Chapter 16 Air Pollution
Aesthetic Degradation- Changes in environmental quality that offend our aesthetic senes
Conventional Pollutants- The seven major pollutants ( Sulfur Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Particulates, Hydrocarbons, Nitrogen Oxides, Photochemical Oxidants, and Lead) identified and regulated by the U.S. Clean Air Act
Unconventional Pollutants- Compounds and that are produced in less volume than conventional pollutants that are especially toxic.
Primary Pollutants- Chemicals released directly into the air in a harmful form
Secondary Pollutants- Chemicals that acquire a hazardous form after entering the air or that are formed by chemical reactions as components of the air interact
Fugitive Pollutants- Substances that enter the air without going through a smokestack
Sulfur Dioxide- A colorless, corrosive gas directly damaging to both plants and animals
Nitrogen Oxides- Highly reactive gases formed when nitrogen in fuel or combustion air is heated to over 650*c ( 1,200* F) in the presence of oxygen, or when bacteria in soil or water oxidize nitrogen-containing compounds
Carbon Monoxide- A colorless, odorless, non-irritating, but highly toxic gas produced by incomplete combustion of fuel, incineration of biomass of solid waste, or partially anaerobic decomposition of organic material
Photochemical Oxidants- Products of secondary atmospheric reactions
Particulate Matter- Atmospheric aerosols, such as dust, ash, soot, lint, smoke, pollen, spores, algal cells, and other suspended materials
Aerosols- Minute particles or liquid droplets suspended in the air
Hazardous Air Pollutants- Can Cause Cancer and Nerve Damage, Especially dangerous air pollutants, including carcinogens, neurotoxins, mutagens, teratogens, endocrine system disrupters, and other highly toxic compounds
Toxic Release Inventory- A program created by the superfund amendments and reauthorization act of 1984 that require manufacturing facilities and waste-handling and disposal sites to report annually on releases of more than 300 toxic materials
Temperature Inversions- A stable layer of warm air overlying cooler air, trapping pollutants near ground level.
Stratospheric Ozone- The ozone occurring in the stratosphere 10 to 50 km above the earths surface
Chlorofluorocarbons- Chemical compounds with a carbon skeleton and one or more attached chlorine and fluorine atoms
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