Air Pollution

1. Criteria pollutants and their health effects.

2. Acid rain and their chemical precursors.

3. Temperature inversions and its impact on the dispersion of pollutants.
4. The formation mechanism of tropospheric ozone, and how stratospheric ozone differs
5. from tropospheric ozone.
6. How the normalised air-to-fuel ratio effects the emissions pattern from a spark
7. ignition engine.
8. Different approaches for measuring emissions from the tailpipe of a vehicle.
9. After-treatment technologies for vehicles.
10. The key features for measuring vehicle emissions in an engine dynamometer facility.
11. The principles of air pollution control.
12. Air pollution control techniques for criteria pollutants.
13. Indoor air pollutants and their health effects.

Introductory lecture:
1. The seven criteria pollutants
2. How tropospheric ozone is formed and the difference between tropospheric and
stratospheric ozone
3. Pollutants that are associated with the formation of acid rain
4. What a temperature inversion is and how it affects the dispersion of pollutants
Air monitoring lecture:

1. PM measurement techniques and their advantages and disadvantages

2. How to perform NOx measurement
Air pollution control lecture:

1. The principles of air pollution control illustrated with examples

2. Techniques for performing NOx and PM control in diesel engines
3. The objective and function of a three-way catalyst for petrol engines
4. Techniques for measuring vehicle emissions and their advantages and disadvantages
5. Technologies for meeting future vehicle emissions standards
Indoor air lecture:

1. Sources, health effects, measurement of asbestos and radon

2. Relationships between indoor and outdoor air

Noise Pollution

a. Know the key noise sources.

 b. The principles of noise pollution control.
c. The measurement principle of a microphone.
d. Recommend noise control options

Exam Questions

Section A

AIR POLLUTION
(50 marks)

Question A1 (5 marks):
The NEPM sets maximum air pollutant concentrations. What is the maximum concentration for lead?

Lead levels are now usually 10% of the limit value ≈ 50 ng/m3 (limit value is 500
ng/m3)

In NSW lead levels are below detectable limits

Question A2 (5 marks):
Name a common method of measuring Tropospheric Ozone.

Ultraviolet spectroscopy based on idea that ozone absorbs UV light at a

wavelength of 254 nm
Technique compliant with Australian Standard 3580.6.1-2011

Question A3 (5 marks):
What is legislative framework underpinning the NPI and what does it set out?

The NPI (www.npi.gov.au) was developed as a National Environment Protection

Measure (NEPM) by the National Environment Protection Council (NEPC)

Industries that exceed given threshold levels (normally related to production amounts)
are required to estimate emissions and submit a report annually

Government estimates emissions from other sources and all data is collected in a
national database

At present NPI includes emissions for 93 substances. It is hoped that in the future
greenhouse gases and ozone depleting substances will be included

Question A4 (5 marks):
Name the seven (7) most significant air pollutants affecting public health and the environment.

Question A5 (5 marks):
Describe why Meteorology is so important for the air pollution engineer.

Question A6 (5 marks):
In the textbook ‘The Weather Makers’ Tim Flannery states that the ‘planet earth is being run in deficit’.
State the year and population when this first occurred
Question A7 (5 marks):
How many tonnes of CO2equivalent are emitted into the atmosphere if 1 million tonnes to coal and 2
million tonnes of methane are combusted (assume that all the coal and methane are converted to CO 2
and water).

Question A8 (5 marks):
Describe the atmospheric condition that is necessary to allow temperature inversion to occur.

Question A9 (5 marks):
Name the three basic strategies for air pollution control and give an example of each.

•1. Prevent pollution using a process change

-Examples include:
-Redesign of burners, furnaces, kilns boilers etc. for more efficient combustion
-Use of alternative fuels in combustion, encouraging citizens to car pool or use public
transport, more efficient lighting
•2. Use a downstream pollution control device
-Examples include:
-Catalysts or filters for motor vehicles, flue gas desulphurisation for a power plant
•3. Improve dispersion from the source
-This can be achieved by:
-Raising the stack height
-Reducing emissions when dispersion is poor
-Relocating the plant to a location where dispersion is better
Question A10 (5 marks):
Using chemical equations describe the stratospheric Ozone depletion reactions.
NOISE POLLUTION
Section B

Question B1 (3 marks):
Noise pollution can be divided into three main areas. Name the three areas and the relevant
Policing body for each.

The three main noise sources of relevance to humans are:

1.Transportation noise e.g. aircraft and traffic,

2.Occupational noise e.g. factories and construction,

3.Environmental noise e.g. nightclubs, lawnmowers, air-conditioning etc.

The source-path-receiver concept is used in noise control

The three basic elements in a noise control problem involve the sound produced by a
source, the path it travels and how it affects a receiver of listener
1.Control at the source could involve:

-Reducing impact forces, speeds, pressures, radiating area and noise leakage and
friction

2. Control during the transmission path could involve:

-barriers, panels, absorbing materials

3. Control at the receiver could involve:

-Personal protective equipment and changing work patterns

Question B2 (4 marks):
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 states that a place of work is unsafe and a risk to health if
any person is exposed to what noise levels?
Meaning of exposure standard for noise
In this regulation:
exposure standard for noise, in relation to a person, means—
(a) LAeq,8h of 85 dB(A); or
(b) LC,peak of 140 dB(C).
In this section:
LAeq,8h means the eight-hour equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure level in decibels (dB(A))
referenced to 20 micropascals, determined in accordance with AS/NZS 1269.1:2005 (Occupational noise
management— Measurement and assessment of noise immission and exposure).
LC,peak means the C-weighted peak sound pressure level in decibels (dB(C)) referenced to
20micropascals, determined in accordance with AS/NZS 1269.1:2005 (Occupational noise
management—Measurement and assessment of noise immission and exposure).

Question B3 (5 marks):
If you had four noise sources that individually measured sound pressure levels of 84 dB, 71 dB,
82 dB and 90 dB. What sound pressure level would you measure if all four sources operated
simultaneously? Show all working.

Question B4 (4 marks):
Qualitatively and quantitatively describe the term p o?

Question B5 (4 marks):
The assessment procedure for industrial noise sources under the NSW Industrial Noise Policy
sets two separate noise criteria to meet the environmental noise objectives. Name and describe
the two assessment criteria
Two criteria
The policy sets two separate noise criteria to meet environmental noise objectives: one to
account for intrusive noise and the other to protect the amenity of particular land uses.

1. Assessing intrusiveness
For assessing intrusiveness, the background noise needs to be measured. An objective
procedure is outlined in Section 3.1.
The intrusiveness criterion essentially means that the equivalent continuous (energy-
average) noise level of the source should not be more than 5 deci- bels (dB) above the
measured background level.
 2. Assessing amenity
The amenity assessment is based on noise criteria specific to land use and associated
activities. (SeeTable 2.1.) The criteria relate only to industrial-type noise and do not
include road, rail or community noise. The existing noise level from industry is measured.
(See Section 3.2.) If it approaches the criterion value, then noise levels from new indus-
tries need to be designed so that the cumulative effect does not produce noise levels that
would significantly exceed the criterion. (See Table 2.2.) For high-traffic areas there is a
separate amenity crite- rion (Section 2.2.3). The cumulative effect of noise from industrial
sources needs to be considered in assessing impact (Section 2.2.4).

Question B6 (3 marks):
Define the term Leqand give 2 examples of where it is commonly used.

Question B7 (2 marks):
Which authority could you contact if an offensive noise source was from:
a. Jet Ski? EPA environment line? Police Assistant line
b. Domestic air conditioner? Local council

Question B8 (5 marks):
The sound pressure level from a busy road on a flat open surface (assume line source) is
measured at 100 dB(A) at a distance of 10m. Assume free field conditions. Calculate the sound
pressure level at a distance of 160m.

Question B9 (10 marks):

You are the environmental engineer engaged to investigate a noise from transportation bins when
they are being loaded, emptied and moved over uneven surfaces. You investigate the problem
and note that the bins are constructed with 5 fully welded vibrating panels. What would your main
recommendation be for reducing the noise and discuss why you made this recommendation. The
underlying theory should be explained by way of an illustration.

Effects of noise on people. Have a combination of two things:

1.Auditory effects: hearing loss and speech interference,

2.Psychological-sociological effects: annoyance, sleep interference, effects on performance (e.g. work

and school) and acoustical privacy.

The following strategies are effective noise control strategies at the source
-Reducing impact forces

-Reducing speeds and pressures

-Reducing frictional resistance

-Reducing radiating area

-Reduce noise leakage

-Isolating and damping vibrating elements

-Use of mufflers and silencers

Question B10 (10 marks):

You are the environmental engineer engaged to investigate a tonal noise from an exhaust stack.
You investigate the problem and note the tone is caused by regular shedding of vortices from
alternate edges on the downward side of the stack. What would your main recommendation be
for reducing the noise and discuss why you made this recommendation. The underlying theory
should be explained by way of an illustration Reduction at source

The following strategies are effective noise control strategies at the source
-Reducing impact forces

-Reducing speeds and pressures

-Reducing frictional resistance

-Reducing radiating area

-Reduce noise leakage

-Isolating and damping vibrating elements

-Use of mufflers and silencers