The Air We BreatheChapter 15 Section 4

Air Quality

• Even air that we think is clean isn’t clean• It contains pollutants such as dust, pollen,

sea salt, volcanic gas, ash, smoke, swamp gas, and many other material

• Natural sources produce a greater amount of pollutants than humans

Types of Air Pollution• Air pollutants are described as either primary

or secondary pollutants• Primary pollutants are pollutants that are put

directly into the air by humans or natural activity

• Secondary pollutants are pollutants that form from chemical reactions that occur when primary pollutants come in contact with other primary pollutants or with naturally occurring substances

Types of Air Pollution• Ozone is produced when sunlight reacts with

automobile exhaust• Ozone reacts with automobile exhaust to form

smog

Sources of Human-Caused Air Pollution• 70% of the carbon monoxide in the United

States is produced by fuel-burning vehicles• When fossil fuels are burned, they released

oxides of sulfur and nitrogen combine with water in the atmosphere to produce acid precipitation

• Some chemicals humans release into the atmosphere react with the ozone and cause holes to open in it

• Indoor air pollution can be worst than outdoor due to household products and tightly sealed houses

The Air Pollution Problem• Air pollution can cause adverse health effects

on human life like, dizziness, itchy eyes, coughing, lung cancer, colds, headaches, runny nose, and sore throat

• The clean air act gives the government the authority to control the amount of air pollutants released into the air from most sources

• They require factories to install scrubbers in their smoke stacks to filter air pollutants out of the air