Air Pollution

Overview

o Atmosphere as a Resource
o Types and Sources of Air Pollution
• Major Classes of Air Pollutants
• Sources of Outdoor Air Pollutants
• Urban Air Pollution
o Effects of Air Pollution
o Controlling Air Pollution in the US
 Atmosphere as a Resource
o Atmospheric
Composition
• Nitrogen 78.08%
• Oxygen 20.95%
• Argon 0.93%
• Carbon dioxide 0.04%
o Ecosystem services
• Blocks UV radiation
• Moderates the
climate
• Redistributes water in
the hydrologic cycle
Types and Sources of Air Pollution
o Air Pollution
• Chemicals added to the atmosphere by natural
events or human activities in high enough
concentrations to be harmful
o Two categories
• Primary Air Pollutant
• Harmful substance that is emitted directly into the
atmosphere
• Secondary Air Pollutant
• Harmful substance formed in the atmosphere when
a primary air pollutant reacts with substances
normally found in the atmosphere or with other air
pollutants
Major Air Pollutants
 Major Classes of Air Pollutants

o Particulate Material
o Nitrogen Oxides
o Sulfur Oxides
o Carbon Oxides
o Hydrocarbons
o Ozone
 Particulate Material

o Thousands of different solid or liquid

particles suspended in air
• Includes: soil particles, soot, lead, asbestos,
sea salt, and sulfuric acid droplets
o Dangerous for 2 reasons
• May contain materials with toxic or
carcinogenic effects
• Extremely small particles can become lodged in
lungs
 Nitrogen and Sulfur Oxides

o Nitrogen Oxides
• Gases produced by the chemical interactions
between atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen at
high temperature
• Problems
• Greenhouse gases
• Cause difficulty breathing
o Sulfur Oxides
• Gases produced by the chemical interactions
between sulfur and oxygen
• Causes acid precipitation
 Carbon Oxides and Hydrocarbons

o Carbon Oxides
• Gases carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon
dioxide (CO2)
• Greenhouse gases
o Hydrocarbons
• Diverse group of organic compounds that
contain only hydrogen and carbon (ex: CH4-
methane)
• Some are related to photochemical smog and
greenhouse gases
 Ozone

o Tropospheric Ozone
• Man- made pollutant in the lower atmosphere
• Secondary air pollutant
• Component of photochemical smog
o Stratospheric Ozone
• Essential component that screens out UV
radiation in the upper atmosphere
• Man- made pollutants (ex: CFCs) can destroy it
 Sources of Outdoor Air Pollution

o Two main sources

• Transportation
• Industry
o Intentional forest
fires is also high
 SMOG

o Smog is another common secondary

pollutant. Smog is a yellowish or blackish
fog formed mainly by a mixture of
pollutants in the atmosphere which
consists of fine particles and ground level
ozone.
 Urban Air Pollution
o Photochemical Smog (ex: Los Angeles below)
• Brownish-orange haze formed by chemical reactions
involving sunlight, nitrogen oxide, and hydrocarbons
Formation of Photochemical Smog
Sources of Smog in Los Angeles
Case-In-Point Air Pollution in Beijing
and Mexico City

o Beijing (left)
o Mexico City (above)
 Human activities that result in air pollution
include:
1. Emissions from industries and
manufacturing activities
Have you seen a manufacturing company before? You will notice that there are long
tubes (called chimneys) erected high into the air, with lots of smoke and fumes
coming out of it. Waste incinerators, manufacturing industries and power plants emit
high levels of carbon monoxide, organic compounds, and chemicals into the air. This
happens almost everywhere that people live. Petroleum refineries also release lots of
hydrocarbons into the air.
INDUSTRIAL
EMISSION
 BURNING FOSSIL FUELS
After the industrial age, transportation has become a key part
of our lives. Cars and heavy duty trucks, trains, shipping
vessels and airplanes all burn lots of fossil fuels to work.
Emissions from automobile engines contain both primary
and secondary pollutants. This is a major cause of pollution,
and one that is very difficult to manage. This is because
humans rely heavily on vehicles and engines for transporting
people, good and services.

Fumes from car exhaust contain dangerous gases such as

carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and
particulates. On their own, they cause great harm to people
who breath them.
Additionally, they react with environmental gases to create
further toxic gases.
BURNING FOSSIL
FUELS
 3.Agricultural activities:
Ammonia is a very common by product
from agriculture related activities and is
one of the most hazardous gases in the
atmosphere. Use of insecticides, pesticides
and fertilizers in agricultural activities has
grown quite a lot. They emit harmful
chemicals into the air and can also cause
water pollution.
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES
 4. Mining
operations:
Mining is a process where in minerals
below the earth are extracted using large
equipments. During the process dust and
chemicals are released in the air causing
massive air pollution. This is one of the
reason which is responsible for the
deteriorating health conditions of workers
and nearby residents.
 MINING
OPERATIONS
 5. Indoor air pollution:
Household cleaning products, painting supplies emit
toxic chemicals in the air and cause air pollution. Have
you ever noticed that once you paint walls of your house,
it creates some sort of smell which makes it literally
impossible for you to breathe?
Suspended particulate matter popular by its acronym
SPM, is another cause of pollution. Referring to the
particles afloat in the air, SPM is usually caused by dust,
combustion etc.
Cooking and heating with solid fuels on open fires or
traditional stoves results in high levels of indoor air
pollution. Indoor smoke contains a range of health-
damaging pollutants, such as small particles and carbon
monoxide.
According to Global Health Risks: Mortality and burden
of disease attributable to selected major risks indoor air
 INDOOR
POLLUTION
 Air
Problems Caused
By
Incineratio
n Of Waste
Materials.
Incinerator plants are the source of serious
toxic pollutants: dioxins; furans; acid
gases; particulates; heavy metals; and they
all need to be treated very seriously. There
must be absolute prioritization given to
human health requirements and protection
of the environment. The emissions from
incinerator processes are extremely toxic.
Some of the emissions are carcinogenic…
We
must use every reasonable instrument to
eliminate them altogether.
 Effects of Air Pollution
o Low level exposure
• Irritates eyes
• Causes inflammation of respiratory tract
o Can develop into chronic respiratory
diseases
ACIDIFICATION
Chemical\reaction involving air pollutants can create acidic
compounds which can cause harm to vegetation and buildings.
Sometimes, when an air pollutant, such as sulfuric acid combines
with the water droplets that make up clouds, the water droplets
become acidic, forming acid rain. When acid rain falls over an
area, it can kill trees and harm animals, fish, and other wildlife.
Acid rain destroys the leaves of plants.
When acid rain infiltrates into soils, it changes the chemistry of
the soil making it unfit for many living things that rely on soil as a
habitat or for nutrition. Acid rain also changes the chemistry of
the lakes and streams that the rainwater flows into, harming fish
and other aquatic life.
ACID
RAIN
ACID
RAIN
Eutrophication:

Rain can carry and deposit the Nitrogen in some

pollutants on rivers and soils. This will adversely
affect the nutrients in the soil and water bodies. This
can result in algae growth in lakes and water bodies,
and make conditions for other living organism
harmful.
Eutrophication is a condition where high amount of
nitrogen present in some pollutants gets developed on
sea’s surface and turns itself into algae and adversely
affects fish, plants and animal species. The green
colored alga that is present on lakes and ponds is due
to presence of this chemical only.
 5.Effect on
Wildlife:
• Just like humans, animals also
face some devastating effects
of air pollution. Toxic
chemicals present in the air
can force wildlife species to
move to new place and change
their habitat. The toxic
pollutants deposit over the
surface of the water and can
also affect sea animals.
WILD LIFE AFFECTED BY POLLUTION
6. Depletion of Ozone layer:
Ozone exists in earth’s stratosphere
and is responsible for
protecting humans from
harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.
Earth’s ozone layer is
depleting due to the presence
of chlorofluorocarbons, hydro
chlorofluorocarbons in the
atmosphere. As ozone layer
will go thin, it will emit
harmful rays back on earth
and can cause skin and eye
CFCs CAUSE OZONE DEPLETION
AIR POLLUTION AFFECTING HUMAN
 GREEN HOUSE EFFECT In
the result of air pollution number of green
house gases are increase rapidly. The
man-made (or anthropogenic) component
of the greenhouse effect is caused by
man’s activities that emit greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere.
The most important of these is the burning
of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels contain carbon,
and when they are burnt this carbon
combines with oxygen in the atmosphere
to form carbon dioxide.
GREEN HOUSE EFFECT
CAUSE GLOBAL
WARMING
 WHAT IS GLOBAL
WARMING
Global warming is an occurrence which results to the rise in
the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere. Due to
extreme pollution from factories and automobiles in the
earth's atmosphere, greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide
and nitrous oxide form a thick layer in the upper
atmosphere and traps the sun's rays from being reflected
back to outer space. This eventually leads to a rise in
temperatures as the sun warms the earth.
 Ground-level ozone:

o Chemical reactions involving air pollutants

create a poisonous gas ozone (O3). Gas
Ozone can affect people’s health and can
damage vegetation types and some animal
life too.
EFFECTS OF GROUND LEVEL OZONE
Particulate matter:
Air pollutants can be in the form of particulate matter
which can be very harmful to our health. The level of
effect usually depends on the length of time of exposure,
as well the kind and concentration of chemicals and
particles exposed to. Short-term effects include irritation
to the eyes, nose and throat, and upper respiratory
infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Others
include headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Short-
term air pollution can aggravate the medical conditions of
individuals with asthma and emphysema. Long-term
health effects can include chronic respiratory disease,
lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain,
nerves, liver, or kidneys. Continual exposure to air
pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may
aggravate or complicate medical conditions in the elderly.
EFFECT OF PARTICULATE MATTER ON HUMAN HEALTH
 Health Effects of Air Pollution
o Sulfur Dioxide and Particulate material
• Irritate respiratory tract and impair ability of
lungs to exchange gases
o Nitrogen Dioxides
• Causes airway restriction
o Carbon monoxide
• Binds with iron in blood hemoglobin
• Causes headache, fatigue, drowsiness, death
o Ozone
• Causes burning eyes, coughing, and chest
discomfort
 Children and Air Pollution

o Greater health threat to children than

adults
• Air pollution can restrict lung development
• Children breath more often than adults
o Children who live in high ozone areas are
more likely to develop asthma
 Controlling Air Pollution
in US
o Smokestacks with
electrostatic precipitator
(right)

Without
Electrostatic
precipitator

With Electrostatic
precipitator
Controlling Air Pollution
in the US
o Smokestacks with
scrubbers (right)
o Particulate material can
also be controlled by
proper excavating
techniques
 Controlling Air Pollution in the US
o Phase I Vapor Recovery System for
gasoline
 The Clean Air Act
o Authorizes EPA to set
limits on amount of
specific air pollutants
permitted
o Focuses on 6
pollutants:
• lead, particulate
matter, sulfur dioxide,
carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxides, and
ozone
o Act has led to
decreases!
 Other Ways to Improve Air Quality

o Reduce sulfur content in gasoline from its

current average of 330 ppm to 30 ppm
• Sulfur clogs catalytic converters
o Require federal emission standards for all
passenger vehicles
• Including SUVs, trucks and minivans
o Require emission testing for all vehicles
• Including diesel
 Ozone Depletion in Stratosphere
o Ozone Protects earth from UV radiation
• Part of the electromagnetic spectrum with
wavelengths just shorter than visible light
 Ozone Depletion in Stratosphere

o Ozone thinning/hole
• First identified in 1985
over Antarctica
o Caused by
• human-produced bromine
and chlorine containing
chemicals
• Ex: CFCs
 Ozone Depletion in Stratosphere

o Hole over Antarctica requires two

conditions:
• Sunlight just returning to polar region
• Circumpolar vortex- a mass of cold air that
circulates around the southern polar region
• Isolates it from the warmer air in the rest of the
planet
o Polar stratospheric clouds form
• Enables Cl and Br to destroy ozone
 Effects of Ozone Depletion

o Higher levels of UV-

radiation hitting the
earth
• Eye cataracts
• Skin cancer (right)
• Weakened immunity
o May disrupt
ecosystems
o May damage crops
and forests
 Recovery of Ozone Layer

o Montreal Protocol (1987)

• Reduction of CFCs
• Started using HCFCs (greenhouse gas)
o Phase out of all ozone destroying chemicals
is underway globally
o Satellite pictures in 2000 indicated that
ozone layer was recovering
o Full recovery will not occur until 2050
 Acid Deposition

o Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide

emissions react with water vapor in the
atmosphere and form acids that return to
the surface as either dry or wet deposition
o pH scale
How Acid Deposition Develops
 Effects of Acid Deposition
o Declining Aquatic
Animal Populations
o Thin-shelled eggs
prevent bird
reproduction
• Because calcium is
unavailable in acidic soil
o Forest decline
• Ex: Black forest in
Germany (50% is
destroyed)
Acid Deposition and Forest Decline
Air Pollution Around the World
o Air quality is deteriorating
rapidly in developing countries
o Shenyang, China
• Residents only see sunlight a few
weeks each year
o Developing countries have older
cars
• Still use leaded gasoline
o 5 worst cities in world
• Beijing, China; Mexico City, Mexico;
Shanghai, China; Tehran, Iran; and
Calcutta, India
Long Distance Transport of Air
Pollutants
 Indoor Air
Pollution
o Pollutants can be
5-100X greater
than outdoors
o Most common:
• Radon, cigarette
smoke, carbon
monoxide,
nitrogen dioxide,
formaldehyde
pesticides, lead,
cleaning solvents,
ozone, and
asbestos
Indoor Air Pollution - Radon