel.
Stationary sources include smoke stacks of power plants, manufacturing facilities (factories) and waste incinerators, as well as furnaces and other types of fuel-burning heating devices. In developing and poor countries, traditional biomass burning is the major source of air pollutants; traditional biomass includes wood, crop waste and dung.
Mobile sources include motor vehicles, marine vessels, and aircraft.
Controlled burn practices in agriculture and forest management. Controlled or prescribed burning is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for foresters. Controlled burning stimulates the germination of some desirable forest trees, thus renewing the forest.
Fumes from paint, hair spray, varnish, aerosol sprays and other solvents
Waste deposition in landfills, which generate methane. Methane is highly flammable and may form explosive mixtures with air. Methane is also an asphyxiant and may displace oxygen in an enclosed space. Asphyxia or suffocation may result if the oxygen concentration is reduced to below 19.5% by displacement.
Military resources, such as nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare and rocketry
Natural sources:
Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with little or no vegetation
Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by animals, for example cattle
Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth's crust. Radon is a colorless, odorless, naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas that is formed from the decay of radium. It is considered to be a health hazard. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as the basement and it is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking.
Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires
Vegetation, in some regions, emits environmentally significant amounts of Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on warmer days. These VOCs react with primary anthropogenic pollutants—specifically, NOx, SO2, and anthropogenic organic carbon compounds — to produce a seasonal haze of secondary pollutants. Black gum, poplar, oak and willow are some examples of vegetation that can produce abundant VOCs. The VOC production from these species result in ozone levels up to eight times higher than the low-impact tree species.
Volcanic activity, which produces sulfur, chlorine, and ash particulates
There are 12 compounds in the list of Persistent organic pollutants. Dioxins and furans are two of them and intentionally created by combustion of organics, like open burning of plastics. These compounds are also endocrine disruptors and can mutate the human genes.
Ref: Wikipedia
