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, hydrocarbons, photochemical oxidants and ________. 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- 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.
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.

Carbon Oxides:
Carbon _________ is causing global warming: about 3 billion tons accumulate in the atmosphere a year.
Carbon __________: colorless, highly toxic gas. Produced by incomplete combustion of _________. 1 billon metric tons released into atmosphere each year, half of that by humans (internal combustion engines)

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.

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.

__________ Material:
Aerosol- any system of ________ particles or liquid droplets suspended in a gaseous medium.
Particulate material: dust, ash, _____, etc.
Can be natural: dust, volcanic ash can also be suspended in the air.
These seem to be the most apparent pollution because they reduce visibility.

Volatile __________ Compounds: (VOC's)
-Organic chemicals that exist as gases in air
-__________ are the largest source
- They are oxidized into CO and CO2 in the atmosphere.
- Benzene, toluene, formaldehyde and other chemicals are released into the air by human activities through mainly unburned or partially burned hydrocarbons from transportation.

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

Photochemical oxidents- from _________ atmospheric reactions driven by the ______. Creates smog and ozone which damages buildings, vegetation, eyes and lungs.

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. :(

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 and minimized

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

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