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Environmental Science Chapter 12
AIR
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Chapter 12
Air
Table of Contents
Section 1 What Causes Air Pollution?
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes air
Pollution?
Key Questions
• What are the five primary air pollutants, and what are the
sources for each?
• How does smog form?
• What is a thermal inversion and how does it trap air pollution?
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
What Causes Air Pollution?
• Air pollution - contamination of the atmosphere
– can be solids, liquids, or gases.
– Most is the result of human activities,
– some pollutants are natural (dust, pollen, spores,
and volcanic eruptions).
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Primary and Secondary Pollutants
• primary pollutant - put directly into the atmosphere
by human or natural activity. ( ie soot from smoke)
• secondary pollutant - forms in the atmosphere by
chemical reactions with primary pollutants, natural
components, or both. (ie ground-level ozone)
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Primary Pollutants
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Sources of Primary Air Pollutants
• Particulate matter
– Fine particles enter the air from fuel burned by
vehicles and coal-burning power plants.
– course particles from cement plants, mining
operations, incinerators, wood-burning fireplaces,
fields, and roads.
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Sources of Primary Air Pollutants
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
The History of Air Pollution
• Air pollution is not a new phenomenon.
– 1273, King Edward I
• Today- modern industrial societies burn large
amounts of fossil fuels.
– Most air pollution in urban areas comes from
vehicles and industry.
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Motor Vehicle Emissions
• Almost one-third of our air pollution comes from
gasoline burned by vehicles.
– Over 90 percent by passenger vehicles. The rest
was driven by trucks and buses.
• The Clean Air Act, gives the EPA the authority to
regulate vehicle emissions in the United States.
– elimination of lead in gasoline decreasing lead
pollution
– catalytic converters, required in all automobiles,
clean exhaust gases of pollutants
• Zero-emission vehicles
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Controlling Vehicle Emissions
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Industrial Air Pollution
• power plants must burn fuel (usually fossil fuel) to
generate our electricity
– releases sulfur dioxide (2/3) and nitrogen oxide
(1/3) into the air that pollute the air.
• VOCs (chemical compounds that form toxic fumes)
– Dry cleaning, oil refineries, chemical
manufacturing plants, furniture refinishers, and
automobile repair shops
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Regulating Air Pollution From Industry
• Scrubbers
– remove some of the more harmful substances
– a machine that moves gases through a spray of
water that dissolves many pollutants.
• Electrostatic precipitators
– machines removes dust particles from
smokestacks
– particles blown through a chamber containing an
electrical current, transfers electric charge to dust
particles causing them to stick together and to the
sides of the chamber.
• An
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Regulating Air Pollution From Industry
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Smog
• Smog - mixture of smoke and fog produced from
industrial pollutants and burning fuels.
– Smog results from chemical reactions that involve
sunlight, air, automobile exhaust, and ozone.
– Pollutants from vehicles and industries are the
main causes
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Smog
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Temperature Inversions
• The circulation of air in the atmosphere usually keeps
air pollution from reaching dangerous levels.
• During the day, the sun heats the surface of the Earth
and the air near the Earth. The warm air rises
through the cooler air above it and carries pollutants
away from the ground, and into the atmosphere.
• Sometimes, however, pollution is trapped near the
Earth’s surface by a temperature inversion.
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Temperature Inversions
• A temperature inversion is the atmospheric
condition in which warm air traps cooler air near
Earth’s surface.
• The warmer air above keeps the cooler air at the
surface from moving upward. So, pollutants are
trapped below with the cooler air.
• If a city is located in a valley, it has a greater chance
of experiencing temperature inversions. Los Angeles,
surrounded on three sides by mountains, often has
temperature inversions.
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Chapter 12
Section 1 What Causes Air
Pollution?
Temperature Inversions
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Key Questions
• What are some short-term effects and long-term effects of air
pollution on human health?
• What causes indoor air pollution?
• What are noise pollution and light pollution? Why are they
significant?
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Air Pollution
• The American Lung Association has estimated that
Americans pay tens of billions of dollars a year in
health costs to treat respiratory diseases caused by
air pollution.
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Effects of Air Pollution on Health
• Short-term effects
– reversible if exposure to air pollution decreases.
– include headache; nausea; irritation to the eyes,
nose and throat; coughing; tightness in the chest;
and upper respiratory infections, such as
bronchitis and pneumonia.
– can worsen conditions of asthma and emphysema
• Long term effects
– emphysema, lung cancer, and heart disease.
– may worsen medical conditions suffered by older
people and may damage the lungs of children.
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Indoor Air Pollution
• The quality of air inside is sometimes worse than the
quality of air outside.
• Plastics and other industrial chemicals are major
sources of pollution.
– can be found in carpets, building materials, paints,
and furniture, particularly when these items are
new.
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Indoor Air Pollution
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Indoor Air Pollution
• Sick-building syndrome is a set of symptoms, such
as headache, fatigue, eye irritation, and dizziness,
that may affect workers in modern, airtight office
buildings.
– caused by indoor air pollutants.
– most common in hot places where buildings are
tightly sealed to keep out the heat.
• removing the sources of indoor air pollution and
ventilation (mixing outdoor air with indoor air) is
necessary for good indoor air quality.
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Indoor Air Pollutants
• Radon gas
– element produced by the decay of uranium
(occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust)
– seeps through cracks in foundations and adheres
to dust particles.
– Can enter the lungs and lead to cancer
– second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United
States
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Indoor Air Pollutants
• Asbestos
– used as an insulator and fire retardant in building
materials.
– fibers can cut and scar the lungs, causing the
disease asbestosis.
– Victims of the disease have more and more
difficulty breathing and may eventually die of heart
failure
– banned in the early 1970s
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Noise Pollution
• noise pollution – caused by unnecessary sounds
• Health problems
– loss of hearing, high blood pressure, and stress.
– loss of sleep, which may lead decreased
productivity
• decibel is the most common unit used to measure
loudness, and is abbreviated dB.
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Noise Pollution
• A decibel is the most common unit used to measure
loudness, and is abbreviated dB.
• The quietest sound that a human ear can hear is
represented by 0 dB. For each increase in decibel
intensity, the decibel level is 10 times higher than the
previous level.
• A sound of 120 dB is at the threshold of pain.
Permanent deafness may come as a result of
continuous exposure to sounds over 120 dB.
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Noise Pollution
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Light Pollution
• Light pollution does not present a direct hazard to
human health, but it does negatively affect our
environment.
• The use of inefficient lighting in urban areas is
diminishing our view of the night sky.
• In urban areas, the sky is often much brighter than
the natural sky.
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Chapter 12
Section 2 Air, Noise, and Light
Pollution
Light Pollution
• A more important environmental concern of
inefficient lighting is energy waste. Energy is wasted
when a light is directed upward into the night sky
and lost to space. Examples include lighting on
billboards, poor-quality street lights, and the lighting
of building exteriors.
• Solutions to this problem include shielding light so it
is directed downward, using time controls so that
light is used only when needed, and using lowpressure sodium sources, which are the most
energy-efficient sources of light.
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice
1. What is the biggest cause of air pollution?
A.
B.
C.
D.
dust particles
forest fires
human activities
volcanic eruptions
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice
1. What is the biggest cause of air pollution?
A.
B.
C.
D.
dust particles
forest fires
human activities
volcanic eruptions
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
2. Which of the following releases the most primary
pollutants into the air?
F.
G.
H.
I.
electric power plants
manufacturing plants
mining operations
transportation industry
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
2. Which of the following releases the most primary
pollutants into the air?
F.
G.
H.
I.
electric power plants
manufacturing plants
mining operations
transportation industry
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
3. Which of the following is a long-term health effect of
air pollution?
A.
B.
C.
D.
blindness
diabetes
emphysema
hepatitis
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
3. Which of the following is a long-term health effect of
air pollution?
A.
B.
C.
D.
blindness
diabetes
emphysema
hepatitis
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
4. Which of the following statements is true?
F.
G.
H.
I.
Ground-level ozone is harmless to children.
Noise pollution occurs at low decibel levels.
Light pollution is a direct hazard to human health.
Sick-building syndrome is caused by poor air
quality.
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
4. Which of the following statements is true?
F.
G.
H.
I.
Ground-level ozone is harmless to children.
Noise pollution occurs at low decibel levels.
Light pollution is a direct hazard to human health.
Sick-building syndrome is caused by poor air
quality.
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
Use this illustration to answer
questions 5 through 7.
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
5. What is the relationship between sulfur dioxide (SO2)
and sulfuric acid (H2SO4)?
A. Sulfur dioxide combines with oxygen to form
nitric acid.
B. Sulfur dioxide is the main pollutant that forms
nitric acid.
C. Sulfur dioxide is the main pollutant that forms
sulfuric acid.
D. Sulfur dioxide combines with nitrogen to form
sulfuric acid.
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
5. What is the relationship between sulfur dioxide (SO2)
and sulfuric acid (H2SO4)?
A. Sulfur dioxide combines with oxygen to form
nitric acid.
B. Sulfur dioxide is the main pollutant that forms
nitric acid.
C. Sulfur dioxide is the main pollutant that forms
sulfuric acid.
D. Sulfur dioxide combines with nitrogen to form
sulfuric acid.
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
6. What are the two main polluting components in acid
precipitation?
F.
G.
H.
I.
ozone and oxygen atoms
ozone and water
sulfuric acid and nitric acid
sulfuric acid and water
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
6. What are the two main polluting components in acid
precipitation?
F.
G.
H.
I.
ozone and oxygen atoms
ozone and water
sulfuric acid and nitric acid
sulfuric acid and water
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
7. What chemical combines with nitrogen dioxide to
form nitric acid?
A.
B.
C.
D.
H
OH
O2
O3
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
7. What chemical combines with nitrogen dioxide to
form nitric acid?
A.
B.
C.
D.
H
OH
O2
O3
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
8. A decrease of one number on the pH scale
represents an increase in the concentration of
hydronium (OH) ions by a power of 10. How many
times more hydronium ions are present in an acid
with a pH of 3 than are present in an acid with a pH
of 5?
F.
G.
H.
I.
10
20
100
200
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Chapter 12
Standardized Test Prep
Multiple Choice, continued
8. A decrease of one number on the pH scale
represents an increase in the concentration of
hydronium (OH) ions by a power of 10. How many
times more hydronium ions are present in an acid
with a pH of 3 than are present in an acid with a pH
of 5?
F.
G.
H.
I.
10
20
100
200
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