feb17 air pollution web

8/3/2019 Feb17 Air Pollution Web

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Outline:

Climate and PollutionKinds of Pollution

Sources

Transport Effects of Air Pollution

Air Pollution Control

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Climate and Air Pollution

Over the past 20years, developedcountries have

made progress inimproving airquality.

Unfortunately, airquality in thedeveloping worldhas been getting

worse. 3


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Primary and Secondary

Pollutants,

Natural and Human

Air pollutants occur either as

gases or particulate matter Primary air pollutants: emitted directly into

the air

Secondary pollutants: reactions betweenprimary pollutants and atmospheric

compounds


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Sulfur dioxide- acid rain, health damage,

visibility reduction Nitrogen oxides- acid rain, eutrophication,

growth of weedy species

Carbon monoxide- inhibited respiration

Leadandmercury- neurological damage

Chlorofluorocarbons- ozone depletion

Particulate matter- lung damage, cancer

Volatile organic compounds(isoprenes,

terpenes, methane, & benzene,

chloroform, etc) oxidized to CO,

CO2 in the atmosphere; carcinogens?

Major Air Pollutants:Problems


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Los Angeles

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8TheInternational Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) is a research program thatstudies the phenomenon of Global Change


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Indoor Air Pollution

Smoking - diseasesrelated to smoking

responsible for 20% of

deaths in the U.S.

In less-developed

countries, poorly

ventilated heating and

cooking fires representthe greatest source of

indoor air pollution.

The Silent Killer

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Indoor PollutantSources

Indoor air pollutants comefrom:

underground diffusion,

combustion, and

chemical emissions.

Most indoor air pollution canbe reduced by increasingbuilding ventilations.

Radon gas (a radioactive decayproduct of uranium) is the mostharmful indoor pollutant whenfound in high concentrations.


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Long range transport

Stratospheric ozone depletion

Montreal Protocol - 1987

Interactions Between Climate

Processes and Air Pollution

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Jet Streams & Jet Streaks

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cyc/upa/jet.rxml

http://sd.znet.com/~aringler/jet.htm

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Long range transport of pollutants

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Circumpolar

winds

transport air

pollution from

heavily

industrialized

regions to the

Arctic, where

high levels of

smog

accumulate. 15


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Ozone Depletion

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Stratospheric Ozone Destruction byChlorine Atoms and UV Radiation


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Production of chloroflurocarbons

(CFCs)

Montreal Protocol passed in 1987

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Future_ozone_layer_concentrations.jpg

NASA projections of stratospheric ozoneconcentrations if chlorofluorocarbons had not

been banned.From the historical

record we know thattotal column ozone

values of less than 220

Dobson Units were notobserved prior to 1979.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Future_ozone_layer_concentrations.jpg


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Effects of Air Pollution

Human health Plant pathology

Visibility reduction

Acid deposition

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Ecosystem damage caused by sulfur dioxideemissions and acid rain. (near Sudbury Ontario)

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Acid Precipitation, 2000

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Frazier fir stand on Mount Mitchell in the Appalachian Mountains


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Acid Rainfall affects:

Plants - directly(weakens or killsplants)

Soils - directly(leaching of basecationseg, Ca & Mg)

Plants - indirectly(lower soil nutrients,insects attack weak trees)

Frazier fir stand on Mount Mitchell in the Appalachian Mountainsof North Carolina


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Early approach:

Dilution is the solution to pollution

Particulate removal - air filters

Sulfur removal - scrubbers

Nitrogen oxide reduction - catalytic converters

Hydrocarbon controls - afterburners

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Automobile Emission Control System

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CLEAN AIR LEGISLATION

Clean Air Act (1963)- First national air

pollution control. (usingincentives, egfederal grants to states)

Clean Air Act (1970)rewrote original Act. Identified critical pollutants

Established ambient air quality standards.

Primary Standards - Human health

Secondary Standards - Materials, environment,

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Conventional Pollutants US Clean Air Act designated seven major

(conventional or criteria) pollutants forwhich maximum ambient air levels aremandated.

Sulfur DioxideCarbon Monoxide

Particulates

HydrocarbonsNitrogen Oxides

Photochemical Oxidants

Lead 28

Clean Air Act


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Clean Air Act

Revision (1990)- Included provision for:

Acid Rain

Urban Smog

Toxic Air Pollutants

Ozone Protection

Marketing Pollution Rights

Fugitive emissions of volatile organics

Ambient ozone, soot, and dust.

NOx emissions

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Cl Ai A t


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Clean Air Act Clear Skies ( 2002)didnt passmarket-based

approach, tried to eliminate new source review of 1977

which was pollution controls on old equip as well as new

equip

Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR2005)

Eliminated new source review,

Set emission standards for SO2, NOx, PM

Depends upon cap-and-trade (can buy credits from

nonpolluting) OK nationally but can create hot spots of pollution locally

Interstate rule because pollution can drift across state

borders affecting ambient pollution levels30


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Current Conditions and

Future ProspectsDeveloped vs.Developing

Countries

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Tend to be much higher in large cities in

developing countries than in developedcountries

Total Suspended Particulates (TSP)

CURRENT AND FUTURE


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CURRENT AND FUTURE

CONDITIONS

In the United States, air quality has

improved dramatically in the last decade in

terms of major large-volume pollutants.

Cities where pollution is largely from trafficstill have serious air quality problems.

Major metropolitan areas of many

developing countries are growing atexplosive rates, and environmental quality

is very poor.

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S G d N U S T d


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Some Good News: U.S. Trends

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U.S. emissions

of six major air

pollutants in1970 compared

with 2002.


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Summary:

Atmosphere and Climate

Climate Change

El Nino

Human Causes

Climate and PollutionKinds of Pollution

Sources

Transport Effects of Air Pollution


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feb17 air pollution web

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