Self-Check: 7.1-7.8

Which of the different components of smog depicted in the graph are most likely released from automobile exhaust?

A and B

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

Composed of fibers known to cause lung disease

Asbestos

Which of the curves on the graph depicts the concentration of ozone, which requires sunlight to form?

C

Which of the following are direct products of the use of hydrocarbon fuels in automobile engines?

CO2, NOx, and VOCs

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

Carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons

Which type of electricity-generating power plant releases radioactive materials as well as toxic metals such as lead and arsenic under normal operating conditions?

Coal-burning

Which of the following would most likely reduce the concentration of ground-level ozone in the air of a city?

Decrease in the emissions of nitrogen oxides

Emitted from most manufactured building materials and furniture

Formaldehyde

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 conclusions can be drawn from the data presented in the graph?

In moderately developed regions such as China and Latin America, an individual's health is more or as likely to be affected by urban outdoor pollution than by indoor pollution.

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

Increase in respiratory irritation due to increased levels of fine airborne particulates

What important phenomenon that often plays a role in air pollution episodes is illustrated in the diagram above?

Inversion

Which of the following is true of the Clean Air Act?

It established a cap-and-trade program for SO2 in 1990.

Found in old plumbing pipes and fixtures and some ceramic glazes

Lead

Which of the following conclusions can best be drawn from the data in the graph?

Location A has the greatest need for remediation because the radon levels in the building are the highest and exceed the EPA action level.

A gaseous decay product of uranium that is found in rocks

Mercury

Which of the following best describes why the authors claim that reducing noise exposure is currently more of a public policy problem than a scientific problem?

Most public health impacts of noise were already identified in the 1960s.

Which of the following best describes why the authors claim that noise exposure will be a major health problem in the twenty-first century?

Noise exposure is on the increase in both industrialized nations and in developing regions.

Which of the following is the best example of a point source pollutant?

Oil tanker spill

Implicated in human neurological damage

Ozone

The air pollutant that computer simulations would likely show as being the most reduced by the installation of baghouse filters in exhaust systems

Particulate matter

The air pollutant that computer simulations would likely show as being the most reduced by the installation of electrostatic precipitators in exhaust systems

Particulate matter

A leading cause of lung cancer in the United States

Radon

Which of the following actions would be the most effective in decreasing acid rain and acid deposition problems?

Reducing use of fossil fuels

Most often cited as the causative factor for acid deposition

Sulfur dioxide

The air pollutant that computer simulations would likely show as being the most reduced by the use of fluidized-bed combustion in the boiler furnaces

Sulfur dioxide

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

Acid rain is associated with which of the following?

The burning of fossil fuels

The data that were used to create this graph were collected in the winter. Which of the following best describes how the graph would be different if the data were collected in the middle of the summer?

The peaks for every data line would be at a lower concentration.

Which of the following best describes why the authors do not claim that noise exposure induces birth defects in humans?

There is insufficient evidence to support that noise exposure induces birth defects in humans.

Which of the following best explains the cause of the trend shown in the graph for lead emissions in the United States from 1970 to 2011 ?

Unleaded gasoline was first introduced in 1974, and amendments to the Clean Air Act required cars with the model year 1975 or later to use only unleaded gasoline.

Which of the following activities would most likely account for the levels of indoor air pollution in India and sub-Saharan Africa, as shown in the graph?

Use of biomass fuel sources such as wood and charcoal for cooking

Smoke from forest fires is most likely to affect air quality over larger areas for many days when

a persistent atmospheric inversion exists in the region

The majority of atmospheric mercury is produced by

coal-burning power plants

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

the underlying bedrock

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

warm air, cool air, cooler air

Has a stronger affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen has

Carbon monoxide

Which of the following is a primary air pollutant produced from burning coal?

Carbon monoxide

Based on the layers in the diagram, which of the following best explains why a thermal inversion tends 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.

The primary cause of acid precipitation in the northeastern United States is

burning of sulfur-containing fossil fuels to produce electricity

The three main anthropogenic sources of gaseous air pollutants in the United States are

industry, transportation, and energy production

The danger from radon gas would most likely be greatest in

well-insulated homes

Colorless, odorless gas that is a naturally occurring decay product of uranium

Radon

Canada has proposed an action plan to address climate change and air pollution. The action plan will reduce the impact of greenhouse gases and pollutants on the environment and human health. Which of the following claims about the Canadian action plan is best supported by the data in the graph?

The plan supports phasing out traditional coal power plants and transitioning to sources like hydroelectricity, wind, and solar power.