ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the main causes and effects of the most important atmospheric pollutants which have a significant, day-to-day urban origin. Not included are pollutants released into the atmosphere as a result of accidents or those, such as certain radioactive isotopes, where humanmade emission sources are normally outside urban boundaries. In omitting such pollutants, we do not seek to minimise their importance, but rather focus our analysis on those pollutants whose release can be attributed to specific characteristics of urban areas, such as dense traffic volumes.
