Can pollution kill you?

That’s a big question! I’ll concentrate on air pollution, as this is linked to climate change. Air pollution is made up of lots of chemicals, some of which are harmful to us. The amount of these chemicals in the air (called the concentration) is the most important thing, as we are more concerned when there are higher levels of the chemicals that make us sick. The ones that are most common and harmful to people are particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. These chemicals come from many places, including cars, factories, bushfires and even wood heaters.  

In Tasmania, we have some of the cleanest air in the world, because we don’t have huge cities with lots of cars and factories. Lucky us! But we still get air pollution in the form of smoke from wood heaters and from bushfires. Although smoke is made up of many chemicals, the main we know about and can make you sick, is called particulate matter. These are very tiny particles, only about 3% of the diameter of a human hair. When there are many of these particles in the air, you can smell smoke and the air will be hazy. These particles often irritate your eyes and nose and you might get a headache. Some people can become very sick if they breathe in these particles, especially people with asthma. The more of these types of particles you breathe, the more chances you have of getting sick.  

You would have heard about carbon dioxide as one of the main chemicals that contribute to climate change. Some people say that carbon dioxide isn’t really an air pollutant, as we need a certain level to maintain life on earth (in fact, our bodies make carbon dioxide as part of our normal function, so we always have some in our system). But too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is really the problem with climate change, as it keeps the earth too warm. So you could call it a pollutant in large concentrations. This is why it’s important to keep track of this chemical in the atmosphere.