HANNAH ANDREWS

Major Air Pollutants Ozone Carbon Monoxide Nitrogen Dioxide Particulate Matter Sulfur Dioxide Lead Green House Gases

Ozone Ozone is formed nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds mix in sunlight. Nitrogen oxides come from burning gasoline, coal, or other fossil fuels. There are many types of volatile organic compounds, and they come from sources ranging from factories to trees.

Carbon Monoxide Carbon monoxide is released when engines burn fossil fuels. Cars emit a lot of the carbon monoxide found outdoors. Furnaces and heaters in the home can emit high concentrations of carbon monoxide, too, if they are not properly maintained.

Nitrogen Dioxide Nitrogen Dioxide mostly comes from power plants and cars. Nitrogen dioxide is formed in two ways—when nitrogen in the fuel is burned, or when nitrogen in the air reacts with oxygen at very high temperatures.

Particulate Matter Particulate matter can be divided into two types—coarse particles and fine particles. Coarse particles are formed from sources like road dust, sea spray, and construction. Fine particles are formed when fuel is burned in automobiles and power plants.

Sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide mostly comes from the burning of coal or oil in power plants. It also comes from factories that make chemicals, paper, or fuel. Like nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide reacts in the atmosphere to form acid rain and particles.

Lead Outside, lead comes from cars in areas where unleaded gasoline is not used. Lead can also come from power plants and other industrial sources. Inside, lead paint is an important source of lead, especially in houses where paint is peeling. Lead in old pipes can also be a source of lead in drinking water.

Greenhouse Gases Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas. It comes from the burning of fossil fuels in cars, power plants, houses, and industry. Methane is released during the processing of fossil fuels, and also comes from natural sources like cows and rice paddies. Nitrous oxide comes from industrial sources and decaying plants. http://infoplease.com/ipa/A0004695.html

Smog http://weather.about.com/od/ozoneinformation/qt/smogcity.htm Photochemical smog (or just smog for short) is a term used to describe air pollution that is a result of the interaction of sunlight with certain chemicals in the atmosphere. One of the primary components of photochemical smog is ozone. While ozone in the stratosphere protects earth from harmful UV radiation, ozone on the ground is hazardous to human health. Ground-level ozone is formed when vehicle emissions containing nitrogen oxides (primarily from vehicle exhaust) and volatile organic compounds (from paints, solvents, and fuel evaporation) interact in the presence of sunlight. Therefore, some of the sunniest cities are also some of the most polluted.

Acid Deposition Acid rain (or acid deposition, as it's called in technical circles) is produced by the burning of fossil fuels. It is formed when emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen and oxidants to form various acidic compounds. These compounds then fall to the ground in either wet or dry form. http://www.cleanairtrust.org/acidrain.html