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7/22/2019 Caribbean Studies Cape

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Background

St. James Street, in downtown Montego Bay, has been plagued with several types of

pollution. The most dominant types of pollution noticed were Air, Land and Noise Pollution.

While water pollution is not really evident, it can easily be linked back to the land pollution on

St. James Street because the drains on this street ultimately lead back to the sea and thus

contributing to its pollution.

This internal assessment is done in partial fulfillment of the Unit One (1) of the

Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) for Caribbean Studies. This internal

assessment on the types of air pollutants that is present on St. James Street will also give a brief

on the other types of pollution affecting this street. Emissions from vehicles and smoke are some

of the things that accounts for air pollution on St. James Street. Around Jamaica and the wider

world, it is said that 90% of all air pollutants can be placed in five categories; carbon monoxide,

nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, sulphur oxides and suspended particulate matter. Carbon

monoxide being the largest category, most of it has been emitted through transportation. St.

James Street being in an urban area accounts for a lot of emission of carbon monoxide in

Montego Bay.

Despite of the many garbage receptacles on this street, rubbish is seen more so on the

ground than in them. While walking on St. James Street, loud music can be heard in almost all

the department stores, on carts and also in cars passing by. Also, the loud horn from motor

vehicles is another factor that contributes to noise pollution on this street.


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Purpose of the Study

The goal of this internal assessment is to enlighten the reader on the types of Air pollutants that

is present on St. James Street.


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Rationale

Pollution is a very prominent social problem in Montego Bay and Jamaica on a whole.

This problem affects everyone; business operatives, commuters and even tourists. Air pollution

has detremental effects on everyone who has prolonged exposure to it. The researcher chose to

do this particular for personal reasons, to help to safeguard from the effects of this endemic.

Also, information on this topic was readily available so the researcher did not have to go through

a lot of problem to gather the necessary data.


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Problem Statement

An investigation into the types of Air pollutants that is present on St. James Street, Montego

Bay.


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Research Questions

What is air pollution? What are the causes of air pollution? What are the main factors that contribute to air pollution? What are the measures can be taken to resolve this issue?


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Hypothesis

Carbon monoxide is the main type of air pollutant that is present on St. James Street and

this is due to the emissions from transportation from the exhaust of motor vehicles.


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Significance of the Study

This study can be used to help the reader and researcher to further understand the causes

and effects of Air Pollution on St. James. It also helps the researcher to fulfill the requirements of

the syllabus in order to pass Caribbean Studies. This study can also be used as secondary data for

a potential researcher. Also, excerpts from this study can be used in newspaper articles on the

causes and effects of Air pollution on St. James Street. Excerpts from this study can be used by

the National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA) to increase their knowledge base and can

further educate the public on the types of Air pollutants.


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Delimitations

This internal assessment will also be centered on St. James Street so the rest of St. Jamesand the wider Jamaica will be excluded. However, reference will sometimes be made to

other locations around the world.


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Definition of Key Terms

Pollution- The process of contaminating something or making it unclean or impure.

Emissions- This is the process of sending or giving out something, or the discharge ofsomething.

Receptacles- An object or space used to contain something.

Fumes- Exuded smoke, gas or vapour.

Nitrogen oxides- Gases produced by the interactions between atmospheric nitrogen andoxygen when a source of energy, such as combustion of fuel, produces high temperatures.

Sulphur oxides- Gases produced by the interaction of sulphur and oxygen.

Particulate matter- Solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere.

Combustion- The rapid oxidation of a substance through fire.


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Literature Review

Pollution as defined by the oxford dictionary is the process of contaminating something

or making it unclean or impure. There are several types of pollution: air, land, water and noise

pollution. The focus of this study is mainly on types of air pollutants. Air pollutants can be

divided up into five categories: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, sulphur oxides

and suspended particulate matter.

Carbon monoxide is the largest category of air pollutants since it comprises 56% of all air

pollutants. In an article written by Marisa Buchanan and Carl Horwitz titled Polluti on and

Society, Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas and is the most abundant

and widely distributed air pollutant. Even though vast quantities of carbon monoxide enter the

atmosphere each year (147 million tons in the US alone) the majority of the emissions are due to

natural causes instead of anthropogenic, human causes. It is because of this that carbon

monoxide is viewed as the least danger to living beings. The largest natural cause of CO is the

oxidation of methane in the atmosphere. Methane, CH4, is produced on the surface of earth by

the decay of organic matter. It then rises into the atmosphere in a gaseous state, and oxidizes to

form methyl radicals (CH3) which react further too, ultimately produce CO.

80% of CO that is emitted by humans is by transportation (mostly by gasoline powered

vehicles). Since automobiles are the largest source of CO pollution, the highest concentration of

this gas is in highly populated/urban areas such as Montego Bay and more specifically, St. James

street. It has been proven that exposure to high concentration of this gas can harm living

organisms but the current concentration is still low enough so that plants and humans are both at

minimal risk.


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The category of Nitrogen Oxides is made up primarily of three different gases; nitrogen

dioxide (NO2), nitrous oxide ( N2O), and nitric oxide, NO. Nitrous oxide is over four times more

toxic than nitric oxide. Nitrogen dioxide is generally not considered a pollutant because it is not

toxic and usually not produced by humans. On the basis of mass, the nitrogen oxides make up

the smallest group of pollutants and have the second smallest effect on life, behind CO. As with

carbon monoxide, nature emits greater amounts of these gases than humans do. The leading

natural causes include the decomposition of soil, bacterial activity and lightning. Anthropogenic

emissions are mostly due to the combustion of fuel. Natural air is composed of 78% nitrogen and

21% oxygen, which do not react at normal temperatures, but can react if the temperature is hot

enough (1300-2500C). In these cases, the quantity of nitrogen oxides released varies depending

on the temperature and the ratio of nitrogen to oxygen. The increasing use of nitrogenous

fertilizers is among the reasons that emissions of N2O have been on the rise. Damage to plants by

N2O has only been observed near nitric acid facilities and no evidence of NO2damage has ever

been seen outside the laboratory. It was concluded that the level of concentration of these gases

is too low to cause significant problems at this time.

The category of Sulphur Oxides mostly consists of sulphur dioxide, SO2. Sulphur

trioxide, SO3,does exist but it does not stay in our atmosphere. Sulphur trioxide is very reactant

with moisture (H2O) and forms sulphuric acid, H2SO4, one of the substances in acid rain. Unlike

the two prior groups, the sulphur oxides are predominately emitted by humans. However, a fair

amount of SO2 is produced in the atmosphere. Hydrogen Sulphide, H2S, is produced by the decay

of organic matter, and then rises to the atmosphere where it oxidizes and forms sulphur dioxide.

Around 80% of the sulphur oxides emitted by humans are due to the combustion of coal. Coal,

which is formed from once-living organisms, contains some sulphur. When this combusts (fire


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results when a substance reacts with oxygen) sulphur oxides are formed. Although sulphur is an

element necessary for life, too much or too little sulphur can harm organisms. The effect of

sulphur oxides on plants varies with time of exposure and concentration. In general, too much

exposure, either a short time with a high concentration or a long time with a low concentration,

results in damage to the leaves. Unlike the two prior categories, the present level of sulphur

oxides actually affects humans, generally through the respiratory system. In most cases the

amount inhaled is not enough to give any serious results besides coughing, but if vast quantities

are inhaled into the lungs it is possible to get a respiratory infection.

Hydrocarbons are the second largest category of air pollutants by mass, but they are by

far the largest group of pollutants when considering their effect. There are thousands of different

hydrocarbon compounds that are comprised solely of hydrogen and carbon. They can be found in

gaseous, liquid or solid states at room temperature. Most hydrocarbons are emitted by the

bacterial decomposition of organic material. Methane, CH4, which was mentioned in the

formation of carbon monoxide, is the simplest of the hydrocarbons. Petroleum is a complicated

mixture of several simple hydrocarbons showing again transportation by motor vehicles is the

leading cause of this category being emitted into the air. Their evaporation during the refining of

petroleum is also important. Unlike the previous categories, the hydrocarbons are relatively

harmless in their released state. It is in the atmosphere that they undergo chemical reactions and

become hazardous. With this change the primary pollutants (substances within the five original

categories) become secondary pollutants (new resultant substances).

These secondary pollutants, ozone ( O3,) and peroxyacetyl nitrate ( PAN ), are known to

cause damage to plants, especially citrus trees, salad crops and coniferous trees. However, even


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though hydrocarbons are extremely dangerous to plants, studies have revealed no direct effects

on humans at the current level of concentration. As a matter of fact, the concentration would

have to be a hundred to a thousand times larger in order to see any direct effects.

The final category of pollutants is the suspended particulate matter, or particulates for

short. Unlike the other four categories particulates are not gases, they are small solid or liquid

particles such as smoke, mist, or dust that measure between. Particulates are formed in two ways,

the clumping together of microscopic fragments or the breaking up of larger particles. Nature

emits particulates in a variety of ways. Similar to hydrocarbons, various gases react in the

atmosphere and form particulates. Blowing dust can be categorized as particulates, but the

largest natural cause of particles is the bursting of tiny air bubbles at the surface of the ocean that

result in the release of microscopic salt particles into the air. Unlike the previous categories,

humans emit minimal quantities of particulates by transportation; fires, incomplete combustion

of fossil fuels, and industrial breaking of stone, give off most human released particulates. Few

studies have been conducted to see the effect of particulates on plants, but it has been found that

when dust settles on their leaves sunlight is partially blocked, thus preventing growth of the

plant. The effect on humans is entirely in the respiratory system. Small particles can get by the

defenses of the upper respiratory system and reach the lungs; the smaller the particle, the deeper

into the lungs it can get and the more problems it can cause, because they become increasingly

difficult for the body to remove.

Similarly, Raven (2008) and Harris (2004) state that there are two basic categories of

pollutants and they are primary and secondary pollutants which are further divided. It further

states that Primary air poll utants are harmful chemicals that enter directly into the atmosphere


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and the major ones are carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxides, particulate matters and

hydrocarbons. Secondary air pollutants are harmful chemicals that form from other substances

released in the atmosphere for example, ozone and sulphur trioxide. Ozone is a pale blue gas that

is both a pollutant in the in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) and an essential component that

screens out UV radiation in the upper atmosphere (stratosphere).


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Data Collection Method

To obtain primary information for this internal assessment the researcher conducted a

questionnaire. A questionnaire is a group of questions formulated to ask a particular person or

group of persons. The persons chosen to answer this questionnaire were chosen using simplerandom sampling. This questionnaire has a total of ten (10) questions and was issued to twenty

(20) persons.

These questionnaires were issued and collected during a one (1) week period from

Monday, January 31stto Friday 4

th, 2011. These questionnaires wee issued during the

researchers leisure time or during time spent at the study site. A copy of this questionnaire can

be seen the appendix.


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Presentation of Findings

Figure 1. Diagram showing how often the respondents travel on St. James Street

Figure 2. Illustrates the response when asked if they were aware of air pollution on St. James Street


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Figure 3. Diagram showing the main air pollutants affecting St. James Street

Figure 4. Diagram showing the main contributing factor of air pollution along St. James Street


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Figure5. Diagram showing the responses when asked if they are affected by any respiratory illnesses

Figure 6. Types of respiratory illnesses


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Figure 7. Diagram illustrating the responses when asked if government is trying to combat the pollution problem

Figure 8. Diagram showing ways in the government can reduce air pollution.


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Interpretation of Findings

Figure 1 illustrates how often the respondents travel on St. James Street. 50% of all

respondents said they did so everyday. This may be due to the fact that most of the responds

were either students or people who work therefore they were in town almost everyday for those

purposes. 35% said they travel on this street about 2-3 times per week to either conduct business

or for leisure reasons. At the minority, 15% of respondents said that they only travel on this

street once a week. Also, no one said they only traverse St. James Street once a month.

70% of respondents think that the main source of air pollution is that of emissions

through transportation by fumes from vehicles. This can be seen in figure 2. 15% thinks that air

pollution is caused from unethical practices such as smoking etc, 10% says that the main cause is

from the usage of aerosol sprays and 5% thinks that it is caused by the burning of garbage along

the street. When asked if they were aware about air pollution along St. James Street, 80% of

respondents said they were. However, 20% said that know of the problem but they werent aware

of it on St. James Street.

When asked about what they think was the type of pollutants which contribute most to air

pollution on this street, 90% responded that they think carbon monoxide is responsible. 5% said

sulphur oxides from the burning of garbage and the remaining 5% said hydrocarbons. This

information can be found in figure 4. 70% of the respondents said they didnt suffer from any

respiratory illness. Of the 30% that do suffer from these illnesses, 50% of them have asthma.

Figure 7 illustrates the responses when asked if the government is putting any effort into

trying to combat the air pollution problem across Jamaica. 60% thinks that the government is

working on the situation but on the other hand 25% thinks that the government is acting like


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sitting ducks. 15% were clueless as to what the government is doing about the situation.

Respondents were asked what they think the government can do to reduce air pollution.55% said

that the government develop new roads so they can divert the traffic to these roads. 30% said the

government should increase duties on vehicles which are highly dependent on gasoline. 15% said

that the government should put in place laws against smoking in public as this will reduce air

pollution and also reduce the instances of people getting lung cancer due to second-hand

smoking.


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Discussion

After obtaining both primary and secondary information for this study, it was found that

the main type of air pollutant that is present on St. James Street is Carbon monoxide (CO). It was

stated by Raven (2008) and also Buchanan that carbon monoxide is the largest category of air

pollutant since it comprises 56% of all the air pollutants. This was a point supported by the

respondents of the questionnaire because when asked the question, Which type of air pollutant

do you think is the main contributing factor of air pollution on St. James Street? 90% of them

chose carbon monoxide.

Additionally, the information gained from these sources of information highlighted the

fact that the main source of carbon monoxide on this street was from the emissions from

transportation from motor vehicles. Harris (2004) suggested that the reason for this is because

there is a high level of congestion in highly populated/ urban areas. St. James Street being

located in an urban area has a pile up of traffic on most days, especially on weekends or public

holidays.

However, Raven (2008) and Harris (2004) highlighted the five major type of primary

pollutant which are; hydrocarbons, sulphur oxides, carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides and particulate

matter wherein they provided a wide range of information on the topics. On the other hand, the

information gotten from primary research was very limited due to the fact that the method of data

collection is by conducting a questionnaire. Also, the respondents scientific knowledge of the

topic of study was very limited and therefore their responses where vague and speculative which

made this source of information somewhat unreliable.


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Conclusion

After conducting this research, it was found that there are there are two main categories

of air pollutants; primary and secondary. There are five major types of primary air pollutants and

they are sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, particulate matter and carbon oxides.

However, carbon monoxide was the main type of air pollutant that was present on St. James

Street, Montego Bay. This was due to the fact that this street is in an urban area and is a popular

route when it comes to getting throughout the city. This gas was mainly emitted from

transportation from the exhaust of motor vehicles.


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Limitations

When conducting the questionnaire, some persons were reluctant to cooperate with theresearcher even though their identities were going to be kept confidential.

Even though air pollution is a well-known problem, it was sometime difficult to obtaininformation that is relevant to the study

It was also sometimes difficult to find the time to conduct the questionnaire because theresearcher had other obligations.


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Recommendations

Air pollution is a very prominent problem in Montego Bay. However, this problem can

be alleviated if the level of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, which is present on popular

streets such as St. James Street, is reduced. One major way to do this is if the government

increase duties on vehicles with high reliance on gas. This would therefore reduce the number of

purchases by prospective car dealers and thus the amount of cars which are contributing to

pollution in Jamaica. Also the government and people of the city should also promote the usage

of environmentally friendly products such as E10.


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Bibliography

www.naturalnews.com/HeadlinesNews.html www.jamaicaobserver.com www.questia.com/library/air-pollution.jsp http://www.essortment.com/all/pollutionproble_rmnb.htm Raven, P. H., Berg, L. R., & Hazzenzohl, D. M. (2008) Environment (6thed.). 111 River

Street, Hoboken, John Wiley.

Harris, F. (2004), Global Environment Issues, Chipenham, Wilshire, Anthony Rowe
http://www.naturalnews.com/HeadlinesNews.htmlhttp://www.naturalnews.com/HeadlinesNews.htmlhttp://www.jamaicaobserver.com/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/http://www.questia.com/library/air-pollution.jsphttp://www.questia.com/library/air-pollution.jsphttp://www.questia.com/library/air-pollution.jsphttp://www.questia.com/library/air-pollution.jsphttp://www.questia.com/library/air-pollution.jsphttp://www.questia.com/library/air-pollution.jsphttp://www.essortment.com/all/pollutionproble_rmnb.htmhttp://www.essortment.com/all/pollutionproble_rmnb.htmhttp://www.essortment.com/all/pollutionproble_rmnb.htmhttp://www.questia.com/library/air-pollution.jsphttp://www.jamaicaobserver.com/http://www.naturalnews.com/HeadlinesNews.html


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Appendix 1

Questionnaire

This questionnaire is done as a primary source of information for an Internal Assessment

which I am doing. This Internal Assessment (IA) is done in partial fulfillment of a Caribbean

Studies course I am pursuing. This questionnaire is not a test so there are no wrong answers. Put

a tick [ ] in the space available for the answer you think is most suitable.

1. How often do you travel on St. James Street?Everyday [ ]

2-3 times a week [ ]

Once a week [ ]Once a monthly [ ]

2. What kind of conditions are you exposed to on this street? Explain________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. Are you aware of the occurrence of air pollution on this street?Yes [ ] No [ ]

4. What do you think are the main air pollutants?Unethical practices such as smoking [ ]

Exhausts from cars [ ]

Burning of garbage [ ]

Usage of aerosol sprays [ ]

5.

Which type of air pollutants do you think is the main contributing factor of air pollutionon St. James Street?

Carbon monoxide [ ]

Sulphur oxides [ ]

Hydrocarbons [ ]

Nitrogen oxides [ ]

Suspended particulate matter [ ]


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6. Are you affected by any respiratory illnesses?Yes [ ] No [ ]

7. Which one of the following illnesses are you affected by?Asthma [ ]

Bronchitis [ ]

Lung infection [ ]

Other__________________________________________________________________

8. Do the exhausts of motor vehicles on St. James Street worsen your condition?Yes [ ] No [ ]

9. Is the government making any implementations to combat air pollution?Yes [ ]

No [ ]

I dont know [ ]

10.What are the ways in which the government can reduce air pollution?Diverting the traffic to other street [ ]

Increase duties on vehicles with high reliance on gas [ ]

Put in place laws against smoking in public [ ]


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Appendix 2


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Appendix 3

Major Air Pollutants

Pollutants Composition Primary/

Secondary

Characteristics

Particulate matter

Dust

Lead

Sulphuric acid

Variable

Pb

H2SO4

Primary

Primary

Secondary

Solid particles

Solid particles

Liquidparticles

Nitrogen oxides


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Nitrogen dioxides NO2 Primary Reddish-brown gas

Sulphur oxides

Sulphur dioxides SO2 Primary Colourless gas with

strong odour

Carbon oxides

Carbon monoxide

Carbon dioxide*

CO

CO2

Primary

Primary

Colourless, odourless

gas


gas

Hydrocarbons

Methane

Benzene

CH4

C6H6

Primary

Primary


gas

Liquid with sweet

smell

Ozone O3 Secondary Pale blue gas with

acrid odour

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