Exposure to toxic air pollutants can increase your health risks. For example, if you live near a factory that releases cancer-causing chemicals and inhale contaminated air, your risk of getting cancer can increase. Breathing air toxics could also increase your risk of noncancer effects such as emphysema or reproductive disorders. The toxic air pollutants of greatest concern are those that cause serious health problems or affect many people. Health problems can include cancer, respiratory irritation, nervous system problems, and birth defects.
Some health problems occur very soon after a person inhales a toxic air pollutant.
These immediate effects may be minor, such as watery eyes. Or they may be serious, such as life-threatening lung damage. Other health problems may not appear until many months or years after a person's first exposure to the toxic air pollutant. Cancer is one example of a delayed health problem.