How Does Ozone Affect Peoples’ Health and the Environment?
Ozone and the chemicals that comprise it damage the natural environment. Moreover, ozone damages our bodies, sometimes permanently. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently found that long-term exposure to air pollution increases the risk of death from lung cancer, heart attack, stroke, asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. Even at low levels, it triggers a variety of health problems, including chest pains, coughing, nausea, throat irritation, and congestion. However, we do not yet know enough about how humans are affected by exposure to a combination of ozone and other chemicals that typically exist in our environment. We simply are not exposed to ozone alone; we are constantly taking in other chemicals through air, water, and food. This is an area scientists are beginning to study. Below are some of the problems we know ozone can cause.
