APES Unit 7: Atmospheric Pollution

Montreal Protocol

(1987) phase-out of ozone depleting substances

NOx (nitrogen oxides- NO, NO2)

- All FF combustion (gas esp.) - O3, photochem smog, acid precip.

Indoor air pollutant: VOCs

- Chemicals used in variety of home products that easily vaporize, enter air, and irritate eyes, lungs, bronchioles - Causes: Adhesives/sealants, Formaldehyde, cleaners, fabrics/plastics

SO2 (sulfur dioxide)

- Coal combustion (electricity) - Respiratory irritant, smog, acid precip.

PM (particulate matter)

- FF/biomass combustion - Respiratory irritant, smog

Indoor air pollutant: CO

- Produced by incomplete combustion of basically any fuel - CO is an asphyxiant: causes suffocation due to CO binding to hemoglobin in blood, displacing O2

Radon gas

- Radioactive gas released by decay of uranium naturally found in rocks underground (granite especially) - Enters homes through cracks in the foundation & then disperses up through home - Solutions: Sealing cracks in foundation can prevent it from entering and increasing ventilation in the home can disperse it if it's detected

Impacts of smog

- Reduces sunlight; limiting photosynthesis - O3 damages plant stomata and irritates animal resp. tracts - Resp. irritant; worsens asthma, bronchitis, COPD; irritates eyes - Increased health care costs to treat asthma, bronchitis, COPD

Indoor air pollutants: Developed nations

- Use more commercial fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) supplied by utilities - Typically burned in closed, well ventilated furnaces, stoves, etc.

Formaldehyde

A common adhesive in particle board and carpet glues (Emitted from most manufactured building materials and furniture/new carpet smell)

Asbestos

A long, silicate particle previously used in insulation (since been linked to lung cancer & asbestosis)

Which of the following would be the best control group to evaluate the treated wastewater from the paper company?

A sample of water upstream from the same river

How does the inversion layer influence air pollution events?

Because warm wait rises, air convection carries air pollutants away from earth's surface and distributes them higher into the atmosphere

Why isn't CO2 on the list of criteria air pollutants?

CO2 is not on the list of criteria air pollutants because it does not directly lower air quality from a human health standpoint

Has a stronger affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen has

Carbon monoxide

Which of the following is a nonanthropogenic source of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere?

Cellular respiration

CFCs

Chlorinated Fluorocarbons are chemicals that break down the ozone layer

Hydrocarbons

Compounds composed of only carbon and hydrogen

What do the letters in CAFE stand for?

Corporate Average Fuel Economy

Developing nations: CO

Emitted from indoor biomass combustion for heating/cooking

Recent studies have found that fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less can have negative human health effects. Which of the following correctly links a negative human health effect to an anthropogenic source of fine particulate matter?

High rates of respiratory disease from power plant emissions

Which of the following would be the best location to obtain a water sample from to determine if the paper plant is affecting the acidity of the river?

Immediately downstream from the paper plant

Which of the following best describes one way the Clean Air Act helped reduce air pollution?

Introduced regulatory measures to control the amount of lead in fuels

Describe the Clean Air Act (1970)

It identified 6 criteria air pollutants that the EPA is required to set acceptable limits for, monitor, and enforce

Thermal inversion impacts

It traps pollution close to the ground, especially smog and particulates

What kind of impact will decarbonizing our economy have on noise pollution?

It will reduce urban noise pollution because electric vehicles and appliances are quieter than fossil fuel powered systems.

What are the three precursors to photochemical smog?

NO2, VOCs, O3

NO2 --> NO + O --> O + O2 = O3

Photochemical smog formation

what is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America?

Radon gas

Developed nations: CO

Released into home by malfunctioning natural gas furnace ventilation

How does CO2 appear naturally in the atmosphere

Respiration, decomposition, and volcanic eruptions

Natural sources of CO2 and PM

Respiration, natural PM sources, aerobic decomposition, anaerobic decomposition

Examples of PM

Smoke, dust, asbestos

Ship engines and propulsion, sonar, and seismic blasts are all:

Sources of aquatic noise pollution

What are two conditions needed for photochemical smog to form?

Sunlight and warmth

Which of the following water quality indicators should be measured to best determine if the wastewater is increasing the acidity of the river?

The amount of hydrogen ions

Consumers who get their electricity from coal-fired power plants are not paying the true cost of energy production in their monthly utility bills. Which of the following is true about utility bills for these consumers?

The bills do not include public health costs, such as those associated with air pollution

If technology that reduces the hydrocarbon concentration had been utilized, which of the following would have been the most likely result?

The concentration of ozone (O3) would have been lower.

urban heat island effect

The heat that cities generate as a result of having many buildings and few trees or other vegetation (low albedo and less evaporation)

Vapor Recovery

The removal of unburned gasoline vapors from gasoline containers, including underground tanks at gas stations and automobile gas tanks. Recovered vapors are either burned or condensed.

Radon-222

a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is produced by the decay of uranium found in some rocks and soils

Which of the following locations would most likely receive acid deposition?

a town downwind from a coal-fired power plant

Which of the following could be considered noise pollution?

a vacuum cleaner

Important factors that contribute to smog formation in the Los Angeles basin include:

ample summer sunshine and high concentration of automobiles

Which of the following is a problem associated with a thermal inversion?

an increase in pollutants trapped at Earth's surface, which increases the number of cases of human respiratory problems

Select the places where anaerobic respiration is done by the methanogens living in these areas and releases methane

areas with melting permafrost, wetlands, bogs, marshland

Catalytic converters reduce which of the following air pollutants in car exhaust?

carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons

More efficient vehicles burn less gasoline and release less:

carbon monoxide, PM, carbon dioxide, NOx

Sick Building Syndrome

headaches, allergies, chronic fatigue and other symptoms caused by poorly vented indoor air contaminated by pathogens or toxins

Which of the following describes a potential human health effect most likely to be associated with a thermal inversion?

increase in respiratory irritants due to increased levels of fine airborne particulates.

Marine noise pollution is different from land based noise pollution because

it travels farther

Natural sources of air pollutants

lightning strikes, forest fires, plants, volcanoes

Noise pollution

sound at levels high enough to cause physiological stress & hearing loss

Most often cited as the causative factor for acid deposition

sulfur dioxide

Acid rain is associated with which of the following?

the burning of fossil fuels

Which of the following is true about the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990?

they allowed power plants to buy and sell SO2 pollution allowances

How does an inversion layer form?

when a layer of warm air becomes trapped above a layer of cooler air

Reduction of smog

- Decreasing the number of vehicles on the road decreases NO2 emissions (Fewer vehicles = less gas = fewer VOCs) - Increased electricity production from renewable sources that don't emit NOx (solar, wind, hydro)

Acid deposition

- Due to NOx and SOx from anthropogenic and natural sources in the atmosphere - Coal burning and vehicles - Mainly affects communities that are downwind from coal-burning power plants - Can lead to the acidification of soils and bodies of water and corrosion of man-made structures

Primary air pollutants

- Emitted directly from sources such as vehicles, power plants, factories, or natural sources (volcanoes, forest fires) - Examples: NOx, CO, CO2*, VOCs, SO2, PM, hydrocarbons

Lead

- Found in old homes, in old plumbing pipes and fixtures and some ceramic glazes - Paint chips off walls/windows and is eaten by small children or inhaled as dust - Damages central nervous system of children due to smaller size and still developing brain - Solutions: Replace paint/lead water pipes can be replaced by cities with copper pipes

CO (Carbon Monoxide)

- Incomplete combustion - O3, Lethal to humans

Pb (Lead)

- Metal plants, waste incineration - Neurotoxicant

Dust and mold

- Natural indoor air pollutants that can worsen asthma, bronchitis, COPD, emphysema - Dust settles in homes naturally, is disturbed by movement, entering air and then respiratory tract - Mold develops in areas that are dark and damp and aren't well ventilated - Solutions: Removed by physically cleaning mold out and fixing the water leak or ventilation issue that lead to mold forming

PM2.5 ( <2.5 micrometers)

- Particles from combustion (especially vehicles) smaller dust particles - More likely to travel deep into the lungs due to smaller size - Associated with chronic bronchitis and increased risk of lung cancer

PM10 ( <10 micrometers)

- Particles like dust, pollen, ash, or mold - Too small to be filtered out by nose hairs and trachea cilia; can irritate respiratory tract & cause inflammation

Secondary air pollutants

- Primary pollutants that have transformed in presence of sunlight, water, O2 (formed by reaction of primary pollutants) - Examples: Tropospheric O3 (Ozone), Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) & sulfate (SO42-), Nitric acid (HNO3) & nitrate (NO3-)

Indoor air pollutants: Developing nations

- Use more subsistence fuels such as wood, manure, charcoal (biomass) - Often combusted indoors with poor ventilation, leading to high concentrations

O3 (ozone, tropospheric )

- hotochemical oxidation of NO2 - Respiratory irritant, smog, plant damage

Which of the following are ways that noise pollution can impact reproduction?

1. noise pollution can interfere with predation making it harder for adults to provide enough food for their young to survive 2. noise pollution can cause physiological effects such as elevated heart rate which can interfere with reproduction 3. noise pollution can interfere with mating vocalizations

Sources of noise pollution in urban areas:

transportation, construction, domestic and industrial activity

Which of the following sources should be examined in a study to determine the impact of a geologic source on levels of CO2 in the atmosphere?

volcanoes