PollutionCHT230-N01

Andrew CorbettEyma Y. Marrero-Alfonso, PhD

What is pollution?

Pollution is the addition of any substance or energy released into the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in a harmless manner

Where Does Pollution Come From? Pollution is mostly due to the result of

industrialization and a massive human population Mobile Sources- cars, planes, trains, buses, etc… Stationary Sources- Power plants, industrial facilities, oil

refineries, etc… Area Sources- agricultural areas and cities Natural Sources- wind-blown dust, wildfires, volcanoes,

etc…

Origins of Pollution

Pollutants

A pollutant is the object or energy that contaminates the environment and can be classified in several ways Quantitative vs. qualitative Primary pollutant vs. secondary pollutant Bio-degradable vs. non-degradeable

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

Quantitative pollutants are naturally occurring in the environment but the concentrations of the pollutants has risen to unhealthy levels due

to human action. Qualitative pollutants are substances that are not naturally occurring

that have been released into the environment.

Primary vs. Secondary

Primary pollutants are those that have been emitted directly from the source Ash, dust, sulfur dioxide

Secondary pollutants are caused by the chemical interaction of primary pollutants within the atmosphere Ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur trioxide, etc…

Bio-degradable vs. Non-degradable

Bio-degradable pollutants are those that can be quickly degraded through a natural process Dilution, dispersion, decomposition

Non-degradable pollutants are those that either do not degrade or degrade extremely slowly under natural circumstances Human action

Types of Pollution

There are three main types of pollution1. Air pollution2. Water pollution3. Land pollutionOther types of pollution exist Noise pollution Thermal pollution Light pollution Radioactive pollution

Minor Types of Pollution

Noise pollution is the disruption of the standard of living due to high noise levels

Thermal pollution is when heat is released into the environment unnaturally

Light pollution is the over illumination of an area that obscures the night sky

Radioactive pollution is the release of radioactive materials into the environment

Land Pollution Land pollution is the contamination or

destruction of soil that prevents habitation and growth for certain organisms Caused by hazardous waste (both solid and

liquid) such as sewage and litter, pesticides, deforestation, and other destructive practices

Soil degradation leads to poor vegetation growth, which starts the snowball effect of destruction

Water Pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of a water supply Caused by polluted runoff, industrial waste, radioactive waste, and marine

dumping. Contaminated water supplies mean harmful drinking water, effected fish

populations, and food chain contamination

Air pollution

Air pollution is the contamination of our atmosphere due to suspended particles and gaseous pollutants Cause by emissions from vehicles, industries,

volcanoes, combustion, etc… Probably the worst type of pollution due to the fact

that it’s the hardest to maintain and hardest to escape from

Can be classified under three groups Biological pollutants Air toxics Criteria pollutants

Classification of Air Pollutants Biological pollutants

Caused by microbiological contamination Air toxics

The toxic aerosol or particulate pollutants that are present in the air that are hazardous to most life forms

Criteria pollutants Theses are the 6 main air pollutants used as indicators of air quality

Carbon monoxide (combustion) Lead (leaded gasoline) Nitrogen dioxide (vehicle exhaust) Ozone (secondary) Particles (fire) Sulfur dioxide (volcanoes)

Control and Effects of Air Pollution

In efforts to maintain the quality of our breathable air, government agencies such as the EPA have enacted the Clean Air Act, which placed restrictions in the form of “National Ambient Air Quality Standards” on almost every industry in order to keep the amount of emissions produced to a minimum.

It is illegal to operate a business outside of the standards The EPA uses concentrations of the 6 criteria pollutants as the limits

of allowed emissions production

Pollutant[final rule cite]

Primary/ Secondary Averaging Time Level Form

Carbon Monoxide primary 8-hour 9 ppm Not to be exceeded more than once per year1-hour 35 ppm

Lead primary and secondary

Rolling 3 month average 0.15 μg/m3 Not to be exceeded

Nitrogen Dioxideprimary 1-hour 100 ppm

98th percentile, averaged over 3 years

primary andsecondary

Annual 53 ppb Annual Mean

Ozone primary and secondary 8-hour 0.075 ppm

Annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hr concentration, averaged over 3 years

Particule PollutionPM2.5

primary Annual 12 μg/m3 annual mean, averaged over 3 years

secondary Annual 15 μg/m3 annual mean, averaged over 3 years

primary and secondary 24-hour 35 μg/m3 98th percentile, averaged

over 3 years

PM10primary andsecondary 24-hour 150 μg/m3

Not to be exceeded more than once per year on average over 3 years

Sulfur Dioxideprimary 1-hour 75 ppb

99th percentile of 1-hour daily maximum concentrations, averaged over 3 years

secondary 3-hour 0.5 ppm Not to be exceeded more than once per year

Effects of Air Pollution Air pollution has very devastating impacts on the environment

Greenhouse effect The production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse

gasses traps infrared radiation within the atmosphere which maintains a habitable temperature, but overproduction of greenhouse gasses is causing a gradual increase in the earth’s surface temperature.

Acid rain Acid rain is the deposition of material from the atmosphere

that contains high concentrations of nitric and sulfuric acids. It is the result of the accumulation of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides within the atmosphere reacting with water, oxygen, and other airborne substances. Although the title suggests its may only be available in aqueous form, its also common in a snow or dust deposition

Effects of Air Pollution Cont.

Ozone Ozone (O3) is produced by the chemical reaction between oxides of

nitrogen and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight, and can be both helpful and harmful, depending on the altitude at which it is located. High altitude ozone forms our ozone layer which protects earth from damaging ultraviolet radiation, but low altitude ozone in the troposphere is dangerous because it is toxic to most life forms

Smog Smog is a brownish haze that is primarily found around heavily

populated cities during hot seasons. Smog is primarily composed of ozone, but also contains smoke, nitrogen oxides, and other harmful pollutants. Smog is hazardous to inhale and greatly reduces visibility.

Acid Rain When high amounts of Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides accumulate

in our atmosphere they react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to from various acidic compounds which then precipitates back to earths surface and wreaks havoc on the environment.

Wet deposition occurs when the acidic compound is in a moist environment an precipitates in the form of rain or snow.

Dry deposition occurs when the acidic compound is in dry and dusty conditions and precipitates in the form of fine dust particles

Effects Acidifies still bodies of water, damaging aquatic ecosystems Acidifies the soil, damaging sensitive plant species Degradation of structures

Acid Rain

Ozone

Ozone is a secondary pollutant meaning it is not directly emitted into the environment as ozone. It is formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react under sunlight

Ozone is important to us because it shields earth from harmful UV rays. The high altitude ozone that forms our protective ozone layer is being thinned out over the poles due to atmospheric chlorine which originated from now banned CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). Ground-level ozone has very negative impacts on the environment because of its toxicity. Ozone damages plant life, respiratory systems in most animals