Ch 6 Air Pollution and Noise

T/F In general terms, it is safe to assume that any two identical sound levels will have the effect of increasing the overall level by 10db

False

T/F Particulates larger than 10 microns can penetrate easily into the respiratory tract

False

The accumulation or increased concentration of a continuously emitted pollutant is

Inversely proportional to wind speed

What size particle can reach the lowest parts of the lung?

3 microns

T/F Sounds with a frequency of 30 hertz are considered very low pitch

True

T/F The frequency of a sound determines its pitch

True

T/F Transportation is the largest source of air pollution.

True

HCFCs

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are a large group of compounds, whose structure is very close to that of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), but including one or more hydrogen atoms. Under normal conditions, HCFCs are gases or liquids which evaporate easily. They are generally fairly stable and unreactive. HCFCs do not usually dissolve in water, but do dissolve in organic (carbon-containing) solvents. HCFCs are chemically similar to Hydrobromofluorocarbons (HBFCs), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Halons and therefore display some similar properties, though they are much less stable and persistent. HCFCs are also part of a group of chemicals known as the volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Since the use of CFCs has been phased out, HCFCs have replaced them for some applications. In particular, HCFCs are now used as refrigerants (in refrigerators, freezers and air conditioning systems) and also in insulative foams. The use of HCFCs as solvents is now being phased out in developed countries and has been banned in the UK since 2001. Their use in general is also being phased out. The most significant releases of HCFCs occur as leakage from cooling applicances which contain them, both during their manufacture, use and disposal. There are not thought to be any natural sources of HCFCs to the environment.

Stability of the atmosphere

Is the ability to enhance or suppress vertical air motions and is largely determined by the vertical temperature profile

Sources of pollutants can generally be classified as

Line sources, area sources, point sources

For a pure tone (single frequency) to be produced, there must be a one-to-one correspondence between

Loudness and intensity

Which of the following are major sources of sulfur dioxide pollution?

Metal smelters, coal and oil burning power plants, refineries

The information needed to use an air quality models includes

Meteorological data, pollutant concentration data, and source emissions data

What involves the chemistry, physics, and dynamics of the atmosphere and includes many direct effects of the atmosphere on the earth's surface, ocean and life.

Meteorology

The normal change in temperature with altitude is

Noted as a decrease due to expansion and thus adiabatic cooling of air

A primary pollutant is

One that is found in the atmosphere in the same form as it exists

Injury to plants due to _____shows up as flecks, stipple and bleaching, tip burns on conifers, and growth suppression

Ozone

What can be formed as a result of the sun's action on nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons?

Ozone

The Ringlemann chart method of evaluating particle pollution in the atmosphere is being replaced by a determination of the

Percent opacity

Glazing, silvering, or bronzing on the underside of a leaf is evidence that injury has occurred by

Peroxyacyl nitrates

If 10 deciblels is 10 times more intense than one decibel, how many times more intense is 20 decibles than one decibel?

100

Air is vital to existence. In fact, humans breathe in a day's time an average of

35lbs of air

A particle count of above___is said to be representative of an urban area

50,000

For workers, a sound level above___dBA should be considered unsafe for daily exposure over a period of months

90

Decibel

A dimensionless unit to express physical intensity or sound pressure levels

Wind rose

A wind rose gives a very succinct but information-laden view of how wind speed and direction are typically distributed at a particular location. Presented in a circular format, the wind rose shows the frequency of winds blowing FROM particular directions. The length of each "spoke" around the circle is related to the frequency of time that the wind blows from a particular direction. Each concentric circle represents a different frequency, emanating from zero at the center to increasing frequencies at the outer circles. The wind roses shown here contain additional information, in that each spoke is broken down into discrete frequency categories that show the percentage of time that winds blow from a particular direction and at certain speed ranges. All wind roses shown here use 16 cardinal directions, such as north (N), NNE, NE, etc.

It is possible to control noise

At the source, in its path of transmission and where it is received

What is the primary difference between criteria air pollutants and air toxics pollutants with respect to health standards? Select one: a. There is no difference - they're both the same b. There are no minimum health standards for air toxics pollutants set by the USEPA c. There are no minimum health standards for criteria air pollutants d. Standards for air toxic pollutants are higher than for air pollutants e. Standards for air pollutants are higher than for air toxics

B

The Montreal Protocol categorizes___and____ in two classes based on their ozone-depiction potential.

CFCs and halons

Which of the following items are not natural topographic features?

Canals (rivers, foliages, hills)

Which of the following is not a malodorous gas?

Carbon monoxide (sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, phenol)

CFCs are widely used because they are

Chemically stable

How are total suspended particles measured?

Collection and weighing

What are two (2) diseases associated with asbestos exposure? Select one: a. Mesothelioma b. Skin Cancer c. Asbestosis d. A and C e. All of the above

D

Which of the following are health effects of ozone? Select one: a. Airway irritation b. Coughing, pain when breathing c. Wheezing during exercise or outdoor activities d. Increased susceptibility to respiratory illnesses and lung damage e. All of the above

E

Which of the following are potential indoor air pollutants? Select one: a. Asbestos b. Biological contaminants (bacteria, mold, mildew, viruses, animal dander/cat saliva, house dust, mites, cockroaches, pollen) c. CO d. Formaldehyde e. All of the above

E

Which of the following is/are economic effects of pollution? Select one: a. Damage to property, equipment, facilities b. Increased medical costs, lost wages, crop damage c. Increased operational costs by facilities-increased product costs d. A and B e. All of the above

E

T/F A primary pollutant is one that is formed in the atmosphere as a result of chemical reactions

False

T/F Chlorofluorcarbons increase the amount of ozone in the atmosphere.

False

T/F Continuous exposure to high-level noise is level noise is less harmful than intermittent or occasional exposure.

False

T/F Dry cotton ear plugs are just as effective against noise control as expensive fitted ear plugs and earmuffs.

False

T/F Sound absorbing materials absorb low frequency sounds much more effectively than high frequency sounds

False

T/F The precise levels at which specific air pollutants become a health hazard are relatively easy to establish by existing surveillance systems

False

T/F The US EPA has the sole responsibility for implementing "The Noise Control Act of 1972"

False (responsibility of the Federal government)

Halon-1301 is used primarily in____

Fixed fire suppression systems

What has been known to cause crippling skeletal damage to cattle through ingested contaminated vegetation.

Fluorides

Street dust would be considered what type of pollution?

Fugitive pollutant: Particulates, gases and vapors that find their way into the air without being vented through a stack

What is considered to be the least damaging to the stratospheric ozone layer?

HCFCs

Photochemical smog has been reported in congested areas with

High motor vehicle traffic

Particle size selective inlets are used to separate particulates above and below 2-3 microns in size on

High volume samples

Peroxyacyl nitrates

Peroxyacyl nitrates (also known as Acyl peroxy nitrates, APN or PANs) are powerful respiratory and eye irritants present in photochemical smog. They are nitrates produced in the thermal equilibrium between organic peroxy radicals by the gas-phase oxidation of a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), or by aldehydes and other oxygenated VOCs oxidizing in the presence of NO2. They are good markers for the source of VOCs as either biogenic or anthropogenic, which is useful in the study of global and local effects of pollutants. PANs are both toxic and irritating, as they dissolve more readily in water than ozone. They are lachrymators, causing eye irritation at concentrations of only a few parts per billion. At higher concentrations they cause extensive damage to vegetation. Both PANs and their chlorinated derivates are said to be mutagenic, as they can be a factor causing skin cancer. PANs are secondary pollutants, which means they are not directly emitted as exhaust from power plants or internal combustion engines, but they are formed from other pollutants by chemical reactions in the atmosphere. Free radical reactions catalyzed by ultraviolet light from the sun oxidize unburned hydrocarbons to aldehydes, ketones, and dicarbonyl compounds, whose secondary reactions create peroxyacyl radicals, which combine with nitrogen dioxide to form peroxyacyl nitrates. The most common peroxyacyl radical is peroxyacetyl, which can be formed from the free radical oxidation of acetaldehyde, various ketones, or the photolysis of dicarbonyl compounds such as methylglyoxal or diacetyl. Since they dissociate quite slowly in the atmosphere into radicals and NO2, PANs are able to transport these unstable compounds far away from the urban and industrial origin. This is important for tropospheric ozone production as PANs transport NOx to regions where it can more efficiently produce ozone.

The unit of measurement most commonly used to measure loudness is called

Phon (1000Hz 40dB =1 sone, 1 sone =40phons, each doubling of the sones increases the phones by 10)

Halon-1211 is used primarily in ___

Portable fire extinguishers

Which of the following inversions develops at night under conditions of relatively clear skies and very light winds?

Radiational inversion

Fluorocarbons in the atmosphere are of concern because they may

React with the ozone in the upper atmosphere, thus reducing the total amount of ozone available, cause an increase in ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth, cause an increase in skin cancers and change in our climate animal, and plant life

Which of the following types of materials are known to reflect sound?

Rubber tiles

Ozone reduces the useful life of all of the following:

Rubber, textiles and dyes (not nylon)

Some specific measures that can be used to reduce the effect of highway noise include:

Setting lower speed limits for certain sections of a highway, establishing alternate truck routes, enclosure of highways going through residential areas

The meteorological elements that have the most direct and significant effects on the distribution of air pollutants are

Solar radiation, wind speed and direction, precipitation and stability

Air pollution is the presence of ______ in the outside air in amounts that are injurious or detrimental to humans, animals, plants or property.

Solids, liquids and gases

The ratio of the energy passing through a wall, floor or ceiling to the energy striking it is called

Sound transmission loss

Air pollution control should first be considered at the

Source

The Safe Alternatives Policy program

Specifies alternatives for all ozone-depleting substances

Impurities in combustible hydrocarbons (coal and oil) combine with oxygen to produce_____ when burned.

Sulfur dioxide

What type of air pollution causes bleaching of leaves in plants?

Sulfur dioxide

Which component of clean, dry air has the smallest volume?

Sulfur dioxide

Animals are primarily affected by the fluorides in the air

Through ingesting vegetation

Which of the following are examples of short-range primary pollutants?

Total suspended solids and sulfur dioxide

In what part of the earth's atmosphere are photochemical oxidants produced?

Troposphere

T/F Almost all sound contains multiple frequencies

True

T/F Bacteria and spores are considered natural sources of air pollution

True

T/F Individuals react differently to noise depending on age, sex and socioeconomic background

True

T/F Stack samples must be collected at the same speed of flow that gasses normally pass though the stack

True

T/F The amount of sound energy a material can absorb is a function of its absorption coefficient at a specified frequency.

True

T/F The terms "washout" and "rainout" both refer to a cleansing process of pollutants in the atmosphere.

True

The distance that a sound wave travels in one cycle or period is the

Wavelength of the sound

Long-term wind data of a given location are presented graphically in the form of

Wind rose