QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What is the main issue mentioned in the article and who has discovered such
problem?
The main theme mentioned in the article is about the particles of air pollution,
particularly sooty that travel through pregnancy women’s lungs who live in London and
lodge in their placentas in each of their babies and the possibility that the particles
entered the fetuses, which can be generate adverse effects to these.
The problem has been discovered by a group of scientists called Dr. Lisa Miyashita and
Dr. Norrice Liu, of Queen Mary, University of London.

2. When the author mention “Toxic air”, what kind of particle he refers to?
The kind of particle he refers with respect to toxic air is the particles in suspension,
especially sooty.

3. According to scientists, in August, a research revealed that air pollution causes a

“huge” reduction in intelligence. What kind of particles may cause that issue and
how?
The kind of particles that can cause that problem are the toxic nanoparticles, which can
pass through the nerves that connect to the brain, because they are small particles, and
therefore can interrupt the connections between neurons. For this reason, chronic
exposure to high levels of pollution in the air can cause loss of performance or cognitive
abilities in tests verbal and mathematics.
Also, these particles can reach directly into the lungs, and into the bloodstream, causing
heart and lung diseases and persistent asthma in children, where it disturbs a good
performance in education, than those without the condition, probabilities of dropping out
of school and university courses and having less school attendance.

4. What are the most significant harms that air pollution can bring not only for the
environment but also on human health?

 The most important damages that can cause air pollution in the environment is:
 Harm in the placentas of pregnant animals.

 The most important damages that can cause air pollution in human health are:
 Damage to foetus.
 Damage to the developing lungs of children.
 Effects on the mother’s placenta.
 Persistent asthma diseases in children.
 It permanently affects the developing brain.
 Huge reduction in intelligence.
 Increases risk of premature birth and low birth weight.
 Permanent health damage.
5. According to the article, what alternatives pregnant women and population in
general can take to protect their health and their babies from air pollution?
The alternatives they can take are:
 Take less contaminated routes if you are pregnant, or even if you are not
pregnant.
 Avoid busy roads when you walk to the station.

6. How the study could visualize the particles in mother’s placentas?

The study would first have to isolate cells from macrophages, which are part of the
body's immune system and it wraps harmful particles like bacterium and air pollution;
second could visualize the particles in the mother’s placentas through using an optical
microscope and an electron microscope.

7. Are the particles affecting the foetus? Justify your answer.

Yes, the particles affect the foetus, because they travel through pregnancy to the lungs
of women, it lodges in its placentas and enters the foetus. Therefore, they do not need to
get in the baby body to have an adverse effect, because if they have an effect on the
placenta, this will have a direct impact on the foetus.

8. Have you feel some damage to your health from air pollution? Explain some of
them.
Yes, I have felt minor damage to my health from air pollution, due to the use of aerosols,
where these have a very small size, which I have inhaled, causing nasal irritation. Also,
for the particulate material (dust and smoke), that generate public and private transport
vehicles, which have caused ocular irritation.

9. As citizen, how are you contributing to the air quality destruction in your city or
hometown?
As citizen, I am contributing to the destruction of air quality in my city, through:

 Generation of methane emissions by intestinal gas.

 I use chemical cleaning products.
 I prepare more food than necessary, generating organic waste, which
decomposes and produces methane.
 I burn garbage.
 I get manicure and pedicure done once a month.
 I throw organic garbage into my house backyard.
 Use pesticides in the rice crop.
10. As environmental engineer, give 5 solutions to avoid or reduce the air pollution.
SOLUTIONS TO AVOID OR REDUCE AIR POLLUTION:
1. Promote responsible consumption habits, such as savings in our energy
consumption.
2. Promote the public bicycle system or other alternative means of transport that have
been friendly to the environment.
3. Reduce the use of equipment or tools that work with fossil fuels.
4. Change the linear economy by circular economy.
5. Build our own organic garden in homes.
6. Limit individual transport by shared (carpool).
7. Create environmental zones to purify oxygen.