Air Quality

Do you ever wonder what is floating in the air you breathe? The quality of the air around you is crucial to your health. Air quality refers to the cleanliness of the surrounding air. For example, clean, unpolluted air would be considered good air quality. Poor air quality is when pollution levels become dangerous to humans or the environment. To measure the air quality, people use what is called the Air Quality Index (AQI). The AQI releases daily reports of the air quality. It also focuses on the concerns you should have about each level of air quality. The EPA calculates the AQI for the five most common air pollutants: ground level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. The AQI is measure on a scale for 0-500 and is divided into six categories.

1. Good: (Green) this level ranges from 0-50. In this state, the air level is considered satisfactory and are not dangerous to humans nor the environment
2. Moderate: (Yellow) this level ranges from 51-100 AQI. This air is alright to live in, it won’t kill you. However, it can bring about health concerns to a small amount of sensitive people breathing in this air.
3. Unhealthy for sensitive groups: (Orange) This level ranges from 101-150. People with lung disease, or elderly adults and children would not be very safe breathing in this air. The general public however would be fine.
4. Unhealthy: (Red) Ranges from 151-200. Just about everyone would experience some kind of negative health effects from this air.
5. Very Unhealthy: (Purple) AQI is 201-300. Can bring about serious health concerns. Public notifications would be sent out.
6. Hazardous: (maroon) Any AQI greater than 300. This level of pollution would be an emergency.

The AQI lists five of the highest ranking polluted air as of today, March 23, 2017.

1. (From lowest to highest) C San Bernardino, California. It has a moderate AQI of 68.
2. Nogales, Arizona. This city also has a moderate AQI of 68.
3. Metro Riverside, California. The air level is still moderate, but has an AQI of 70. Since California is on this list twice out of all 50 states!
4. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Moderate air level with an AQI as high as 80.
5. The city with the highest level of air pollution is Miami, Florida. This air level is actually listed as unhealthy. A health message to sensitive people was posted on the EPA’s AQI forecast website.

To control air quality throughout the country, states have a State Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP is a plan of control strategies to keep the air quality at a healthy level. Once this plan is created it must be approved by the EPA. The Clean Air Act also requires that the EPA set a National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for harmful pollutants. These standards are designed to protect human health nationally. Below are the set standards for common pollutants:

1. Ozone: 0.070ppm
2. PM 2.5: 12.0 ug/m3
3. Sulfur Dioxide: 75ppb
4. Nitrogen Dioxide: 100 ppb
5. Lead: 0.15 ug/m3

Potential Health Effects From Cell Phone Use

The use of cell phones has begun to become a concern to many people because the phones emit radiofrequency energy from their antennas. Tissues near the antenna can absorb this energy. These radio waves are a form of non-ionizing radiation. Radiation can be classified into two groups: ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation. The difference between these two groups is

related to the wavelength and frequency of the radio waves. Ionizing radiation is high frequency and high energy. Exposure to ionizing radiation can be known to increase the risk of cancer. Two common ways to be exposed to this kind of radiation are by X-rays and ultraviolet light from things such as the sun and tanning beds. Ionizing radiation can damage internal tissues and organs. This type of radiation is far more dangerous than non-ionizing radiation. Non- ionizing radiation is low frequency and low energy. Currently, there is no evidence to show that non-ionizing radiation increases cancer at all. However, there are other potential threats to exposing ourselves to so much non-ionizing radiation. We expose ourselves to non-ionizing radiation almost everyday through cell phones, microwaves, televisions, radios, and more.
One of the biggest hazards that comes from cell phone radiofrequency energy is heating, for example, the way a microwave can heat food. The energy from the cell phone can heat the area that it is touching, like our hands and ears. Directions to cell phones actually tell you to hold the phone away from your ear. It is suggested that the cell phone should be held at least two inches from your head. It is actually recommended that you keep your phone away from your entire body as much as possible. A study published in 2012 stated that studies on people who had used cell phones for 10 years or more had a constant pattern of increased risk of getting cancerous brain tumors. These tumors were most commonly on the side of the head that they usually held their phone. However, another study from 2014 stated that cell phones were not linked to cancerous brain tumors at all. Much of the information published about cell phone usage is contradicting to other information published. For this reason, it has not yet been concretely decided whether or not cell phones are of any danger. Along with cell phone radiation comes radiation from Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi routers send and receive information through radio waves just like cell phones. This radiation is also suspected to promote tumor growth. This is dangerous because so many people spend huge amounts of time on a desktop computer near Wi-Fi routers. Although

these waves are not visible to the human eye, they are very real. These areas of high energy can be called electromagnetic fields. EMFs can cause light symptoms stress, fatigue, sleep disorders, rashes, muscle aches, and much more. However, they can also cause more serious problems like infertility and various types of cancer. You can protect yourself from these hazards by buying bio-electric shields to neutralize this energy. You can also do smaller things like unplugging appliances when they are not in use and keeping technological devices out of the room that you sleep in. Since cell phones, Wi-Fi, and technologies of that such are a generally new creation, none of the long term effects have been solidified yet.

Glyphosate

Glyphosate is an herbicide that is applied to the leaves of plants to kill certain plants and grasses. It is the active chemical in the very popular weed killer called Roundup. There are three patents on Glyphosate. It was first patented in 1964 by Stauffer Chemical as a metal chelator. The chelator was used to clean commercial boilers and pipes. It was then patented again in 1974 as an herbicide by Monsanto, a sustainable agriculture company. The third patent was granted in 2010 for the same company, Monsanto, to be used for parasitic control. It is interesting, what was once used as a means of cleaning pipes is now being applied to the food that we eat! According to a report published in Environmental Science Europe, Roundup is the “most heavily used weed killer in the history of chemical agriculture in both the United States and globally.” Since 1974, when Monsanto patented glyphosate in Roundup, more than 3.5 billion pounds of glyphosate has been used in the United States. Furthermore, over 18.9 billion pounds of glyphosate has been applied globally. The usage of glyphosate in the United States makes up nineteen percent of usage worldwide. Roundup is spread by being mass-sprayed over crops on farms. This rids the farmers of unwanted plants and weeds.

Roundup can also be used to dry out crops so that they can be harvested quicker. Since glyphosate is being applied in such large quantities, it has begun to concern people.

Glyphosate has found its way into the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. Research has been able to connect high levels of glyphosate to a number of illnesses. One article from ecowatch.com lists known health problems that may be linked to exposure to glyphosate:

1. ADHD- There is a strong correlation between Roundup exposure and ADHD in farming communities.
2. Anencephaly- Babies born to women who live within 1,000 meters of pesticide application are more likely to have this birth defect.
3. Autism-  Glyphosate has a number of known biological effects that align with the known pathologies associated with autism.
4. Birth defects- Roundup and Glyphosate can disrupt the babies ability to get Vitamin A.
5. Brain cancer- Chances of developing brain cancer doubled in with parents exposure to Glyphosate up to two years before the child’s birth.
6. Breast cancer- Glyphosate is known to induce human breast cancer cell growth.
7. Cancer (in general)
8. Celiac disease and Gluten intolerance
9. Chronic kidney disease- There has been a recent surge in kidney failure among agricultural workers in Central America. Many think that the recent growth in Glyphosate use may be the cause.
10. Heart Disease- Glyphosate can disrupt the body’s enzymes, causing lysosomal dysfunction, a major factor in cardiovascular disease and heart failure.
11. Respiratory Illness- House-to-house surveys in Argentina have shown that communities where Roundup is used, there are higher rates of chronic respiratory illness.
12. Glyphosate has been called, by some scientists, an endocrine disruptor. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that can interfere with human hormonal systems. These disruptions can cause cancerous tumors and birth defects, as listed above.

Aside from health problems related to Glyphosate use, there is also a number of environmental concerns. Glyphosate can stay in the soil for up to six months! Some vegetables, such as carrots and lettuce, can take up the Glyphosate in the soil when growing. Some weedkillers that have Glyphosate in them can even be toxic to the wildlife. The farming industry has gone as far as to create Roundup Ready crops. These crops are genetically modified to withstand herbicides such as Roundup. The first of these crops were created in the 1990s. Since they are fairly new, many people are concerned about the long term effects these genetically modified foods will have. Some of the most common Roundup Ready crops are soybeans, corn, cotton, and wheat.