Section 2: What Causes Air Pollution?

Name: ______Pd.: _____

Chapter 12: Air

Section 2: What Causes Air Pollution?

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

•Name five primary air pollutants, and give sources for each.

•Name the two major sources of air pollution in urban areas.

•Describe the way in which smog forms.

•Explain the way in which a thermal inversion traps air pollution.

______is the contamination of the atmosphere by wastes from sources such as industrial burning and automobile exhausts.Substances that pollute the air can be in the form of ______, ______, or ______.Most air pollution is the result of human activities, but some pollutants are natural, including _____, ______, ______, and ______from volcanic eruptions.

Primary and Secondary Pollutants

A ______ is a pollutant that is put directly into the atmosphere by human or natural activity. An example would be soot from smoke.A ______ is a pollutant that forms in the atmosphere by chemical reactions with primary air pollutants, natural components in the air, or both. An example would be ground-level ozone.Ground level ozone forms when the ______from _____ react with the UV rays of the sun and then mix with the ______in the atmosphere.

Household products, power plants, and motor vehicles are sources of primary pollutants such as ______, ______, ______, and chemicals called ______(VOCs). ______and ______-______power plants are the major sources of nitrogen oxide emissions. ______, ______, and ______contribute much of the sulfur dioxide emissions. ______and _____ stations make up most of the human-made emissions of VOCs.

Particulate matter (a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air)can also pollute the air and is usually divided into ______and ______particles.Fine particles enter the air from ______burned by vehicles and coal-burning power plants.Sources of course particles are ______plants, ______operations, ______, wood-burning fireplaces, ______, and ______.

The History of Air Pollution

______is not a new phenomenon. Whenever something ______, pollutants enter the air. In 1273, King Edward I ordered that burning a particularly dirty kind of coal called _____-______was illegal.The world’s air quality problem is much worse today because modern industrial societies burn large amounts of ______.Most air pollution in urban areas comes from ______and ______.

Motor Vehicle Emissions

Almost ____-______of our air pollution comes from gasoline burned by vehicles.According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Americans drove their vehicles over ______miles in 1998.Over ___ percent of that mileage was driven by passenger vehicles. The rest was driven by ______and ______.

The ______, passed in 1970 and strengthened in 1990, gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to regulate vehicle emissions in the United States.The EPA required the gradual elimination of ______in gasoline, decreasing lead pollution by more than ___ percent in the United States.In addition, ______, required in all automobiles, clean ______gases of pollutants before pollutants are able to exit the tail pipe.

In 1990, the California Air Resources Board established the _____-______(ZEV) program.Zero-emission vehicles are vehicles that have ______emissions, no emissions from ______, and no emission-control systems that deteriorate over time.By 2016, ___ percent of all vehicles sold in California are required to be zero-emission vehicles, including _____ and ______.

Currently, ZEVs such as ______vehicles are for sale in California, and vehicles with advanced ______are being demonstrated.Vehicles powered by ______fuel are being developed and will qualify as ZEVs.Partial zero-emission vehicles, including ______-______cars, are also included in the program. ZEV programs have also been adopted by ______, ______, ______, and ______.

Industrial Air Pollution

Many industries and power plants that generate our electricity must burn fuel, usually ______, to get the energy they need.Burning fossil fuels releases huge quantities of ______and ______into the air.Power plants that produce electricity emit at least _____-______of all sulfur dioxide and more than _____-______of all nitrogen oxides that pollute the air.

Some industries also produce VOCs, which are chemical compounds that form ______. ______, ______, chemical manufacturing plants, furniture refinishers, and automobile repair shops all contribute to the VOCs in the air.When people use some of the products that contain VOCs, even more VOCS are ______to the air.

The Clean Air Act requires many industries to use

______or other pollution-control devices.Scrubbers

______some of the more harmful substances that would

otherwise pollute the air.A scrubber is a machine that

______gases through a spray of water that

dissolves many pollutants. ______is an example of

a pollutant gas that can be removed from the air by a scrubber.

______are machines used in

cement factories and coal-burning power plants to remove dust particles from smokestacks.In an electrostatic precipitator, gas containing dust particles is ______through a chamber containing an ______. An electric charge is transferred to the dust particles, causing them to stick together and to the sides of the chamber.The clean gas is ______from the chamber and the concentrated dust particles can then be ______and ______. Electrostatic precipitators remove ______tons of ash generated by coal-burning power plants from the air each year in the United States.

______is urban air pollution composed of a mixture of

smoke and fog produced from industrial pollutants and

burning fuels.Smog results from chemical reactions that

involve ______, _____, ______,

and ______.Pollutants released by ______and

______are the main causes of smog.

The ______of air in the atmosphere usually

keeps air pollution from reaching dangerous levels.During

the day, the sun ______the surface of the Earth and

the air near the Earth. The warm air ______through the cooler

air above it and carries pollutants away from the ______, and into the ______.Sometimes, however, pollution is trapped near the Earth’s surface by a ______.A temperature inversion is the atmospheric condition in which warm air ______cooler air near Earth’s surface.The warmer air above keeps the cooler air at the surface from moving ______. So, pollutants are ______below with the ______air.If a city is located in a ______, it has a greater chance of experiencing temperature inversions. Los Angeles, surrounded on three sides by mountains, often has temperature inversions.

Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

•Describe three possible short-term effects and long-term effects of air pollution on human health.

•Explain what causes indoor air pollution and how it can be prevented.

•Describe three human health problems caused by noise pollution.

•Describe solutions to energy waste caused by light pollution.

Air pollution can cause serious ______problems, especially for people who are very young, very old, or who have heart or lung problems.Air pollution adds to the effects of existing diseases such as ______, ______, and ______cancer.The American Lung Association has estimated that Americans pay tens of billions of dollars a year in health costs to treat respiratory diseases caused by ____ pollution.

Short-Term Effects of Air Pollution on Health

Many of the effects of air pollution on people’s health are _____-_____ and ______if their exposure to air pollution decreases.The short-term effects of air pollution on people’s health include ______,______, irritation to the ______, ______and ______,______, tightness in the chest, and upper respiratory infections, such as ______and ______.Pollution can also make the conditions of ______and ______worse for certain individuals.

Long-Term Effects of Air Pollution on Health

Long-term effects on health that have been linked to air pollution include ______, ______, and ______disease.Long-term exposure to air pollution may worsen medical conditions suffered by older people and may damage the lungs of children.

Indoor Air Pollution

The quality of air inside a home or building is sometimes ______than the quality of air outside. ______and other industrial chemicals are major sources of pollution.These compounds can be found in ______, building materials, ______, and ______, particularly when these items are new.

______-______is a set of symptoms, such as headache, fatigue, eye irritation, and dizziness, that may affect workers in modern, airtight office buildings. Sick-building syndrome is believed to be caused by ______air pollutants.Sick-building syndrome is most common in ____ places where buildings are tightly sealed to keep out the heat.

______gas is colorless, tasteless, odorless, and radioactive. Radon is one of the elements produced by the decay of ______, a radioactive element that occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust.Radon can seep through ______and ______in foundations into homes, offices, and schools, where it adheres to ______particles.When people ______the dust, radon enters their lungs. In the lungs, radon can destroy the ______material in cells that line the air passages.Such damage can lead to ______, especially among people who ______.Radon is the second-leading cause of ______in the United States.

______is any of six silicate minerals that form bundles of minute fibers that are heat resistant, flexible, and durable.Asbestos is primarily used as an ______and as a ______, and it was used extensively in building materials.However, for all of its uses, the government ______the use of most asbestos products in the early ______s.That was because exposure to asbestos in the air is very dangerous.Asbestos fibers can _____ and _____ the lungs, causing the disease asbestosis.Victims of the disease have more and more difficulty ______and may eventually die of ______.

Noise Pollution

A sound of any kind is called a ______. However, some

noises are ______and can cause noise pollution.Health

problems that can be caused by noise pollution include loss of

______, ______, and ______.

Noise can also cause loss of ______, which may lead

decreased productivity at work and in the classroom.

Light Pollution

Light pollution does not present a direct hazard to human

health, but it does negatively affect our ______.The use of ______lighting in urban areas is diminishing our view of the night sky.In urban areas, the sky is often much ______than the natural sky.

A more important environmental concern of inefficient lighting is ______waste. Energy is wasted when a light is directed ______into the night sky and lost to ______. Examples include lighting on ______, poor-quality ______lights, and the lighting of building exteriors.Solutions to this problem include ______light so it is directed ______, using ______so that light is used only when needed, and using low-pressure sodium sources, which are the most energy-efficient sources of light.

Section 3: Acid Precipitation

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

•Explain the causes of acid precipitation.

•Explain how acid precipitation affects plants, soils, and aquatic ecosystems.

•Describe three ways that acid precipitation affects humans.

•Describe ways that countries are working together to solve the problem of acid precipitation.

What Causes Acid Precipitation?

Acid precipitation is precipitation, such as ______, ______, or ______that contains a high concentration of ______, often because

of the pollution of the atmosphere.When fossil fuels

are ______, they release oxides of ______and ______.

When these oxides combine with water in the atmosphere

they form ______and ______,

which falls as acid precipitation.This acidic water flows

over and through the ______, and into ______,

______, and ______.Acid precipitation can _____

living things, and can result in the decline or loss of some

local animal and plant populations.

A ___ number is a value that is used to express the acidity

or alkalinity (basicity) of a system. Each ______number on the

scale indicates a ______change in acidity. A pH of 7 is ______, a pH of less than 7 is ______, and a pH of greater than 7 is ______.

Pure water has a pH of ___, while normal precipitation has a pH of about ___.Normal precipitation is slightly ______because atmospheric ______dissolves into the precipitation and forms ______.Precipitation is considered acid precipitation if it has a pH of less than ____. The pH of precipitation varies among different ______areas. The pH of precipitation in the eastern U.S. and Canada ranges from ____ to ____, with the most acidic precipitation occurring around Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

How Acid Precipitation Affects Soils and Plants

Acid precipitation can cause a drop in the pH of _____ and ______. This increase in the concentration of acid is called ______.When the acidity of soil increases, some nutrients are ______and ______away by rainwater. It also causes ______and other toxic metals to be released and possibly absorbed by the roots of plants causing _____ damage. Sulfur dioxide in water vapor clogs the openings on the surfaces of plants.

Acid Precipitation and Aquatic Ecosystems

Aquatic animals are adapted to live in an environment with a particular ______. If acid precipitation falls on a _____ and changes the water’s pH, it can ______aquatic plants and animals.In addition, acid precipitation causes ______to leach out of the soil surrounding a lake. The aluminum accumulates in the gills of fish and interferes with ______and ____ exchange. As a result, fish are slowly ______.

______is the sudden runoff of large amounts of highly acidic water into lakes and streams when snow melts in the spring or when heavy rains follow a drought.This phenomenon causes large numbers of fish to ____, and affects the ______of fish and amphibians that remain. They produce ______eggs, and those eggs often do not hatch. The offspring that do survive often have birth defects and cannot reproduce.

To counteract the effects of acid precipitation on aquatic ecosystems, some states in the U.S. and some countries spray powdered ______(calcium carbonate) on acidified lakes in the spring to help them restore their natural pH.Because lime has a pH that is ______, the lime ______the pH of the water.Unfortunately, enough lime cannot be spread to offset all acid damage to lakes.

Acid Precipitation and Humans

Toxic metals such as ______and ______can be released into the environment when soil acidity increases. These toxic metals can find their way into ______, ______, and ______. The toxins then ______the human body.Research has also indicated that there may be a correlation between large amounts of acid precipitation received and an increase in respiratory problems in a community’s children.

The standard of living for some people is affected by acid precipitation. Decreases in numbers of fish caused by ______of lakes can influence the livelihood of commercial ______and the sport-fishing industry. ______is also affected when trees are damaged by acid precipitation.Acid precipitation can dissolve the ______in common building materials, such as ______. As a result, some of the world’s most important and historic monuments, including those made of ______are being affected.

International Conflict and Cooperation

One problem in controlling acid precipitation is that pollutants may be released in ____ geographical area and fall to the ground hundreds of kilometers away. For example, almost half of the acid precipitation that falls in southeastern ______results from pollution produced in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, West Virginia, and Tennessee.

Because acid precipitation falls downwind, the problem of solving acid precipitation has been ______, especially on the international level.Canada and the United States signed the Canada-U.S. Air Quality Agreement in 1991. Both countries agreed to reduce ______emissions that flowed across the Canada-U.S. boundary.More international agreements such as this may be necessary to control the acid-precipitation problem.