1. Living in the Environment
Air Pollution
G. Tyler Miller’s
Living in the Environment
14th Edition
Chapter 20

2. Key Concepts Structure and composition of the atmosphere
Types and sources of outdoor air pollution
Types, formation, and effects of smog
Sources and effects of acid deposition
Effects of air pollution
Prevention and control of air pollution

3. The Atmosphere Troposphere 78% N, 21% O Stratosphere Ozone layer
Ozone – Double Trouble
Fig p. 434

4. Outdoor Air Pollution
Primary pollutants
Secondary pollutants

5. Table 20-1 Major Classes of Air Pollutants
Carbon oxides
Sulfur oxides
Nitrogen oxides
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Suspended particulate matter (SPM)
Photochemical oxidants
Radioactive substances
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), which cause health effects such as cancer, birth defects, and nervous system problems
Examples
Carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2)
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfur trioxide (SO3)
Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) (NO and NO2 often are lumped together and labeled NOx)
Methane (CH4), propane (C3H8), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Solid particles (dust, soot, asbestos, lead, nitrate, and sulfate salts), liquid droplets (sulfuric acid, PCBs, dioxins, and pesticides)
Ozone (O3), peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs), hydrogen peroxide
(H2O2), aldehydes
Radon-222, iodine-131, strontium-90, plutonium-239 (Table 3-1, p. 49)
Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), methyl chloride (CH3Cl), chloroform (CHCl3), benzene (C6H6), ethylene dibromide (C2H2Br2), formaldehyde (CH2O2)

6. Table 20-2 Major Outdoor Air Pollutants
CARBON MONOXIDE (CO)
Description: Colorless, odorless gas that is poisonous to air-breathing animals; forms during the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels (2 C + O2 2 CO).
Major human sources: Cigarette smoking (p. 409), incomplete
burning of fossil fuels. About 77% (95% in cities) comes from motor vehicle exhaust.
Health effects: Reacts with hemoglobin in red blood cells and reduces the ability of blood to bring oxygen to body cells and tissues. This impairs perception and thinking; slows reflexes; causes headaches, drowsiness, dizziness, and nausea; can trigger heart attacks and angina; damages the development of fetuses and young children; and aggravates chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and anemia. At high levels it causes collapse, coma, irreversible brain cell damage, and death.
NITROGEN DIOXIDE (NO2)
Description: Reddish-brown irritating gas that gives photochemical smog its brownish color; in the atmosphere can be converted to nitric acid (HNO3), a major component of acid deposition.
Major human sources: Fossil fuel burning in motor vehicles (49%) and power and industrial plants (49%).
Health effects: Lung irritation and damage; aggravates asthma and chronic bronchitis; increases susceptibility to respiratory infections such as the flu and common colds (especially in young children and older adults).

7. Photochemical Smog Photochemical reaction Photochemical oxidants
Brown-air smog

8. Industrial Smog Particulates Sulfur dioxide Sulfuric acid
Gray-air smog

9. Temperature Inversions
Subsidence inversion

10. Regional Outdoor Air Pollution from Acid Deposition
Eastern United States
Czech Republic
Acid deposition
Wet deposition
Dry deposition

11. Acid Deposition and Humans
Respiratory diseases
Damage to structures, especially containing calcium carbonate
Toxic metal leaching
Decreased visibility
Decreased productivity and profitability of fisheries, forests, and farms

12. Acid Deposition, Plants, and Soil
Acid Deposition and Aquatic Systems
Nutrient leaching
Fish declines
Heavy metal release
Aluminum toxicity
Acid shock
Weakens trees

13. Solutions to Acid Deposition
CBS - China’s Air Pollution Problem

14. Effects of Air Pollution on People
Respiratory diseases (see Fig p. 452)
Asthma
Lung cancer
Chronic bronchitis
Emphysema
Premature death
Solutions: Preventing and Reducing Air Pollution
Clean Air Act
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
Primary and secondary standards
Emissions trading

15. Emission Reduction

16. Reducing Motor Vehicle Air Pollution
In the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, the Department of Transportation (DOTS) was given the authority to set what's called Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) for motor vehicles. CAFE was intended to reduce both fuel consumption and emissions (not surprisingly, because burning less gas creates less air pollution).
The standard today requires that vehicles have a fuel efficiency average of 27.5 miles per gallon, but larger vehicles such as pick-up trucks, SUVs, and minivans have a lower standard, of just 20.7 mpg.
However, due to the increasing dominance of SUVs and minivans in the U.S. market, Congress has allowed DOT to raise the standard for light trucks to 22.7 mpg by the year 2007.

17. Indoor Air Pollution Radon 60 Minutes – Indoor Air Quality
Sick Building Syndrome
Indoor Air pollution - causes an pollutants
Asbestos
Radon
Radioactive radon-222
Lung cancer threat
Occurs in certain areas based on geology
Associated with uranium and organic material in rock

18. Reducing Indoor Air Pollution