Unit 7 Atmospheric Pollution APES Exam Review Flashcards

Outdoor Air Pollutants

• Burning coal emits mercury, lead, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates, and various other heavy metals.
• Nitrogen oxides (primary pollutants) mix with other compounds to form photochemical smog and acid rain (secondary pollutants).
• Burning diesel fuel releases carbon monoxide (CO) and contributes to photochemical smog.
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) mainly come from burning gas and wood.
• Smog concentration increases in the summer due to warmer temperatures and more sunlight, which promotes photochemical smog formation.
• Urban areas have high smog levels due to higher concentrations of PM and NO_x.
• Thermal inversion traps pollutants: Warm air rises under normal conditions, but during thermal inversion, a layer of warm air traps cooler air below, preventing pollutants from dispersing.

Particulate Matter

• Natural sources of particulate matter include volcanic eruptions, sea salt, dust, and pollen.
• PM2.5: Atmospheric particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers (about 3% of the diameter of human hair).
• PM10: Particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers.

Carbon Dioxide

• Natural sources of carbon dioxide include respiration.

Indoor Air Pollutants

• Formaldehyde: Manufactured wood.
• Radon: Foundation cracks.
• Mercury: Refrigeration.
• Lead: Paints.
• Carbon monoxide: Furnaces, wood burning stoves.
• VOCs: Burning of wood, cleaning products.
• Asbestos: Old, damaged insulation or fireproofing material.
• Health effects of lead: Anemia, kidney damage, brain damage, weakness, death.

Sick Building Syndrome

• Sick Building Syndrome (SBS): Occupants experience acute health or comfort-related effects linked to time spent in a building.

Reduction of Air Pollutants

• Baghouse filter: A dust collector that removes particulates or gas from commercial processes.
• Electrostatic precipitator: A device that removes suspended dust particles from a gas or exhaust by applying a high-voltage electrostatic charge.
• Wet Scrubber: Removes particles and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams by introducing a dirty gas stream with a scrubbing liquid (typically water).
• Dry Scrubber: Removes particles and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams without the introduction of a liquid.
• Vapor recovery nozzle: Captures gasoline vapors during refueling and returns them to the underground storage tank.
• Catalytic converter: Reduces toxic by-products (nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons) into less hazardous substances (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrogen gas).
• Clean Air Act of 1970: Established air quality goals and imposed pollution control technology requirements.
• National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS): Limits on atmospheric concentration of six pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, and other health hazards.

Acid Rain

• Acid Rain pH: Around 4.
• Normal Rain pH: 5-5.7.
• Formation of carbonic acid: H2O + CO2 \rightarrow H2CO3
• Natural occurrences: Rainwater infiltrating through soil, carbon dioxide dissolving into seawater.
• Environmental consequences of acid rain: Harmful to fish and other wildlife in aquatic environments.
• Limestone neutralizes acid rain: Sulfuric acid reacts with the limestone in a neutralization reaction.

Noise Pollution

• Human health effects: Stress, poor concentration, productivity losses, communication difficulties, fatigue, cardiovascular disease.
• Sources: Industrial operations, vehicle traffic, construction.
• Effects on organisms: Impacts marine mammal hunting and migration, affects mating and calls of bird species.

Vocabulary

• Air quality advisories: Alerts issued when the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaches unhealthy levels.
• Air Quality Index (AQI): A uniform index for reporting daily air quality, focusing on ground-level ozone, particle pollution (PM10 and PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), and sulfur dioxide (SO2).
• Carbon monoxide (CO): A colorless, odorless gas released when something is burned, primarily from vehicles burning fossil fuels.
• Coarse particles (PM10-2.5): Particles with diameters between 2.5 and 10 micrometers.
• Fine particles (PM2.5): Particles with diameters of 2.5 micrometers or smaller, including ultrafine particles and nanoparticles.
• HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter: Removes at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and airborne particles with a size of 0.3 microns.
• Inversion: An atmospheric condition where a layer of cooler air is trapped near the ground by a layer of warmer air above, trapping pollution.
• National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS): Standards set by the EPA for pollutants harmful to public health and the environment, including sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulates (PM2.5/PM10), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and lead (Pb).
• Tropospheric Ozone or Ground Level Ozone: Not emitted directly, but created by chemical reactions between NO_x and VOCs in the presence of sunlight; a main component of smog.
• Particle pollution (particulate matter or PM): A mixture of solids and liquid droplets suspended in the air.
• Sensitive groups (at-risk populations): Persons at increased risk of adverse health effects from air pollution exposures.
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2): A harmful gas primarily emitted from fossil fuel combustion at power plants and industrial facilities.
• Ultrafine particles (PM0.01): Particles with diameters less than 0.1 µm.