AIR POLLUTION

By
KIRAN K
COMPOSITION OF THE
ATMOSPHERE
Constituents % Volume
Nitrogen 78.1
Oxygen 20.9
Argon 0.9
Water Vapor Variable
Carbon Dioxide 0.0407
Aerosols Variable
Others <0.001
AIR POLLUTION
• There are an estimated 85,000 chemicals
commonly used in modern industrial and
nonindustrial applications,

• Many of them are airborne toxicants.

 SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION
• Natural
* Volcanoes
* Forest fires
* Dust storms
* Volatile organic compounds (plants and trees)
(trigger asthma)
* biological decay
• Anthropogenic (human made)
 Lake Nyos

On August 21, 1986, the lake

suddenly emitted a large cloud of CO2,
which suffocated 1,700 people and
3,500 livestock in nearby villages

A pocket of magma lies beneath the lake and leaks carbon

dioxide (CO2) into the water,
A cow suffocated by gases from Lake Nyos
Sources of airborne pollution are many: power
generation, industry, traffic, biomass burning …
Each year we add more than 30 billion tons of
carbon dioxide to the air mainly by:

Burning fossil fuels

Cutting down and burning trees
Air Quality Parameters
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
• Ozone
• Particulate Matter (PM 10)
• Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
 Impacts of
Air Pollution
Climate
Acid Rain Change

Visibility and Ozone

Ecosystem Depletion
Human
Health
Water Quality Air Toxics
 1. Carbon monoxide
• CO is an odorless, colorless, poisonous gas that is
produced by the incomplete combustion of carbon
containing fuels.
source :
- exhaust from vehicles
- industrial processes
- coal
- kerosene
 2. Nitrogen Dioxide
• Reddish brown gas that is produced
during the high temperature combustion
of fossil fuels
• Primary sources :
– power plants,
– motor vehicles,
– incinerators,
– industrial boilers and some chemical
processes
 3. Ozone
• Ozone is a colorless gas that is not
emitted directly into the atmosphere from
sources but forms in the atmosphere from
a photochemical reaction between VOC
(Volatile organic compounds) and NOx in
the presence of sunlight.
• Sources of VOC: motor vehicle exhaust,
dry cleaning, paint solvents, and gasoline
evaporation.
 4. Particulate Matter
• Broad classification of pollutants that consists of
very fine solid particles, liquid droplets, or
aerosols.
• Categorized according to the particle diameter
and the health impacts caused by particles of
differing sizes.
• Particles of larger sizes typically settle out of the
air rapidly and pose a limited health risk
• particles of very small size may stay in the air for
very long times and can penetrate deeply into the
human respiratory system and cause harmful
effects
 5. Sulfur Dioxide
• Produced by the combustion of sulfur
containing fuels, ore smelting, petroleum
processing, and the manufacture of
sulfuric acid.
• Coal-fired power plants are typically the
largest sources of sulfur dioxide.