Air Pollution

1. Air Pollution Chapter 9

2. Chapter 9 Objectives 9.1 What is Air pollution? 9.2 Types of air pollution: heat, light, noise, smog 9.3 ISSUES: acid rain, Ozone layer, global warming and climate change 9.4 Ways to reduce air pollution

3. Lesson 1 Objectives Define air pollution Give examples of natural and human sources of air pollution Describe how air pollutants get into and out of the atmosphere

4. SOURCES

5. As of 2012, 7 of the 10 most air-polluted cities are in China!

6. Smog – these are NOT cloudssmoke + fog = smog

7. What is in the air? • Mostly nitrogen (78%) • oxygen (21%) • Small amounts of • Carbon dioxide • Water • Argon • And some solids too • Dirt • Pollen

8. What is in the air? • Particulate matter • Bits of solids and liquids in the air • Can fall bc of gravity or precipitation • If smaller, can go FURTHER

9. Air Pollutants Materials in the air that can harm living and nonliving things

10. Air Pollutants • Can be natural • Volcanoes • Forest fires • Ash • Pollen • Dirt • Usually not concentrated enough to harm living things

11. Air Pollutants • Most damaging pollution comes from human activities • Paint fumes • Pesticide sprays • Smoke from wood-burning stoves • Cement dust • Mining dust

13. Air Pollutants • Most comes from ONE source • BURNING FOSSIL FUELS creates 90% of air pollution in the US • Factories • Power plants • Transportation

14. 2 Categories of Air Pollutants: • Primaryair pollutants • Released directly by human or natural sources • Ex. CO from mufflers • Secondaryair pollutants • Formed from chemical reactions between substances in the air • Ex smog

15. Outdoor vs. Indoor Air Pollution Outdoor Air Pollution Indoor Air Pollution Measured outdoors What we usually think about when we say air pollution Can often be worse than outdoor pollution Carpet chemicals, cleaning sprays, tobacco smoke People spend at least 90% of their time indoors so it can be a serious health issue

17. How Air Pollution AffectsHUMAN HEALTH: • Eye and throat • Heart • Lung • Respiratory (breathing) • Asthma and emphysema • ~600,000 people a year die earlier than normal due to air pollution

18. emphysema

19. How Air Pollution AffectsENVIRONMENT Air pollutants can sink into water and affect aquatic wildlife Can affect plant growth Can damage statues and buildings

21. Solutions Must reduce emissions (release) of pollutants from source like factories and vehicles Air is hard to clean up! air moves so communities affected may be far from those that created it

22. Impacts and Solutions • Clean Air Act • Law that sets national standards for air quality • Changed as needed when new pollutants are discovered • As of 2004 it is 465 pages long!

23. Impacts and Solutions • Have already made improvements: • Gasoline used to have lead in it • Burning it released lead into the air • Can poison people and cause developmental problems in children • Now gasoline is unleaded • Level of lead in people’s blood dropped by 50% by 1980

24. Smog, heat, noise, and light Lesson 2

25. Lesson 2 Objectives Describe what smog is and where it occurs Explain what an urban heat island is Explain how noise can be a type of pollution Give examples of how light can pollute

26. Chattanooga, Tennessee • In 1970 • Serious air pollution • So dark during the day that people used headlights • Air could destroy a woman’s stockings as she walked down the street

28. SMOG TYPES: Industrial Dark grey Caused by: burning coal and oil Consists of: SOx + PM (London 1952 -12,000 people died from smog Photochemical Brownish Caused by: motor vehicles (NOx + sunlight) Consists of: NOx, O3, + PAN

29. Nox + sunlight = brown color and bad smell

30. OXYGEN = O2 OZONE = O3 • Where is ozone suppose to be?? • Which SMOG is it found in? • Why is breathing ozone bad? • Breathing difficulties • Headaches • Fatigue (weakness)

32. PAN = peroxyacetylnitrate • Makes eyes water and sting!

33. industrial smog

34. photochemical smog

35. SOLUTION: • Cars made w/ catalytic converters now • Reduce emissions from cars’ exhaust systems • Reduced emissions per car BUT….. • today there are more cars so photochemical smog is still a problem 

36. Heat Islands • Urban Heat Island Effect • Cities are usually few degrees hotter than surrounding areas • Why? • Waste heat from urban activities (subway, building vents, lights, cars …) • Loss of natural vegetation in cities • Asphalt, brick, metal are dark in color and absorb heat

41. Heat Islands • CAUSES: more heat bc pollution traps • Also increases energy used for cooling • Solution: • Plant more trees • Use lighter colors

42. Noise Pollution • Defined as noise that interrupts daily life • Comes from • transportation • Construction and industry • Tends to be concentrated in urban areas • Causes stress, disrupts wildlife, damages hearing

43. Light Pollution • Major urban areas glow with light • Caused by: • More lights than needed for safety • brighter than necessary • Light is allowed to spread up and out

44. Light Pollution people stay awake harder to drive at night Disrupts the movement of wildlife

46. Light pollution could be contributing to cancer, depression, and obesityour bodies need darkness to produce the hormone melatonin, and melatonin protects our DNA, ultimately preventing cancer.

47. What skyline would look like if no light pollution!

48. 9.3-9.4 AIR ISSUES acid rain ozone layer global warming

49. Acid Rain • 1960’s • Freshwater lakes and forests biodiversity declining • water and soil were acidic • Discovered that the acid was coming from the air

50. Atmosphere ACID RAIN How do you make it? Water vapor + pollutants  drops pH What are the 2 main acid rain pollutants? SOx and NOx (Sulfer and Nitrogen Oxides)