Air and Air Pollution

Smog, Acid Rain, Priority and Indoor Air pollutants

40

25

Air
Altitude (kilometers)

35
30

Stratosphere

20 Altitude (miles)

25
20 15 10

Stratospheric ozone

15

10

Troposphere

5
Photochemical ozone 0 0 20

5 10 15 Ozone concentration (ppm)

Disturbance of Nutrient Cycles

Global nitrogen (N) fixation (trillion grams)

200

150 Nitrogen fixation by natural processes

100

50

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

Carbon Cycle

Atmosphere (most carbon is in carbon dioxide) Combustion of fossil fuels photosynthesis Terrestrial rocks

volcanic action

combustion of wood (for aerobic clearing land; or for fuel respiration

weathering

Land food webs producers, consumers, decomposers, detritivores

sedimentation

Soil water (dissolved carbon) leaching runoff death, burial, compaction over geologic time

Peat, fossil fuels

KNOW Table 17-1 Major Classes of Air Pollutants and Table 17-2 Class Carbon oxides
Examples

Carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2)

Sulfur oxides
Nitrogen oxides

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)

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Suspended particulate matter (SPM)

Photochemical oxidants

Radioactive substances

Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), methyl chloride (CH3Cl), Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), which cause health effects such as cancer, birth chloroform (CHCl3), benzene (C6H6), ethylene dibromide (C2H2Br2), formaldehyde (CH2O2) defects, and nervous system problems

Tabl

Photochemical Brown Smog

Primary Pollutants CO2 SO2 NO NO2 Most hydrocarbons Most suspended particles Sources Natural CO Secondary Pollutants SO3 HNO3 H2SO4 H2O2 O3 PANs
2 Most NO 3 and SO4 salts

Stationary

Mobile

Solar radiation

Ultraviolet radiation NO Nitric oxide H2O Water NO2 Nitrogen dioxide O Atomic oxygen O2 Molecular oxygen

Hydrocarbons

HNO3 Nitric acid

PANs Peroxyacyl nitrates

Aldehydes (e.g., formaldehyde)

O3 Ozone

Gray Smog Chemistry

Coal combustion:

C (in coal) + O2 ----- CO2 (and 2CO) + soot S (in coal) + O2 ----- SO2 (sulfur dioxide)

Metal smelters: Then:

PbS + O2 ----- SO2

2 SO2 + O2 ----- 2SO3 (sulfur trioxide) SO3 + H2O ----- H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) H2SO4 + 2NH3 ----- (NH4)2SO4 (ammonium sulfate)

Ammonium sulfate and soot give gray color to smog What factors affect smog formation?

Thermal Inversions
Cities near mountain ranges When a warm front follows a cold front Result: intense local smog

Acid Rain Chemistry

Wind Transformation to sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and nitric acid (HNO3) Windborne ammonia gas and particles of cultivated soil partially neutralize acids and form dry sulfate and nitrate salts Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and NO

Nitric oxide (NO)

Acid fog

Dry acid deposition (sulfur dioxide gas and particles of sulfate and nitrate salts) Farm

Wet acid deposition (droplets of H2SO4 and HNO3 dissolved in rain and snow)

Ocean

Lakes in deep soil high in limestone are buffered

Lakes in shallow soil low in limestone become acidic

See Miller for geography of power plants and sensitive soils, p. 429

Acid Rain Effects

What are the effects? In Soils: H+ displaces cations in clay and humus, resulting in nutrient depletion

Emission

Acid deposition

SO2 H2O2 PANs

NOX O3 Other s

Direct damage to leaves and bark

Reduced photosynthesis and growth

Increased Susceptibility to drought, extreme cold, insects, mosses, and disease organisms

Soil acidification

Tree death

Leaching of Soil nutrients

Acid

Release of toxic metal icons

Root damage

Reduced nutrient and water uptake

Groundwater

Solutions
Acid Deposition

Prevention Reduce air pollution by improving energy efficiency Reduce coal use

Cleanup Add lime to neutralize acidified lakes Add phosphate fertilizer to neutralize acidified lakes

Increase natural gas use

Increase use of renewable resources Burn low-sulfur coal Remove SO2 particulates, and Nox from smokestack gases Remove Nox from motor vehicular exhaust Tax emissions of SO2

Respiratory Physiology

Respiratory Physiology

Regions of deposition

Ultrafine Particles

Fine Particles

Large Particles

Particle Size

Sea salt nuclei Fly ash Carbon black Paint pigments

Pollens

>5 micronsfiltered out 1-5 micronstrapped in lungs <1 micronaveolar region

Tobacco smoke
Cement dust Milled flour Combustion nuclei Oil smoke Metallurgical dust and fumes Photochemical smog Insecticide dusts

Coal dust

0.001 0.01 2.5 10.0 100.0 Average particle diameter (micrometers or microns)

Common Respiratory Ailments

Asthma

Common Respiratory Ailments

Edema

Bronchitis

Common Respiratory Ailments Emphysema

Fibrosis

Chloroform

Para-dichlorobenzene

Tetrachloroethylene

1, 1, 1Trichloroethane Formaldehyde

Nitrogen Oxides

Benzo-a-pyrene Styrene

Tobacco Smoke Asbestos Radon-222 Carbon Monoxide Methylene Chloride

Occupational Exposures
Pollutant asbestos No. of workers exposed 250000 Occupational activity mining and manufacturing pesticide, pigment, glass and alloy production coal mining silo filling, welding, explosive manufacturing welding, deodorizing, flour bleaching bleaching, fumigation, refrigeration and chem. manufacturing

arsenic

1500000

coal dust

200000

nitrogen oxides

1500000

ozone

380000

sulfur dioxide

5000000

Clean Air Act