Health Risks of Major Air Pollutants, their Drivers and Mitigation Strategies: A Review

Abstract

The impact of increasing air pollution on human health and the environment is a major concern worldwide. Exposure to air pollution is one of the leading risk factors and substantially contributes to morbidity and premature mortality. This review paper aims to examine the exposure of major air pollutants (i.e., particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide) and its association with respiratory, cardiovascular, reproductive, and genotoxic adverse health outcomes that can cause DNA damage leading to genetic mutations. The study emphasized how a better understanding of source-receptor relationships and exposure assessment methodologies can support effective air quality management planning. Hence, there is a need to augment various exposure indicators (spatial modeling, personal/area monitoring, emphasizing central/rural site measurements, etc.) to generate reliable surrogates for informed decision-making. The critical drivers of anthropogenic interference for air pollution remain urbanization, growing vehicle use, and industrialization. This requires innovative approaches, such as energy-efficient and technologically sustainable solutions to gradually replace conventional fossil fuel from primary energy mix with renewable energy. It holds the key to meet future energy challenges and minimizing air pollution emissions. Further, there is an urgent need to frame effective public policy with graded mitigation actions to reduce the adverse impact of air pollution on human health and the environment.