Air quality is influenced by many factors - man-made pollution being one of them.
What is air pollution?
- Air pollution is caused by hazardous substances in the air that can increase your chances of experiencing health problems if exposed to them.
- It comes from many different sources, including factories, power plants, cars, buses, plans and naturally occurring sources such as wind-blow dust.
- The two most common pollutants are ozone (smog) and particulate matter (pollen, soot, dust, etc.).
- Ozone irritates the respiratory system and may cause decreased lung function.
- Ozone alerts are occasionally issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, usually on hot summer days when the air is stagnant
What are the impacts of poor air quality?
Everyone can be affected by poor air quality. However, children and those with chronic respiratory problems are the most sensitive to air pollution. Childhood asthma is on the increase nationally, and environmental pollutants may contribute to this trend. People with chronic respiratory problems experience an aggravation of their symptoms with air pollution.
What can you do to reduce air pollution and thereby improve air quality? You, as an individual, can do a number of things, such as:
- Drive less, ride your bike or walk
- Carpool
- Make sure your car is well-tuned
- Take care not to spill gasoline when filling the tank of your car, lawn mower or recreation equipment
- Make sure that chemical product lids are closed tightly
Find out: How clean is the air you breathe?
Environmental engineers and sanitarians monitor the permitted releases from industrial and commercial facilities to ensure compliance with State regulations. They seek to protect our ambient air quality through plan reviews and approvals of industrial processes, as well as through inspections in response to complaints from County residents.
The application forms and guidelines provide the minimum requirements for a submission to this department regarding various projects; however, the reviewer of the project may require additional information to be submitted to complete the review and approval process.