Air Pollution

APES – Period 5
Jane Kim
Janet Hong
Lynn Yi
Exosphere
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Troposphere
Primary pollutants: are mixed vertically and horizontally and
are dispersed and diluted by the churning air in the troposphere.
Ex: CO, CO2, SO2, NO, NO2, most hydrocarbons, and most
suspended particles

Secondary pollutants: while in the troposphere, some of the

primary pollutants may react with one another or with the basic
compounds of air.
Ex: SO3, HNO3, H2SO4, H2O2, O3, and PANs
 Six Principal Pollutants

- Carbon Monoxide (CO)

- Lead (Pb)
- Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
- Ozone (O3)
- Particulate Matter (PM-10)
- Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
 Ozone
Ozone is formed by the action of sunlight on carbon-based
chemicals known as hydrocarbons, acting in combination
with a group of air pollutants called oxides of nitrogen.

Ozone reacts chemically ("oxidizes") with internal body

tissues that it comes in contact with, such as those in the
lung. Ozone (O3) in the troposphere causes more damage
to plants than all other air pollutants combined.
 SO2
Sulfur dioxide belongs to the family of gases called sulfur
oxides (SOx ). These gases are formed when fuel
containing sulfur (mainly coal and oil) is burned, and
during metal smelting and other industrial processes.
The major health concerns associated with exposure to
high concentrations of SO2 include effects on breathing,
respiratory illness, alterations in pulmonary defenses, and
aggravation of existing cardiovascular disease.
SO2 Emissions
 Lead
In the past, motor vehicles were the biggest

source of lead. But since leaded gasoline has

been phased out, lead emissions have decreased by about
98 percent. Today, metal processing is the biggest source
of atmospheric lead.

Lead can harm the kidneys, liver, nervous system and other
organs. It may cause neurological impairments such as
seizures, mental retardation and behavioral disorders. Even
at low doses, lead is associated with damage to the nervous
systems of fetuses and young children, resulting in lowered
IQ and learning problems.
 Particulates
Particulates is a general term used to describe tiny bits of
matter floating around in the atmosphere, such as certain
types of smoke (like diesel smoke), fine ash and dust. Larger
particles are caught by the hairs in your nose and your
breathing tubes, but smaller particles can get past these
defenses and cause lots of trouble.
 NO2
Nitrogen dioxide belongs to a family of highly reactive
gases called nitrogen oxides (NOx). These gases form
when fuel is burned at high temperatures, and come
principally from motor vehicle exhaust and stationary
sources such as electric utilities and industrial boilers.
Nitrogen dioxide can irritate the lungs and lower resistance
to respiratory infections such as influenza.
 Carbon Monoxide
Carbon Monoxide is produced by the
incomplete combustion of the fossil fuels
– gas, oil, coal and wood used in boilers,
engines, oil burners, gas fires, water heaters,
solid fuel appliances and open fires.
When carbon monoxide is present in the air you breath into
your lungs, it attaches itself to the hemoglobin.
The bond between hemoglobin and carbon monoxide is 250
times stronger than oxygen.
In the lungs carbon monoxide attaches to red blood cells in
place of oxygen.
Smog (smoke+fog)
 The Four Most Dangerous
Indoor Air Pollutants
2. cigarette smoke
3. Formaldehyde
4. Asbestos
5. radioactive radon-222 gas
 Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is a colorless liquid or gas with a strong,
distinctive odor. It is found in furniture, new carpets,
particle board, plywood, rubber cement and adhesives.

Low levels of exposure can irritate the eyes, nose and

throat, cause skin problems, serious breathing problems
and can increase your risk of certain kinds of cancer.
 ASBESTOS
Sources: Deteriorating of damaged insulation, fire-
proofing, or acoustical materials.

Health Effects: No immediate symptoms. Chest and

abdominal cancers and lung diseases. Smokers are at
higher risk of developing asbestos-induced lung cancer.
 RADON
Sources: Earth, uranium and rock beneath home; well
water; building materials.

Health Effects: No immediate symptoms. Estimated to

cause about 10% of lung cancer deaths. Smokers are at
higher risk of developing radon-induced lung cancer.
 Radon-222 can enter the house by diffusion
from soil and by emanation from building
materials, tap water and methane gas.

Characteristics
- an odorless, tasteless, invisible gas that mixes with air
- chemically inert and essentially non-reactive
- heaviest noble gas with highest melting and boiling point
- highly soluble in non-polar solvents
- moderately soluble in cold water
- able to diffuse through rock and soil
- decays by alpha particle emission (T 1/2 = 3.8 days)
The largest source of "indoor air
pollution"- in our homes, our schools or
workplaces- is car and truck pollution.

Electric vehicles are sometimes referred

to as "zero-emission vehicles" because
they produce essentially no pollution
from the tailpipe or through fuel
evaporation. This is important, for it
means that the use of electric vehicles
could greatly reduce emissions of
carbon monoxide and smog-forming
pollutants in cities with dirty air.
 Symptoms (IAP)
As many as 20 million Americans suffer from:
- chronic breathing problems
- dizziness
- rash
- headaches
- sore throat
- sinus
- eye irritation
Acid Deposition: the falling of acids and acid-forming
compounds from the atmosphere to earth’s surface. Acid
deposition is commonly known as acid rain, a term that refers
only to wet deposition of droplets of acids and acid-forming
compounds

Effects of Acid rain

- human respiratory disease (bronchitis and asthma)
- damages statues, buildings, metals, and car finishes
- depletion of calcium and magnesium ions in the soil
- damages trees
How to reduce acid deposition
1. Reduce energy use and thus air pollution by improving
energy efficiency
2. Switch from coal to cleaner burning natural gas and
renewable energy resources
3. Remove sulfur from coal before it is burned
4. Burn low-sulfur coal
5. Remove SO2, particulates, and nitrogen oxides from
smokestack gases
6. Remove nitrogen oxides from motor vehicle exhaust
 Sick Building
A building is considered “sick” when at
least 20% of its occupants suffer persistent
symptoms that disappear when they go outside
At least 17% of the 4 million
commercial buildings in the U.S. are considered
“sick”.
 Ozone
Most ozone (about 90%)
exists in the stratosphere,
in a layer between 10 and
50km above the surface of
the earth. This ozone
layer performs the
essential task of filtering
out most of the sun's
biologically harmful
ultraviolet (UV-B)
radiation.
 Ozone Hole
Over Antarctica (and recently over the Arctic),

stratospheric ozone has been depleted over the last 15

years at certain times of the year. This is mainly due to

the release of manmade chemicals containing chlorine

such as CFC's (ChloroFluoroCarbons), but also compounds
containing bromine, other related halogen compounds and
 CFC’s
CFC's are chemicals that can be used in
the refrigerator to help keep food cold.
They can also be used in air-
conditioning and in products in spray
cans. CFC's rise into the air going into a layer called the
stratosphere. When this happens, the CFC's take part in
chemical reactions that can destroy parts of the ozone
which protects us from the sun's dangerous ultraviolet rays.
 Ozone Hole

1979 1998
 Greenhouse Effect
The Earth is kept warm by it's atmosphere, which
acts rather like a woolly coat - without it, the
average surface temperature would be about -18
degrees Centigrade. Heat from the sun passes
through the atmosphere, warming it up. As the
Earth warms up, it emits heat. Some of this heat is
trapped by the atmosphere, but the rest escapes into
space. The so-called "greenhouse gases" make the
atmosphere trap more of this radiation, so it
gradually warms up more than it should, like a
greenhouse.
Greenhouse
Effect
 Greenhouse Effect Ozone Shield

Where in the atmosphere Troposphere Stratosphere

does it occur?

What process occurs? Traps heat near the earth’s Filters ultraviolet (UV)
surface radiation from the sun

What natural gases are Water(H2O), carbon Oxygen(O2), ozone(O3)

involved? dioxide(CO2), methane(CH4)

What are important Carbon dioxide(CO2), Chlorofluorocarbons

human inputs? methane (CH4), (CFCs), halons, carbon
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), tetrachlorine, methyl
nitrous oxide(N2O) choloroform (stable),
halogen-containing gases

What problems result? Global warming Ozone depletion

 Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide is produced when any form of carbon or
almost any carbon compound is burned in an excess of
oxygen. For example, it is released into the atmosphere
during natural forest fires and the man-made combustion of
fossil fuels. Other natural sources of carbon dioxide
include volcanic eruptions, decay of dead plant and animal
matter, evaporation from the oceans and respiration
(breathing).
 Methane
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is creating a serious
problem for global warming. Methane gases are very
potent when trapping infrared heat in the atmosphere,
because one molecule of methane can trap infrared heat
twenty times more than carbon dioxide.

Methane the second most important

greenhouse gas is mostly produced
by the digestive system of cows.
 Asthma
Smog and particles certainly

trigger attacks in some people

who already have asthma. For
a long time it was thought
that
air pollution could not cause
asthma to develop in
previously healthy people. Some recent
experiments challenge this belief. Scientists have shown
that people exposed to ozone or nitrogen dioxide are more
likely to react to allergens such as grass pollens and
housedust mites than those who are not exposed. Thus a
combination of air pollution and allergens could cause
 Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is more common in cities
than in the country. We know that over
90% of lung cancers are caused by
smoking cigarettes. A radioactive gas
called radon is thought to cause about
7% of lung cancers in North America.
87% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. 12
percent of all lung cancer deaths are linked to radon.
Another leading cause of lung cancer is on-the-job
exposure to cancer-causing substances or carcinogens.
Air pollution can make you
sick. It can cause burning eyes
and nose and an itchy, irritated
throat, as well as trouble in
breathing. Some chemicals
found in polluted air cause
cancer, birth defects, brain and
nerve damage and long-term
injury to the lungs and
breathing passages. Some air
pollutants are so dangerous
that accidental releases can
cause serious injury or even
death.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) latest Ten-Year Air Quality and Emissions Trends
report, there have been significant reductions in all 6 criteria
pollutants and reductions are expected to continue.
 The 1990 Clean Air Act
Under this law, EPA sets limits on how much of a pollutant
can be in the air anywhere in the United States. This
ensures that all Americans have the same basic health and
environmental protections. The law allows individual states
to have stronger pollution controls, but states are not
allowed to have weaker pollution controls than those set
for the whole country.
 Chapter 19: Global
Warming and Ozone Loss

Jane S. Kim
Janet Hong
Lynn Yi
Period 5, APES
 The Greenhouse effect
• In the Greenhouse
effect, certain gases in
the atmosphere trap
heat in the troposphere
(lower atmosphere).

• If the atmospheric
concentrations of these
gases rise and arent
removed by other
processes, the average
temp of the lower
 Greenhouse gases
• The major • These gases
greenhouse gases remain in the
are water vapor atmosphere for
(H20), carbon 2,000-50,000
dioxide (C20), years.
ozone (o3),
methane (CH4),
• The two
nitrous oxide
(N2O), and predominant
chlorofluorocarbo gases are water
ns (CFCs), and a vapor (hyrologic
recently identified cycle) and carbon
dioxide (global
 Global warming
• Measured atmospheric levels of certain
greenhouse gases have risen
substantially in recent decades and are
projected to enhance the earth’s natural
greenhouse effect, a phenomenon
called global warming
• Most of the increased levels of these
greenhouse gases since 1958 have
been caused by human activities such
as burning fossil fuels, agricultue,
deforestation, and use of CFCs.
• Carbon dioxide (CO2):
– Responsible for 50-60% of the global warming
from greenhouse gases produced by human
activites
– Main sources are fossil fuel burning (70-75%)
and land clearing and burning (20-25%)
– Remains in atmosphere for 50-200 years
• Chloroflurocarbons (CFCs):
– Contribute to global warming in the
troposphere and also deplete ozone in the
stratosphere
– Main sources are leaking ACs and fridges,
evaporation of industrial solvents,
production of plastic foams, and aerosol
propellants
– Trap 1,500- 7,000 times as much heat per
• Methane (CH4):
– Accounts for about 20% of the overall warming
effect
– Produced when anaerobic bacteria break down
dead organic matter in moist places that lack
oxygen.
– Stays in the troposphere for 9-15 years
– Each CH4 molecule traps 20 times as much
• Nitrous oxide (N2O):
– Can trap heat in the troposphere and also
deplete ozone in the stratosphere
– Released from nylon production, burning of
biomass and nitrogen-rich fuels, smog-fighting
catalytic converters on motor vehicles, and the
breakdown of nitrogen fertilizers in soil, livestock
wastes, and nitrate-contaminated groundwater.
– Stays in the troposphere about 120 years.
• According to EPA, emission of
greenhouse gases by the US rose
by 20% between 1990 and 1996.
Energy related activities accounted
for about 86% of these emissions
in 1996, mostly through burning
fossil fuels.
• The atmospheric concentrations of
CO2 and other greenhouse gases
are projected to double from
preindustrial levels sometimes
during the next century and then
continue to rise
 The Earth’s past
temperatures
• Since 1860, mean global
temperature after correcting for
excess heating over urban areas
has risen 0.3-0.6 degrees Celsius.
• Temperature rose about 0.3
degrees between 1846 and 1997
• Since 1860, the thirteen warmest
years occurred between 1979 and
1998, with 1990, 1995, 1997, and
1998 being the four hottest years.
Future global warming and its
effects
• According to the • According to the
latest climate models, the
models, the northern
earth’s mean hemisphere
surface
temperature should warm
should rise 1- 3.5 more and faster
degrees celsius than the southern
between 1990 hemisphere
and 2100. because the latter
• Model projects has more heat-
that once the absorbing ocean
climate changes, than land and
it will continue for
 How Earth’s climate is
affected by various factors

• Solar output: ups and downs in

solar output can temporarily warm
or cool the earth and thus affect
the projections of climate models.
– Two studies showed that the
projected warming power of
greenhouse gases should outweigh
the climatic influence of the sun over
at least the next 50 years.
• Oceans: the oceans might
amplify global warming by
releasing more CO2 into the
atmosphere or might dampen it by
absorbing more heat. The oceans
currently help moderate
tropospheric temperature by
removing about 29% of the excess
• Water vapor content and
clouds: changes in the
atmosphere’s water vapor content
and the amount and types of cloud
cover also affect climate. Warmer
temperatures would increase
evaporation and the water-holding
capacity of the air and create more
clouds. Significant increase in the
water vapor, a potent greenhouse
gas, could enhance warming
• Polar ice: the ability of the earth’s
surface to reflect light is called its
albedo. Because of their albedo, light-
colored Greenland and Antarctic ice
sheets act like enormous mirrors,
reflecting sunlight back into space. If
warmer temperatures melted some of
this ice and exposed darker ground or
ocean, more sunlight would be
absorbed and warming would be
• Air pollution: pollutants in the lower
troposphere can either warm or cool the
air depending on the reflectivity of the
underlying surface.
• It is hypothesized that SO2 and tiny
particles in the troposphere attract
enough water molecules to form
condensation nuclei, which leads to
 Some possible effects of a
warmer world
• Food production: a warmer global
climate could increase food production
in some areas and lower it in others,
depending on crop- growing capacity
and climate belts.
• Water supply: global warming would
reduce water supply, shrinking or
completely drying up lakes, streams,
and aquifers.
• Forests and biodiversity: global
warming would change the makeup
 Continued…
• Sea levels: in a warmer world, sea
levels are expected to rise, primarily
because ocean water expands when
heated and because some land-based
glacial ice will melt
• Weather extremes: as more heat is
retained in the earth’s climate system,
more air will move across the earth’s
surface.
• Human health: global warming would
bring more heat waves, which would
double or triple heat-related deaths
among the elderly and people with
heart disease; it would also increase
 Solutions: dealing with global
warming
• Stabilizing the Co2 levels at the
currect level would require
reducing current global CO2
emissions by 66-83%.
• Increased use of nuclear power to
reduce the amount of CO2 per unit
of electricity as coal
• Using natural gas could help make
the 40 to 50 year transition to an
age of energy efficiency and
renewable energy.
 Ozone depletion
• In a band of the stratosphere 17- 26 kms
above the earth’s surface, oxygen is
continually converted to ozone and back to
oxygen by a sequence of reactions initiated
by UV radiation from the sun.
• UV radiation reaching the stratosphere
consists of three bands: A, B, and C. The
ozone layer blocks out nearly all of the
highest- energy and biologically damaging
UV-B band.
• Ozone depletion by certain chlorine- and
bromine- containing chemicals emitted into
the atmosphere by human activities is a
serious long-term threat to human health,
• CFCs released into the air rise slowly into the
stratosphere. There, under the influence of
high energy UV radiation, they break down
and release highly reactive chlorine atoms,
which speed up the breakdown of highly
reactive ozone into O2 and O. This causes
ozone to be destroyed faster than it is
 Solutions: protecting the
ozone layer
• It will take another 50-60 years for the
ozone layer to return to 1975 levels
and another 100- 200 years to return to
pre- 1950 recovery levels.
• Substitutes are already available for
most uses of CFCs.
– Hydochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) contain
fewer chlorine atoms per molecule than
CFCs
• Because of their shorter lifetimes in the
stratosphere, these compounds should have