Government agencies share in
dealing with air pollution

Federal
◦ Managed through Environment Canada (primarily)
◦ 1999: Canadian Environmental Protection Act
(CEPA)
◦ Enters into international agreements (e.g. Montreal
Protocol, Kyoto Protocol)
 Canada was first developed country to withdraw from
Kyoto in 2011
◦ Enters into transboundary agreements with the
U.S. (e.g. Canada-United States Air Quality
Agreement)
141
Government agencies share in
dealing with air pollution (cont’d)

Provincial/territorial
◦ Managed through each environment
ministry
◦ Canadian Council of Ministers of the
Environment (CCME)
◦ Harmonization Accord, Canada-Wide
Standards Sub-Agreement, National
Ambient Air Quality Objectives
142
Government agencies share in
dealing with air pollution (cont’d)

Municipal
◦ Only Montreal and Greater Vancouver regulate
sources of air pollution
◦ Most municipalities raise public awareness
 Top concerns differ from one region to another
◦ Mississauga, Ontario = air quality
◦ Halifax, Nova Scotia = wastewater management
143
Monitoring shows that many forms
of air pollution have decreased
• Cleaner-burning vehicles and catalytic converters
decrease carbon monoxide
• Permit-trading programs and clean coal technologies
reduce SO2 emissions
• Scrubbers = technologies that chemically convert or
physically remove pollutants before they leave the
smokestacks
• Phaseout of leaded gasoline
• Improved technologies and federal policies
14-4
Smog is the most common,
widespread air quality problem
Smog = unhealthy
mixtures of air pollutants
over urban areas
 Industrial (gray air)
smog = industries burn
coal or oil

◦ Occurs in cooler, hilly areas
◦ Government regulations in
developed countries
reduced smog
◦ Coal-burning industrializing
countries face significant 145
health risks
Industrial
smog
14-6
Photochemical smog is produced by
a complex series of reactions




Light-driven reactions of
primary pollutants and
normal atmospheric
compounds
Morning traffic exhaust
releases pollutants
Irritates eyes, noses,
and throats
Vehicle inspection
programs have
decreased smog
147
Air quality is a rural issue, too
Airborne pesticides from farms
 Industrial pollutants drifting from cities,
factories and powerplants
 Feedlots, where cattle, hogs, or chickens are
raised in dense concentrations

◦ Voluminous amounts of methane, hydrogen
sulfide, and ammonia
◦ People living or working nearby have high rates of
respiratory problems
148
Industrializing nations are suffering
increasing air pollution
Outdoor pollution is increasing
 China has the world’s worst air pollution
◦ Four out of five Chinese cities had
emissions above the threshold set by WHO
 Southern Asian brown cloud = a 3 km-thick
layer of pollution that reduces sunlight by
10-15%, affects climate, decreases
productivity, and kills thousands each year

149
China smog emergency shuts city of 11 million people
BEIJING | Mon Oct 21, 2013 1:57am EDT
(Reuters) - Choking smog all but shut down one of
northeastern China's largest cities on Monday,
forcing schools to suspended classes, snarling traffic
and closing the airport, in the country's first major air
Pollution crisis of the winter.
An index measuring PM2.5, or particulate matter with a
diameter of 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), reached a reading of
1,000 in some parts of Harbin, the gritty capital of northeastern
Heilongjiang province and home to some 11 million people.
A level above 300 is considered hazardous, while the World
Health Organisation recommends a daily level of no more than
20.
The smog not only forced all primary and middle schools to
suspend classes, but shut the airport and some public bus
routes, the official Xinhua news agency reported, blaming the
emergency on the first day of the heating being turned on in the
city for winter. Visibility was reportedly reduced to 10 meters.
The smog is expected to continue for the next 24 hrs.
Synthetic chemicals deplete
stratospheric ozone

Ozone layer = ozone in the lower
stratosphere
◦ 12 ppm concentrations effectively block incoming
damaging ultraviolet radiation

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) = chemicals
that attack ozone
◦ 1 million metric tons/year were produced in early
1970s
◦ Releases chlorine atoms that split ozone
1411
Synthetic chemicals deplete
stratospheric ozone (cont’d)
Ozone hole = ozone
levels over Antarctica
had declined by 4060%
 Global ozone depletion
causes skin cancer,
harms crops and
decreases ocean
productivity

1412
There are still many questions to be
resolved about ozone depletion
Will ozone depletion spread from the polar
regions to encompass mid-latitude regions?
 What is the actual relationship between
ozone depletion and human health impacts?
 What are the other potential impacts of
ozone depletion (e.g. on ecosystems)?
 Are the substitute chemicals that are being
proposed in international agreements
definitely less damaging to the stratospheric
ozone layer?

1413
The Montreal Protocol addressed
ozone depletion

1987: Montreal Protocol = 197 nations agreed to cut CFC
production in half
◦ Follow-up agreements deepened cuts, advanced timetables
and addresses other ozone-depleting chemicals
◦ Today, production and use of ozone-depleting chemicals has
decreased 95%
◦ The ozone layer is beginning to recover

Challenges still face us
◦ CFCs will remain in the stratosphere for a long time
◦ Nations can ask for exemptions to the ban
 United States to use methyl bromide to control pests on
strawberries
1414
The Montreal Protocol addressed
ozone depletion (cont’d)

Considered the biggest environmental
success story
◦ Policymakers included industry in helping solve the
problem
◦ Adaptive management strategy allowed changes in
response to new scientific data, technological
advances, and economic figures

The Montreal Protocol can serve as a model
for international environmental cooperation
1415
Acid deposition is another
transboundary pollution problem

Acidic deposition = the deposition of acid,
or acid-forming pollutants, from the
atmosphere onto Earth’s surface
◦ Acid rain = precipitation of acid
◦ Atmospheric deposition = the wet or dry
deposition on land of pollutants

Originates from burning fossil fuels
◦ release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides
◦ react with water to form sulfuric and nitric acids
1416
Sources of acid deposition
1417
Acid deposition is another transboundary
pollution problem (cont’d)
Rain and other forms of precipitation with
pH of less than 5.1 are considered acidified
 Acidic deposition can have wide-ranging,
cumulative detrimental effects on
ecosystems and on our built environment

◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Acids leach nutrients from the topsoil
Alters soil chemistry harming plants
Mobilizes toxic metal ions
Run-off into surface waters
Erodes and corrodes built structures (Parthenon)
1418
Acid deposition has not been
reduced as much as scientists had
hoped




New technologies such as scrubbers have
helped
SO2 emissions are lower
NOx emissions are higher
Acid deposition’s effects are worse than
predicted
1419
Indoor Air Pollution
14-21
Indoor air pollution

Indoor air contains higher concentrations of
pollutants than outdoor air
◦ 6,000 people in North America die per day from
indoor air pollution

The average person in North America is
indoors at least 90% of the time
◦ Exposed to synthetic materials (insecticides,
cleaning fluids, plastics, and chemically treated
wood)
◦ 1973-74: ventilation systems were sealed off
and windows put in that did not open, trapping
pollutants inside
1422
Indoor air pollution in the
developing world arises from
fuelwood burning
Burning wood, charcoal, dung, crop wastes
for cooking and eating
 Kills 1.6 million people each year
 Causes pneumonia, bronchitis, allergies,
cataracts, asthma, heart disease, cancer and
premature death

1423
Tobacco smoke and radon are the
most dangerous indoor pollutants in
the developed world

Secondhand smoke from cigarettes is
especially dangerous
◦ Containing over 4000 dangerous chemicals
◦ Causes eye, nose, and throat irritation
◦ Smoking has declined in developed nations

After cigarette smoke, radon gas is the
second-leading cause of lung cancer in the
developed world
◦ Colourless, odourless gas that can seep into
buildings
1424
Many VOCs pollute indoor air






VOCs = volatile organic compounds
Released by everything from plastics and oils
to perfumes and paints
Most VOCs are released in very small amounts
Unclear health implications due to low
concentrations
Also include pesticides, which are found
indoors more often than outdoors due to
seepage
Formaldehyde, which leaks from pressed wood
and insulation, irritates mucous membranes
and induces skin allergies
1425
1426
Living organisms can pollute
indoors




Tiny living organisms can also pollute
Includes dust mites and animal dander worsen
asthma
Fungi, mold, mildew, airborne bacteria cause
severe allergies, asthma, and other respiratory
ailments
Sick building syndrome = a sickness produced
by indoor pollution with general and nonspecific
symptoms
◦ Solved by using low-toxicity building materials and good
ventilation
1427
weighing
the issues
How Safe Is Your
Indoor Environment?
Think about the amount of time you
spend indoors. Name the potential
indoor air quality hazards in your home,
work, or school environment.
What
could you do to make the indoor
spaces you use safer?
1428
Living organisms can pollute indoor
spaces




Dust mites and animal dander
Fungi, mould, and mildew
Airborne bacteria (Legionnaire’s disease)
Microbes that induce allergic responses are
thought to be a major cause of sickness
produced by indoor pollution
◦ Sick-building syndrome
1429
We can reduce indoor air pollution

In developed countries:
◦
◦
◦
◦

Use low-toxicity material
Monitor air quality
Keep rooms clean
Limit exposure to chemicals
In developing countries:
◦ Dry wood before burning
◦ Cook outside (including with solar cookers)
◦ Use less-polluting fuels (natural gas)
1430




Indoor air pollution is a potentially serious health
threat
Outdoor air pollution has been addressed by
government legislation and regulation in
developed countries, but is still a problem
Improvement is required in reducing acidic
deposition, photochemical smog
Avoiding unhealthy pollutants in developing
world will pose a challenge as less-wealthy
nations industrialize; indeed air pollution is
getting worse
Conclusion
1431
The major component of Earth’s atmosphere
is …
a)
b)
c)
d)
Nitrogen gas
Oxygen gas
Argon gas
Water vapor
QUESTION: Review
1432
Ozone in the _________ is a pollutant, but in
the ______ is vital for life
a)
b)
c)
d)
Stratosphere, troposphere
Troposphere, stratosphere
Troposphere, tropopause
Stratosphere, thermosphere
QUESTION: Review
1433
_____ is defined as the ratio of water vapor
in the atmosphere compared to the
amount the atmosphere could contain
a)
b)
c)
d)
Atmospheric pressure
Ozonification
Temperature
Relative humidity
QUESTION: Review
1434
If you were on a sailing ship going from Europe
to Canada, you would want to be in the
________
a)
b)
c)
d)
Doldrums
Trade winds
Westerlies
Polar cell
QUESTION: Review
1435
Which criteria pollutant is colorless, odorless, and
poses a risk to humans, even in small
amounts?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Sulfur dioxide
Nitrogen dioxide
Tropospheric ozone
Carbon monoxide
QUESTION: Review
1436
The Montreal Protocol addressed _______
a)
b)
c)
d)
Global warming, and was not successful
Criteria pollutants, and was successful
Ozone depletion, and was successful
Acid deposition, and was successful
QUESTION: Review
1437
What does this graph show about the mesosphere?
a) It contains the most ozone
b) It is a very thin layer
c) Temperature decreases
with increasing altitude
d) Temperature increases with
increasing altitude
QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs
and Data
1438
Should the government be able to prevent
restaurants from allowing smoking, to
protect people from secondhand smoke?
a) Yes; I don’t want to be exposed to this form of
pollution
b) Yes, only if the restaurant agrees
c) No, let the restaurant owner decide
d) No; I want to be able to smoke in a restaurant
QUESTION: Viewpoints
1439