7.3 - 7.8 APES

What location in the US would most likely receive acid deposition?

A town or city downwind from the original power plant

What does sulfur trigger in the atmosphere

Acid rain

What would be the strongest evidence in support of a scientist's contention that a local area was experiencing acid deposition?

An increase in soluble heavy metals in a local pond

What is composed of fibers known to cause lung disease?

Asbestos

What is the human health impact most closely associated with atmospheric particulates?

Asthma

What is a problem that is associated with a thermal inversion?

Build up of pollutants in the layer closest to earth

How do we clean air pollution?

By controlling the use of fossil fuels and using alternative energy

How do we reduce SO2 emissions from coal-burning power plants?

By using wet scrubbers, SO2 emissions will be reduced.

What pollutant is has a stronger affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen has?

Carbon monoxide (CO)

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

Carbon monoxide (CO) , Hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides (NOx)

Describe an environmental disadvantage of using industrial scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators for pollution abatement.

Coal ash contains toxic levels of several different pollutants, so when it is collected and stored long-term in coal ash ponds, there is increased risk of exposure to toxic metals.

What is primarily responsible for acid rain in the northeast United States?

Coal burning

What pollutant is emitted from most manufactured building materials and furniture?

Formaldehyde

Describe the use of electrostatic precipitators in exhaust systems.

In an electrostatic precipitator, there are two positively charged plates that attract the negatively charged smoke particulates. These particulates stick to the plates on the inside walls of the smoke stacks to keep the air as clean as possible.

What is a potential human health effect most likely to be associated with a thermal inversion?

Increase in respiratory irritation due to increased levels of airborne particulates

What pollutant is found in old plumbing pipes and fixtures and some ceramic glazes?

Lead

Describe the use of fluidized-bed combustion in the boiler furnaces

Limestone is used to precipitate out sulfate during combustion, which also allows more efficient heat transfer from the boiler to the apparatus used to capture the heat energy.

Which cities regularly experience the worst levels of photochemical smog that is enhanced by thermal inversions?

Los Angles

A student is setting up a model to study the carbon cycle and natural sources of carbon dioxide. They create a microenvironment that contains soil, leaf debris, an earthworm, heterotrophic bacteria, and a sun lamp. What natural source of carbon dioxide and major metabolic process was left out of the model?

No photosynthesis

Is the major pollutant that electrostatic precipitators are designed to remove from power-plant smokestack emissions

Particulates

What pollutant is colorless, odorless gas that is a naturally occurring decay product of uranium?

Radon

What pollutant is has been implicated as the cause of as much as 15 percent of lung cancer case?

Radon

What actions would be the most effective in decreasing acid rain and acid deposition problems?

Reducing use of fossil fuels

What is a natural source of atmospheric carbon dioxide?

Respiration, decomposition, forest fires, volcanoes.

What are the consequences of indoor air pollutants?

Respiratory and eye irritation

What is an appropriate remediation strategy for removing radon gas from the home?

Seal or ventilate places where radon enters the living space

Most often cited as the causative factor for acid deposition?

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

What is an important precursor to acid rain?

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx)

What important phenomenon that often plays a role in air pollution episodes in some cities?

Temperature Inversion

Why does a thermal inversion tend to concentrate pollutants in the air layer closest to the Earth's surface?

The air layer closest to the Earth's surface is denser than the layer above it.

Describe the use of baghouse filters in exhaust systems.

The baghouse filter removes particles by a series of filter bags that physically remove the particles

Bats use echolocation to find prey by emitting high-pitched bursts of sound and analyzing the reflection. Scientists studying a population of bats in a forest observed that their population size had declined in the years following the completion of a nearby highway. Based on the information above, describe how noise pollution from the highway has affected the size of the bat population?

The bats can't find their prey because they are not able to do echolocation.

Acid rain is associated with what?

The burning of fossil fuels

Acid deposition would most likely result in what?

The release of aluminum ions from soil

The major source of radon in houses in the United States is what?

The underlying bedrock

What would be the most likely effect of acid deposition on a northern forest?

There will be a decreased ability for trees to withstand cold weather

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

Volcanos

The danger from radon gas would most likely be greatest in what situation?

Well insulated homes

In the figure below, the letters A, B, C, and D represent the different thermal layers present in an inversion.What is the correct sequence of thermal layers as one moves vertically upwards from the surface of Earth?

cool air ----> warm air -----> cooler air

What is true about noise pollution?

sudden or persistent noise may lead to permanent hearing loss

If the air layers in the diagram were relabeled to illustrate normal atmospheric conditions, the correct labeling from the air layer closest to the Earth's surface to the one farthest from the Earth's surface would be what? Use temperature of air layers as your guide.

warm air ----> cool air ----> cooler air