Air Pollution

Air pollution is the presence of ___ in the outside air in amounts that are injurious or detrimental to humans, animals, plants, or property

Solids, gases, and/or liquids

When two pollutants are combined, the effects are greater than the sum of the individual effects. This is called

Synergism

The effects of air pollution are influenced by

wind speed and direction, sunlight, and precipitation

Which component of clean, dry air has the smallest volume

SO2 Sulfur Dioxide (0.00000002) then NO2 (0.0000002) then Ammonia NH3 (0.000001)

Major effects on humans are caused by Los Angeles- and London-type smog, along with two pollutants?

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) and Hydrogen Fluoride (HF)

Photochemical smog has been reported in congested areas with

High motor vehicle traffic (excess NOx)

What type of air pollution causes loss of chlorophyll in plants?

Peroxyacyl Nitrate (PAN)

Injury to plants due to ____ shoes up as flecks, stipple and bleaching, tip burns on conifers, and growth suppression

Ozone

Glazing, silvering, or bronzing on the underside of a leaf is evidence that injury has occurred by

Peroxyacyl nitrates (PAN)

_______ has been known to cause crippling skeletal damage to cattle though ingested contaminated vegetation

Fluorides

Animals are primarily affected by the pollutants in the air

Through ingesting vegetation (fluorides absorbed by vegetation)

Fluorocarbons in the atmosphere are of concern bc they may …

React with the ozone in the upper atmosphere, thus reducing the total amount of ozone available; cause an increase in UV radiation reaching the earth; and/or cause an increase in skin cancers and changes in our climate, animal, and plant life

What are the major sources of Sulfur Dioxide pollution?

Metal smelters, coal and oil burning power plants, and refineries

What are malodorous gases?

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), and Phenol (C6H6O); plus Aldehydes, polysulfides, and some olefins

(T or F) Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a malodorous gas

False

What size particle can reach the lowest parts of the lung?

3 microns

Street dust would be considered what type of pollutant

Fugitive pollutant

A primary pollutant is

one that is found in the atmosphere due to natural reactions

Emissions which find their way into the ambient air without being vented through a stack are known as

Fugitive emissions (uncontrolled releases)

______ can be formed as a result of the sun’s action on nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons

Ozone

What are some examples of primary pollutants?

Sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbon, nitrogen dioxide, carbon oxide, and total suspended particles

(T or F) Sulfuric acid is a primary pollutant

False

In what part of the earth’s atmosphere are photochemical oxidants produced?

Troposphere (lower atmosphere)

Impurities in combustible hydrocarbons (coal and oil) combine with oxygen to produce _____ when burned

Sulfur Dioxide (may turn into sulfuric acid)

How are total suspended particles measured?

Collection and weighing

Particle size selective inlets are used to separate particles above and below 2 to 3 microns in size on

High volume samples - to separate using impactor principles

In the US, the Ringlemann smoke chart consists of how many rectangular charts?

5 (0-5 determine darkness of smoke shade 2 or more is considered dark. Shade 1 is approx. the opacity of 20%)

The Ringlemann chart method of evaluating particle pollution in the atmosphere is being replaced by a determination of the

Percent opacity

What is an example of SHORT-RANGE primary pollutants?

Total suspended solids and sulfur dioxide

The meteorological elements that have the most direct and significant effects on the distribution of the air pollutants are

Solar radiation, wind speed and direction, precipitation and stability

LONG-term wind data of a given location are presented graphically in the form of a

Wind Rose

The accumulation or increased concentration of a continuously emitted pollutant is

Inversely proportional to wind speed (High windspeed; the greater separation of the particles / molecules of the pollutant as they are emitted)

Turbulence is the wind characteristic that is

The most effective mechanism for the dispersion or dilution of a cloud or plume of pollutants

Stability of the atmosphere

Is the ability to enhance or suppress vertical air motions and is largely determined by the vertical temp of profile

What inversions develop at night under conditions of relatively clear skies and very light winds

Radiational inversion

Precipitation accomplishes an effect cleansing process of pollutants in the atmosphere

The accumulation of small particles in the formation of raindrops or snowflakes in clouds (rain out), the washing out of scavenging of large particles by falling raindrops or snowflakes, and/or removal of gaseous pollutants by dissolution and absorption

What are natural topographic features

Rivers, foliage, and hills

What is an example of NOT a topographic feature

Canals (man-made; cities, bridges, and roads)

Air pollution control should be first be considered at the

Source

Scrubbers are wet collectors generally used to remove particles that form a

Fog, mist, or dust

The information needed to use an air quality model includes

Meteorological data, pollutant concentration data, and source emissions data

Sources of pollutants can generally be classified as

Line source (roadways that can be located by the end of the roadway segments, Area Source (minor point and line sources that are too small to require individual consideration), Point Source (individual stacks identified by location, type, rate, and emissions and stack parameters like height, diameter, exit gas velocity and temp)

(T or F)The precise levels at which specific pollutants become a health hazard are relatively easy to establish by existing surveillance systems

False

(T or F) A deterioration in the ozone layer of the stratosphere can cause an increase in UV radiation reaching the earth

True

(T or F) Chlorofluorocarbons increases the amount of ozone in the atmosphere

False

(T or F) Pollutants may be in the form of microorganisms, particulates, aerosols, and gases

False

(T or F) Particles larger than 10 microns can penetrate easily into the respiratory tract

False

(T or F) Transportation is the largest source of air pollution

True

(T or F) Bacteria and spores are considered natural sources of air pollution

True

(T or F) Ozone can be formed by the action of sunlight on nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons

True

(T or F) A primary pollutant is formed in the atmosphere as a result of chemical reactions

False

(T or F) Stack samples must be collected at the same speed of flow that gases normally pass through the stack

True

(T or F) A sampling train is a device used to measure emissions from locomotives

False

(T or F) The concentration resulting from a continuous emission of a pollutant is directly proportional to wind speed

False

(T or F) Areas on the windward side of mountain ranges can expect less precipitation due to the forced rising, expansion, and cooling of moving air masses

False

(T or F) the term “washout” and “rain out” both refer to a cleansing process of pollutants in the atmosphere

True

The Montreal Protocol agrees to control the

use of all ozone-depleting chemicals or substances (including halons and carbon tetrachloride)

_______ is considered to be the least damaging to the stratospheric ozone layer

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)

FCs are widely used bc of their

chemical stability

Methyl bromide is used primarily as a

pesticide

the “Ozone Hole” was first noticed in

Antarctica

The Safe New Alternatives Policy program (SNAP)

specifies alternatives for all ozone-depleting substances

A major effect of stratospheric ozone layer depletion is

increase in incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer

When absorbed daytime heat is radiated quickly into space and the temperature of surface air drops below that of the air above it, the condition ir referred to as

Radiation Inversion (“ a layer of cool surface air is trapped by an overlying layer of warmer air”)

What is an example of a major source of air pollution in the US?

Automotive vehicles

Criteria pollutants include

Carbon monoxide (CO), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Ozone (O3); (except: carbon dioxide)

Acid condensates, dust, soot, pollen, and smoke are considered:

Particulate Matter (PM)

The most dangerous of the particulate are pollutants in terms of human health are:

Aerosols

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) have been set for:

ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide (not: carbon dioxides)

The major source of Sulfur Dioxides is

Fuel combustion - when these sulfur containing fuels are burned, the sulfur is oxidized to form SO2

One of the main precursors of acid rain is

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

Which of the following is generally found at the highest concentrations in urban atmosphere?

Carbon Monoxide (CO) - extremely toxic, odorless and colorless

What is especially dangerous to humans who have heart problems?

Carbon Monoxide (CO) - CO binds to hemoglobin in the blood, displacing oxygen; less oxygen in the blood stream to the various organs

What has been implicated in many rush-hour traffic accidents?

Carbon Monoxide poisoning

The only criteria gas that is colored is

Nitrogen Dioxide (yellow/brown smog w/ pungent sweetish odor)

The major constituent of the photochemical oxidants is

Ozone (O3) - auto-associated pollutants

The chemical used as a measure of the oxidant level of the atmosphere at any given time is

Ozone (O3)

What crop would most likely be least affected by air pollution?

Potatoes (most affected: soybeans, cotton, and peanuts)

The pollutant that would most likely cause the most damage to the nervous system would be

Lead

Which is considered the most hazardous to human health?

Asbestos

Sulfur Dioxide

Ozone

Nitrogen Oxide

Asbestos - no other substance has resulted in so many deaths and cases of disabling diseases as Asbestos has

The Emergency Planning and Community-Right-to-Know Act was prompted by the accident at

Chernobyl

The greatest number of casualties as the result of air pollution occurred in:

Meuse River Valley, Belgium

The first major recorded episode of air pollution that produced human casualties occurred in

Donora, PA 1952 - 5 day investigation: 20 dead and 42% of the town’s population sick

Perhaps the major weakness of using animal studies to determine “safe” levels of air pollutants is

Difficulty in extrapolating the results to humans

The major effects of air pollution on human health deal with

Respiratory problems

Pollutants in the ambient air most associated with heightened risk of death and disease are

Particulate

High levels of particulate air pollution have been associated with all of the following EXEPT:

Lung Cancer

Skin Cancer

Heart ailments

Respiratory Disease

Skin Cancer

Which one of the following has NOT been associated with slowing or halting respiratory tract cilia movement?

Ozone

Carbon Dioxide

Nitrogen Dioxide

Sulfur Dioxide

Carbon Dioxide

Inhalation of which one of the following may result in chronic airway resistance?

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon Dioxide

Nitrogen Dioxide

Sulfur Dioxide

Sulfur Dioxide

In the US the first federal attempt to regulate pollutant emissions was enacted in

1955; The Clean Air Act

Which of the following gave the federal government a modest degree of authority to attach interstate air pollution problems?

Environmental Protection Act

Air Quality Act

Clean Air Act

Pollution Control Act

Clean Air Act

The first emission standards for automobiles dealt with emissions of

Hydrocarbons (and carbon monoxides (1968))

Regulations regarding automobile emission standards began with automobiles manufactured in:

1968

A problem associated with passage of federal air control standards was:

They relied on voluntary compliance by states (reluctant to adopt strict controls for fear of driving away industry that would forfeit jobs and tax revenues)

“Earth Day” began in

April 1970

The legal precedents that form that basis of US air quality control regulations currently in effect began with the

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 did all of the following EXCEPT:

Expand the scope of regulatory requirements

Address new issues ignored in earlier amendments

Create more consistency with other environmental issues

Reauthorize funding for the EPA

Reauthorize funding for the EPA

Setting levels of pollutants that are intended to safeguard human health yet allow a margin of safety to protect more vulnerable segments of the population care called

Primary Standards

Parts of the country that fail to bring their pollution levels into compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards are called:

Non-attainment Areas

Perhaps the most difficult of the pollutants to control is

Ozone