• Excessive soot from car exhaust can have serious environmental and health effects.double exhaust pipe image by green308 from Fotolia.com
  
  Soot comes from internal combustion engines, which are in most cars, trucks and buses that clog our roads every day. Soot is caused by incomplete fuel combustion and may mean there is something wrong with the engine of the car, that its oil may need to be changed or something within the engine itself is wearing down. Regardless of what is wrong with the engine, there are a number of environmental and adverse-health effects that can result from excessive engine soot from automobiles.
  
  

Smog

• Excessive amounts of soot in the air will cause what is commonly referred to as smog within a city or urban area. This consists of a cloud of soot and other pollutants collecting in the air and sitting over a city. While this creates beautiful sunsets, it is terrible for everything which breathes it, ranging from pets to birds to people. Most cities that have serious smog problems are large ones in areas where the smog cannot escape due to surrounding mountains, like Los Angeles and Mexico City. Many places with smog problems have made strides to ensure that all cars on their roadways do not have excessive soot in their exhaust through smog checks.
  
  

Dirty Structures

• Soot particles in the air due to exhaust will float for a while before coming down and accumulating on the ground. In places with smog problems, this soot along with other pollutants settles on buildings, homes and cars as it finally falls from the sky or comes down with the help of rain or wind. This will often leave a dusty gray or black film on surfaces of structures or automobiles, making them look dirty or unappealing. From this, the car wash and building cleaning industries thrive in these local economies, as there will always be some soot to clean up.
  
  

Health Problems

• There are many health problems associated with areas with large amounts of soot in the air, among both people and animals. These include respiratory issues, as those living amid the pollution are constantly breathing in the particles of soot, which will collect in their lungs. Those who already have respiratory problems or who are sensitive to what they are breathing will probably not be able to live in these environments. Mucus membranes, likes eyes and noses, can also become irritated due to excessive amounts of soot in the air and allergies which have been absent in someone for years can arise due to soot sensitivity.