Unit 4
Water, Air, and Land
Chapter 12
AIR
• What Causes Air Pollution
• Air, Noise, Light Pollution
• Acid Precipitation
All information is from and/or adapted from :
Environmental Science Copyright 2013 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Pictures are cited within the picture and are from the Teacher DVD, unless otherwise noted in the picture’s citation
“I thought I saw a blue jay this morning.
But the smog was so bad that it turned
out to be a cardinal holding its breath.”
-- Michael J. Cohen
www.allaboutbirds.org-
www.allaboutbirds.org-
Use humor, as Cohen did, to complete the following
sentence:
You know the air is polluted….
www.washington.edu-
When I can’t tell if I’m
supposed to be waking up
or going to bed.
www.tumblr.com-
www.cartoonstock.com-
Because even none is better than some
www.cartoonstock.com-
OBJECTIVES - Section 1 : What Causes Air Pollution?
• Name five primary air pollutants and give sources for
each.
• Name the tow major sources of air pollution ni urban
areas.
• Describe the way in which smog forms.
• Explain the way in which a thermal inversion traps air
pollution.
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
• Most places in the United States contain clean air,
while other areas, the air is so polluted it harms
people’s health.
• When harmful substances build up in the air to
unhealthy levels, the result is air pollution.
• Pollution can come from natural
sources as well as human
activities.
http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com/air-pollution.html
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY POLLUTANTS
• Pollutants that are put directly into the air by
human activity are known as primary pollutants
• Soot from smoke
Sources of Primary Air Pollutants
Primary Pollutants
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY POLLUTANTS
• Pollutants that are put directly into the air by
human activity are known as primary pollutants
• Soot from smoke
• Primary pollutants that react with other primary
pollutants or natural occurring substances are
known as secondary pollutants.
• Gound-level ozone
• UV rays from the sun cause vehicle emissions to react with
the oxygen in the atmosphere
Check for Understanding
QUESTION:
EXPLAIN:
• How is ground-level ozone an example of a secondary
pollutant?
ANSWER:
• Ground-level ozone is a secondary pollutant because it
forms when primary pollutant react with oxygen in the
presence of UV radiation.
• ….in other words, ground-level ozone is formed when
the sun’s rays mix with the oxygen …. secondary
pollutants are caused from primary pollutants reacting
with the sun’s rays.
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY POLLUTANTS
• SOURCES OF PRIMARY AIR POLLUTANTS
• Household products, power plants and motor vehicles
are sources of primary air pollution
• carbon monoxide
• Exhaust from vehicles
• nitrogen oxide
• Exhaust from vehicles
• Coal burning power plants
• sulfur dioxide
• Coal and oil, mixed with sulfur are burned
• Power plants, refineries
• Metal smelters
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
SOURCES OF PRIMARY AIR POLLUTANTS
• Household products, power plants and motor
vehicles are sources of primary air pollution
• VOC (volatile organic compounds)
• Vehicle / gas station spillage (human-made VOC)
• Many household products (paint)
• Particulate matter
• Fine particles
• Enter the air from fuel burned by vehicles, coal burning power plants
• Coarse particles
• Cement plants, mining operations, incinerators, wood burning
fireplaces, fields and roads.
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
HISTORY OF AIR POLLUTION
• Air pollution is not new, burning causes
pollutants to enter the air.
• 2000 years ago – Roman philosopher complained
about the air
• 1273 – King Edward I – banned burning “sea-coal”
• Air quality today is much worse
• Modern industrial societies burn large amounts of fossil fuels
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSIONS
• 1/3 of air pollution is from gasoline vehicles
• Controlling Vehicle Emissions
• Clean Air Act – 1970 & 1990 gives EPA authority to
regulate vehicle emissions in the USA.
• Reduce lead in gasoline
(resulted in 90% reduction in lead pollution)
• Catalytic converters
(clean exhaust gases before pollutants exit the tailpipe)
• 2010 – EPA noted cars and trucks burn fuel 70% more
efficiently & produce 40% fewer CO2 emissions when
compared to 1975.
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSIONS
• California Zero-Emission Vehicle Program
• Vehicles account for more than half of the ozone and
particulate matter that pollutes the air.
• ZEV – Zero- Emission Vehicle
•
•
•
•
Created in 1990 – continues to update
Encourages the development of less-polluting vehicles
Adopted in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont.
No emissions from tailpipes or gasoline
• TYPES of ZEV vehicles
• Battery-powered (only true ZEV)
• Hybrid cars (partial ZEV, battery and gasoline)
• Hydrogen powered (partial ZEV, mostly still prototype stage)
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
INDUSTRIAL AIR POLLUTION
• Industries burn fossil fuels for electricity,
releasing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
• Responsible for 2/3 sulfur dioxides and more
than 1/3 nitrogen oxides that pollute the air.
• Some produce VOC, which form toxic fumes.
• Dry cleaners
• Oil refineries
• Chemical manufacturing plants
• Furniture refinishers
• Automobile repair shops
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
INDUSTRIAL AIR POLLUTION
• REGULATING AIR POLLUTION - INDUSTRY
• Clean Air Act requires pollution-control devices
• Scrubbers
• Remove some of the more harmful substances
• Gases move through a spray of water that dissolves the
pollutants that would have otherwise gone into the air
• Electromagnetic precipitators
• Cement factories and coal burning power plants
• Removes dust particles so that the clean gas is released and
the concentrated dust is collected and removed.
• Removed more than 20 million tons of ash generated by
coal-burning power plants each year.
Regulating Air Pollution From Industry
Check for Understanding
QUESTION:
DESCRIBE:
• Name two pollution-control devices.
State how they help to limit the amount of pollutants in
the air.
ANSWER:
Sample of an acceptable answer:
• A scrubber reduces pollution by moving gases through a
spray of water that dissolved many pollutants.
• An electrostatic precipitator reduces pollution by
removing dust particles from smokestacks.
February 12, 2016 – in response to Feb 10 article: Supreme Court Puts Obama’s Emission Plan On Hold
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
INDUSTRIAL AIR POLLUTION
• SMOG
• Pollution that hangs over urban areas and reduces visibility.
• Chemical reactions that involve sunlight, air, automobile exhaust
and ozone.
• Vehicle and industry pollutants are the main cause
Formation
of Smog
Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
INDUSTRIAL AIR POLLUTION
• TEMPERATURE INVERSIONS
• Warm air rises (carrying pollutants)
• Air is usually cooler as it rises in altitude and removes the
pollutants.
• Sometimes a layer of warmer air is above the cooler air and
traps the pollutants.
• Problematic when cities are in valleys, such as Los Angeles (3sides are
mountains and temperature inversions trap the smog)
Temperature Inversions
OBJECTIVES: TO BE COMPLETED – SECTION 1
• Name five primary air pollutants and give sources for each.
1) _______________________________________________________________________________
2) ______________________________________________________________________________
3) _______________________________________________________________________________
4) _______________________________________________________________________________
5) _______________________________________________________________________________
• Name the two major sources of air pollution in urban areas.
1) _____________________________________________________________
2) _____________________________________________________________
OBJECTIVES: TO BE COMPLETED Section 1 (continued)
• Describe the way in which smog forms.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
• Explain the way in which a thermal inversion traps air
pollution.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Unit 4
Water, Air, and Land
Chapter 12
AIR
• What Causes Air Pollution
• Air, Noise, Light Pollution
• Acid Precipitation
All information is from and/or adapted from :
Environmental Science Copyright 2013 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Pictures are cited within the picture and are from the Teacher DVD, unless otherwise noted in the picture’s citation
OBJECTIVES - Section 2 : Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
• Describe three short-term effects and three long-term
effects of air pollution on human health.
• Explain what causes indoor air pollution and how it can be
prevented.
• Describe three human health problems caused by noise
pollution.
• Describe solution to energy waste caused by light
pollution.
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
• Young , old, heart or lung patients are most affected by air
pollution.
• Decades of research have linked air pollution to disease
• American Lung Association estimates that tens of billions
of dollars are spent to treat respiratory diseases caused by
air pollution
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
SHORT TERM EFFECTS ON HEATH
• Many health effects from air pollution are short term
and reversible
•
•
•
•
•
•
Headache
Nausea
Eye, nose, and throat irritation
Coughing
Chest tightness
Upper respiratory infection
(bronchitis/pneumonia)
• Pollution can make conditions
such as asthma and emphysema worse
www.cartoonstock.com
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
LONG TERM EFFECTS ON HEATH
• Air pollution has been linked to health issues such as
• Emphysema
• Lung cancer
• Heart disease
• Long term exposure may worsen
the existing conditions of
elderly people and may damage
young children’s lungs.
Data and images courtesy of http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/
Data and images courtesy of http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/airpollution/airquality/pdfs/Air_Quality_and_Outdoor_Activity_Guidance.pdf
http://www.phila.gov/aqi/
Air pollution from China reaches
Japan, other parts of Asia
February 01, 2013
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201302010087
Beijing Air Pollution Hits
Orange Alert Level
By Douglas Cobb
February 23, 2014
http://guardianlv.com/2014/02/beijing-air-pollution-hits-orange-alert-level/
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
• Sometimes indoor air quality is worse than outside air quality
due to chemicals to make carpet, paints, building materials,
etc. found in the home.
• Cleaning solution containing bleach, sodium hydroxide and
hydrochloric acid
• Nitrogen oxides from unvented gas stoves, wood stoves and
kerosene heaters
• Fungi and bacteria from dirty heating and air condition ducts
• Carbon monoxide from faulty furnace or running cars
• Methylene chloride from paint thinners
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
• Radon 222 from the uranium rocks under the house
• Gasoline from cars and lawn mowers
• Formaldehyde from furniture, carpet, particleboard and foam
insulation
• Tobacco smoke from cigarettes and pipes
• Paradichlorobenzene from moth ball/flakes and air freshners
• Tetrachloroethylene from dry cleaning fluid
www.precisionnutrition.com
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
• Sick Building Syndrome – buildings that have poor air quality
• Common in hot places where the buildings are sealed to keep out
heat, such as in Florida
• Identifying and removing the indoor pollution is the most effective
way to maintain good indoor air quality.
• Ventilation, mixing indoor and outdoor air, is good for maintaining
good air quality
• Renovations that produce indoor air pollution should be done in well
ventilated areas.
www.air-care.com
Check for Understanding
QUESTION:
APPLY:
• Why is sick-building syndrome most common in hot places?
ANSWER:
Sample of an acceptable answer:
• Sick-building syndrome is most common in hot places
because buildings are tightly sealed against the heat. This
type of environment encourages the growth of fungi that can
cause allergic reactions.
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
• RADON
• The decay of uranium, a natural rock in the earth’s soil
• Radioactive
• A colorless, tasteless,
odorless gas that attaches
to dust particles
• When inhaled it damages
a person’s lungs and
can lead to cancer
• 2nd leading cause of
lung cancer
www.surethinghomeinspections.com
American Lung Association in Pennsylvania to provide free radon testing kits.
www.heraldstandard.com
Posted: Saturday, October 5, 2013 2:00 am | Updated: 12:05 am, Thu Oct 10, 2013.
http://www.lunnyenvironmental.com/what-is-radon/epa-radon-info/
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
• ASBESTOS
• Used as an insulator and fire retardant, mostly in building material
• Banned in the US around 1970 .
• Inhaled fibers can cut and scar the lungs, causing asbestosis
• Difficulty breathing
• May die of heart failure
• Asbestos removal from buildings and schools is a serious situation
Data, information and images from:
http://www.nps.gov/vafo/learn/management/asbestos.htm
Valley
Forge
Asbestos
Release
Site
Valley Forge Asbestos Release Site (continued)
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
NOISE POLLUTION
Unwanted sound is the price we pay for today’s modern living
• Noise pollution
• Has resulted in hearing loss almost doubling since 1970
• Damages our hearing
• Destroys ear cells
• Teens – about 14.9 % have
permanent hearing loss
• Portable listening devices
• Africa – people live in
quiet environments
• People at age 80 have
better hearing than
people at age 30 in the US
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
NOISE POLLUTION
• Noise impacts land and water organisms
• Excessive noise has caused whales and dolphins to strand on beaches
• Interferes with water animals ability to navigate and communicate
www.marineinsight.com
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
NOISE POLLUTION
• Measured in units known as decibels
• There various impacts of how sound affects individuals
• Thresholds are at 0 dB and 140 dB
www.thepollutionfacts.com
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
NOISE POLLUTION
• Protecting individuals:
• Sounds can be muffled
• Placing Regulations on dB levels
• National Institute of Health
recommends, as a safe threshold
level, that MP3 players produce
no more than 85 dB for 8 hours
• Europe – max 100 dB
• US – has no regulation
www.osha.gov
Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
LIGHT POLLUTION
• HEALTH ISSUES
• Increases headaches, fatigue, stress and anxiety in humans
• Diminishes our view of the night sky
• Negative impacts on the environment
• Hatching sea turtles instinctively move toward the light and may
move toward street lights, reducing the survival rate
• Night-time bird migration is impacted by city lights
• Chicago dims its light during migration season
• Energy waste
• Shielding lights to aim them downward
• Sensors to be sure they are one only when needed
• Using low –pressure sodium sources (most energy efficient source)
International Dark Sky Association (IDA)
www.mro.nmt.edu
http://www.space.com/29347-skyglow-team-s-night-sky-time-lapses-amaze-and-educate-video.html VIDEO about 4:00
http://twistedsifter.com/2015/04/the-night-sky-with-no-light-pollution/ VIDEO: 2:20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip2ZGND1I9Q
Video @ 5:00
Check for Understanding
QUESTION:
IDENTIFY:
• What are some effects of light pollution?
ANSWER:
Sample of an acceptable answer:
• Effects of light pollution include health problems,
disruption of the view of the nigh sky, environmental
problems and energy waste.
OBJECTIVES: TO BE COMPLETED – SECTION 2
• Describe three short-term effects and three long-term
effects of air pollution on human health.
Short-term:
1) __________________________________________
2) __________________________________________
3) __________________________________________
Long-term:
1) __________________________________________
2) __________________________________________
3) __________________________________________
OBJECTIVES: TO BE COMPLETED – Section 2 (continued)
• Explain what causes indoor air pollution and how it can be
prevented.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
• Describe three human health problems caused by noise
pollution.
1) __________________________________________
2) __________________________________________
3) __________________________________________
OBJECTIVES: TO BE COMPLETED – Section 2 (continued)
• Describe solution to energy waste caused by light
pollution.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Unit 4
Water, Air, and Land
Chapter 12
AIR
• What Causes Air Pollution
• Air, Noise, Light Pollution
• Acid Precipitation
All information is from and/or adapted from :
Environmental Science Copyright 2013 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Pictures are cited within the picture and are from the Teacher DVD, unless otherwise noted in the picture’s citation
OBJECTIVES - Section 3 : Acid Precipitation
• Explain the causes of acid precipitation.
• Explain how acid precipitation affects plants, soils and
aquatic ecosystems.
• Describe three ways that acid precipitation affects
humans.
• Describe ways that countries are working together to solve
the problem of acid precipitation.
Section 3: Acid Precipitation
• What Causes Acid Precipitation ?
• What if you were sitting at a lake and saw how clear it was, how
would you feel?
• What if you later notice that the lake had no fish, or the trees
were bare, now how would you feel?
• Well this is what can happen when lakes are victims of acid
precipitation; there are thousands across the world that fall into
this category.
Photo: David Woodfall/Getty Images
www.dec.ny.gov
isbscienceg9.blogspot.com
Section 3: Acid Precipitation
• What Causes Acid Precipitation ?
• Acid Precipitation is precipitation, rain, sleet, snow
that contains high concentration of acids.
• When fossil fuels burn, sulfur and nitrogen oxides are
released
• Oxides mix with water (in the atmosphere)
• Form sulfuric acid and
nitric acid
• The highly concentrated
precipitation enters the soil,
lakes, rivers, streams and
can kill the things that already
live there.
aaronqbecrafts.blogspot.com
acidrain130.wikispaces.com
SO WHAT’s pH ?
• A measure of the hydronium ion concentration.
(H3O+) (H+ from acid + H2O from water)
• It test how acidic a solution is.
• A series of numbers from 0 to 14
• 0 is a strong acid, 14 a strong base
• 7 is neutral, it is neither an acid or a base
oneillseaodyssey.org
dwb4.unl.edu
www.globalchange.umich.edu
Section 3: Acid Precipitation
• What Causes Acid Precipitation ?
• The pH of rain varies around the world
• Some areas the pH is as low as 4.2
• The EPA has been working with industries to cut
emissions
• Much work remains, but some conditions are
improving
• China and India, emissions are increasing,
causing concern to the potential rise of acid rain
Check for Understanding
QUESTION:
COMPARE:
• How does the pH of pure water compare with that of
acid precipitation?
ANSWER:
• Pure water has a pH of 7.0 .
• Acid precipitation has a pH of less than 5.0
Section 3: Acid Precipitation
• How Acid Precipitation Affects Soils and Plants
• Acid Precipitation can lower the pH of soil and
water
• Acidification – the increasing of acid
concentration
• Increased acidity causes –
• some nutrients to be dissolved
and washed away
• some toxic metals (aluminum)
to be released, absorbed by
roots, causing root damage
• Sulfur dioxide clogs the pore
openings of plants
Section 3: Acid Precipitation
• Acid Precipitation and Humans
• Acid precipitation can impact humans
• Toxic metals (aluminum /mercury) can be released
into the environment when soil acidity increases.
• Toxic metals can be absorbed into crops, water, fish
• Can be absorbed (consumed) by humans
• Correlations found between acid precipitation
and respiratory problems
• Impacts commercial fishers, sport fishing
and even forestry activities
• Damages calcium carbonate, a common
building material
1908
1969
www.filtersfast.com
www.geography.hunter.cuny.edu
Section 3: Acid Precipitation
• International Conflict and Cooperation
• Pollutants released from one area of the world can
fall to the ground, as acid rain, hundreds of
kilometers away.
• Pollutants in northeastern United States can fall as acid
rain in southeastern Canada
• Acid precipitation is an international problem
• Canada and the US signed the Canada-U.S. Air Quality
Agreement in 1991 , agreeing to reduce emissions that
flow across the borders
• Sulfur dioxide emissions has been greatly reduced
• Europe has had similar agreements and reduced
emissions, however there has been an increase of
nitrogen oxides due to increased vehicle usage.
• China burns large amount of high-sulfur coal
without pollution controls, this polluted air
produces acid precipitation in other parts of Asia,
far from the plants in China.
en.citizendium.org-
Check for Understanding
QUESTION:
EXPLAIN:
• How can pollutants from the United States produce acid
precipitation in Canada?
ANSWER:
Sample of an acceptable answer:
• Pollutants from the United States can cause acid
precipitation in Canada because pollutants may be
released in one area and reach the ground hundreds of
kilometers away.
OBJECTIVES - Section 3 : Acid Precipitation
• Explain the causes of acid precipitation.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
• Explain how acid precipitation affects plants, soils and
aquatic ecosystems.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
OBJECTIVES - TO BE COMPLETED –Section 3 (continued)
• Describe three ways that acid precipitation affects
humans.
1) __________________________________________
2) __________________________________________
3) __________________________________________
• Describe ways that countries are working together to solve
the problem of acid precipitation.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Vocabulary to Know: Chapter : AIR
Section 1 – What Causes Air Pollution ?
•
Air Pollution– the contamination of the atmosphere by the introduction of pollutants from human and natural resources.
•
Primary pollutant – a pollutant that is put directly into the atmosphere by human or natural activity.
•
Secondary pollutant – a pollutant that forms in the atmosphere by chemical reaction with primary air pollutants, natural
components in the air, or both.
•
Smog – urban air pollution composed of a mixture of smoke and fog produced from industrial pollutants and burning fuels.
•
Temperature inversion – the atmospheric condition in which warm air traps cooler air near Earth’s surface.
Section 2 – Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
•
Sick-building syndrome – a set of symptoms, such as headache, fatigue, eye irritation, and dizziness, that may affect workers
in modern, airtight office buildings; believed to be caused by indoor pollutants.
•
Asbestos – any of six silicate minerals that form bundles of minute fibers that are heat resistant, flexible and durable
***cancer causing
•
Decibel (dB) – the most common unit used to measure loudness
Section 3 – Acid Precipitation
•
Acid precipitation – precipitation, such as rain, sleet, or snow, that contains a high concentration of acids, often because of
the pollution of the atmosphere.
•
pH – a value that is used to express the acidity or alkalinity (basicity) of a system; a pH of 7 is neutral, less than 7 is acidic and
greater than 7 is basic (alkaline)
•
Acid shock - the sudden runoff of large amounts of highly acidic water into lakes and streams when snow melts in the spring
or when heavy rains follow a drought.