Air Pollution

1. Air Pollution

2. History of Air Pollution • …is nothing “new” • Seneca, Roman philosopher, complained about foul smell of air in Rome! • 1273 first “clean air act” issued when King Edward I ordered that “sea coal” stop being burned • Industry and motor vehicles have led to current air pollution crisis

3. Mexico City • Possibly the worst in the world • Result of excessive vehicle exhaust due to overpopulation • Students banned from playing outdoors when air pollution too high!

4. Clean Air Components • 78% Nitrogen • 21% Oxygen • The remaining is Argon, CO2, and H20 vapor

5. Air Pollution • Harmful substances building up • NATURAL • Dust • Pollen • Fungus Spores • Volcanic Ash • Lava “Steam” • Human Activities

8. Human Activities • Burning Fossil Fuels: oil, gas, coal • Primary Pollutants: put directly in air by humans • Secondary Pollutants: a pollutant that forms in the atmosphere by chemical reaction with primary air pollutants, natural components in the air, or both

9. Primary Air Pollutants • Household products, power plants, motor vehicles

10. Carbon Monoxide • From burning fossil fuels • Cars, trucks, small engines, and industrial • May lead to death, hinders blood’s ability to carry oxygen

11. Nitrogen Gas, NOx • From burning of fuels in vehicles, power plants, and industrial boilers • Contributes to smog and acid precipitation • Leads to respiratory infections, lung diseases, and cancer

13. Sulfur dioxide • Mostly from burning fossil fuels (coal and oil) • Contributes to acid precipitation • Secondary pollutants formed harm plant life and human respiratory systems

14. Volatile organic compounds, VOCs • Organic chemicals burned to produce toxic fumes • Vehicles and gas station spillage make up most of VOCs • Also in household products • Smog formation and Cancer in plants and animals are effects

15. Particulate Matter • Tiny liquid or solid particles • FINE: from vehicles and coal burning power plants • COARSE: cement plants, mining operations, incinerators, fireplaces, roads • Coal Dust • Agriculture, fires, and forestry also sources • Effects: respiratory infections, lung cancer

17. Secondary Pollutants • Ground Level Ozone • Human made air pollutant • VOCs and NOx combined with sun and heat • Health Effects • Short Term: asthma, inflammation of lung linings • Long Term: emphysema

20. Overall Effects of Pollution on Health • SHORT TERM • Headaches • Nausea • Irritation to eyes, nose, throat • Tightness in chest • Coughing • URI (bronchitis and pneumonia)

21. Overall Effect of Pollution on Health • LONG TERM • Emphysema • Lung cancer • Heart disease • May worsen preexisting medical conditions

22. Where do all of these pollutants come from?? • 2 main places: • 1) indoor air pollution • 2)burning of fossil fuels – includes motor vehicle emissions and industrial pollutant emissions

23. Indoor Air Pollution – Is it better inside?

24. Sick Building Syndrome: set of symptoms such as headache, fatigue, eye irritation and dizziness that may affect workers in modern, airtight office buildings

25. Important Indoor Pollutants: Radon gas Asbestos Household products!

26. Radon Gas • Colorless, tasteless, odorless. Radon is a radioactive element produced by the decay of uranium underground. Radon can enter buildings through cracks and holes in foundations. It then sticks to dust particles • Radon can destroy the DNA in cells in mouth, throat and lungs – such damage can lead to cancer, especially among smokers!

27. Asbestos • Fibrous, heat resistant, flexible, durable material that was used as an insulator and fire retardant in building materials • Gov banned use of most asbestos products in the early 1970s b/c asbestos in air very dangerous • Asbestos fibers can cut and scar lungs, causing asbetosis. Can also cause lung cancer

31. Household Products • Most are VOCs • Short term exposure – eye and skin irritation • Long term exposure – respiratory illness, cancer • Examples - paints, paint strippers, and other solvents; wood preservatives; aerosol sprays; cleansers and disinfectants; moth repellents and air fresheners; stored fuels and automotive products; hobby supplies; dry-cleaned clothing. • Solutions • Use natural products!!! • Reduce exposure via sealing or ventilation

32. Burning Fossil Fuels - Vehicle Emissions • 1/3 of our air pollution comes from gasoline burned by vehicles! • Problems: Health effects mentioned for all primary and secondary pollutants Cali 0-Emission Vehicle Program (1990) • Vehicles with no tailpipe emissions, no gas emissions, and no emission-control systems that deteriorate over time • By 2016, 16 percent of all vehicles sold in California are required to be zero-emission vehicles, including SUVs and trucks.

33. Mobile sources account for well over half of the emissions which contribute to ozone and particulate matter and nearly 40 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in California. In order to meet California's health based air quality standards and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, the cars we drive and the fuel we use must be transformed away from petroleum.

34. ARB (air resources board) has adopted a new approach to passenger vehicles – cars and light trucks -- by combining the control of smog-causing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions into a single coordinated package of standards. The new approach also includes efforts to support and accelerate the numbers of plug-in hybrids and zero-emission vehicles in California

35. California's Advanced Clean Cars program • California has a long and successful history of adopting technology-advancing vehicle emission standards to protect public health. In January 2012, the Air Resources Board approved a new emissions-control program for model years 2017 through 2025. The program combines the control of smog, soot and global warming gases and requirements for greater numbers of zero-emission vehicles into a single package of standards called Advanced Clean Cars.

36. By 2025, when the rules will be fully implemented: • New automobiles will emit 34 percent fewer global warming gases and 75 percent fewer smog-forming emissions. • Environmentally superior cars will be available across the range of models, from compacts, to SUVs, pickups and minivans. • Consumer savings on fuel costs will average $6,000 over the life of the car. The savings more than offsets the average $1,900 increase in vehicle price for the ultra-clean, high-efficiency technology.

37. Clean Air Act 1970, 1990 • Passed in 1970 and strengthened in 1990. Allows EPA to regulate vehicle emissions in US • Required elimination of lead in gasoline – decreased lead pollution by more than 90% in the US • Required catalytic converters in all automobiles to clean exhaust gases before pollutants exit the tail pipe

39. Industry • Fossil fuels burned for energy (electricity) • Releases huge quantities of primary pollutants into the air • Power plants emit 2/3 of all SOx and >1/3 of all NOx • Clean air act requires industry to use scrubbers or other pollution-control devices to remove harmful substances from emissions • Wet scrubber: moves gases through a spray of water that dissolves many pollutants • Electrostatic precipitators remove dust particles from smoke stacks by giving them a charge and preventing their release into the air

40. Industry • Temperature Inversions • Sun heats earth and air • Warm air rises through the cooler air above and carries pollutants • Pollution trapped near surface when air above is warmer than air below • As seen in valleys

41. Industry • SMOG

42. Smog • Car emissions that mix with sunlight energy can create ground level ozone – toxic • When ground level ozone reacts with fog and smoke from burning fossil fuels it creates SMOG! • Smog is an urban air pollution problem due to the concentration of car and industrial emissions

43. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1DNjJd2YfA • Bbc air pollution china • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mobU0j331DY • Abc beijing

44. ACID PRECIPITATION • Rain, sleet, or snow with high levels of acids • Sulfur oxide and NOx combine with water to form sulfuric and nitric acid • Living things then die. • Soils and plants • Root damage due to acidification and absorption of harmful metals • Sulfur dioxide clogs plants RIVERS/LAKES: fish die due to acidic shock Humans: crops, water, fish all infected. Can harm buildings and monuments over time.

45. Problems caused by acid rain • Acidification – acid rain causes a drop in pH of soil and water • When soil becomes acidic, important nutrients are dissolved and washed away by rainwater • Aluminum and other toxic metals may be released and absorbed by roots of plants causing root damage

46. Aquatic Ecosystems Aquatic animals adapted to live in specific pH range. If it changes, aquatic plants and animals can die Acid rain causes Al to leach out of soil surrounding a lake. The Al accumulates in the gills of fish and interferes with oxygen and salt exchange – slowly suffocating fish! Acid shock – sudden runoff of large amounts of highly acidic water into lakes and streams when snow melts in spring or when heavy rains follow drought Effects – large numbers of fish die. Amphibians and fish produce fewer eggs, fewer eggs will hatch, many offspring have birth defects and can’t reproduce

47. Acid rain and Humans! • Toxic metals such as Al and Hg that are released into environment find their way into crops, water and fish. The toxins then poison human body • Research links large amounts of acid rain with respiratory problems in children • Acidification in lakes decreases numbers of fish, acid rain kills trees. This affects jobs in fishing and forestry industries • Acid rain can dissolve calcium carbonate in common building materials, such as concrete. As a result, some important historic monuments are being corroded