Outdoor Air Pollution

1. Outdoor Air Pollution Ch 17

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4. Outdoor Air Pollution • Air pollution = the release of pollutants • Air pollutants = gases & particulate material added to the atmosphere • Can affect climate or harm people • Outdoor (ambient) air pollution = pollution outside • Has recently decreased due to gov’t policy & improved tech in MDCs • Developing countries & urban areas still have significant problems • Causes of Air Pollution • Natural causes (ex. dust storms, volcanoes, fires) • Human causes (ex. burning fossil fuels--automobiles, factories, etc.)

5. Natural Sources Pollute • Dust storms = Hundreds of millions of tons of dust are blown westward across the Atlantic Ocean by trade winds every year • From Africa to the Americas • Unsustainable farming & grazing, erosion & desertification

6. Natural Sources Pollute • Volcanoes • Release large quantities of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide & other gases • Can remain for months-yrs • Aerosols = fine solid or liquid particles in the atmosphere that reflect sunlight back into space & cool atmosphere & surface Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano pronounced ay-yah-FYAH-plah-yer-kuh-duhl

7. Natural Sources Pollute • Fires • Pollutes atmosphere with soot & gases • Over 60 million ha of forests & grasslands burn/yr • Severe fires are caused by human interaction • Cleared forests, harsh droughts, & climate change

8. Other Natural Sources of Air Pollution • Hydrocarbons (molecules of H & C) • Trees and plants • Pollen • hydrogen sulfide from decaying plants • Salt particulates from the sea

9. Types of outdoor air pollution • Air pollution can come from mobile or stationary sources • Mobile sources = ex. cars • Stationary sources = ex. power plants • It can also come from point or nonpoint sources • Point Sources = specific spots where large quantities of pollutants are discharged (power plants and factories) • Nonpoint Sources = more diffuse, consisting of many small sources (automobiles)

10. When dealing with pollution there can be primary and secondary pollutants. • Primary Pollutants = directly harmful and can react to form harmful substances (soot and carbon dioxide) • Secondary Pollutants = form when primary pollutants interact or react with constituents or components of the atmosphere (tropospheric ozone and sulfuric acid)

11. 2 – SO4 NO3 – Primary Pollutants CO2 CO Secondary Pollutants SO2 NO NO2 SO3 H2SO4 Most suspended particles HNO3 O3 H2O2 PANs Most hydrocarbons Most and salts Mobile Natural Stationary Sources

12. The EPA sets standards • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets nationwide standards for emissions of toxic pollutants • States monitor air quality and develop, implement, and enforce regulations within their borders • If a state’s plans for implementation are not adequate, the EPA can take over enforcement

13. Criteria pollutants: carbon monoxide • Criteria pollutants = pollutants judged to pose especially great threats to human health • Carbon monoxide(CO) • A colorless, odorless gas • Produced primarily by incomplete combustion of fuel • Poses risk to humans and animals, even in small concentrations

14. Criteria pollutants: sulfur and nitrogen dioxide • Sulfur dioxide (SO2) = colorless gas with a strong odor • Coal emissions from electricity generation and industry • Can form acid precipitation • Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) = highly reactive, foul smelling reddish brown gas • Nitrogen oxides (NOx) = nitrogen and oxygen react at high temperatures • Vehicle engine and industrial combustion, electrical utilities • Contributes to smog and acid precipitation

15. Criteria pollutants: tropospheric ozone • Tropospheric ozone (O3) = a colorless gas with a strong odor • A secondary pollutant • Results from interactions of sunlight, heat, nitrogen oxides, and volatile carbons • A major component of smog • Poses a health risk as a result of its instability

16. Criteria pollutants: particulate matter and lead • Particulate matter = solid or liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere • Primary pollutants: dust and soot • Secondary pollutants: sulfates and nitrates • Damages respiratory tissue when inhaled • Most is wind-blown dust • Lead = particulate pollutant added to gas and used in industrial metal smelting • Bioaccumulates and causes nervous system malfunction • Banned in gasoline in developed, but not in developing countries

18. Failing Air Quality Standards

19. Agencies monitor pollutants • State and local agencies also monitor, calculate, and report to the EPA the emissions of pollutants • Four criteria pollutants: carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and lead • All nitrogen oxides • Not tropospheric ozone (no emissions to monitor) • Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) = carbon-containing chemicals used emitted by vehicle engines and industrial processes

20. U.S. air pollution In 2006, the U.S. emitted 137 million tons of the six major pollutants

21. Air pollution has decreased since 1970 • Total emissions of the six monitored pollutants have declined • Despite increased population, energy consumption, miles traveled, and gross domestic product

22. Toxic substances also pollute • Toxic air pollutants = substances known to cause cancer; reproductive defects; or neurological, development, immune system, or respiratory problems • Some are produced naturally: hydrogen sulfide • Most are produced by humans: smelting, sewage treatment, industry

23. Smog • Smog = unhealthy mixtures of air pollutants over urban areas • Two types • Industrial (gray air) • Photochemical (brown air)

24. Industrial (gray air) smog = industries burn coal or oil • combination of sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, soot, & a variety of aerosols • Government regulations in developed countries reduced smog • Coal-burning industrializing countries face significant health risks • In most developed countries where coal and heavy oil are burned, industrial smog is not a major problem due to reasonably good pollution control or tall smokestacks that transfer the pollutant to rural areas.

25. Formation of Industrial Smog

26. Formation of Industrial Smog

27. Industrial Smog

28. Photochemical (brown air) smog = brownish haze that NOx & hydrocarbons (mainly from auto exhaust) • Sunlight reacts with primary pollutants & normal atmospheric compounds to form O3 (in troposphere) & other harmful substances • Tropo. O3 = lung irritant, stunts plant growth, reduce crop yields, hurts agriculture

29. Temperature Inversions • Smog severity depends on conditions in atm & location • Temperature inversion  air at surface of Earth colder than air above & convection does not occur • warm air acts like a lid trapping pollutants • Cold, cloudy weather in a valley surrounded by mountains can trap air pollutants (left). • Areas with sunny climate, light winds, mountains on 3 sides & an ocean on the other (right) are susceptible to inversions.

30. Formation of Photochemical Smog

32. 17.16 Photochemical smog

33. Typical Daily Pattern Changes 1. 2NO+ O2 2NO22. NO2 + UV  NO + O 3. O2 + O O3

34. Sunlight plus Cars Equals Photochemical Smog • Mexico City is one of the many cities in sunny, warm, dry climates with many motor vehicles that suffer from photochemical smog. Figure 19-4

35. Central Case: Charging toward cleaner air in London • London has had bad air pollution for centuries that has killed thousands • Today, smog from traffic is a problem • The “congestion-charging” program charges drivers to drive into central London during the week • Congestion decreased, fewer accidents occurred and the air became cleaner

36. Human Impact on Atmosphere www.dr4.cnrs.fr/gif-2000/ air/products.html

37. Reasons for Decline in U.S. Pollution • Vehicle inspection programs in U.S. have decreased smog • Cleaner-burning vehicles and catalytic converters decrease carbon monoxide • Permit-trading programs and clean coal technologies reduce SO2 emissions • Phase-out of leaded gasoline • Improved technologies and federal policies • Electrostatic precipitators • Scrubbers

38. Electrostatic precipitators: are used to attract negatively charged particles in a smokestack into a collector. • Can remove 99% of particulate matter • Does not remove hazardous ultrafine particles. • Produces toxic dust that must be safely disposed of. • Uses large amounts of electricity

39. Scrubbers = technologies that chemically convert or physically remove pollutants before they leave the smokestacks • Wet scrubber: fine mists of water vapor trap particulates & convert them to a sludge that is collected and disposed of usually in a landfill. • Can remove 98% of SO2 and particulate matter. • Not very effective in removing hazardous fine and ultrafine particles.

40. Solutions Stationary Source Air Pollution Prevention Dispersion or Cleanup Burn low-sulfur coal Disperse emissions above thermal inversion layer with tall smokestacks Remove sulfur from coal Remove pollutants after combustion Convert coal to a liquid or gaseous fuel Tax each unit of pollution produced Shift to less polluting fuels Fig. 19-17, p. 459

41. Solutions: Reducing Outdoor Air Pollution • In 2003, fourteen states and a number of U.S. cities sued the EPA to block new rules that would allow older coal-burning power plants to modernize without having to install the most advanced air pollution controls.

42. Solutions Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Prevention Cleanup Mass transit Emission control devices Bicycles and walking Less polluting engines Less polluting fuels Car exhaust inspections twice a year Improve fuel efficiency Get older, polluting cars off the road Give buyers large tax write-offs or rebates for buying low-polluting, energy efficient vehicles Stricter emission standards Fig. 19-19, p. 460

43. Laws Regarding Air Pollution • Shift from controlling air pollution to preventing air pollution • EPA established: • national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) • National emission standards for toxic air pollutants

44. The Clean Air Act • Congress passed series of laws starting in 1955 • Originally signed 1963 • States controlled standards • The Clean Air Act of 1970 • Sets standards for air quality, limits on emissions • Criteria Pollutants • Primary – Human health risk • Secondary – Protect materials, crops, climate, visibility, personal comfort • Provides funds for pollution-control research • Allows citizens to sue parties violating the standards

45. Clean Air Act • The Clean Air Act of 1990 • Strengthens standards for auto emissions, toxic air pollutants, acidic deposition, stratospheric ozone depletion • Introduced emissions trading • There are a # of ways to prevent and control air pollution from motor vehicles. • Because of the Clean Air Act, a new car today in the U.S. emits 75% less pollution than did pre-1970 cars. • There is an increase in motor vehicle use in developing countries and many have no pollution control devices and burn leaded gasoline.

46. Using the Marketplace to Reduce Outdoor Air Pollution • To help reduce SO2 emissions, the Clean Air Act authorized and emission trading (cap-and-trade) program. • Enables the 110 most polluting power plants to buy and sell SO2 pollution rights. • Between 1990-2002, the emission trading system reduced emissions. • In 2002, the EPA reported the cap-and-trade system produced less emission reductions than were projected.

47. Environmental scientists point out several deficiencies in the Clean Air Act: • U.S. continues to rely on cleanup rather than prevention. • Congress has failed to increase fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles. • Regulation of emissions from motorcycles and two-cycle engines remains inadequate. • There is little or no regulation of air pollution from oceangoing ships in American ports. • Airports are exempt from many air pollution regulations. • The Act does not regulate the greenhouse gas CO2. • The Act has failed to deal seriously with indoor air pollution. • There is a need for better enforcement of the Clean Air Act.

48. Recent policies have been contentious • Former President G.W. Bush pushed proposals that would overturn key aspects of legislation • New source reviews = old utility plants have to install the best available technology when upgrading • The Bush administration proposed abolishing this requirement and dropped lawsuits against violators • Clear Skies Initiative = establishes a market-based cap-and-trade program for some pollutants • Stopped in the Senate, because it would increase pollution • The EPA had skewed its analysis to promote the legislation