APES Unit 7 Vocab

Acid Rain

Resulted from sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides mixing with atmospheric water, forming precipitation with lower pH than normal, disrupting forests, aquatic ecosystems, and infrastructure.

Air Pollution

Contamination of the atmosphere, wether indoors or outdoors, by chemicals, gases, and particles that disrupts the natural environment.

Asbestos

Group of naturally occurring minerals resistant to heat and corrosion. They are typically fibrous and used in insulation.

Baghouse Filter

Industrial air pollution control device that uses fabric filtration to trap dust and particulate matter from gas streams.

CAFE Vehicle Standards

U.S. regulations that require automakers to improve the average fuel economy/efficiency of their vehicle fleets, calculated in miles per gallon.

Carbon Dioxide

Colorless, odorless greenhouse gas; it is essential for photosynthesis, and the main driver for global warming. It is produced naturally through volcanic eruptions and respiration. Humans produce CO2 mainly through the burning of fossil fuels.

Carbon Monoxide

Like Carbon Dioxide, it is a colorless and odorless. It is produced from the incomplete combustion of fuel, mostly from vehicles’ exhausts. It binds to hemoglobin in blood, reducing oxygen transport throughout the body. Increase ventilation in order to reduce concentration.

Catalytic Converter

Emissions control device, located in the exhaust system, to turn toxic pollutants into less harmful gases.

Clean Air Act

U.S. federal law, enacted in 1970 and amended in 1977 and 1990, authorizing the EPA to regulate air pollution emissions.

Criteria Air Pollutants

The 6 main air contaminants regulated by the EPA under the Clean Air Act: ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, and lead.

Crushed Limestone

Versatile, angular aggregate primarily composed of calcium carbonate, used for driveways, roads, and construction.

Dry & Wet Scrubbers

Industrial pollution control devices that remove contaminants from exhaust gases; wet systems use liquids (mostly water) with high removal efficiency, while dry systems use dry reagents or sorbents for water-limited sites.

Dust

Mixture of fine, airborne, or settled solid particles, composed of ~ 20-50% human skin cells. Includes pet dander, fabric fibers, dust mites, and outdoor soil.

Electrostatic Precipitator

Filtration device, with >99% efficiency, that removes dust, smoke, and fly ash from industrial exhaust gases.

Externalities

An uncompensated cost/benefit imposed on third parties by production or consumption activities. Costs of resource degradation that are not fully borne by those causing the problem.

Fluidized Bed Combustion

Technology that burns solid fuels by suspending them in a hot, fluidized bed of inert materials, such as sand and ash, using high-velocity air.

Lead

Naturally-occurring heavy metal and toxic cumulative pollutant. A hazardous anthropogenic contaminant that persists in air, soil, dust, water, and products due to industrialization. It is a neurotoxin, causing brain damage if inhaled in large and even low concentrations. Comes from lead-based paints and pipes.

Mold

Naturally-occurring fungus that breaks down dead organisms. It is caused by moisture intrusion and can cause respiratory issues and allergies.

Noise Pollution

Excessive sound generated by human activities, disrupting the health and well-being of humans and wildlife.

NOx

Highly reactive gases formed from burning fuels in vehicles, power plants, and factories, along with lightning strikes, causing respiratory irritation and contributing to acid rain and ground-level ozone.

Ozone

Tropospheric ozone is a harmful air pollutant formed by sun-driven chemical reactions between NOx and VOCx from factories and cars. Stratospheric ozone, however, protects us from the sun’s UV rays.

PANs

Peroxyacyl nitrates: highly toxic secondary pollutant formed from photochemical smog when VOCs and NOx react in sunlight. They irritate eyes, damage vegetation, and allow pollution to affect a wide range.

Particulate Matter

Mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets in the air, including dust, ash, pollen, mold, and pet dander.

Photochemical Smog

Occurs when ultraviolet light from the sun reacts with NOx and VOCs in the atmosphere, causing eye irritations, respiratory issues, and long-term lung damage, along with vegetation damage.

Pollution Credits

Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by selling a set number of credits to business who burn cleaner fuels and generate cleaner energy.

Primary Pollutant

Harmful substances emitted directly into the atmosphere from their source or reservoir.

Radon Gas

Radioactive gas produced from the breakdown of uranium (mainly), thorium, and radium in soil, rock, and groundwater. They can enter into houses through cracks in the base of the house.

Secondary Pollutant

Hazardous substances formed in the atmosphere through chemical reactions with primary pollutants and other atmospheric components.

SOx

Compounds of sulfur and oxygen produced from burning fossil fuels and volcanic eruptions, causing respiratory issues acid rain.

Thermal Inversion

A layer of warm air settles over a layer of cooler air near the Earth’s surface, reversing the normal decrease in temperature with altitude. This acts as a cap, trapping pollutants and fog near the ground, leading to poor air quality.

Vapor Recovery Nozzle

Specialized fuel dispensing nozzle that captures gasoline vapor escaping from a vehicle’s tank during refueling.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Carbon-based gases emitted from common products like paints, cleaners, and chemicals; at heavy concentrations it will cause more frequent headaches, eye irritation, and nausea, and also destroy parts of the ozone layer.