1. YOUR RESPONSIBILITY… Pages 438 - 441, 447 - 452 452 - 457, 483 - 484
Chapter 19 AIR POLLUTION
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY…
Pages , ,
READING QUIZ!!!

2. Atmosphere as a Resource
Composition:
Nitrogen (78.08%)
Oxygen (20.95%)
Argon (0.93%)
Carbon Dioxide (0.04%)
2 most important to living organisms:
CO2 and O2 (photosynthesis & respiration)
N2 also important (N2 cycle)
Ecosystem Services
UV filter, moderating climate, redistributing water

3. Types and Sources of Air Pollution
Air Pollution = gases, liquids, or solids present in the atmosphere in high enough levels to harm humans, other organisms, or materials.
Natural pollution (lightning causes forest fires, volcanic eruptions)
Human-induced pollution (ANTHROPOGENIC)
Harmful for 2 reasons:
They precipitate & settle on Earth
They alter the chemistry of the atmosphere
Much of the air pollution released by humans is concentrated in densely populated urban areas

4. Secondary Air Pollutants
Primary Air Pollutants
Harmful chemicals that enter directly into the atmosphere
EX: carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and hydrocarbons
Secondary Air Pollutants
harmful chemicals that form from other substances that have been released into the atmosphere.
EX: ozone & sulfur trioxide

6. Primary Air Pollutants and Sources

7. Effects of Air Pollution
Class Discussion

8. Air Pollution & Human Health
Exposure to Low Levels causes…
Eye irritation
Inflammation of the respiratory tract
Immune system suppression
Development of emphysema & chronic bronchitis

9. Health Effects of Specific Air Pollutants
QUESTION: Why are people who live & work in the country’s most polluted cities 15-17% more likely to die prematurely than those living in US cities with the cleanest air?
ANSWER:
Exposure to Sulfur Dioxides (SOx),
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx, N2O),
Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Ozone (O3),
Particulate & VOC’s

10. SO2 & Particulate Matter
Produced as part of the coal combustion process & industry
Travels long distances from source.
SO2 reacts with H2O vapor and forms sulfuric acid  ACID RAIN!
Sulfate particles + nitrogen oxide  create small particles or particulates which have detrimental health effects including:
1. Respiratory tract irritation
2. Decrease in lung’s ability to exchange gases
3. Airway constriction
4. Increased sensitivity to pollen and dust mites
5. Leach nutrients from soil
Vulnerable Ecosystems: Lakes, Streams, Forests, High Elevations

11. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
Nitrogen oxides are formed from atmospheric nitrogen when coal and other
fuels are burned.
Ways to reduce the amount of NOx produced include catalytic converters on cars and low-NOx burners on power plants.
Interact with sunlight and other molecules to produce ground level ozone.
Health effects include:
Asthma among children
Airway constriction
Increased sensitivity to
pollen and dust mites
4. Acid rain & atmospheric haze (photochemical smog)
Vulnerable Ecosystems: Lakes, Steams, Forests, High Elevations

12. CARBON DIOXIDE Formed when fuels are burned- Coal has highest content.
Big greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.
CO binds irreversibly with iron in the blood’s hemoglobin, eliminating its ability to transport O2 (asphyxiation)
Health Effects include:
Linked to the spread of infectious disease, higher ozone levels, increased heat & cold related illnesses
2.Medium Concentrations: causes headaches & fatigue
Higher Concentrations: slower reflexes & drowsiness
Very High Concentrations: death
3.Greatest risk: pregnant women, infants, those with heart or respiratory diseases.
Ecosystem effects: Rising sea levels, increased disease, larger storms, extinction of sensitive species.

13. Ozone & VOC’s Pollutants from Motor Vehicles, businesses & Industry
Produced when nitrogen oxides react with volatitle organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight.
Health problems include:
Irritants: burning eyes, coughing, chest discomfort
Asthma attacks, immune system suppression
Pregnant women exposed to high levels of O3 and CO are 3X more likely to give birth to infants with serious heart defects.
Plant damage at low concentrations
Vulnerable Populations: Children, elderly those with respiratory disease, those who exercise outside.
Pollutants from Motor Vehicles, businesses & Industry
Long-term exposure is linked to cancer (although the risk is rather low compared to others like smoking)
Some Health Effects of Air
Pollution Nationwide
Mortality: 23,600 Hospital Admissions: 21,850 Emergency Room Visits for Asthma: 26,000 Heart Attacks: 38,200 Chronic Bronchitis: 16,200 Asthma Attacks: 554,000
DON’T WRITE THESE….
Just some statistics for ya

14. PHOTOCHEMCIAL SMOG
Nox + VOC  O3

15. ACID DEPOSITION
pH tests
indirect evidence
PARTICULATE MATTER
smoke detector
filters
sticky materials
HYDROCARBONS
devices / equipment
OZONE
Schoenbien papers
chemical tests
indirect evidence
(plant growth, etc)
ozone action days
N & S & C OXIDES
devices / equipment
CO detector
chemical tests
AIR TOXICS
mold tests & filters
radon detectors

16. Children and Air Pollution
Air pollution is a greater health threat to children than adults.
Restricts lung development
Causes early stages of lung disease
Children have higher metabolic rates than adults
they breathe ~2X as much air per pound of body weight
Studies show that children who move to areas with…
less particulate matter have increased lung development.
more particulate matter have decreased lung development

17. GOOD NEWS: BAD NEWS: Fewer people in highly developed nations smoke.
Cigarette production in the US is down
Smoking decline in Japan & most European countries
BAD NEWS:
More smokers in China, Brazil,
Pakistan, and other developing nations.
Some nations: smoking habit = 20% of a worker’s annual income
Sales in developing countries has increased 80% since 1990.
US tobacco companies promote smoking abroad, and we export much of our tobacco.
3M people die each year of smoking-related causes worldwide.
US: some minority groups & those with the least education have high numbers of tobacco addicts
More than 1M US children & teens take up smoking every year.

18. Smog… 1. Industrial Smog: aka: smoke pollution
Air pollution that is localized in urban areas where it reduces visibility
1. Industrial Smog: aka: smoke pollution
principal pollutants are sulfur oxides and particulate matter. Worse in the winter months because of heating needs.

20. Composition of Photochemical Smog

21. REVIEW…. What causes smog?

22. Sunlight is the energy catalyst for the reaction.
More people means more fuel!
Fossil fuel combustion creates NOx and VOCs (reactants)
Sunlight is the energy catalyst for the reaction.
Precipitation cleans the air, and winds disperse the smog.

23. Topography and Air Pollution
Under normal conditions, air circulation patterns prevent toxic pollutants from increasing to dangerous levels near the ground.
That is not the case in this picture of LA…. What do you think is causing this to happen?

24. Temperature Inversions
AKA: Thermal Inversions
Air near the ground is cooler than the air at higher levels and the polluting gases/particulate matter remain trapped in high concentrations near the ground.

25. Where is LA Longitudinally?
Los Angeles
Located between coast and mountains
Sunny climate produces a layer of warm dry air at higher elevations
Upwelling in the ocean produces cool ocean air
As cool air blows inland, the mountains block movement further and layer of warm dry air overlies cool air at the surface…
 Temp inversion!!
Think back to the Global Winds... how does this relate??
HINT:
Where is LA Longitudinally?

26. Urban Heat Islands & Dust Domes
Urban Heat Island: air in urban areas is warmer than the air in the surrounding suburban and rural areas. Affects local air currents and weather conditions. Q: Why do they increase the number of thunderstorms???

27. Dust Domes: buildup of pollutants, especially particulate matter over cities. Convection of air lifts pollutants into the air where they remain because of somewhat stable air masses produced by urban heat island

28. CONTROLLING AIR POLLUTANTS
Read pages in Raven & Berg and write a paragraph about how scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators remove pollutants from factory exhaust.

30. HOMEWORK/CLASSWORK….. Read and understand page 447-452
Key points to KNOW:
- Clean Air Act 1970
- Changes to the Clean Air Act (1997)
- Ways to improve air quality
- CASE IN POINT: Los Angeles
- Meeting the challenge: clean cars, clean fuels
- Pollution in developing Countries
- CASE IN POINT: Mexico City
…homework will be checked in one way or another….
HINT…HINT...HINT…HINT…HINT…HINT...HINT…HINT
Link To diiscussion slides

31. Developing Countries & Energy ~Richard Spencer, The Daily Telegraph, from Beijing: “…Here comes the man with the coal bricks we residents all use to fire the boilers of our homes... Not cold enough for the central heating yet? You're right, but there's a discount - the earlier you buy, the cheaper it is.”

32. Global Distillation Effect- volatile chemicals evaporate from land as far away as the tropics and are transported by winds to higher latitudes where they condense and fall to the ground
Certain hazardous air pollutants are distributed globally by atmospheric transport
PCB’s & DDT are both persistent chemicals that do not readily break down and accumulate in the environment.
They are still used in developing countries and move through the atmosphere to developed nations where they are deposited on land and surface water.

33. Global Distillation Effect cont…
Dangerous level of persistent toxic compounds have been measured in the Yukon
Chemicals enter food webs and become concentrated in the body fat of animals
Inuit eat the animals
And the concentration
of chemicals increases
in their system causing
problems for their
Health.

34. Why does this happen to Canada. What can we do to stop this problem
Why does this happen to Canada? What can we do to stop this problem? What can the US do to stop Canadian smog problem? Should we help alleviate the smog problem? Are we? Why is science involved in foreign relations?
Stockholm Convention of Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001) Goal: phase out the use of 12 persistent toxic chemicals Countries: Canada, US, Russia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland
Il, IN, MI, OH, PA, TN & WV produce 50-75% of the acid deposition that contaminates New England and Canada

36. Indoor Air Pollution

37. How Radon Infiltrates a House

38. ACID DEPOSITION End of Ch 20
Acid deposition (rain, sleet, snow and fog) is a type of air pollution
Sulfuric acid & Nitric acids
 Estimated cost to the US is $10 Billion/yr
Wet Deposition:
Sulfuric and nitric acids in precipitation
Dry Deposition:
Sulfuric acid and nitric acid containing particles that settle out of the air.

39. The pH scale measures the amount of H+ ions present in the solution
The pH scale measures the amount of H+ ions present in the solution. A pH of 6 is 10x more acidic than a pH of 7. Normal rain has a pH of ~ 5-6 because CO2 in the air dissolve in rainwater forming dilute acids. Acid rain = 3-4

40. Acid deposition occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere. Sources: Cars, Coal burning power plants, smelters, industrial boilers Effects: SO2 and NO react with water to produce dilute solutions of H2SO4, HNO3, HNO2

41. Effects of Acid Deposition
Corrodes metals and building materials
Affects Animal populations (Adirondacks)
1,469 lakes examined,
325 found with pH <5
Birds with thin fragile
shells (lack of Ca due to acidic soils)

42. Forest Decline Results from a combination of multiple stressors
Characterized by gradual
deterioration and eventual
death of trees.
- Black forest of Germany
50% of trees dead
-MOUNT MITCHELL, NC
Results from a combination of multiple stressors
(acid deposition, tropospheric O3, UV radiation, insect attack, drought, etc.)

43. Soil Chemistry
Ca & K wash readily out of acidic soil where others (N) become available in large amounts
Heavy metals dissolve in acidic soil becoming available for absorption in toxic amounts.

44. Links between GW, Ozone Depletion & Acid Deposition
Global warming, ozone depletion and acid deposition interact
Combined effects of acid deposition and climate warming make North American lakes more susceptible to damage from UV radiation caused by the thinning of the ozone layer.
READ PAGES ….
The book says it best!!!

47. Is the Clean Air Act working?

48. Is this a fair representation?
What does this cartoon tell you about the United States air quality in 2002?
Is this a fair representation?
Is there bias? If so, WHAT???
What can we do to avoid this type of situation?

49. Sources of smog in Los Angeles
Discussion points of the HOMEWORK…
Sources of smog in Los Angeles
What would happen to California’s smog if 20 of every 100 cars was a hybrid?
Do you think that it is alright for the government to restrict car companies from producing polluting cars?
Should tax incentives be given to those who purchase fuel economic vehicles?
Would it be fair to impose a tax on vehicles that do not burn fuel efficiently?