MILLER/SPOOLMAN

LIVING IN THE ENVIRONMENT 17TH

Chapter 18
Air Pollution
 Core Case Study: South Asia’s
Massive Brown Cloud
• South Asian Brown Cloud
• Causes
• Chemical composition
• Areas impacted

• Air pollution connects the world

• Affects west coast of the United States

• China and India need stricter air pollution standards

The Asian Brown Cloud

Fig. 18-1, p. 465

Air Pollution in Shanghai, China

Fig. 18-2, p. 465

 18-1 What Is the Nature of the
Atmosphere?
• Concept 18-1 The two innermost layers of the
atmosphere are the troposphere, which supports life,
and the stratosphere, which contains the protective
ozone layer.
 The Atmosphere Consists of
Several Layers
• Density varies
• Decreases with altitude

• Atmospheric pressure
• Decreases with altitude
Air Movements in the Troposphere Play a Key
Role in Earth’s Weather and Climate
• Troposphere
• 75–80% of the earth’s air mass
• Closest to the earth's surface
• Chemical composition of air
• Rising and falling air currents: weather and climate
• Involved in chemical cycling
Natural Capital: The Earth’s Atmosphere Is a
Dynamic System with Four Layers

Fig. 18-3, p. 467

 Case Study: The South Asian Brown Clouds,
Melting Glaciers, and Atmospheric Cooling
• 2008 UNEP study on South Asian Brown Clouds
• Causing gradual melting of Himalayan glaciers
• Particles absorb sunlight and warm air above the
glaciers
• Reflect some sunlight back to space
• Overall cooling affect on earth’s atmosphere
The Stratosphere Is Our Global Sunscreen
• Stratosphere
• Similar composition to the troposphere, with 2
exceptions
• Much less water
• O3, ozone layer

• Ozone layer
• Filters 95% of harmful UV radiation
• Allows us and other life to exist on land
18-2 What Are the Major Outdoor Pollution
Problems?
• Concept 18-2 Pollutants mix in the air to form
industrial smog, primarily as a result of burning coal,
and photochemical smog, caused by emissions from
motor vehicles, industrial facilities, and power plants.
 Air Pollution Comes from Natural and
Human Sources (1)
• Air pollution
• Concentrations high enough to harm human health or
alter climate

• Natural sources
• Dust blown by wind
• Pollutants from wildfires and volcanoes
• Volatile organics released by plants
 Air Pollution Comes from Natural and
Human Sources (2)
• Human sources: mostly in industrialized and/or
urban areas
• Stationary sources: power plants and industrial
facilities
• Mobile sources: motor vehicles
Burning Fossil Fuels Causes Air Pollution

Fig. 18-4, p. 468

 Some Pollutants in the Atmosphere
Combine to Form Other Pollutants
• Primary pollutants
• Emitted directly into the air

• Secondary pollutants
• From reactions of primary pollutants

• Air quality improving in developed countries

• Less-developed countries face big problems

• Indoor pollution: big threat to the poor
Sources and Types of Air Pollutants

Fig. 18-5, p. 469

Indoor Air Pollution in Bangladesh

Fig. 18-6, p. 469

 What Are the Major Outdoor Air
Pollutants? (1)
• Carbon oxides
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Carbon dioxide (CO2)
• Sources
• Human health and environmental impact
 What Are the Major Outdoor Air
Pollutants? (2)
• Nitrogen oxides (NO) and nitric acid (HNO3)
• Sources
• Acid deposition
• Photochemical smog
• Human health and environmental impact

• Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4)

• Sources
• Human health and environmental impact
 What Are the Major Outdoor Air
Pollutants? (3)
• Particulates
• Suspended particulate matter (SPM)
• Fine
• Ultrafine

• Sources

• Human health and environmental impact

 What Are the Major Outdoor Air
Pollutants? (4)
• Ozone (O3)
• Sources
• Human and environmental impact

• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

• Hydrocarbons and terpenes
• Sources
• Human and environmental impact
Chemical Reactions That Form Major
Outdoor Air Pollutants

Table 18-1, p. 470

Statue Corroded by Acid Deposition and Other
Forms of Air Pollution, RI, U.S.

Fig. 18-7, p. 471

 Case Study: Lead Is a Highly
Toxic Pollutant (1)
• In air, water, soil, plants, animals

• Does not break down in the environment

• Human health and environmental impact

• Children most vulnerable
• Can cause death, mental retardation, paralysis
 Case Study: Lead Is a Highly
Toxic Pollutant (2)
• Reduction of lead (Pb)
• Unleaded gasoline
• Unleaded paint

• Still problems
• 15-18 million children have brain damage
• Need global ban on lead in gasoline and paint
Solutions: Lead Poisoning, Prevention and
Control

Fig. 18-8, p. 472

Science Focus: Detecting Air Pollutants
• Chemical instruments

• Satellites

• Lasers and remote sensors

• Biological indicators
• Lichens
Natural Capital: Lichen Species,
Vulnerability to Air Pollutants

Fig. 18-A, p. 473

Burning Coal Produces Industrial Smog
• Chemical composition of industrial smog

• Reduction of this smog in urban cities of the United

States

• China and smog

• Human deaths
• Need strong standards, especially for coal burning
How Pollutants Are Formed from Burning Coal
and Oil, Leading to Industrial Smog

Fig. 18-9, p. 474

Industrial Smog in India

Fig. 18-10, p. 474

Sunlight Plus Cars Equals Photochemical
Smog
• Photochemical Smog
• Chemical composition
• Sources

• VOCs + NOx + Heat + Sunlight yields

• Ground level O3 and other photochemical oxidants
• Aldehydes
• Other secondary pollutants

• Human health and environmental impact

A Model of How Pollutants That Make Up Photochemicals Are
Formed

Fig. 18-11, p. 475

Global Outlook: Photochemical Smog
in Santiago, Chile

Fig. 18-12, p. 475

Several Factors Can Decrease or Increase
Outdoor Air Pollution (1)
• Outdoor air pollution may be decreased by
1. Settling of particles due to gravity
2. Rain and snow
3. Salty sea spray from the ocean
4. Winds
5. Chemical reactions
Several Factors Can Decrease or Increase
Outdoor Air Pollution (2)
• Outdoor air pollution may be increased by
1. Urban buildings
2. Hills and mountains
3. High temperatures
4. Emissions of VOCs from certain trees and plants
5. Grasshopper effect
6. Temperature inversions
• Warm air above cool air prevents mixing
A Temperature Inversion

Fig. 18-13, p. 476

 18-3 What Is Acid Deposition and
Why Is It a Problem?
• Concept 18-3 Acid deposition is caused mainly by
coal-burning power plants and motor vehicle
emissions, and in some regions it threatens human
health, aquatic life and ecosystems, forests, and
human-built structures.
Acid Disposition Is a Serious Regional Air
Pollution Problem
• Acid deposition, acid rain
• Chemical sources
• Formation
• Local versus regional problems
• Effects of prevailing winds
• Buffers
• Where is the worst acid deposition?
Natural Capital Degradation: Acid
Deposition

Fig. 18-14, p. 477

Current and Possible Future Acid Rain
Problem Areas

Fig. 18-15, p. 478

Acid Deposition Has a Number of Harmful
Effects (1)
• Human health
• Respiratory disorders
• Toxins in fish

• Release of toxic metals

• Aquatic ecosystems affected

• Lowers pH and kills organisms
Acid Deposition Has a Number of Harmful
Effects (2)
• Leaching of soil nutrients

• Lower crop yields

• Forest damage

• Damage to buildings, statues, and monuments

Natural Capital Degradation: Air Pollution
Damage to Trees in North Carolina, U.S.

Fig. 18-16, p. 479

We Know How to Reduce Acid Deposition
• Prevention approaches

• Cleanup approaches
Solutions: Acid Deposition

Fig. 18-17, p. 480

 18-4 What Are the Major Indoor Air
Pollution Problems?
• Concept 18-4 The most threatening indoor air
pollutants are smoke and soot from the burning of
wood and coal in cooking fires (mostly in less-
developed countries), cigarette smoke, and chemicals
used in building materials and cleaning products.
 Indoor Air Pollution Is a Serious
Problem (1)
• Developing countries
• Indoor burning of wood, charcoal, dung, crop
residues, coal
• Poor suffer the greatest risk
Burning Wood Indoors in India

Fig. 18-18, p. 481

 Indoor Air Pollution Is a Serious
Problem (2)
• Developed countries
• Indoor air pollution is greater than outdoor air
pollution

• Why?
• 11 of the common air pollutants higher inside than
outside
• Greater in vehicles than outside
• Health risks magnified: people spend 70–98% of their
time is indoors or in cars
 Indoor Air Pollution Is a Serious
Problem (3)
• Who is at greatest risk from indoor air pollution?
• Children under 5 and the elderly
• Sick
• Pregnant women
• People with respiratory disorders or heart problems
• Smokers
• Factory workers
 Indoor Air Pollution Is a Serious
Problem (4)
• Four most dangerous indoor air pollutants
• Tobacco smoke
• Formaldehyde
• Radioactive radon-222 gas
• Very small particles

• Sources of these pollutants

• Human health risks

 Indoor Air Pollution Is a Serious
Problem (5)
• Other possible indoor air pollutants
• Pesticide residue
• Pb particles
• Living organisms and their excrements
• E.g., Dust mites and cockroach droppings
• Airborne spores of molds and mildews

• Sick-building syndrome
Some Important Indoor Air Pollutants

Fig. 18-19, p. 482

 Case Study: Radioactive Radon Gas
• Sources

• Human health risks

• Testing for radon

• Correcting a radon problem

Science: Sources and Paths of Entry for Indoor Radon-222 Gas

Fig. 18-20, p. 483

 18-5 What Are the Health Effects of
Air Pollution?
• Concept 18-5 Air pollution can contribute to asthma,
chronic bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer, heart
attack, and stroke.
Your Body’s Natural Defenses against Air
Pollution Can Be Overwhelmed
• Respiratory system protection from air pollutants
• Role of cilia, mucus, sneezing, and coughing

• Effect of smoking and prolonged air pollution

exposure
• Chronic bronchitis
• Emphysema
Major Components of the Human
Respiratory System

Fig. 18-21, p. 484

 Air Pollution Is a Big Killer
• 2.4 million deaths per year world-wide
• Mostly in Asia; 750,000 in China
• 150,000 to 350,000 in the United States
• Role of coal-burning power plants

• EPA: proposed stricter emission standards for diesel-powered

vehicles
• 125,000 die in U.S. each year from diesel fumes
• Emissions from one truck = 150 cars
Premature Deaths from Air Pollution in the
U.S.

Fig. 18-22, p. 485

 18-6 How Should We Deal with Air
Pollution?
• Concept 18-6 Legal, economic, and technological
tools can help us to clean up air pollution, but the
best solution is to prevent it.
Laws and Regulations Can Reduce Outdoor
Air Pollution (1)
• United States
• Clean Air Acts: 1970, 1977, and 1990 created regulations
enforced by states and cities

• EPA
• National ambient air quality standards for 6 outdoor pollutants
• National emission standards for 188 hazardous air pollutants
(HAPs)
• Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)
Laws and Regulations Can Reduce Outdoor
Air Pollution (2)
• Good news in U.S.
• Decrease in emissions
• Use of low-sulfur diesel fuel
• Cuts pollution

• Less-developed countries
• More air pollution
 Case Study: U.S. Air Pollution Can
Be Improved (1)
• Rely on prevention of pollution, not cleanup

• Sharply reduce emissions from power plants,

industrial plants, and other industry

• Raise fuel-efficiency for cars, SUVs, and light trucks

• Better regulation of emissions of motorcycles and

two-cycle gasoline engines
 Case Study: U.S. Air Pollution Can
Be Improved (2)
• Regulate air pollution for oceangoing ships in
American ports

• Regulate emissions at U.S. airports

• Sharply reduce indoor pollution

• Increased and more accurate monitoring of air

pollutants
We Can Use the Marketplace to Reduce
Outdoor Air Pollution
• Emission trading or cap-and-trade program
• Mixed reactions to program
• SO2 emissions down significantly
• NOx now in effect
• Mercury plan strongly opposed for creating toxic
hotspots

• Many problems with making cap-and-trade effective

 There Are Many Ways to Reduce
Outdoor Air Pollution
• There are ways to deal with
• Stationary source air pollution
• Motor vehicle air pollution
• New cars have lower emissions

• Less-developed countries far behind developed

countries in implementing solutions
Solutions: Stationary Source Air Pollution

Fig. 18-23, p. 487

Solutions: Motor Vehicle Air Pollution

Fig. 18-24, p. 487

 Reducing Indoor Air Pollution Should
Be a Priority
• Greater threat to human health than outdoor
pollution

• What can be done?

• Prevention
• Cleanup
Solutions: Indoor Pollution

Fig. 18-25, p. 488

Turbo Stove in India

Fig. 18-26, p. 488

What Can You Do? Indoor Air Pollution

Fig. 18-27, p. 489

 We Need to Put More Emphasis on
Pollution Prevention
• Output approaches

• New shift to preventing outdoor and indoor pollution

• Pressure from citizens
 Three Big Ideas
1. Outdoor air pollution, in the forms of industrial
smog, photochemical smog, and acid deposition,
and indoor air pollution are serious global
problems.

2. Each year, at least 2.4 million people die

prematurely from the effects of air pollution; indoor
air pollution, primarily in less-developed countries,
causes about two-thirds of those deaths.
 Three Big Ideas
3. We need to put our primary emphasis on
preventing outdoor and indoor air pollution
throughout the world.