What is a toxic air pollutant?
Toxic air pollutants are gases, liquids or particles that emitted into the atmosphere and, under certain conditions, may cause adverse health effects. Adverse health effects range from relatively mild temporary conditions such as minor eye or throat irritations, shortness of breath, or headaches to permanent and serious conditions such as cancer, birth defects, or damage to the lungs, nerves, liver, heart, or other organs. Toxic air pollutants include hundreds of chemical compounds such as gasoline vapors, components of certain paints, solvents, and household cleaners. The emission of a toxic chemical does not automatically create a health hazard. Other factors such as the amount of the chemical released, its toxicity, the method of release into the air, the weather, and the terrain all influence whether the emission could be hazardous to human health. A health risk assessment considers these factors as well as the potential number of people exposed to calculate the potential impact up
