Air Pollution

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Air Pollution
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Layers of the Atmosphere

• Troposphere
• Stratosphere
• Mesosphere
• Thermosphere

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Troposphere Composition

• Sea level? 17km
• Composition
• 78 Nitrogen
• 20 Oxygen
• Other 2...
• Water vapor
• Argon gas
• Carbon dioxide
• Other stuff

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Troposphere

• Weather occurs
• Increase in altitude
• Decrease in pressure
• Decrease in gas density

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Stratosphere

• 17-48 km
• Similar composition
• to troposphere
• Less water
• Ozone (O3)

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Ozone

• Functions
• Filters UV radiation
• Allows life to exist
• Types
• Tropospheric ? BAD!
• Stratospheric ? GOOD!

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Tropospheric Ozone

• Atmospheric pollutant
• Not directly emitted
• Reaction of sunlight with hydrocarbons and
  nitrogen oxides
• Effects lung irritant,
• damage to plants,
• greenhouse gas

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Stratospheric Ozone

• Earths sunscreen
• Shields from UVB rays
• Thinning at poles
• Spring
• Thinning due to
• CFCs released
• Effects of thinning
• DNA damage
• Skin cancer

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Air Pollution

• Contaminant added in high enough concentrations
  to the air to harm human health or alter climate

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Types of Pollutants

• Primary
• released directly into the air
• Examples Carbon monoxides, Particulate matter
• Secondary
• Formed as a result of chemical rxns in air
• Examples smog, acid rain, ozone(tropo)

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EPA Indicators of Air Quality

• Nitrogen Dioxide
• Ozone (ground level)
• Carbon Monoxide
• Lead
• Particulate Matter
• Sulfur Dioxide
• VOCs ( Volatile Organic
• Compounds)

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Nitrogen Dioxide

• Standard 0.053ppm
• Sources
• Fuel combustion
• Vehicles, industry, power plants
• Forest fires
• Effects
• Heart Lung problems
• Acid rain
• Suppress plant growth
• Haze or smog

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Ozone

• Standard 0.10 ppm
• Sources
• Secondary pollutant
• Formed from photochemical rxn in Nox or VOCs
• Effects
• Respiratory problems

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Carbon Monoxide

• Standard 9 ppm
• Sources
• Incomplete combustion of fossil
• fuels
• Most from car exhaust
• Effects
• Reduces amount of oxygen
• reaching tissues organs
• Aggravates heart disease
• Mental visual sharpness

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Lead

• Standard 1.5 ug/m3
• Sources
• Smelters
• Incinerators
• Battery manufacturing
• Effects
• Damages nervous system
• IQ loss
• Cardiovascular effects

Leaded gas was phased out from 1976-1986 Blood
conc. In US dropped 78 from 1976-1991
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Sulfur Dioxide

• Standard 0.3 ppm
• Sources
• Burning coal/oil
• Smelting
• Paper manufacturing
• Effects
• Acid rain
• Respiratory issues

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Particulate Matter

• Standard 50 ug/m3
• Sources
• Burning coal
• Volcanoes
• Factories
• Pollen
• Development
• Effects
• Lung damage
• Carcinogens

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Volatile Organic Compounds

• Sources
• Vehicles
• Aerosols
• Evaporation of solvents
• Dry cleaning
• Effects
• Eye respiratory irritants
• Liver kidney damage
• Global warming

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Smog

• A mixture between smog fog that produces
  unhealthy urban air
• Two types
• Industrial
• Photochemical

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Industrial Smog
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Photochemcial Smog
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Thermal Inversion
A thin layer of atmosphere where the normal
decrease in temperature with height switches to
an increase in temperature instead trapping air
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Acid Deposition

• AKA Acid Rain
• Formation of acidic particles or precipitation
  due to the interaction between air pollutants
  such as nitrous oxides sulfur dioxide with
  water vapor to produce acids

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Acid Deposition

• Sources
• Natural
• Lightning strikes (NOx)
• Volcanic eruptions (SO2)
• Anthropogenic
• Industry
• Motor vehicles
• Electric plants

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Acid Deposition Effects

• Human Health
• Respiratory problems
• Toxins in fish
• Aquatic Ecosystems
• Lower pH ? fish kills
• Flora
• Leach soil nutrients
• Lower crop yields
• Damages plants
• Damage to buildings etc.

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Indoor Air Pollutants

• Less Developed Countries
• Wood burning stoves
• Charcoal use
• Dung crop residues
• Unvented/poorly ventilated buildings

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Indoor Air Pollution

• Developed Countries
• EPA findings
• Common air pollutants 2-5x higher in buildings
  homes than outdoors
• Pollution levels in high traffic urban areas can
• be 18x higher inside the car than outside
• Health risk in urban areas are
• magnified bc people spend 70-98
• of their time indoors

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More EPA findings

• Air pollution is listed at the top for cancer
  risk
• People most at risk
• Smokers
• Children under 5
• Elderly
• Sick
• Factory workers

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Four Most Dangerous Air Pollutants

• Tobacco smoke
• Formaldehyde
• Building materials
• Radon gas
• Underground deposits
• Small particles
• emissions

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Additional Sources

• Pesticide residue
• Living organisms their excrement
• Dust mites, insect droppings
• Airbourne spores
• Mold fungus

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Sick Building Syndrome

• air pollutants found in buildings to a number of
  health effects
• One in five commercial buildings in the US

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State of Air Pollution

• Poor are more susceptible
• 2.4 million deaths/yr worldwide
• 150,000 in US

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Dealing with Air Pollution

• Legal
• Clean air act
• Economic
• Technological

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Clean Air Act

• Initial in 1970 with additions in 1977 1990
• EPA was charged with
• Developing air quality standards for 6 major air
  pollutants
• Establishing national standards for hazardous air
  pollutants (HAPs)

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6 Major Air Pollutant Standards

• Primary standard protect human health
• Secondary standard prevent environmental damage
• Each standard
• From 1980-2008 54 in 6 major pollutants
• (CO2 has inc. 16)

Max level allowed Specific period of time
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HAPs

• Standards for 188
• Publish report Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)
• Over 21,000 industries, power plants, etc. report
• Added in 1990

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Next steps

• Emphasis on prevention
• Older plants, refineries, etc. required to meet
  standards
• Improve fuel efficiency for vehicles

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Next steps

• Strict regulations on motorcycles lawn mowers
• Stricter guidelines for airports ships
• Reduce indoor pollutants
• Increase modernize monitoring equipment

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Emissions Trading

• Market-based approach to controlling air
  pollution by providing economic incentives for
  reducing pollutant emissions
• Positive reduction in SO2 emissions by 53
• Negative create toxic hot spots