Air Pollution
15.4
Definition:
• Chemical or physical agent that when added to the environment impacts people, wildlife, plants or ecosystems.
• Natural causes
• Human causes
Monitoring Air Quality
• Lichens = natural indicators of air quality
• Monitoring stations take air samples on a continuous basis and provide alerts to state & federal agencies.
Primary pollutants
• Released directly into the air
• Examples of natural primary pollutants:
• Dust
• Sea salt
• Volcanic gas & ash
• Forest fire smoke
• Pollen
Primary pollutants
• Human sources of primary pollutants:
• Carbon monoxide
• Dust
• Smoke
• Paint
• Vehicle exhaust
• Burning fossil fuels
Examples of primary pollutants:
• SO2 Burning coal
• CO & CO2 Burning hydrocarbons
• NOx Fuel combustion
• Smog formed through solar action
• Particulates industry, agriculture, urban
Secondary pollutants
• Enter the air and undergo reactions
• Photochemical smog
• Acid rain
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
• Ozone
• Particulate matter
• Carbon monoxide
• Sulfur dioxide
• Nitrogen oxides
• Lead
Indoor pollution
• Tobacco smoke
• Hydrocarbons
• Vinyl chlorides
• Asbestos
• Carbon monoxide
• Radon
Acid precipitation
• Sulfur dioxide + rain = sulfuric acid
• Nitrogen oxide + rain = nitric acid
• Problems with acid rain:– Forests: damages plants & habitats– Amphibian populations decline with acidity– Plants damaged– Aquatic ecosystems decline
Ozone hole
• 1985 discovered
• Caused by CFCs breaking down ozone
• Montreal Protocol (treaty) to eliminate CFC production
• Problem: it reduces the ability to block UV rays
CFC Molecules
• Active for 60 – 120 years
• Affect ozone layer of the atmosphere
Human Health
• Groups most susceptible: – Children– Elderly people– People with asthma, allergies, lung problems
& heart problems
Long term effects of exposure
• Emphysema
• Lung cancer
• Permanent lung damage
• Heart disease
Short term effects
• Headache
• Nausea
• Eye irritation
• Coughing
• Asthma aggravation
• Emphysema aggravation
Human Health impacts
• Lead = central nervous system damage
• Smog
• Sulfur dioxide = damages lung tissue
• Carbon monoxide = toxic. Binds to hemoglobin & displaces oxygen
• Particulates = damage respiratory tissue
Solutions
• Clean Air Act = incentives & penalties– Passed in 1970– Purpose: control of air pollutants, setting
standards for clean air
Reducing Pollution
• Scrubbers on smoke stacks
• Cleaner burning fuels
• Hybrid cars
• Catalytic converters in engines
• Remove source of pollution from indoors
• Improve ventilation indoors
Allowance Trading allows:
• Companies to sell pollutants that they’ve been allowed to discharge
Airnow Website
• http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.displaymaps&Pollutant=OZONE&StateID=60&domain=super
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