Contributing Factors of Food Waste to the Atmosphere
At the landfill, the food and yard waste that trash contains is decomposing and releasing methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfill gas like these contributes to smog and worsening health problems, especially asthma. Odors in landfill gas are caused primarily by hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, which are produced during the breakdown of waste material. Short-term exposures (typically up to about two weeks) to elevated levels of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide in the air can cause coughing, irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headache, nausea, and breathing difficulties. Reported health complaints included eye, throat, and lung irritation, nausea, headache, and aggravation of asthma. Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in North Texas would have major benefits in terms of lowering primary and secondary emissions of air pollution and in return helping people with asthma.
The Creation of Greenhouse Gases in Dallas and Their Effects
Two key air quality issues that the City of Dallas is facing are ground-level ozone and the emission of greenhouse gases that actually affect places outside of Dallas, even internationally. (Green Dallas, “What Are the Challenges?”). Both carbon dioxide and methane (greenhouse gases) contribute to global warming and climate change. Asthma is one of the main diseases of concern produced by climate change. When organic waste decomposes, carbon dioxide and methane gases are created. Methane is created when there is no air present while carbon dioxide is the natural product when something rots in an environment with oxygen, such as wasted food in landfills. A body of evidence suggests that major changes involving the atmosphere and climate have an impact on the biosphere and human environment. Increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, in North Texas’s atmosphere have already substantially warmed the area, causing more severe and prolonged heat waves, temperature variability, increased length and severity of the pollen season, air pollution, forest fires, droughts, and heavy precipitation events and floods, all of which put respiratory health at risk. Climate change is a huge threat to respiratory health by directly causing or aggravating pre-existing respiratory diseases and increasing exposure to risk factors for respiratory diseases. Climate change increases water and air pollution which can cause and aggravate the chronic respiratory disease, such as asthma. Increased temperatures due to climate change lead to increased ground-level ozone.
Ground-Level Ozone in North Texas
“Ozone pollution is a larger problem during warmer months when weather conditions necessary to form ground-level ozone normally occur. Pollution from traffic, industry, and other sources, combined with high temperatures and stagnant air conditions of the summer months, make North Central Texas an ideal target for ground-level ozone”(Green Dallas, “What are the Challenges?”). Ozone causes airway inflammation and damages lung tissue. Ground-level ozone, or “bad ozone,” can be the most harmful for people living with asthma. Ground-level ozone is created by a chemical reaction between nitrogen oxide and organic compounds when exposed to sunlight. Ground-level ozone is very likely to reach unhealthy levels on hot sunny days in urban environments and is a major component in urban smog, a type of air pollution. The populations most vulnerable to ground-level ozone are children, the elderly, people with lung disease (asthma), or people who are active outdoors. Children are at the greatest risk to ground-level ozone and are more likely than adults to have asthma. Unhealthy spikes in ground-level ozone pollution correspond with increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for people with asthma. In addition to affecting the health and well-being of the residents of Dallas, high levels of ozone or any other pollutant can damage vegetation and building facades.