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19
Air Pollution and Noise:
Living and Working in a
Healthy Environment
Chapter Outline
Air: The Endangered Global Commons
Sources of Air Pollution
Anthropogenic Air Pollutants and Their Sources
Primary and Secondary Pollutants
Toxic Air Pollutants
Industrial and Photochemical Smog
Air Pollution - A Symptom of Unsustainable Systems?
The Effects of Climate and Topography on Air Pollution
The Cleansing Effects of Wind and Rain: Don’t Be Fooled
Mountains and Hills
Temperature Inversions
The Effects of Air Pollution
The Health Effects of Air Pollution
Effects on Plants and Nonhuman Animals
Effects on Materials
Air Pollution Control: Toward a Sustainable Strategy
Cleaner Air Through Better Laws
Cleaner Air Through Technology: End-of-Pipe Solutions
Economics and Air Pollution Control
Toward a Sustainable Strategy
Noise: The Forgotten Pollutant
What is Sound?
What is Noise?
Impacts of Noise
Controlling Noise
Indoor Air Pollution
How Serious Is Indoor Air Pollution?
Controlling Indoor Air Pollutants
Key Terms
anthropogenic pollutants nonanthropogenic pollutants criteria air pollutants
primary air pollutants secondary air pollutants toxic air pollutants
gray-air cities brown-air cities photochemical smog
cross-media contamination temperature inversion subsidence inversion
radiation inversion chronic bronchitis emphysema
bronchial asthma ozone sulfur dioxide
sulfuric acid nitric acid nitrogen oxide
attainment area nonattainment area pollution taxes
noncompliance penalties end-of-pipe solutions catalytic converters
scrubber electrostatic precipitator cyclones
magnetohydrodynamics fluidized bed combustion decibels
pitch hertz noise
indoor air pollutants sick building syndrome radon
Objectives
1. List the sources and environmental impacts of anthropogenic air pollution.
2. Define the following terms: “criteria air pollutants,” “primary pollutants,” “secondary pollutants,” and “toxic air pollutants.”
4. List the six major criteria for air pollutants, their sources, and potential public health effects.
5. Define the terms: “gray-air cities,” “brown-air cities,” and “photochemical smog.”
6. Discuss the effects of climate and topography on air pollution.
7. List most common acute and chronic health effects of air pollution.
8. Summarize the major provisions of the Clean Air Act and its amendments.
9. Define the following terms: “nonattainment area,” “emissions offset policy,” “attainment region,” “noncompliance penalties,” and “pollution taxes.”
10. Summarize the current “end-of-pipe” technologies for air pollution control.
11. List some pollution prevention strategies that provide a sustainable approach to air quality.
12. Define the following terms: “sound,” “noise,” “decibel,” “pitch,” “frequency,” and “hertz.”
13. Summarize the major laws regulating noise in the United States.
14. List some ways noise pollution can be controlled in the environment.
15. Identify the major types and sources of indoor air pollution.
Lecture Outline
Air: The Endangered Global Commons
Sources of Air Pollution
Natural and Anthropogenic Sources
Though much air pollution is natural in origin, anthropogenic pollution poses the biggest environmental threat.
Anthropogenic Air Pollutants and Their Sources
Combustion is the single largest cause of air pollution today.
Incomplete combustion and the presence of mineral contaminants in fuels generate a variety of harmful pollutants.
Primary and Secondary Pollutants
Reactions between atmospheric primary pollutants produce a variety of secondary pollutants.
Toxic Air Pollutants
Hundreds of toxic pollutants are released into the air; the United States has not regulated these in the past.
Industrial and Photochemical Smog
Gray-Air and Brown-Air Cities
Gray-air cities are usually characterized by cold moist climates; the major pollutants are sulfur oxides and particulates.
Brown-air cities are typically in warn, dry, sunny climates; the major pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides. These cities are subject to enshrouding by photochemical smog.
Air Pollution - A Symptom of Unsustainable Systems?
Air pollution, like other forms of environmental deterioration, is a symptom of unsustainable systems of transportation, industry, housing, and energy production.
The Effects of Climate and Topography on Air Pollution
The Cleansing Effects of Wind and Rain: Don’t Be Fooled
Factors Affecting Air Pollution Levels
Wind and Rain
These agents can clear the air but may result in cross-media contamination.
Mountains and Hills
These geographic features can trap pollutants in an area, inhibiting dispersion.
Temperature Inversions
These are inverted temperature profiles, either due to movement of large air masses or uneven daily cooling of air and ground, which trap pollutants and allow them to accumulate over an area.
The Effects of Air Pollution
Health Effects
Immediate Health Effects
Immediate effects of air pollution are those experienced immediately after exposure.
Chronic Health Effects
Chronic effects on human health result from long-term exposure to air pollution and include several serious diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis, and lung cancer.
High-Risk Populations
Some groups, such as the very young, the very old, and the infirm, are especially susceptible to air pollution's effects.
Effects on Plants and Nonhuman Animals
Livestock, wildlife, and wild and cultivated plants can all be adversely affected by air pollution.
Effects on Materials
Air pollution causes severe damage to buildings, most materials, and many priceless works of art.
Air Pollution Control: Toward a Sustainable Strategy
Cleaner Air Through Better Laws
The Clean Air Act (CAA) with its amendments is the major legal instrument for air quality protection in the U.S.
The CAA's provisions aim to protect air that is already clean and promote improvement in areas already polluted; enforcement is the responsibility of the EPA. Recent revisions of the CAA address acid precipitation, toxics, automobile fuel efficiency standards, and ozone depletion; in addition, they provide market incentives for companies to reduce their pollution.
Cleaner Air Through Technology
Stationary Sources
Reductions in air pollution from stationary sources are usually achieved by the removal of pollutants from emissions gases.
Filters, cyclones, precipitators, and scrubbers remove particulates and most polluting gases but generate large amounts of hazardous waste.
Mobile Sources
Emissions from vehicles are generally controlled by conversion to nonpolluting substances.
New Combustion Technologies
New combustion techniques such as magnetohydrodynamics, fluidized bed combustion, and gas turbines increase efficiency and reduce air pollution from burning coal and natural gas.
Economics and Air Pollution Control
Though costly, numerous studies estimate the benefits of air pollution control measures to exceed their costs.
Toward a Sustainable Strategy
Though pollution control is necessary, a truly sustainable approach to air quality will emphasize conservation, recycling, and renewable energy.
Individuals as well as corporations and governments must take responsibility for minimizing resource demand and pollution.
Noise: The Forgotten Pollutant
What is Sound?
Sound waves are compression waves that travel through the air.
Sound is characterized by loudness (measured in decibels) and pitch (high or low the frequency is).
What is Noise?
Noise is an unwanted, unpleasant sound.
Impacts of Noise
Noise affects us in many ways. It damages hearing, disrupts our sleep, and annoys us in our everyday lives.
Controlling Noise
Noise levels can be controlled by redesigning machinery and other noise sources. Buildings can be sound insulated and noise generators can be separated from people by other measures.
Indoor Air Pollution
How Serious Is Indoor Air Pollution?
Indoor air pollutants may actually be the cause of tens of thousands of deaths and much illness in industrialized nations.
Major indoor air pollutants are:
tobacco smoke
radon
formaldehyde
asbestos
Controlling Indoor Air Pollutants
Many behavioral, regulatory, and technological options are available to reduce our exposure to indoor air pollutants.
Suggestions for Presenting the Chapter
Ÿ Instructors should review the impact of the Clean Air Act and its amendments. Information about the air quality in your region is available from the EPA.
Ÿ Instructors should emphasize that most of our strategies to reduce air pollution depend on end-of-pipe technologies. Pollution prevention needs to be emphasized to move to a more sustainable society.
Ÿ A field trip to a local power plant or large industry to examine their air pollution control technologies provides students with insights relevant to the learning objectives of this chapter.
Ÿ Radon levels might be measured at your educational institution. Kits are relatively inexpensive and provide interesting discussion material
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