Air Pollution

Air is contaminated everywhere to some degree with smoke, haze, dust, odors, corrosive _______ and toxic compounds.

  • air pollution is the most widespread environmental damage.
  • 147 million metric tons of air pollution released each year by the _____.
  • the world releases about 2 __________ metric tons a year.
  • air quality has __________ over the past 20 years in developed countries.
  • developing countries however have higher air pollution sometimes ______ times higher than the pollution levels considered safe for human health.

Natural Air pollution:

  • Natural _______-smoke
  • Volcanoes emit ash, acid ________, hydrogen ________ and toxic gases.
  • Sea spray and decaying organics ­ release _________ compounds
  • Trees and bushes- emit volatile __________ compounds
  • Pollen, spores, viruses, bacteria are also air pollution
  • the effects of natural contamination and human contamination can be similiar

Human caused Air pollution:

  • Primary pollutants- released ________ from the source into the air in a harmful form.
  • Secondary pollutants- substance is released into air and THEN later modified into a ____________ form by subsequent chemical reactions. ex. _________________
  • Fugitive emissions- do not go through a smoke stack (most commonly dust from _______ erosion, strip mining, rock crushing, and __________ construction)
  • US Clean Air Act of 1970- ___________ major pollutants for which maximum ambient air (air around us) levels are mandated - ________ _________, ___________ oxides, carbon __________, particulates, metals and halogens, volatile _______ compounds, and photochemical oxidants. They represent the biggest threat to human health- that are regulated anyway!

 

SULFUR OXIDES or SOX

  • Sulfur Compounds: about 114 million metric tons a year released from all sources. Humans release about _____% of the sulfur in the air in urban areas.
  • Natural sources: sea spray, erosion of sulfate containing dust, fumes from __________.
  • Anthropogenic sources: burning fuel (_______ and oil) containing sulfur­ China and US release the most sulfur because of their great amount of coal and oil burning.
  • Sulfur dioxide effects- directly damaging to plants, animals and our _______. Once in the air it can turn into sulfur trioxide and react to water vapor contributing to acid rain. ______ % acid rain from SOX.
  • Sulfate particles reduce visibility in US 80%

    Formula:

  • Reduction of SOX can be achieved with ____________ and burning low ________ coal.

 

NITROGEN OXIDES or NOX:

  • Nitrogen oxides- Total emissions about 230 million tons a year. Humans release about ________% of the nitrogen.
  • Natural sources: lightening, fires and _______ in soil.
  • Anthropogenic sources: formed from _______ exhaust and electrical power generation (esp. coal)
  • NOX can react with volatile organic compounds and sunlight to create ozone (found in smog).
  • NOX irritiates the lungs, makes smog, is a potent greenhouse gas and makes acid rain. ______% acid rain from NOX.

    Formula:

  • Reduction of NOX can be achieved with _________ converter.

This is why I am hot!

CARBON OXIDES:

  • Carbon _________ is causing global warming: about 3 billion tons accumulate in the atmosphere a year. (not regulated in US)
  • Carbon __________: colorless, highly toxic gas. Produced by incomplete combustion (partial oxidation) of _________. 1 billon metric tons released into atmosphere each year, half of that by humans (internal combustion engines)
  • Carbon monoxide binds with blood's hemoglobin displacing oxygen. Can be deadly.
  • Reduction with a catalytic converter, mass transit and higher emission laws

 

____________ MATERIAL:

  • Aerosol- any system of ________ particles or liquid droplets suspended in a gaseous medium (so small held up with kinetic energy of gas molecules).
  • Particulate material: dust, ash, _____, pollen, leaf mildew, cigarette smoke.
  • Can be natural: dust, volcanic ash can also be suspended in the air.
  • Man made in car exhaust, cigarette smoke, burning fossil fuels
  • Con: Limits visibility, irritates lungs
  • Can be reduced by electrostatic precipitators (a filter on smoke stacks)

 

METALS AND HALOGENS:

  • Lead emissions are about 2 millions tons a year, ____ of all metallic air pollution. Most of the lead is from leaded gasoline. (About _____% of inner city children suffer from some kind of mental retardation because of lead poisoning from peeling lead paint but this is NOT air pollution.)
  • Mercury: sources: _______ burning power plants and waste __________.
  • ______________ in aquatic ecosystems- making it dangerous to eat fish high on the food chain
  • More toxic metals: nickel, beryllium, cadium, thallium, uranium, cesium, plutonium, arsenic.
  • Radon- radioactive uranium decays in bedrock and causes cancer of the lung.
  • Can be reduced by strict emission laws

 

VOLATILE ______________ COMPOUNDS: (VOC's)

  • Largest catagory of regulated air toxins.
  • Organic chemicals that exist as gases in air
  • __________ are the largest source.
  • Volatile hydrocarbons are oxidized into CO and CO2 in the atmosphere.
  • Benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, chloroform and other chemicals are released into the air by human activities through mainly unburned or partially burned hydrocarbons (oil) from transportation. Also caused by power plants, oil refineries, oil based paint, cheap 70's furniture and carpets, dry cleaning solvents.
  • Causes asthma, respiratory disease, cancer, neurotoxic ailments.

 

PHOTOCHEMICAL OXIDANTS:

  • Also known as smog!
  • Products of secondary atmospheric reations driven by the _______.
  • PAN (peroxyacetyl nitrate) is a particularly nasty photochemical oxidant.
  • Creates smog and ozone which damages buildings, vegetation, eyes and lungs.
  • Formulas:

 

Environmental Scorecard- How does Ulster County rate?

INDOOR AIR POLLUTION:

It has been found that indoor concentration of toxic pollutants are often higher than outdoors.

___________ is the most severe air pollutant. 400,000 people die each year from Emphysema, heart attacks, lung cancer, strokes, and other diseases caused by smoking. (20% of all mortality in US)

Leading cause of death for women since of advertising campaigns began in the '50's

These deaths cause us $100 billion a year; eliminating smoking would save more lives than _____ ________ pollution control.

Concentration of _________, carbon tetrachloride, _______________, and strene has been found to be 70 times higher in indoor air than outdoor air. Yikes!

 

Less developed countries burn wood and coal for ________ and heat- because of poor ventilation and cooking fires there is a large amount of indoor air pollution. ­ __________ and children are most effected.

Levels of carbon monoxide, particulates, aldehydes and toxic chemicals can be ________ times greater than the safe outdoor concentrations in US

 

Sick Building:

A building in which a number of people experience adverse health effects related to the ________ spent in the building. These symptoms disappear when they go outside.

Climate:

Temperature inversions: occur when a stable layer of _________ air overlays _________ air, reversing the normal temperature decline with increasing height and preventing convection currents from dispersing pollutants.

Can occur when:

  • a ______ from slides under an adjacent warmer air mass -or-
  • ______ air subsides down a mountain slope to displace warmer air in the valley below.

Long range transport:

Many pollutants can be carried long distances by the _______ currents.

Some of the most toxic and corrosive materials brought by long range transport are ___________ pollutants.

Areas considered the cleanest in the world still have pollutants in the air. :( Grasshopper Effect

Stratospheric Ozone:

it was discovered in 1985 that the ozone levels in the __________ over the South Pole were dropping during September and October as the sun comes out after the polar winter ­ has been happening since the 1960s.

this hole was the largest ever found and is now spreading to other parts of the world. About ____% of ozone disappears during the ________.

This is dangerous because ozone filters out _______ light and without it organisms would be exposed to life threatening radiation.

________'s (Chlorofluorocarbons) are suspected to be the major cause of ozone loss. ­ known as Freon. When discovered they were regarded as nontoxic, nonflammable and cheaply produced. But because they are so stable they remain in atmosphere for __________. When they are diffused into the stratosphere they release chlorine atoms which destroy the ozone.

CFC's have been banned by the Montreal Protocol

Effects of air pollution:

50,000 Americans die prematurely because of illnesses related to air pollution. (A ____-____ year decrease in life span!)
____________: persistent inflammation of bronchi and bronchioles that causes mucus build up, painful cough, and involuntary muscle spasms that constrict airways.

Bronchitis can lead to ___________- an irreversible obstructive lung disease in which airways become permanently constricted and alveoli are damaged or even destroyed.

_________ is the leading cause of both these diseases.

Acid Rain

Normal pH of rain is about ___.6

Aquatic effects: acid in water effects fish- to protect their ________ fish produce a mucus lining over their _______ and eventually suffocate themselves.

Kills all life in lakes and other aquatic ecosystems at a pH of ______. New Paltz rain is a pH of _____

Forest damage:- seedling production, tree density, and viability of _______-fir trees at high elevations have declined about ________% because of air pollution

Building and statue damage if made of limestone or marble

__________ ­ has been reduced greatly. Even National Parks are effected by air pollution.

 

Heat Island Effect

Urban areas have so much concrete, roads and other infrastructure that it unnaturally holds heat. This causes these areas to be much ____ than usual!

Solutions!