Air Pollution Episodes (PDF)

C H A P TE R V III Air Pollution WHAT IS AIR POLLUTION? Mixture of natural and man-made substances in the air we breathe which can cause serious negative effects on human health and environment AIRPOLLUTION EPISODES Meuse Valley, Belgium, 1930 Donora Pennsylvania, 1948 Los An...

C H A P TE R V III Air Pollution WHAT IS AIR POLLUTION? Mixture of natural and man-made substances in the air we breathe which can cause serious negative effects on human health and environment AIRPOLLUTION EPISODES Meuse Valley, Belgium, 1930 Donora Pennsylvania, 1948 Los Angeles, California "Smog", 1943-1944 The London Smog of 1952 New York City, 1966 Kawasaki, Japan, 1970 Chernobyl Accident of 1986  First recorded episode of ME U S E air pollution Belgium's VAL L E Y, Meuse Valley was an industrial center BELGIUM Had a good number of sulfuric acid plants, glass 1930 factories, steel and zinc works December 1, 1930- THERMAL INVERSION 60 people died Heart and Respiratory Ailments TEMPERATURE INVERSION Temperature inversion, also called thermal inversion, a reversal of the normal behavior of temperature in the troposphere (the region of the atmosphere nearest Earth’s surface), in which a layer of cool air at the surface is overlain by a layer of warmer air. (Under normal conditions air temperature usually decreases with height.)  DONORA, Donora is a small industrial town Pollutants came mainly PENNSYLVAN from a zinc- manufacturing 194 8 IA plant and huge iron and steel mill October 26, 1948- TEMPERATURE INVERSION Occurred in a cold weather 6,063 out of 14,000 fell ill 17 had died and 4 more died by Christmas eve  L OS Smog happened during a dry and sunny weather ANGE L E S , Unburned hydrocarbons and CALIFORNIA oxides of nitrogen from cars PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG "SMOG" In 1944, blue haze hovering 194 3- above the city Sore throat, 194 4 runny nose, teary eyes, headaches Sulfur dioxide pollution  GREAT SMOG OF 1952 T HE Worst case of air pollution tradegy L ONDON in history December 4, 1952- TEMPERATURE SMOG INVERSION (Thames River) Inhabitants burn coal due to 1952 below- freezing temperature Coal fires produced sulfur dioxide and smoke December 6 (Saturday)- day of darkness  T HE December 8 (Monday)- more than 100 people died of heart L ONDON attack SMOG December 9 (Tuesday)- breeze cleared the air 1952 4,000 deaths - weekend smog 8,000 -total of deaths British Clean Air Act 1962- decrease in deaths NE WYOR K November 24, 1966 CIT Y Smoggiest Day in the 1966 City’s History Cause: Heat Inversion Fastest growing cause of death: Pulmonary Emphysema K AW AS A Sulfur dioxide was the culprit in this air pollution which came K I, JAPAN from sintering plants Increased incidence of 1970 respiratory ailments like asthma was reported Kawasaki & other cities around Tokyo Bay had nightmarish image of citizens wearing masks, breathering from oxygen vending machines CH E R NOB Accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the YL Soviet Union is the worst in the ACCIDENT history of nuclear power generation. 1986 April 25, 1986 explosions happened & fire broke out in the Chernobyl power plant. Released large amount of radioactive substances into the atmosphere. CH E R NOB Y It caused immediate death of more than 30 people – 2 from the L blast & fire and 29 from exposure ACCIDENT to radiation. 200 more people contracted 1986 serious radiation sickness 8 tons of radioactive materials escaped into the atmosphere more radioactive than that created by the atomic bombs in Hiroshima & Nagasaki CH E R NOB YL Radioactivity was spread by the ACCIDENT wind, with traces of it reaching as far as west as France and 1986 Italy In the Philippines, DOH banned for several months powdered as well as fresh milk which came from Europe CH E R NOB YL Its long term effects have yet to ACCIDENT be seen Thousands of extra cancer 1986 deaths are expected in the next decade or so attributed to Chernobyl’s released radiation  6,000 historic houses, EUROPE’S ACID monastries, & churches of Poland are architectural RAINS THAT masterpieces. Today, they DEFACE CITIES look as if they had leprosy. Stone saints are faceless; &DESTROY chunks of masonry fall off FORESTS steeples; statues have dissolved into black rock piles. These destructions were caused by factories & coal mines of Upper Silesia that spew out a staggering amount of pollution- 5 times as much as sulfur dioxide per square mile as West Germany’s industrialized Rohr Valley EUROPE’S ACID In Athens, then most RAINS THAT beautiful building in the DEFACE CITIES world, the Parthenon, is being &DESTROY eaten by air pollution. Acid deposition has caused more FORESTS erosion on its marble in the past 24 years than had occurred in 24 centuries. Roman Colosseum, Westminster Abbey, the Taj Mahal in Asia are facing the same damage. EUROPE’S ACID At Chartres, France, with other cathedrals, stained glass windows RAINS THAT dating back 12th & 13th centuries DEFACE CITIES have corroded to barely &DESTROY recognizable images. Forests have also been damaged FORESTS by acid rain, and at least 445,000 acres are affected. Acid formed from sulfur dioxide emissions, and rain water leach nutrients from leaves & soil EUROPE’S ACID The trees of West Germany’s Black RAINS THAT Forest are dying: their leaves DEFACE CITIES turning yellow and falling off, leaving thin, scruffy crowns. &DESTROY Loss of trees on Swiss Alpine FORESTS slopes have been blamed for a rash avalanches & landslides. These incidents are presented to illustrate how serious & widespread air pollution problem has become.  AIR P OL L U T ION * ATMOSPHERE IS MADE UP OF ROUGHLY 78% NITROGEN, 21% OXYGEN, AND 1% OF OTHER GASES LIKE CARBON DIOXIDE, INERT GASES AND MOISTURE. * PRESENCE OF CONTAMINANTS IN THE ATMOSPHERE WHICH IS INJURIOUS TO LIFE & PROPERTY IS CONSIDERED AIR POLLUTION. * OBNOXIOUS GASES, DUST, SMOKE, VAPOR ARE WHAT WE CALL AIR POLLUTANTS. AIR POLLUTION Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. Car emissions, chemicals from factories, dust, pollen and mold spores may be suspended as particles. Ozone, a gas, is a major part of air pollution in cities. When ozone forms air pollution, it's also called smog. EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION Short-term exposure to Long- term exposure to air pollution can cause: air pollution can cause: Coughing Respiratory diseases (asthma, emphysema) Wheezing/difficulty breathing Cardiovascular damage Irritation to eyes, nose, and Harm to liver, spleen, and throat blood Headaches Nervous system damage Dizziness Cancer Fatigue Birth defects Death Types of air pollutants and their sources Sources of air pollution are multiple and context specific. The major outdoor pollution sources include residential energy for cooking and heating, vehicles, power generation, agriculture/waste incineration, and industry. AIR P O L LU TA N T S THEIR SOURCES AND EFFECTS ON MAN’S HEALTH BURNING OF FUELS AUTOMOBILE EXHAUST Primary Source of CO  2. HYDROCARBONS Gasoline, natural gas, fuel oil, diesel fuel, jet fuel, coal, kerosene, and propane are just some of the commonly used hydrocarbon fuels. Hydrocarbons are also used to make things, including plastics and synthetic fabrics such as polyester. Hydrocarbons include baby oil, mineral oil, household lubricating oil, lamp oil, torch fuel, lighter fluid, gasoline, kerosene, motor oil, heating oil, hair oil, and some kinds of furniture polish. These are slippery liquids that easily can be aspirated (breathed into someone's lungs when they try to swallow them).  3.S U L F U R COMPOUNDS The major derivative of sulphur is sulphuric acid (H2SO4), one of the most important elements used as an industrial raw material. Sulphur is also used in batteries, detergents, fungicides, manufacture of fertilizers, gun power, matches and fireworks.  4. NITROGEN COMPOUNDS Two major sources of nitrogen pollution to the air fossil fuel combustion (EX: vehicle and power plant emersion and agriculture EX: fertilizer and manure emission.) SMOG  5. OZ ONE AND OXIDANTS Ozone and other photochemical oxidants (such as phenoxyacid nitrates and aldehydes) are formed by the action of ultra-violet (UV) light from the sun on nitrogen oxides (a process called photolysis). Its production and concentration is dependent on the presence of primary pollutants as well as ultra-violet light. Ozone air pollution that have people of plants. Ground level ozone forms when nitrogen oxides volatile orgasmic compounds react with each other sunlight or hot temperature. Oxidants a chemical agent that oxidizes (Ex. Hydrogen  6. HYDROGEN FLUORIDE, HF Used to make hydrogen pharmaceuticals, gasoline, stainless, steel kitchen products aluminum plastic, electrical components. PARTICULATE POLLUTANTS  ORGANIC Organic particulate PARTICLES pollutants include pollen grains, microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, molds or spores, and insects or parts of insects such as hairs, wings, and legs. INORGA NIC Inorganic Particles PARTICL comprise a vast array ES of materials, some from natural sources and others result from man's activities. INORGA Metallurgical NIC operations such as PARTICL production of ES metals like iron, steel, copper, zinc, and aluminum bring about particulates as by- products which are potential pollutants. INORGA NIC PARTICL Non-metallurgical ES include the operations in the production of cement, glass, ceramics, and asbestos.  EFFECTS OF THE AIR POLLUTION ON THE ATMOSPHERE The first noticeable effect of air pollution is that it makes it more difficult to see around and beyond us. Pollutants also affect the weather through mechanisms such as fog formation and the reduction of sunlight reaching the Earth.  3 MAJOR GLOBAL METEOROLOGICAL EFFECTS CAUSED BY AIR POLLUTANTS THE THE EFFECT OF THE EFFECT OF GREENHOUSE PARTICULATES CLIMATE EFFECT ON THE EARTH- CHANGES ATMOSPHERE FROM MAN'S HEAT BALANCE MASSIVE USE OF ENERGY