The serious effects of air pollution on the lungs, including both indoor and outdoor air pollution, have long been studied and reported. Smog contains ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and tiny particles of everything from asbestos to soot, all of which can settle deep in the lungs and cause general havoc. A person who works outdoors in a large city may be exposing themselves to more than one ton of pollutants – including heavy metals, carbon monoxide, and ozone – every year. This problem does not only effect people who live in urban areas; rural populations are also exposed to many potentially harmful air pollutants, including pesticides, herbicides, and organic natural materials (organic dusts, allergens, infectious agents, toxic gases).

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, as many as 60,000 U.S residents die each year from breathing federally allowed concentrations of airborne dust. Inhalation injury may result in inflammatory reactions in the air ways (bronchitis, asthma, bronchiolitis ) or in parenchymal reactions (alveolitis, pulmonary edema). Pollutants can also cause shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, bronchitis, pneumonia, headaches, inability to concentrate, chest pain and in some cases, lung cancer. They can make the lung cells vulnerable to attack by bacteria and viruses.