Enviro unit 7
Natural sources of air pollutants
- Lightinging strikes = convert n2 to NOX - forest fires = CO, PM, NOx, combustion of biomass release CO2 and water vapor (GG gas) - plants = emit VOCS, esp conifers - volcanoes = SO2, PM, CO, nox
Smog reduction
- decrease vehicles - increased electricity production from renewable sources that dont emit NOX - nat gas power plants release less NOx than coal
Natural sources of co2 AND PM
- respiration - natural PM sources, sea salt, pollen, ash, leads to HAZE - aerobic decomposition releases CO2 - anaerobic decomposition releases METHANE because of low oxygen levels
VOCS
- used in variety home products adhesives/sealants - used to glue carpet down, hold furniture together (formaldehyde) Cleaners - common cleaners and deodorizers plastics and fabrics
In addition to a nearby mountain range, which of the following environmental conditions would be required for the process in the diagram to occur?
A cool sea breeze and high pressure system
Nitrogen oxides, NO and NO2
All fossil fuel combustion like gas, contributes to ozone, photochemical smog, acid precipitation
Which of the following is most responsible for the change in the emissions of volatile organic compounds ( VOC ) from 1970 to 2020 as shown in the graph
An increase in admission standards that began in 1970 that regulated corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards
LEAD and EPA
Before CCA, lead was common gas additive but after 1974, all vehicles need catalytic converters.
Noise pollution on wildlife land
Can disrupt animal communication, migration and damage hearing. - physiological stress. Caterpillar hearts beat faster on highway - could drive pollinator species decline hearing: prevent predators from hearing prey and vice versa
Laws and regulations
Clean air act = allows epa to set acceptable levels for criteria air pollutants - monitor emissions from PPS - tax/sue/fine corporations that release emissions above levels CAFE vehicle standards = require US fleet of vehicles to meet certain avg ful - requires vehicle manufacturers to work to make more efficient vehicles - more efficient vehicles burn less gas pollution credits = companies that reduce emissions well below EPA set levels earn pollution credits - can sell these to companies that release more than acceptable levels
Particulate matter
Come from fr or biomass combustion, respiratory irr, smog
Noise pollution on aquatic wildlife
Come from ship engines, military sonar, seismic air blasts from ships - hearing loss, disrupted communication, mating calls, pred and prey navigation, whales prone to disruption in migrations - seismic surveying: ships send huge air blasts down into water, searching for oil by recording how echo is returened from ocean floor. So loud that researchers from coast of original can detect blasts from Brazil
Urban noise pollution
Construction - jackhammers, truck, concrete pouring transportaiton - cars, busses, trains industrial activity - manufacturing plants domesitc activity - neighbors music, lawn mowing, home projects
Thermal invasion
Cooler air mass becomes trapped near earths surface - due to warm front moving in, due to hot urban surfaces cooling overnight while IR raditation absorbed during day is still being released cool air > warm air > cold air - worsened by mountains
Which of the following is most likely responsible for the indoor air pollutant shown in the graph
Cracks in the basement foundation
SOx REDUCTION
Crushed limestone - crushed coal mixed with limestone = calcium carbonate - cc in limestone combines with so2 to produce calcium sulfate - can be used to make gypsum wallboard Orr Sheetrock
Developing and developed countries
Developing - use more subsistence or biomass fuels, release CO, PM. NOx. Often combusted indoors with poor ventilation, build up of concentrations developed - commercial fuels, coal, oil, nat gas, burned in furnaces, closed, well ventilated, major indoor air pollutants in developed nations come from chemicals in products
Primary air pollutants
Directly from sources like vehicles, power plants, factories, natural sources - no2, co, co2.....
Which of the following best describes the efficiency of dry scrubbers at removing particles that are less than 2 micrometers in diameter?
Dry scrubbers are less than 10% efficient at removing particles less than 1μm in size.
Normal ozone formation
Early morning traffic makes no2, sun breaks no2 into no and o, o binds with oxygen gas and forms o3. - o3 typically peaks in afternoon when sun is most direct. At night 03 reacts with no to form no2 and o2, o3 levels drop overnight
PM reduction
Electrostatic precipitator - power plant emissions passed through device with neg charge gives parties neg charge - neg charge stick to pos charged plates, trapping them Baghouse filter - large fabric bag filters that trap PM as air from combustion/industrial process passes through - shaker device knocks trapped particles loose into collection hopper
Smog impacts
Env= reduces sunlight, limit photosynth, o3 damages stomata humans = worsens asthma, bronchitis, eye irritant economic = increased health care costs, lost productivity due to sick works, decreased ag yields due tp less sunlight
NOx reduction
Fluidizing jets of air pump led into combustion bed jets of air bring more o2 into run, making combustion more efficient - coal can be combusted at lower temp, less nox
Lead
Found in old homes, paint chips off walls and is eaten by small children - lead water pipes also releases lead into drinking water - damages central nervous system - lead pipes can be replaced with copper pipes
Which of the following claims is best supported by the evidence provided by the article
Frog populations may decrease in size as a result of males changing the pitch of their calls.
Sulfur dioxide SO2
From coal combustion for electricity. Respiratory irritant, forms smog and acid rain
Carbon monoxide CO
From incomplete combustion of anything, lethal to humans, contributes to ozone
Factors that increase smog
Higher VOC emissions (gas stations, laundromats, petrochemical,) increase traffic, increases no2 and o3 more sunlight, summer and afternoon warmer temperature speeds evap
Acid rain effects
Higher h plus ion concentration, lower ph soil water acidification - h+ ions leech other pos charged nutrients from soil - make toxic metals aluminum and mercury more soluble
Carbon monoxide
Incomplete combusition due to low 02 or temp - asphyxiant - causes suffocation. CO binds to hemoglobin in blood - lethal with poor ventilation developed nations = natural gas furnace developing nations = CO emitted from indoor biomass combustion from heating and cooking
The graph shows the average distance traveled by individuals in a population in an urban area in the southwestern United States. Based on the data, which of the following months most likely experiences the highest levels of photochemical smog
July
Which of the following best describes the process shown in the diagram above?
Less-dense, warm air creates a temperature inversion between more-dense layers, trapping pollutants near the ground.
Acid rain reduction
Limestone = natural base that can neutralize soil. - calcium carbon reacts with h= ions forming HCO3, give off ca 2+. Water and soil closer to 7 PH - regions with limestone in environment have Natural buffering. Humans can crush limestone 0 acid rain can corrode human structures
Asbestos
Long, silicate particle previously used in insulation. - remains in older biuildings - not dangerous until insulation is disturbed and asbestos particles enter air and rep tract - should be removed by professsionals
Which of the following best describes how a scientist could accurately study the effects of soil buffering on plant growth in a region that is affected by acid deposition downwind of a coal-burning power plant?
Measure the changes in plant height over a year in two different groups of trees the same distance from the power plant; one group is in topsoil and one group is in topsoil with limestone added.
Which of the following devices is correctly paired to the air pollutant it would be used to measure
Measuring device: gas sensor pollutant measured: CO2
Lead Pb
Metal plants, waste incineration Neurotoxicant
Based on the data in the graph, which of the following insulation options is ineffective at insulating a home and greatly contributes to indoor air pollution?
Mineral fiber batt
Atmospheric deposition is receiving increased attention in the scientific community, and has become the subject of a specific research area in the environmental sciences. Acid rain is detrimental to our ecosystems and can be measured in several ways
Monitoring the long-term chemical and biological parameters of an ecosystem
Urban area experiencing more smog
More traffic, more no2 hotter temps due to low albedo of blacktop, more VOCS due to gas stations and factories, more electricity demanded.
Nitrogen oxides
NO = nitrogen gas combines with oxygen gas esp during combustion. Can become NO2 by reacting with 02 OR O3 - sunlight converts no2 back into no - resp irritant, leads to tropospheric o3, photochemical smog, acid rain
Dry scrubbers
NO SOx VOCS large column tube pipe filled with chemicals that absorb or neutralize oxides from exhaust streams - calcium oxide is common dry scrubber additive which reacts with SO2 to form calcium sulfite
Smog precursors
NO2 is broken by sunlight into NO - VOCS that bind with NO and form photochemical oxidants (Evap easily, usually smelly, carbon based) - ozone forms when no2 is broken by sunlight and free oxygen binds to o2
Wet scrubbers
NOX SOX, VOCS PM may involve chemical agents that absorb or neutralize them but also include mist nozzles that trap PM in water dropkets - mist droplets with pollutants and PM trapped in them fall ro Birmingham id scrubber to get trapped at top by eliminator
Dust and mold
Natural indoor air pollutants that can worsen asthma, bronchitis, COPD, emphysema - dust settles in homes naturally, enter resp tract mold develops in dark and damp, poor ventilation - black mold = releases spores into air, esp harmful to resp system
Photochemical smog formation
No2 concentration, sunlight breaks no2, o bonds with o3, VOCS come in and bond with NO to form photochemical oxidants. Nitric oxide is not free to combine iwht nitric oxides there is now an ozone build up - photochemical oxidants + ozone = photochemical smog
Based on the author's claim in the article, which of the following statements best describes the effect of noise pollution on wildlife?
Noise pollution has a negative effect on wildlife activities such as mating, establishing territories, and predator-prey interactions.
Normal atmoshphere
Normally the atm is warmest at earth surface, and cools as al - warm > cool > cold - because warm air rises, air convection carries air pollution away from earths surface and distributes them higher into atm
Carbon dioxide
Not one of the 6 criteria pollutants, but can pose threat to human health. - does not directly lower human health quality to human standpoint - not toxic to organisms to breathe, not damaging to lungs or eyes, does not lead to smog or dec. visib. IT DOES lead to earth warming bc Gga, thus has human consequences.
Scientists have discovered that Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted from trees can contribute to photochemical smog formation. Data in the table above were collected in 2006 and 2014 in Berlin, Germany. Isoprene is a VOC released by some tree species. Impact factor refers to the percentage of ozone attributed to the isoprene.
Ozone maximum is correlated to average and maximum temp isoprenes contribution to ozone levels in Berlin was greatest in July of both years
A researcher wants to determine if ponds and lakes downwind of a coal-burning power plant are affected by the plant's emissions. Which of the following would be the best parameter from the water in the ponds and lakes to measure in order to determine the effect of the plant's emissions on the aquatic ecosystems?
PH
Clean air act
Passed in 1970, identified criteria air pollutants that EPA is required to set acceptable for monitor and enforce
PM 10 vs PM 2.5
Pm 10 - smaller than 10 micrometers - particles or droplets like dust, pollen, ash, mold, too small to be filtered out by nose hairs and trachea cilia, resp irr PM 2.5 0 smaller than 2.5 micrometers - from combustion like vehicles - more likely to travel deep in lungs - lung cancer, bronchitis
Which of the following points on the graph best illustrates the location where pollutants are most likely to accumulate as a result of a thermal inversion?
Point D
Nox and so2 sources
Precuroses of acid rain so2 - coal fired pps, metal factories, vehicle emissions nox - vehiceles, diesel generators
What is one potential impact of increased noise pollution in national parks that is supported by the article?
Prey populations are likely to increase in national parks because predators have a decreased ability to hear prey sounds.
Secondary air pollutants
Primary pollutants transformed in presence of sunlight, water or 02. - occurs more during day - ozone, sulfuric acid, nitric acid and nitrate, sulfate
Radon gas
Radioactive gas released by decay of uranium found in rocks underground - usually enter home through cracks and disperse from foundation - can seep into groundwater 2nd leading cause of lung cancer EPA reccomends testing home with airborne monitor, or use sealant for cracks
Which of the following is the most likely reason for the trend shown in the graph of fluctuating indoor radon levels over the course of a year
Radon levels tend to increase in the colder months because of the difference in temperature inside and outside the home, which creates a vacuum pulling radon into the home at a higher rate
Limit acid rain
Reduce nox and s02 Higher cafe standards, more public transit, renewable energy sources, more efficient elec use acid deposition has decreased with clean air act
Coal combustion
Releases more pollutants than other fossil fuels, number one source of global elec. - releases CO, CO2, SO2, NOX metals (mercury, arsenic, lead and PM) - resp irr, sulfur aeroasols which blocks sun, forms grey smog, combines with water and o2 to create acid rain
thermal invasion effects
Resp irritatant decreased tourism decreased photosynthetic rate
Acid rain formation
SO2 and nox start react with 02 and h20 Forming nitric and sulfuric acid these acids dissociate in the presence of water into sulfate and nitrate ions and hydrogen ions acidic rain water = more high h ions. Decreases soil and water pH, can limit growth
Ozone tropospheric 03
Smog precursor, photochemical oxidation og nO2, plant damage
Smog conditions
Sunlight - drives o3 formation by breaking down no2 warmth - hotter atm and temp speeds o2 formation
Scientists are testing the effect of different scrubber technologies on the removal of pollutants from coal power plants. The scrubbers use a slurry of limestone and water.
The amount of sulfur oxide released will decrease
Scientists want to examine the effects of a coal-burning power plant on the pH of a lake that is downwind of the power plant. They take samples from a lake that is not downwind of the power plant to serve as a control. However, they did not realize that the lake they chose as a control group was a geothermal hot spring with acidic water.
The coal-burning power plant would not appear to have a large impact because the pH levels of the two lakes would be similar.
Scientists have been collecting atmospheric CO2 data for many years to monitor changes over time. Which of the following best describes why an island location, such as the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, is an ideal location to measure global CO2 concentrations
The location is far from any continent, providing atmospheric air samples that are less likely to be affected by industry and transportation
Air pollution from a power plant is being monitored for levels of nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone. The levels are measured daily at the same time. Which of the following best predicts the impact of a dark and cloudy day on the readings for the levels of air pollutants measured?
There will be an increase in the level of nitrogen dioxide and a decrease in the level of ground-level ozone.
Reduce vehicle air polls
VAPOR RECOVERY NOZZLE - capture haydropcarbon VOCS released from gas - separate tube inside nozzle captures vapors and returns them to underground storage tank beneath gas station - reduceS VOCS which contributes to smog, - reduces benzene CATALYITIC CONVERTER - required on all vehicles after 1975 - contains metals platinum and palladium that bind to NOx and CO - CC converts NOx and CO into CO2, N2, O2 AND H2O
Based on the data in the graph, which of the following methods would be most effective at removing the greatest amount of particulate matter from coal-burning power plant emissions
Wet scrubbers using a flow rate of 450Lmin are best suited to remove large particles.
An air pollution expert set up a monitoring program to determine the amount of particulate matter (PM) leaving a farmer's field after crops were harvested and the soil was bare. She set up high-volume air samplers 10 meters from each edge of the square field and collected samples weekly for two months. When she looked at her data, she was surprised by how much the PM levels varied, both from site to site on a given date and over time at each site. Which of the following parameters would have been best to measure to help explain the variation in her results?
Wind direction and speed
