APES unit 7 air pollution

Primary pollutants include:

CO, CO2, SO2, NOx. Heavy Metals, Pm2.5, Pm10, VOCs, Hydrocarbons

Secondary pollutants include:

O3, Sulfate, NOx, Nitric Acid, Sulfuric acid, Nitrate, Dust,

Both Secondary and Primary pollutants:

CO2, NOx

Which version of Particulate matter is more dangerous?

Pm2.5

Infectious disease

A disease caused by a pathogen

What is the leading cause of death in the world?

Cardiovascular diseases

What is the top risk factors leading to chronic disease in low income countries?

Poverty, unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, malnutrition

What is the top risk factors leading to chronic disease in high income countries?

Availability of tobacco, less active lifestyle, poor nutrition, overeating that leads to high blood pressure and obesity, urban air pollution

Epidemic

A situation in which a pathogen causes a rapid increase in disease

Pandemic

An epidemic that occurs over a large
geographic region

Plague

An infectious disease caused by a bacterium
(Yersinia pestis) that is carried by fleas

Malaria

An infectious disease caused by one of
several species of protists in the genus Plasmodium

Tuberculosis

A highly contagious disease caused by
the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis that
primarily infects the lungs

Emergent infectious disease

An infectious disease that has
not been previously described or has not been common for at
least 20 years.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS)

An infectious disease caused by the
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

A type
of virus that causes Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

Ebola hemorrhagic fever

An infectious disease with high death rates, caused by the Ebola virus

Mad cow disease

A disease in which prions
mutate into deadly pathogens and slowly
damage a cow’s nervous system

A disease in which prions
mutate into deadly pathogens and slowly
damage a cow’s nervous system

A type of flu caused by the H1N1
virus.

Prion

A small, beneficial protein that
occasionally mutates into a pathogen.

Bird flu

A type of flu caused by the H5N1 virus

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

A
type of flu caused by a coronavirus

West Nile virus

A virus that lives in hundreds of
species of birds and is transmitted among birds
by mosquitoes

Lyme disease

A disease caused by a bacterium(Borrelia burgdorferi) that is transmitted by ticks.

Zika virus disease

A disease caused by a pathogen that causes fetuses to be born with unusually small heads and damaged brains(Microcephaly).

Neurotoxin

A chemical that disrupts the
nervous systems of animals

Carcinogen

A chemical that causes cancer

Mutagen

A type of carcinogen that causes
damage to the genetic material of a cell.

Teratogen

A chemical that interferes with the
normal development of embryos or fetuses

Endocrine disruptor

A chemical that interferes with the normal functioning of hormones in an animal’s body.

Dose response study

A study that exposes
organisms to different amounts of a chemical and then
observes a variety of possible responses, including
mortality or changes in behavior or reproduction

LD50

The lethal dose of a chemical that kills 50
percent of the individuals in a dose-response study

What does a low LD50 vs high LD50 indicate

the lower the more dangerous because it takes less of the substance to kill.

NoAEL

Highest concentration in which there is no effect

LoAEL

Lowest concentration where you start to see effects

What do LoAEL and NoAEL help calculate?

reference dose

Reference Dose definition

max concentration an adult human can be exposed to any given chemical and be okay

Sublethal effect

The effect of an
environmental hazard that is not lethal, but
which may impair an organism’s behavior,
physiology, or reproduction

ED50

The effective dose of a chemical that causes 50 percent of the individuals in a dose response study to display a harmful, but nonlethal, effect

Retrospective study

A study that monitors people who have been exposed to an environmental hazard, such as a harmful chemical, at some time in the past.

Prospective study

A study that monitors
people who might become exposed to an
environmental hazard, such as a harmful
chemical, at some time in the future

Synergistic interaction

A situation in which two risks together cause more harm than expected based on the separate effects of each risk alone

First step of risk assessment

Identify tehe hazard

Second step of risk assessment

Characterize the toxicity(dose/response)

Third stop of risk assessment

Determine the extent of exposure(hazard assessment)

Last step of risk assessment

risk characterization(how will it affect the environment and what level is it hazardous)

How do non-cancerous substances look on a LD50 graph?

S-shaped survey

How do cancerous substances look on a LD50 graph?

Straight line

qualitative risk assessment

risk assessment that we make judgments that are based on our perceptions but that are not based on actual data(often do not match the actual risk)

Risk equation

probability of being exposed to a hazard × probability of being harmed if exposed

Quantitative Risk Assessment

risk assessment that uses actual data

Innocent-until-proven-guilty principle

A principle based on the belief that a potential hazard should not be considered an actual hazard until the scientific data definitively demonstrate that it actually causes harm.

Precautionary principle

A principle based on the belief that action should be taken against a plausible environmental hazard

Stockholm Convention

A 2001 agreement among 127 nations concerning 12 chemicals to be banned, phased out, or reduced

REACH

A 2007 agreement among the nations
of the European Union about regulation of
chemicals; the acronym stands for registration,
evaluation, authorization, and restriction of
chemicals

4 hazard categories:

Physical, Cultural, Chemical, Biological

Point source-

comes from a single identified location

Non-point source

comes from a category of sources

Photochemical(Brown, LA) Smog formula

NOx + VOCs + Heat + SunLight + Hydrocarbons = O3 + PANs(peroxyacyl nitrates)

Industrial(black, London) Smog formula

Pm + SOx + H2O + = Acid rain(sulfuric acid)

What does Industrial smog contain:

CO, CO2, Hg(mercury), Sulfur (all from burning fossil fuel)

Industrial cities often suffer from this type of smog:

Industrial smog

Ways to reduce smog:

Restrictions on emissions from power plants, oil refineries, and other factories. Regular Vehicle Inspections. Improved technology

Criteria pollutants:

CO, SO2, VOCs, Pm, Pb(lead), O3, NOx

Urban Heat island

Cities are warmer because cars and buildings produce more heat that messes with thermal inversion

Heat rises because of lower density. (During thermal inversion) Convection happens in the troposphere and spreads out pollution since heat no longer rises(gets trapped) when there is thermal inversion and pollution _____ spread out because convection is no longer moving up and leads to more pollution.

\
A. does NOT

B. Always

C. Slightly

A.

Which criteria pollutant is the biggest part of Photochemical Smog and is found naturally in the stratosphere, but is considered a pollutant in the troposphere.

Ozone(O3)

Hydrocarbons

Ozone depleting substance. Synthetic compounds derieved from hydrocarbons where hydrogen atoms are replaced by atoms of chlorine, fluorine, or bromine.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Specific class of halocarbon. Produced in 1970s to use in refrigerators, fire extinguishers, propellants for spray cans, cleaners for electronics. Broken down by UV radiation into chlorine and carbon atoms which then split many ozone molecules.

Montreal protocol

Signed in 1987 to cut CFC production in half by 1998

Thermal inversion

A situation in which a relatively warm layer of air at mid-altitude covers a layer of cold, dense air below.

What happens to the ELR(environmental lapse rate) during thermal inversion?

The ELR(+) and hot air no longer rises and pollution does not dilute

Most significant form of indoor air pollution in developing countries:

Particulates

Normal temperature gradient → Thermal inversion temperature gradient

(From earth to the atmosphere) Warm air → Cooler air → Cold air to cooler air → warm air → cold air

Inversion layer

The layer of warm air that traps emissions in a thermal inversion.

During thermal inversion at night in dense urban areas:

Air pollution is trapped near the surface because the heat that was absorbed during the day(usually due to low albedo) is trying to be released at night but the surface of earth cools off as the sun goes down but the heat is still trying to be released. So then warm air mass gets trapped beneath the cold airmass above and the cooler air is near the surface and shuts off convection.

Sources of: CO2

Volcanoes, Decomposition, Forest/Grass fires, Factories, Mines, Combustion of fossil fuels, Coal, oil, natural gas

Effects of noise pollution:

Interfere with animal communication, negatively affect species that rely on low-freq long distance communication,

Sources of noise pollution:

ships and submarines, wind turbines,

Sources of: SO2

Combustion of fuels such as coal and oil, Volcanoes, forest fires(smaller quantities)

Sources of: NOx

Motor vehicles and stationary fossil fuel combustion,

Sources of: CO

combustion in vehicle exhaust and other combustion processes, burning biomass, fossil fuels

Sources of: Pm

poor ventilation, fires, asbestos/sources, wind erosion, mining, construction, fossil fuels-burning power plant smoke, soot, volcanoes, wind storms, vehicle exhaust

Sources of: Rn

Soil, rocks, uranium

Sources of: VOCs

chemical fumes, gasoline, vehicle engines and solvents, evaporation of fuels, incomplete combustion,

Effects of: SO2

Respiratory irritant, ____ acid is a major component of acid raid, irritant to plant tissue

Effects of: NOx

Respiratory irritant, ozone precursor, leads to formation of photochemical smog, converts to ____ acid in the atmosphere which is harmful to aquatic life and some vegetation, contributes to over-fertilizations terrestrial and aquatic systems, oxidizer, contributes to acid rain

Effects of: COx

Asphyxiant, greenhouse gas, dissolves in rain water → acid rain, respiratory irritant, climate change

Effects of: Pm

Respiratory and eye irritant, could lead to low O2 in blood, could lead to mesothelioma(cancer), contribute to the formation of industrial smog

Sources of heavy metals:

smelting or burning coal, soil, mining, oil, old paint

Effects of: Heavy metals(Pb)

Neurotoxins, effects on learning and ability to concentrate

Effects of: VOCs

Carcinogen, precursor to ozone formation, neurotoxin, irritant,

Effects of: Rn

Carcinogen(lung), radioactive, lung irritant, particles damage lungs

Effects of acid deposition:

Lower Ph of late water, decrease species diversity of aquatic organisms, mobilizing metals that are found in soils and releasing them into surface waters, damaging statues, monuments, and buildings

Ways to address air pollution:

avoid emissions in the first place, use cleaner fuel, increase efficiency, control pollutants after combustion

Catalytic converters help reduce:

Hydrocarbons, NOx, CO, by converting them into CO2, water vapor, Nitrogen gas

Ways of controlling emissions:

Removing sulfur dioxide from coal by fluidized bed combustion, install catalytic converters on cars, use baghouse filter, use electrostatic precipitators, install scrubbers on smokestacks,

Ways to control particulate matter:

The scrubber, ___ are “scrubbed” from the exhaust stream by water droplets. A water-particle “sludge” collected and processed for disposal.

transmission of tuberculosis:

breathing/contact with infected fluids

transmission of dysentery(non-infectious):

untreated human waste direct contact