Air Pollution
Overview
o Atmosphere as a Resource
o Types and Sources of Air Pollution
• Major Classes of Air Pollutants
• Sources of Outdoor Air Pollutants
• Urban Air Pollution
o Effects of Air Pollution
o Controlling Air Pollution in the US
Atmosphere as a Resource
o Atmospheric
Composition
• Nitrogen 78.08%
• Oxygen 20.95%
• Argon 0.93%
• Carbon dioxide 0.04%
o Ecosystem services
• Blocks UV radiation
• Moderates the
climate
• Redistributes water in
the hydrologic cycle
Types and Sources of Air Pollution
o Air Pollution
• Chemicals added to the atmosphere by natural
events or human activities in high enough
concentrations to be harmful
o Two categories
• Primary Air Pollutant
• Harmful substance that is emitted directly into the
atmosphere
• Secondary Air Pollutant
• Harmful substance formed in the atmosphere when a
primary air pollutant reacts with substances
normally found in the atmosphere or with other air
pollutants
Major Air Pollutants
Major Classes of Air Pollutants
o Particulate Material
o Nitrogen Oxides
o Sulfur Oxides
o Carbon Oxides
o Hydrocarbons
o Ozone
Particulate Material
o Thousands of different solid or liquid
particles suspended in air
• Includes: soil particles, soot, lead, asbestos,
sea salt, and sulfuric acid droplets
o Dangerous for 2 reasons
• May contain materials with toxic or
carcinogenic effects
• Extremely small particles can become lodged in
lungs
Nitrogen and Sulfur Oxides
o Nitrogen Oxides
• Gases produced by the chemical interactions
between atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen at
high temperature
• Problems
• Greenhouse gases
• Cause difficulty breathing
o Sulfur Oxides
• Gases produced by the chemical interactions
between sulfur and oxygen
• Causes acid precipitation
Carbon Oxides and Hydrocarbons
o Carbon Oxides
• Gases carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon
dioxide (CO2)
• Greenhouse gases
o Hydrocarbons
• Diverse group of organic compounds that
contain only hydrogen and carbon (ex: CH 4-
methane)
• Some are related to photochemical smog and
greenhouse gases
Ozone
o Tropospheric Ozone
• Man- made pollutant in the lower atmosphere
• Secondary air pollutant
• Component of photochemical smog
o Stratospheric Ozone
• Essential component that screens out UV
radiation in the upper atmosphere
• Man- made pollutants (ex: CFCs) can destroy it
Sources of Outdoor Air Pollution
o Two main sources
• Transportation
• Industry
o Intentional forest
fires is also high
Urban Air Pollution
o Photochemical Smog (ex: Los Angeles below)
• Brownish-orange haze formed by chemical reactions
involving sunlight, nitrogen oxide, and hydrocarbons
Formation of Photochemical Smog
Sources of Smog in Los Angeles
Case-In-Point Air Pollution in Beijing
and Mexico City
o Beijing (left)
o Mexico City (above)
Effects of Air Pollution
o Low level exposure
• Irritates eyes
• Causes inflammation of respiratory tract
o Can develop into chronic respiratory
diseases
Health Effects of Air Pollution
o Sulfur Dioxide and Particulate material
• Irritate respiratory tract and impair ability of
lungs to exchange gases
o Nitrogen Dioxides
• Causes airway restriction
o Carbon monoxide
• Binds with iron in blood hemoglobin
• Causes headache, fatigue, drowsiness, death
o Ozone
• Causes burning eyes, coughing, and chest
discomfort
Children and Air Pollution
o Greater health threat to children than
adults
• Air pollution can restrict lung development
• Children breath more often than adults
o Children who live in high ozone areas are
more likely to develop asthma
Controlling Air Pollution
in US
o Smokestacks with
electrostatic precipitator
(right)
Without
Electrostatic
precipitator
With Electrostatic
precipitator
Other Ways to Improve Air Quality
o Reduce sulfur content in gasoline from its
current average of 330 ppm to 30 ppm
• Sulfur clogs catalytic converters
o Require federal emission standards for all
passenger vehicles
• Including SUVs, trucks and minivans
o Require emission testing for all vehicles
• Including diesel
Ozone Depletion in Stratosphere
o Ozone Protects earth from UV radiation
• Part of the electromagnetic spectrum with
wavelengths just shorter than visible light
Ozone Depletion in Stratosphere
o Ozone thinning/hole
• First identified in 1985 over Antarctica
o Caused by
• human-produced bromine and chlorine
containing chemicals
• Ex: CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) is an
organic compound that contains carbon,
chlorine, and fluorine, produced as a volatile
derivative of methane and ethane. A common
subclass is the hydrochlorofluorocarbons
(HCFCs), which contain hydrogen, as well.
Effects of Ozone Depletion
o Higher levels of UV-
radiation hitting the
earth
• Eye cataracts
• Skin cancer (right)
• Weakened immunity
o May disrupt
ecosystems
o May damage crops
and forests
Recovery of Ozone Layer
o Montreal Protocol (1987)
• Reduction of CFCs
• Started using HCFCs (greenhouse gas)
o Phase out of all ozone destroying chemicals
is underway globally
o Satellite pictures in 2000 indicated that
ozone layer was recovering
o Full recovery will not occur until 2050
Acid Deposition
o Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide
emissions react with water vapor in the
atmosphere and form acids that return to
the surface as either dry or wet
deposition
o pH scale
How Acid Deposition Develops
Effects of Acid Deposition
o Declining Aquatic
Animal Populations
o Thin-shelled eggs
prevent bird
reproduction
• Because calcium is
unavailable in acidic soil
o Forest decline
• Ex: Black forest in
Germany (50% is
destroyed)
Acid Deposition and Forest Decline
Air Pollution Around the World
o Air quality is deteriorating
rapidly in developing countries
o Shenyang, China
• Residents only see sunlight a few
weeks each year
o Developing countries have older
cars
• Still use leaded gasoline
o 5 worst cities in world
• Beijing, China; Mexico City, Mexico;
Shanghai, China; Tehran, Iran; and
Calcutta, India
