APES Flashcards air pollution pg 1
Burning.
e.g. combustion of
hazardous wastes at high
temperatures
1
Acid rain dissolves marble
statues & tiles, metal roofs.
Soot, smoke, ash dirties cars,
bldings & clothes.
SOx & O3 can erode house
paints
O3 deteriorates rubber tires
& gaskets
2
After coal is burned, the
Before coal is burned, it is
exhaust passes through
finely ground and washed w/
basic-watery solution in tall water to remove the sulfur
smoke stacks which removes
SO2.
5
4
Developed & paid for by the
EPA to reduce pollution.
Chemical technologies to
reduce or prevent pollution.
e.g. reduction of quantity of
waste or of its toxicity
7
National ambient air quality
standards (levels indicate
clean air)
(hint: NOSCLP say nose
clip)
NO2, O3, SOx, CO,
lead particulates, particulates
PLUS VOC = HC
10
Air: dust from plowing;
aerosols of pesticides;
NOx, CO2 & CO from
combustion of fuels;
NOx from fertilizers.
Water: pesticides &
fertilizers as non-point runoff & leaching into aquifers.
3
Before coal is burned, it is
converted into a gas so that
sulfur can be removed
6
Primary = pollutants
emitted directly into
atmosphere. e.g. P.M., SOx, carbon monoxide &
CO, NOx and HC
hydrocarbons (VOC’s)
Secondary = pollutants that
form from other pollutants
9
e.g. photochemical O3
8
Stay indoors when
Air Quality Index exceeds
300
11
Agreement in 1987 by 24
nations to reduce &
eliminate the use of CFC’s
in an attempt to end the
erosion of the stratospheric
O3 layer.
12
1. Incineration 2. Ways air pollutants are harmful 3. Ways agriculture pollutes 4. scrubbing
5. washing 6. gasification 7. “Green Chemistry” 8. Primary & secondary pollutants 9. Car exhaust
pollutants absorbed by catalytic converter 10. List the NAAQS gases 11. Stay Indoors when AQI = ?
12. Montreal Protocol
APES Flashcards air pollution pg 2
NOx + H.C. + O2 + sunlight
 tropospheric O3
O2 + UV 
stratospheric O3
13
No such thing!!
However, there is a thinning
of the O3 layer in
stratosphere to less than 200
ppb.
Thinning occurs during
Antarctic winter
Strong winds that form
during cold Antarctic winter,
circling tornado-like. The
vortex isolates ice-crystal
clouds which promote the
CFC-O3 reactions.
15
14
UV-A longest wavelength &
not absorbed by O3, so all
UV-A reaches E’s surface
UV-B is absorbed by
stratospheric O3.
UV-C shortest wavelength
& is absorbed by E’s
atmosphere including O3
16
Condition when at least 25%
of workers inside a building
complain of physical
ailments. When outside, the
ailment goes away. Usually
no one knows exactly what
causes SBS.
19
Also called L.A. smog or
photochemical smog.
On hot summer days where
car engines burn gasoline.
N2  NO2 + VOC +
sunlight  O3
Nitrogen gives brownish
color.
22
Peroxyacetyl nitrates (PAN)
= one of the chemicals
formed during the
photochemical reaction of
NOx + VOC’s
Threat: very damaging to
plants
17
Rain, dew, particles or ash
with a pH lower than 5.6
Usually sulfuric acid
(burning coal) or nitric acid
(car exhaust), but sometimes
is hydrochloric acid
(industrial processes)
18
Ventilation sys: make sure
Radon emitted from rock.
size matches volume of
Gases migrate up through
building, change filters often soils into basements. Can
Source removal: smokers
diffuse into groundwater,
outside, replace old bedding into wells: drinking or
Replace formaldehyde
breathing in shower steam.
materials.
Even tho short ½ life,
Cover over lead & asbestos. continual exposure can lead
20
to lung disease.
21
Also called London smog or In 1984 an accidental release
industrial smog.
of a pesticide killed 2000
During winter when burning people as they lay sleeping.
coal for heat & industry.
15,000 were injured, many
Sulfur in coal  SOX +
becoming blind.
H2O  H2SO4
These people should have
Gray color comes from
been wakened and warned to
London fog.
escape!!!
24
23
13. Formation of tropospheric O3 & stratospheric O3 14. Ozone hole 15. Polar vortex 16. Types of
UV 17. PAN’s 18. Acid deposition 19. Sick Building Syndrome 20. Ways to reduce indoor air
pollution 21. Ways radon can enter buildings 22. Brown smog 23. Gray smog 24. Bhopal, India
incident
APES Flashcards air pollution pg 3
Source: particle board,
furniture, foam insulation
Threat: irritant to eyes,
throat, lungs, skin. Can
cause nausea & dizziness.
Source: pipe insulation,
ceiling and floor tiles,
asbestos shingles, brake
linings
Threat: lung disease, lung
cancer
25
38
Colorless, odorless,
radioactive gas that forms
when uranium decays.
Half-life = 3.8 days
releasing alpha particle.
Threat: longtime breathing
of radon is linked to lung
cancer.
40
Pollen, dust, ash, seasalt,
sand, smoke, pet dander,
rubber from tires, lead
particles,
Threat: blocks lung
pathways, can be toxic
Colorless, tasteless gas.
Source: combustion
43
This lubricant was once
added to gasoline to reduce
the wear and tear on a car’s
engine. Now it’s illegal.
46
Threat: combines w/
hemoglobin preventing the
transport of O2 w/in the
body. i.e. suffocation
41
Volatile organic =
hydrocarbons
natural gas, methane,
butane, propane
Source: cars 56%,
industry 16%,
solvent evaporatives 9%
Threat: forms L.A. smog
44
Source: from
agricultural fertilizers and
burning of fossil fuels
Source: pipes, house paint
before 1970’s.
Threat: causes learning
disabilities, behavioral
problems, ADD, seizures,
comas, infertility, even
death. Can lower IQ
39
chlorofluorocarbons.
Sources: refrigerants
(freon), propellants (in
spray cans), solvents &
cleaning agents.
Threat: as rises into
stratosphere, combines w/
O3 producing O2 (removal of
strato. O3) 42
Sources: tobacco smoke,
radon gas, CO, dust mites,
mold, pollen, remodeling
dust, pesticides, bacteria,
formaldehyde, etc.
Threat: headache, nausea,
sick building syndrome
45
Source: from
burning coal w/ high sulfur
concentration
Threat: one component of
brown smog
Threat:
47
48
37. Formaldehyde pollution 38. Asbestos 39. Lead 40. Radon 41. Carbon monoxide 42. CFC’s
43. Particulates 44. VOC = HC 45. Indoor air pollution 46. Lead 47. NOx 48. SOx