Pollution

CHT230-N01
Andrew Corbett
Eyma Y. Marrero-Alfonso, PhD
What is pollution?
Pollution is the addition of any substance or energy
released into the environment at a rate faster than it can
be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in
a harmless manner

Where Does Pollution Come From?
Pollution is mostly due to the result of industrialization
and a massive human population
Mobile Sources- cars, planes, trains, buses, etc
Stationary Sources- Power plants, industrial facilities, oil
refineries, etc
Area Sources- agricultural areas and cities
Natural Sources- wind-blown dust, wildfires, volcanoes, etc


Origins of Pollution
Pollutants
A pollutant is the object or energy that contaminates the environment and
can be classified in several ways
Quantitative vs. qualitative
Primary pollutant vs. secondary pollutant
Bio-degradable vs. non-degradeable
Quantitative vs. Qualitative
Quantitative pollutants are naturally occurring in the environment but the
concentrations of the pollutants has risen to unhealthy levels due to human
action.
Qualitative pollutants are substances that are not naturally occurring that
have been released into the environment.
Primary vs. Secondary
Primary pollutants are those that have been emitted directly from the source
Ash, dust, sulfur dioxide
Secondary pollutants are caused by the chemical interaction of primary
pollutants within the atmosphere
Ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur trioxide, etc
Bio-degradable vs. Non-degradable
Bio-degradable pollutants are those that can be quickly degraded through a
natural process
Dilution, dispersion, decomposition
Non-degradable pollutants are those that either do not degrade or degrade
extremely slowly under natural circumstances
Human action
Types of Pollution
There are three main types of pollution
1. Air pollution
2. Water pollution
3. Land pollution
Other types of pollution exist
Noise pollution
Thermal pollution
Light pollution
Radioactive pollution
Minor Types of Pollution
Noise pollution is the disruption of the standard of living due to high noise
levels
Thermal pollution is when heat is released into the environment unnaturally
Light pollution is the over illumination of an area that obscures the night sky
Radioactive pollution is the release of radioactive materials into the
environment


Land Pollution
Land pollution is the contamination or
destruction of soil that prevents habitation and
growth for certain organisms
Caused by hazardous waste (both solid and liquid)
such as sewage and litter, pesticides,
deforestation, and other destructive practices
Soil degradation leads to poor vegetation growth,
which starts the snowball effect of destruction

Water Pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of a water supply
Caused by polluted runoff, industrial waste, radioactive waste, and marine
dumping.
Contaminated water supplies mean harmful drinking water, effected fish
populations, and food chain contamination
Air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of our atmosphere
due to suspended particles and gaseous pollutants
Cause by emissions from vehicles, industries, volcanoes,
combustion, etc
Probably the worst type of pollution due to the fact
that its the hardest to maintain and hardest to escape
from
Can be classified under three groups
Biological pollutants
Air toxics
Criteria pollutants
Classification of Air Pollutants
Biological pollutants
Caused by microbiological contamination
Air toxics
The toxic aerosol or particulate pollutants that are present in the air that are hazardous to
most life forms
Criteria pollutants
Theses are the 6 main air pollutants used as indicators of air quality

Carbon monoxide (combustion)
Lead (leaded gasoline)
Nitrogen dioxide (vehicle exhaust)
Ozone (secondary)
Particles (fire)
Sulfur dioxide (volcanoes)

Control and Effects of Air Pollution
In efforts to maintain the quality of our breathable air, government agencies
such as the EPA have enacted the Clean Air Act, which placed restrictions in
the form of National Ambient Air Quality Standards on almost every industry
in order to keep the amount of emissions produced to a minimum.
It is illegal to operate a business outside of the standards
The EPA uses concentrations of the 6 criteria pollutants as the limits of
allowed emissions production

Pollutant
[final rule cite]
Primary/
Secondary
Averaging Time Level Form
Carbon Monoxide

primary
8-hour 9 ppm Not to be exceeded more than
once per year 1-hour 35 ppm
Lead

primary and
secondary
Rolling 3 month
average
0.15 g/m
3
Not to be exceeded
Nitrogen Dioxide

primary 1-hour 100 ppm
98th percentile, averaged over 3
years

primary and
secondary

Annual

53 ppb

Annual Mean

Ozone

primary and
secondary
8-hour 0.075 ppm
Annual fourth-highest daily
maximum 8-hr concentration,
averaged over 3 years
Particule Pollution

PM
2.5

primary Annual 12 g/m
3

annual mean, averaged over 3
years
secondary Annual 15 g/m
3

annual mean, averaged over 3
years
primary and
secondary
24-hour 35 g/m
3

98th percentile, averaged over 3
years
PM
10

primary and
secondary
24-hour 150 g/m
3

Not to be exceeded more than
once per year on average over 3
years
Sulfur Dioxide

primary 1-hour 75 ppb
99th percentile of 1-hour daily
maximum concentrations,
averaged over 3 years
secondary 3-hour 0.5 ppm
Not to be exceeded more than
once per year
Effects of Air Pollution
Air pollution has very devastating impacts on the environment
Greenhouse effect
The production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses
traps infrared radiation within the atmosphere which
maintains a habitable temperature, but overproduction of
greenhouse gasses is causing a gradual increase in the earths
surface temperature.
Acid rain
Acid rain is the deposition of material from the atmosphere
that contains high concentrations of nitric and sulfuric acids.
It is the result of the accumulation of sulfur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides within the atmosphere reacting with water,
oxygen, and other airborne substances. Although the title
suggests its may only be available in aqueous form, its also
common in a snow or dust deposition
Effects of Air Pollution Cont.
Ozone
Ozone (O
3
) is produced by the chemical reaction between oxides of nitrogen
and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight, and can be both
helpful and harmful, depending on the altitude at which it is located. High
altitude ozone forms our ozone layer which protects earth from damaging
ultraviolet radiation, but low altitude ozone in the troposphere is dangerous
because it is toxic to most life forms
Smog
Smog is a brownish haze that is primarily found around heavily populated cities
during hot seasons. Smog is primarily composed of ozone, but also contains
smoke, nitrogen oxides, and other harmful pollutants. Smog is hazardous to
inhale and greatly reduces visibility.


Acid Rain
When high amounts of Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides accumulate in our
atmosphere they react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to from
various acidic compounds which then precipitates back to earths surface and
wreaks havoc on the environment.
Wet deposition occurs when the acidic compound is in a moist environment an
precipitates in the form of rain or snow.
Dry deposition occurs when the acidic compound is in dry and dusty conditions
and precipitates in the form of fine dust particles
Effects
Acidifies still bodies of water, damaging aquatic ecosystems
Acidifies the soil, damaging sensitive plant species
Degradation of structures

Acid Rain
Ozone
Ozone is a secondary pollutant meaning it is not directly emitted into the
environment as ozone. It is formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic
compounds react under sunlight
Ozone is important to us because it shields earth from harmful UV rays. The
high altitude ozone that forms our protective ozone layer is being thinned out
over the poles due to atmospheric chlorine which originated from now banned
CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). Ground-level ozone has very negative impacts on
the environment because of its toxicity. Ozone damages plant life, respiratory
systems in most animals