Transcript Document 7328325

Chapter 12
AIR
Mr. Manskopf
Notes Also At
http://www.manskopf.com
Why Care About The Air?
You breathe
out of which
layer?
Take a deep breath
Chapter 12 Air Big Idea
There are a variety of human activities
that impact air quality that can affect
both the health of humans and other
organisms.
Section 1: What Causes Air
Pollution
What are the main sources of air
pollution?
 Describe how smog forms
 Explain what a temperature inversion
is and how it can make are pollution
worse.
 TERMS: primary and secondary air
pollution, catalytic converter, ZEVs,

What Causes Air Pollution?
Air pollution is harmful
substances in the air
 To plants, animals
and other organisms
 Impact ecosystem
functions
 WHAT SHOULD BE
IN THE AIR?
Some Natural Most Human Made
Can you think of other human
made AND natural sources of
air pollution?
Primary vs. Secondary
Primary pollutant: put
directly in the air
(soot from smoke)
Secondary forms when
primary pollutant
react with other
pollutants
(Smog)
Primary vs. Secondary
Primary vs. Secondary
Major Classes of Air Pollution Table 1
Carbon Oxides (CO and CO2)
Sulfur Oxides (SO2)
Nitrogen Oxides (NO and NO2)
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs – CFCs)
Suspended Particulate Matter (soot, dust,
asbestos, lead etc.)
Photochemical Oxidants (ozone O3)
Radioactive Substances (Radon)
Hazardous Air Pollutants (carcinogens, etc.)
Sources of Air Pollution
Main Sources of Air
Pollution
 Burning fossil fuels in
cars and at power
plants (coal, oil and
natural gas)
 Urban areas vehicles
and industry
 Mobile vs. Stationary
Sources
What can you learn from this graph?
Human Made vs. Natural
History of Air Pollution


Not a new problem
Why do you think
world air-quality today
is a bigger problem?
History of Air Pollution




Not a “new” problem,
but scale has changed
during industrial revol.
London “smog” killed
2,000 in 1880, 1,000 in
1911 and between 4,000
and 12,000 in 1952
1948 Donora PA 6,000
sick
1963 NYC 300 killed
Today’s U.S. Air Quality
 http://airnow.gov/
U.S. Government Web Site With Up To Minute Air Quality Data
From Monitors Across the country
 http://www.epa.gov/air/data/geosel.html
U.S. EPA Air Quality Data: Tons of data regarding air quality
across the U.S.
 http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/
EPA report on air trends in U.S.
Smog
(Smoky – Fog) Smog
 Secondary Pollutant
in many urban areas
 Forms from chemical
reaction
 Vehicle exhaust
 Needs sunlight and
warm temperatures
 OZONE
Smog
VOCs + NOx + heat + Sunlight = Ground Level
Ozone (O3)
Smog Levels Are
Influenced By:
Local climate
Topography
Population Density
Amount of industry
Transportation
Huge Problem in cities like LA…WHY?
Smog: Why care?
Smog Impacts:
Breathing Problems
Coughing, Eye Irritation
Aggravates asthma,
heart problems
Speeds up aging of lung
tissue
Damage plants
Reduce Visibility
Smog and Temperature Inversion

Normally as you go up in
the troposphere what
happens to temperature?
Temperature Inversion
occurs when a warmer
layer forms above a
cooler layer
•Traps air near ground
Temperature Inversion
Helena
Montana
Clean Air Act



U.S. Law Passed
Congress in 1970 and
strengthened 1990
Has been huge
success
93% lower Pb, 41%
CO, 40% VOCs, 34%
PM-10, 33% SO2,
15% NOx, 14% O3,
PM-2.5 8%
Clean Air Act
Cars today are about 95% cleaner running
Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEV)
Have no tailpipe
emissions
Chevy Volt 2010: will
travel 30 miles on a
battery before gas
engine kicks in
Nissan Leaf travels about
100 miles before needing
to be charged again
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=f48x9baSuF0
Clean Air Act


Requires industries
to clean up
smokestack
emissions
Requires Scrubbers
Scrubbers
Monitors like these can tell us
air quality data in real time
Section 1 Review




What are the main sources of air
pollution?
Describe how smog forms
Explain what a temperature inversion is
and how it can make are pollution worse.
TERMS: primary and secondary air
pollution, catalytic converter, ZEVs, smog,
temperature inversion
Dehli’s Daunting Air Problem

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video
/business/2010/08/24/qmb.future.cities.de
lhi.air.cnn.html
Section 2 Air, Noise and Light
Pollution
GOALS:
 Describe human health impacts of air pollution.
 What is indoor air pollution?
 Why is noise pollution and light pollution a
problem?
 TERMS: sick-building syndrome, asbestos,
decibel.
How do we breathe?
CNN Human Health and Air
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/16/u
rban.toxic.air/index.html?eref=rss_latest&
utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=fe
ed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn
_latest+%28RSS%3A+Most+Recent%29&
utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
Short-term health impacts
Short term exposure to
air pollution include:
 Headache, nausea,
eye and throat
irritation, coughing
 Asthma attacks
Short-term Impacts
Long-term impacts
Long term exposure to
air pollution can lead
to
 Lung cancer other
lung diseases, heart
disease, emphysema,
premature death
 Elderly and children
most at risk
Normal looking
lung
Lung term
smoker
exposed to air
pollution
Indoor Air Pollution
Air quality is sometimes
worse inside our
homes and buildings
People spend 70-98%
of time indoors
Sick Building Syndrome
Buildings with poor air
quality and poor
ventilation
 Headache
 Fatigue
 Runny nose
Fixed with improved
ventilation, cleaning
air ducts, opening
windows

Sources of indoor air pollution
Plastics, carpets, cleaning fluids, radon
Indoor Air Pollution: Radon
Radon: colorless,
odorless gas
 Naturally occurring in
certain rocks
 Seeps into homes
through cracks
 Carcinogen (Causes
Cancer)
NJ, of the
annual 4,700
lung cancer
deaths, as
many as 140250 may be
associated
with radon
exposure.
Indoor Air Pollution: Asbestos




Naturally occurring
Long thin fibers
Used for many years
for insulation and fire
retardant
When inhaled can
cause cancer and
other lung problems
Scars the lungs
when inhaled
Asbestos in El Dorado, CA
http://www.cbsnews.com/video
/watch/?id=692139n
Noise Pollution
Common in most urban
areas
 Can lead to stress, high
blood pressure and
hearing loss
 12% of teens have
permanent hearing loss
WHY DO YOU THINK?

Light Pollution




Common in urban
areas
Has a negative
impact on our
environment
Energy wasted
Solutions?
Review Section 2




Describe human health impacts of air
pollution.
What is indoor air pollution?
Why is noise pollution and light pollution a
problem?
TERMS: sick-building syndrome, asbestos,
decibel.
Section 3 Acid Precipitation
GOALS:




Explain how acid precipitation is caused
Describe the impacts of acid precipitation
Identify ways that the acid precipitation
problems can be solved
TERMS: acid precipitation, pH and acid
shock
pH


Is a number scale
used to measure how
acidic or basic a
substance is.
0 to 14
Acid Precipitation

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
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Rain, snow, sleet,
freezing rain or hail
with high concentration
of acids
Tap Water pH = 7
“Normal” rain pH = 5-6
Acid rain pH below 5
Acid Rain


Secondary Pollutant
Sulfur and Nitrogen
oxides
Main source of Sulfur Dioxide in U.S. is coal
burning at power plants
Impacts of Acid Precipitation



Damages soil and
aquatic ecosystems
Damages statues and
buildings
Destroys forests
Acid Precipitation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP-sU8i2edo
Good news : Clean
Air Act in U.S. has
led to much lower
SO2 and NOx
pollution
Section 3 Review




Explain how acid precipitation is caused
Describe the impacts of acid precipitation
Identify ways that the acid precipitation
problems can be solved
TERMS: acid precipitation, pH and acid
shock
What will be the future?