June 2009
Front Matter
Training
26
Air Toxics
Overview (2 of 3)
•What are the health and environmental effects of toxic air pollutants?
–People exposed to toxic air pollutants at sufficient concentrations and durations may have an increased chance of getting cancer or experiencing other serious health effects.
–Both high values and annual means of air toxics concentrations are of interest because some air toxics have both episodic, short-term health effects and chronic, long-term health effects.
–Other health effects can include damage to the immune system, as well as neurological, reproductive (e.g., reduced fertility), developmental, respiratory, and other health problems.
–Some toxic air pollutants, such as mercury, can deposit onto soils or surface waters where they are taken up by plants and ingested by animals and are eventually magnified up through the food chain.
–Animals may experience health problems if exposed to sufficient quantities of air toxics over time.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2007c, g)