Air pollution is associated with health problems that include increased emergency department visits and hospitals stays for breathing and heart problems, asthma, and increases in illnesses such as pneumonia and bronchitis.
Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways that carry oxygen in and out of the lungs. If a person has asthma, the inside of these airways is irritated and swollen. Asthma can cause shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, and tightness in the chest.
Birth defects can have many causes including genetic mutations, chromosomal abnormalities, environmental exposures, nutrition, and/or random events in the prenatal period. Many defects are thought to be a combination of these factors.
Cancer is not just one disease but many different diseases, with more than 100 different types. Cancer is one of the most common chronic diseases in the United States and is on the verge of becoming the number one cause of death in Iowa.
Carbon monoxide (CO) fumes can build up in places that do not have a good flow of fresh air, such as a garage or a house with closed windows and doors. Breathing high levels of CO can cause severe illness or death in a matter of minutes.
The main source of childhood lead exposure is deteriorated lead-based paint, lead-contaminated dust, and lead-contaminated soil in and around older homes.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets regulations for treating and monitoring drinking water delivered by community water systems. Water quality standards and monitoring requirements are in place for more than 90 contaminants.
Several factors can be involved in the increased risk for heart attacks. These factors can include health, lifestyle, and environment. Increases in air pollution have been linked to decreases in lung function and increases in heart attacks.
Adverse reproductive and birth outcomes may include infertility, low birth weight, prematurity, and fetal and infant death. Research on reproductive and birth outcomes have improved understanding of the risks of several substances found in the environment.